Don’t be the homeowner who constantly puts off pre-season air conditioning maintenance and regrets big time when their AC breaks down in mid-summer. How well your air conditioning equipment will fare under extreme heat depends on its maintenance or AC checked before the season begins.
Some homeowners consider preventive maintenance costly and unnecessary. This couldn’t be further from the fact. Well-maintained cooling systems perform better, use less energy, and last longer than those without regular upkeep. It’s really as simple as that. After all, an air conditioner is but equipment subject to normal wear and tear.
You may not realize it yet, but from the moment you start using your air conditioner, it starts to accumulate dust and dirt, which eventually affects its overall performance. This performance will dwindle the more you neglect preventive maintenance.
To help push you in the right direction, here are other reasons why you should get your AC checked before summer kicks in:
It ensures your AC is in excellent condition to meet the cooling needs of summer
When temperatures hit over a hundred degrees in summer, you rely on your air conditioner to keep your home cool and comfortable. The last thing you need is for your AC to break down. Such an inconvenience can stress you out and put a damper on your plans. Even if you plan to sleep the summer away, it’s going to be impossible if your home is hot as an oven.
A pre-heating season maintenance service helps you avoid such inconveniences. It ensures your air conditioning equipment is in excellent condition to meet the demands of summer consistently so that your home stays cool and you can go on with your plans.
Regular preventive maintenance should be done by a professional AC technician who can give your AC a thorough inspection, cleaning, and tuning up.
It fixes effects of the cold season
Winter affects a cooling system in many different ways. It’s another reason why you should have your AC checked as early as the first few weeks of spring. Living in Arizona where extremely cold temperatures are rare doesn’t mean there could be no damages, big or small, caused by the colder months.
The colder months of the desert region can be unpredictable. It can cause lines, coils, and pipes to freeze over and lead to moisture buildup in the outdoor unit. As it is, the outdoor unit takes a lot of beating no matter the season. When not in use during colder months, many homeowners cover it for protection, but doing so hurts more than it helps.
As a precautionary measure, a professional technician must give your indoor and outdoor units a comprehensive checkup and fix any damages caused by winter.
It prevents minor AC issues from turning into major disasters
Most, if not all, air conditioning problems start as a minor, often-ignored issue. A clogged air filter, for instance, seems simple enough and easy enough to solve, yet it can reduce air supply, freeze coils, increase energy consumption, and shorten the lifespan of the AC.
A poorly maintained air conditioner is more prone to breakdowns during the hottest months of the year. Extreme heat can easily exacerbate even the smallest air conditioning problem because the system is under a lot of stress.
To prevent minor issues from turning into major AC disasters have a professional technician clean, tune-up, and maintain your unit before summer. A professional technician can alert you to potential problems, fix problems before they happen, and prevent inconveniences during the hottest time of the year.
It prevents costly emergency repairs
If you think preheating season maintenance is expensive, think again. On the contrary, preventive maintenance prevents costly emergency repair services during summer and prevents higher energy consumption that leads to higher utility bills.
In Arizona, the worst time to get an AC replaced or repaired is during summer when demand for HVAC services overwhelm professional technicians. When demand is high and supply is low, prices shoot up, and wait times are longer and more stressful, not to mention services are often rushed as technicians attend to as many emergency requests as possible.
Get your AC checked during the off season to avoid paying more for emergency repairs.
It extends the life of the AC system
As mentioned above, the air conditioner is subject to normal wear and tear just like any other piece of equipment in your home. The more it ages, the more stress it accumulates.
Preventive maintenance relieves the pressure on your air conditioning system. For example, several moving components inside your AC rub against each other. When not lubricated regularly, the friction caused by their movements can loosen these components or slow them down significantly.
Preventive maintenance also removes dust and debris that usually clog coils, fans, and ducts. Cracks and leaks that add stress to the system are also fixed. These are just a few examples of how preventive maintenance reduces the stress on the air conditioning system, helping the unit reach its expected lifespan, if not extending it.
In conclusion, while everybody is out enjoying warmer weather, you should be calling your AC technician for a thorough maintenance service. Doing so will ensure the performance of your air conditioner when you need it the most.