Summer season starts with the fresh feel of sunny days. But this season also brings an irritation when you have to wait for the repairs of AC. Your first hot day, and as you switch on your AC, you realize that it needs repairs or just an overhauling, that moment is the most discomforting. But the best way to avoid such discomfort is to handle your AC at the fall of winter. This could be helpful to prevent early repairs during the season.

How an AC works:

Before coming to any decision, you must know exactly how an air conditioner works, and what is the basic principle behind AC for cooling air. It doesn’t matter what type of air conditioner (Split, Window, Central or Portable) you are using all of them take a gas, and convert it to liquid and convert it back to a gas again. In easy words, they all use a chemical called refrigerant, when the unit takes in the air from the surrounding and passes that hot air through a set of coils, then these liquid substances absorbs the heat. During this process, the refrigerant turns from liquid to gas, a compressor then pressurizes the gas resulting in the generation of heat which is exhausted from the unit outside. As you can understand from these details that many parts of an AC go through a constant change in temperature which means you should never be lethargic towards its maintenance.

Regular maintenance by experts:

One thing you should always remember is that AC units can be dangerous and should be handled by a professional technician, but if you are looking for AC repair prevention certain steps can be taken. First thing is to always keep the outdoor compressor and condenser clean. Check out for any debris from building up in the condenser; remove any kind of bird droppings, dead bugs, leaves, small branches, grass clippings, dirt, and dust. You can use a soft brush on a vacuum, or specially designed coil brush to remove dirt buildup from the coils. The only thing to remember during this whole process is not to damage or bend the fins surrounding the coil, which will block the airflow resulting in heating up of the unit.

With time the insulation foam surrounding the coolant line degrades, which is there to preserve energy and let your AC unit run efficiently. So it’s not a big job as you only have to rewrap those coolant lines with foam insulation tape or sleeves. The same thing goes with ducts as you have to inspect them for any possible leak or lack of insulation, and if it is there use a metal tape. Inadequacy in any of these will result in an air conditioner to work harder and ultimately increasing the energy bills.

Pre-cautions:

During a period of no –usage, you can also cover the unit with a plastic or vinyl cover. A unit is designed to withstand rain and snow but not to keep out leaves, seeds or nuts, as they can create a place where moisture collects leading to corrosion or even blocking up moisture drainage. Remember anytime you work on your AC, the power should be turned off for your own safety.