Central Air Conditioning Maintenance
Regular Ac Maintenance = Longer Last Central Ac

Central air conditioning maintenance

The difference between a central air conditioner unit that last 9 or 15 is maintenance.

Regular maintenance is requirement for every central air conditioner. This is not a need, it’s a much. Let’s said you bought 20 Seer central air conditioning units and you didn’t maintenance it. What do you have? Short life span central ac units!

Here are lists of central air conditioning maintenance every homeowners need to do or pay technician to perform. This is just the basic lists; nothing advance.

The indoor blower delivers the cool air throughout the house. Its good ideas that you clean the wheel, oil the motor or make sure it rotates in the right direction and have the correct speed.

The indoor blower is designed to deliver about 400 cfm per ton of cooling air throughout the house.

How do you determine the air flow? In commercial build we use flowhood. In residential, velometer is the ideal tool to check for air velocity.

Some older model of central air conditioner units tends to have fan belt for the indoor blower. So, inspect it and if the belt is tore or loss, you have to get it replaces.

Over a period of time, the indoor blower blade will becoming dirty and the motor will wear out. This is normal. You could extent it life span by cleaning the blade (wheel) or oil the motor if require.

You also help with your electricity bill by cleaning the blade. Why? The blower consumes energy to move the air and air has weight and is resistance to movement.

It’s the wheel cause the air to move. It would help the blower or the fan efficiently by cleaning the blade and the motor. Make sure to check for crack in the blower (house).

If you hear metal to metal sound from your indoor blower, it could means the wheel is looses and it’s not screw tight to the motor shaft or screw could felt off from the blower house.

If you’re comfortable with electricity (high voltage, low voltage), then this is a central air conditioning maintenance you could do.

Hvac Ductwork

20 seers central air conditioner units will not operate efficient with leaking ducts. The ductwork is what delivers the hot or cold air to the individual room.

If you have air conditioner duct that is

• Bend (not slightly, but badly bend)
• Insulator peel off (metal ductwork)
• Tore off
• Not connective purposely to the plenum or the supply and return vent, you losing cooling or hot air.

You will have to check to see if you hvac ductwork does not do any of the above lists. Make sure the return is not block by desk or any other large objects.

It is really important the hvac ducts does not touch the ground. Mold or mildew could develop from a duct touching the ground. If you don’t want to go under the floor of your home, you could always hire technician and ask for the company list of central air conditioning maintenance.

Supply Air Vent

On some older house, it tends to have supply vent on the bottom of the wall and it tends to covers with wall’s paint. I don’t know why people paint over the vent and block the air flow.

You will have to check for that and clean the supply air vent or replace it if you have to.

In regular three bedrooms and one bathroom house, it will have one supply vent on each room and one return vent for the entire house. You will have to check if the children didn’t close the supply vent.

Return Vent

Return vent is where the filter supposed to be in. Over period of month it will always be dirty and it’s important that you clean the vent.

If you don’t clean it, dust or debris will clogged the air flow path to the evaporator coil. It won’t happen over period of 6 month. It really depend on how dirties you house is.

Dirty Air Conditioner Filters

Changing air conditioner filter is the simplest thing central air conditioning maintenance you could do. Well, not everyone does it. The air conditioner filters had a purpose. It’s for the central air conditioning unit and for the resident.

By not changing the hvac filters, it affects the entire central air conditioner unit. It consumers more energy and product less cooling result. You will need to replace the air conditioner filter or pay the high price of having the filter collapse inside the return duct.

Clean the Evaporator Coil

In a regular split central ac unit. The evaporator coil is located indoor and it purposes is to absorb heat. If the evaporator coil is dirty, it can’t absorb heat.

Central air conditioner unit lose efficiency by having dirty evaporator coils.

The best way to determine if it needs cleaning is by looking at it. It should be near the blower, heat exchanger, expansion device or ac filters.

Condensate Drain Lines and Drain Pan

Old drain pan tend to have small crack, you will have to check for it. Make sure the pan is properly underneath the evaporator coils. Someone tend to accidentally knock it without release.

Most central air conditioner unit use PVC pipe to drain the water from the pan. Overtime the drain line will clog and you’ll have to remove the dirty and other object from the drain lines.

Inspect evaporator coil, drain pan and condensate drain lines. Clean as needed.

Central air conditioning maintenance Part 2

Return to Central Air Conditioner and Refrigeration Cycle from Central Air Conditioning Maintenance