Frequently, homeowners will stumble upon specific air conditioning problems that can be easily resolved. However, these problems can be quite intimidating if you’re unfamiliar with your HVAC system.
Moreover, do not let these problems ruin your home’s heating or cooling experience. Therefore, proper maintenance can improve the unit’s efficiency while creating a more comfortable living environment inside your home.
You need to be aware of the following things to improve your HVAC system’s efficiency, but If your unit doesn’t work even after these steps, remember that it’s time to look for an air conditioning service provider.
Table of Contents
8 Cost Effective HVAC Maintenance Tips
1. Clean Outdoor Unit
In most air conditioners, the condenser unit is kept outside the property, making it vulnerable to dust and debris. Due to this, your outdoor unit may often get clogged with dust particles.
Therefore, washing the outdoor unit with a hose is essential to keep it running optimally. However, you must avoid using a high-pressure hose as it may cause permanent damage to your unit.
Commonly, people prefer hiding the condenser unit in their backyard to keep it away from direct sunlight. While doing so, remove the overgrown plants around the component from interfering with the unit’s airflow.
This is why cutting off the weeds that are too close to the condenser unit is essential to ensure uninterrupted airflow throughout the day. Ultimately, your condenser unit will work more effectively only when clean, so hire a technician for more in-depth cleaning.
2. Clean Drain Line
The drain line is one of the most critical components of an HVAC system that removes the coil’s moisture and drains it outside your home. Consequently, the blockage that builds up over time has to be removed from your system’s pipeline.
Taking the time to clean the drain line is often neglected, but it could save you a lot of time and money by preventing damages caused due to clogging. Therefore, checking the drain line for clogs is essential to ensure the unit’s efficiency.
So, to avoid expensive repairs and safeguard your health, cleaning your drain line should be a part of your annual maintenance routine. You can easily do it yourself by flushing one cup of chlorine and rinsing it with a gallon of water.
A clogged drain line is one of the most common breakdowns in servicing an air conditioning system. Therefore, if you’re unsure where your drain pipeline is, you know where to find it with the help of a trained HVAC technician.
3. Cleaning Indoor System
Accumulation of dust is the leading cause of inefficiency in most HVAC systems. Often, dust particles find their way into the operating units, leading to more significant future problems.
Therefore, keeping the exterior clean is the first step toward maintaining a trouble-free air conditioner. This simple maintenance process allows you to keep the unit as good as new from the outside.
So, to avoid functional inefficiencies, clean the HVAC system’s exterior at least once a week. But, before you start cleaning the system, it is essential to turn off the unit altogether.
The exterior of your unit can be wiped with a clean, dry cloth. Hence, cleaning the surface can prevent dirt from getting inside your operating unit. Furthermore, since cleaning the exterior of your air conditioning system is a pretty straightforward process, you save a lot of money by doing it yourself.
For centralized air conditioning systems, ducts are crucial for delivering sufficient airflow across the rooms. So, use your hands and reach as far as possible to remove dust and debris in the ducts. After all, a clean duct will ensure superior indoor air quality for its users.
4. Clean or Replace Air Filters
When was the last time you changed the filters in your HVAC system?
Clogged filters make it harder to circulate the air inside your home, which will often result in high energy bills and is the most common cause for an air conditioning system to break down. So, keeping the filters clean is one of the crucial ways of maintaining your air conditioner.
A worn-out filter will not only put excess pressure on your HVAC system but also hold back the air quality inside your home. As a result, the unit’s airflow is gradually reduced, which will, in turn, negatively affect its efficiency too.
Therefore, cleaning or replacing the filter is the best way to improve air quality and reduce maintenance costs.
Changing or replacing the air filter regularly is the best thing you can do to maintain your air conditioner in good shape. Thankfully, it is one of the easiest maintenance processes that can be done in just a matter of seconds.
Moreover, changing the air filters once every 3 months is inexpensive and can save you a lot of money in the long run. It is an effective way to ensure that your HVAC system is operating efficiently and is something you can do yourself.
5. Clean Fins and Coils
Coils are the most important component of your HVAC system, effectively heating or cooling your room. Consequently, the condenser and evaporator coils will get clogged with dust and dirt over time.
When the coils are dirty, the performance level of your unit is greatly reduced. Moreover, an air conditioner with dirty coils and fins will affect other critical parts like boilers, cooling towers, and chillers.
Therefore, regular maintenance of these components is essential for properly functioning your HVAC system. Since fins and coils are an integral part of your unit, keeping it clean would also ensure supreme air quality inside your home.
Also, cleaning coils regularly will ensure more efficient and uninterrupted services throughout the year. Though you can do it yourself with an appropriate coil cleaning system, it is best when left to the professionals.
6. Check the Ice
When your HVAC system is used for heating, it can accumulate ice, impacting its ability to run efficiently. It is a natural sign that something has gone wrong with your HVAC system.
Therefore, checking the outdoor unit regularly to spot and remove ice immediately is essential. Since there are many reasons for ice build-up, it can be a huge headache during the winter seasons when left unmaintained.
Failing to remove the ice from the unit can lead to more expensive repairs in the future. So, the best thing to do is switch off the air conditioner and let the ice melt on its own.
Additionally, you can also bring in a technician to diagnose this problem.
7. Thermostat Settings
A thermostat is one of the essential components that can make or break your unit’s efficiency. In other words, your air conditioner won’t turn itself on if you have a problem with your thermostat.
In such a situation, you are most likely to reprogram or replace the thermostat. Always set your thermostat to a comfortable temperature when you’re around to sustain the cooling efficiency inside your home.
With a programmable thermostat, you can automatically adjust the temperature for different times of the day or when you’re away from home. Therefore, adjusting the temperature during summer and winter can help you save a certain percentage of utility costs.
Moreover, it helps regulate the temperature inside your home, and in doing so, it puts less stress on your HVAC system.
8. Schedule an Appointment
Most people think hiring a maintenance professional will be expensive, but it has many advantages over doing it yourself. So, when there’s a problem with your HVAC system – don’t take a chance; instead, call an expert who can deal with it!
Also, try to hire someone who knows better than you to fix your HVAC system. Though you can do things to keep your HVAC system in good condition, you must rely on professionals for highly complicated repair works.
Unlike you, an expert can take care of complex repairs without causing further problems with your unit. Therefore, your HVAC system can last longer than the poorly maintained units with routine maintenance.
Conclusion
Since an HVAC system is a complex machine, it must be regularly maintained to ensure its users’ outstanding performance. Therefore, keeping your unit in perfect condition has to be one of your top priorities.
But before committing yourself, try to understand what you can fix and when to seek a professional’s help. Likewise, run some basic troubleshooting steps to identify the core issue before calling a technician.
This means you can increase your unit’s lifespan to avoid future replacement costs and expensive repairs. At the end of the day, if you’re not comfortable performing the maintenance on your own – call for an expert’s help!
