Your air conditioner is probably pretty close to the top of your “things I don’t want breaking down during summer” list. You’ve probably already scheduled preventive maintenance to make sure that any preexisting problems are already dealt with before the days heat up too much. If not, you should. Still, all your best-laid plans can come to naught if you don’t watch out for one specific thing this summer. Let’s take a look below.
The Air Filter
If you weren’t even aware that you had an air filter in your air conditioner, don’t worry. Most homeowners don’t know that. Now that you do know that, though, you should also know that you have a responsibility to take care of the air filter. Ignoring it will make it much more likely that various problems will occur in the air conditioner, some of them serious.
The air filter is designed to protect the air conditioner from the various dust particles and other contaminants that tend to build up in the ductwork of the home. The filter is very good at this, but it has no way to get rid of the contaminants that it collects. The filter needs to be changed out every few months while the air conditioner is being used heavily. If this doesn’t happen, the filter will become clogged.
What Happens When the Filter Clogs
Well, it’s not going to make your air conditioner blow up or anything. However, it’s not good for the system, either. A clogged air filter will block most of the air in the ducts from entering the air conditioner. Less air flowing into the system means less air for the air conditioner to circulate throughout the home. The drop in output isn’t the only problem, though.
The drop in air flowing over the coil in the air conditioner will cause the temperature in the immediate area around that part to drop significantly. Eventually, the temperature will drop below freezing and the condensate on the coil will form ice. An iced-over coil will be unable to siphon any thermal energy at all from the air around it. Your air conditioner will, in effect, break down entirely.
How to Prevent This
If you’ve already had maintenance conducted on your air conditioner this year, your technician will have likely changed the filter during the appointment. Even if that is so, you still need to make sure to change your filter every three months after that appointment until the summer is over. This will keep your filter functioning properly, and prevent it from clogging. If you don’t know how to change your filter, you can always have a technician show you how to do it.
Air On Demand provides a full range of air conditioning repair services in Homestead, FL. If you need help with your air conditioner, no matter what’s going on with it, contact us today to schedule an appointment with one of our professional technicians. We will make sure that your system serves you well this summer.