Running your air conditioner all summer long in Louisiana can be pretty costly. It uses a lot of energy, and when your electrical bill arrives, you might be dismayed at how steep the cost is. Now, there’s nothing we can do about the price of electricity. But we can help you to make sure you use as little of it as is necessary to keep your home comfortable. You can decrease energy usage with AC maintenance. This includes professional maintenance and tasks you can do yourself to keep your AC running efficiently.
Professional Maintenance
Over the course of a long summer’s hard work, an air conditioner’s energy efficiency gradually drops, and without routine maintenance, efficiency can fall by about 5% each year. Regular service helps you save money and keep the system dependable over the long run. HVAC preventative maintenance is preventative maintenance that helps avoid unexpected breakdowns, unexpected issues, and costly repairs while supporting optimal performance and peak performance. This happens for a variety of reasons, but two of the biggest contributors are the presence of dirt and the absence of lubrication.
- Dirt: When dust and grime make their way into the inner workings of your air conditioner, they slow things down and make the air conditioner work harder. Decreased airflow and increased friction mean that the air conditioner is using more energy to provide the same amount of cooling power, which hurts system efficiency and can lead to higher energy bills and a higher energy bill over time. When you have a professional technician perform air conditioning maintenance, they will clean each component to remove all the accumulated dust and grime, and an HVAC maintenance appointment or tune up includes inspecting key components for potential issues and minor issues before they become major problems or require unexpected repairs.
Professional HVAC maintenance services typically include inspection of the hvac unit, electrical components, and the cooling system, and technicians check refrigerant levels and look for leaks in refrigerant levels within the system.
- Lubrication: In any system, moving parts encounter friction. Just as dirt will increase friction, lack of lubrication will as well. This leads to components not spinning freely and causing the compressor to work overtime just to keep things moving normally. It can even lead to overheating and potentially burn out your blower fan motor. During maintenance, your technician will apply lubrication to those parts that require it, allowing smooth and easy movement, but over the course of the year, that lubrication will wear away, so maintenance must be performed annually.
Annual HVAC maintenance often costs about $100–$200, can lower energy costs by about 5% annually, and helps extend the life of HVAC equipment.
Some manufacturers require annual maintenance to keep warranty coverage in force. Systems with documented maintenance also pass inspections more easily.
For heating equipment such as a furnace or heat pump, service also includes inspecting and cleaning burners and the heat exchanger to support reliable heating and cooling, which matters in Shreveport where July and August highs commonly reach 92°F to 95°F and January temperatures often fall into the 30s.
Maintenance You Can Do Yourself
While the above tasks (and other aspects of maintenance such as inspecting the air conditioning system, testing electrical connections, and checking components) must be done by a qualified professional, there are two jobs you should do regularly to help prevent that loss of efficiency and support better indoor air quality. Regular inspection and thorough inspections are important because they catch small issues and minor adjustments early, before they turn into repairs.
- Changing the Air Filter: While the air conditioner is being used every day, the air filter should be changed once a month. Begin by turning the unit off and removing the filter. If it’s disposable, you can throw it away and replace it with a brand-new filter. But some AC air filters are reusable. Simply wash the dust off, dry it completely, and slide it back into position. Replacing filters on schedule also helps with air quality by reducing dust and allergens in the home.
- Keeping the Coils Clean: Central air conditioners have evaporator coils in the indoor unit and condenser coils in the outdoor unit, and refrigerant flows through those coils. Seasonal maintenance should also check refrigerant levels to keep the cooling system at peak performance. They need to be able to easily absorb heat indoors and quickly release it outside, and any dust or dirt coating the coils acts as insulation and impedes that process. Cleaning coils helps the system run more efficiently and can reduce unnecessary strain. Dust on the indoor coils can be blown gently away with canned air, and dirt-encrusted outdoor coils can be washed with a gentle stream of water from your garden hose. Just don’t use a high-pressure nozzle! You don’t want to cause any damage. While you’re checking basic upkeep items, make sure the condensate drain is clear and review thermostat settings as the seasons change to maintain comfort and efficiency. These routine maintenance steps, combined with professional service, help homeowners stay cool, improve system efficiency, and reduce energy costs.
If you consistently do the home maintenance tasks, and have professional central AC maintenance in West Monroe, LA done annually, your AC efficiency will be much better, and you won’t pay as much for the home comfort you deserve. As an added bonus, addressing small issues early helps prevent unexpected repairs and supports the benefits of regular HVAC maintenance services, and strong efficiency can cut an energy bill significantly, with routine maintenance reducing energy bills by as much as $1,400 per unit annually. These simple steps also support healthier indoor air quality between professional visits, and regular check ups help catch issues early.
Contact Mike Smith Heating & Air Conditioning, LLC. We provide “Professional grade service.”