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The importance of maintaining and servicing your air conditioner for health and safety reasons

Air conditioners require maintenance on a regular basis to perform at an optimum level for your health and safety reasons. When an air conditioner is maintained properly, it will also work economically and can be relied upon for a long period of time. It is a matter of some routine and simple procedures that can be carried out by professional air conditioning technicians that can keep the air conditioner unit at its peak performance so that the occupants using it would derive maximum comfort from an air conditioner system.

It is common knowledge that an air conditioner will end up consuming a big portion of your monthly energy bill. Maintaining your air conditioner unit efficiently will make a considerable reduction in that energy bill. An air conditioner will lose about five per cent of its efficiency each year if professional maintenance is not carried out on it.

Proper maintenance of an A/C will reduce health risks

Many health risks are linked with poor quality of air in a room. This situation could be considerable reduced with proper installation of an air conditioning system and its maintenance from trained professionals. Regular maintenance will help keep an air conditioning unit working at its capacity and will keep your house comfortable by getting the humidity controlled and maximizing available cooling. Poorly maintained and old air conditioner units have been factors influencing ill health conditions that include spread of various diseases, particularly respiratory problems.

What needs to be checked during an air conditioning system’s maintenance schedule?

• Refrigerant Charge – It is necessary that the Freon level or the coolant of an air conditioning unit be tested regularly. Freon is that Chlorofluorocarbon element and it has the potential of damaging the ozone layer of earth if it is released consistently into the atmospheric level. Technicians are expected to fix all leaks of Freon in the air conditioning system and negligence or violation of such tasks may even cause the professional contractors to lose their service license.
• Lubrication – All moving parts of an air conditioning unit have to be lubricated.
• Electrical Readings – It is important to check the amperage and voltage of the unit in terms of electric motors.
• Air Flow – It needs to be tested across the indoor cooling coil of the unit. The evaporator coil and the condenser coil will collect dirt. Clean filters will prevent these coils from getting soiled fast. If neglected, dirt will reduce the air flow and insulate the coils. Their ability to absorb heat will be drastically reduced. It would eventually lead to spread of asthma and ailments such as Legionnaire’s Disease.
• Check Air Filters – This is a key maintenance task which keeps the air conditioner running efficiently. It is better to clean and replace filters regularly. Dirty and clogged filters block the air flow and reduce the unit’s efficiency. When normal air flow gets obstructed, air that will bypass the filter will carry the dirt into evaporator coil and mar its capacity to absorb heat. Cleaning a clogged filter will reduce the energy consumption of an air conditioner by almost fifteen per cent.
• Cleaning of Thermostats – They have to be adjusted and cleaned.
• Testing of Fan Motors – Fan motors have to be tested and oiled.
• Testing of fan belts.
• Checking of electrical connections and wiring.
• Testing of indoor fan relay.
• Testing of compressor contactor and its operation.
• Inspection of the condensate drains.
• Window Seals – At the beginning of every cooling season, window seals should be inspected between window frames and air conditioners to make sure that they make contact with the metal cases of the air conditioner units. Moisture will damage these seals and allow cool air to escape from your home.

Air conditioning is prevalent everywhere today. You will find air conditioning systems in homes, in offices and in cars. It is essential to maintain clean air conditioning units so that the quality of indoor air is protected along with the well being of people. Industry professionals continuously warn against health issues that are connected with visible mould and dust. Therefore, reasons are plenty to have professional air-conditioning service technicians to evaluate and clean the air conditioning systems on a regular basis for safety and health of the occupants of a house or an office.