AC Coils Need to Be Clean!
What does your regular cleaning regimen look like? Making sure that the dishes are done each night or every morning? Running the vacuum cleaner once or twice a week? Even a small household requires a lot of maintenance, and that is why certain things should be left to outside parties. Such as your friendly HVAC technicians on our team! Why? Because chances are that, as you’re cleaning your house, you’re not cleaning your AC coils!
There are 2 coils that your air conditioner utilizes in order to effectively cool your home. These are the evaporator coil, which is located within your home in the air handler unit, and the condenser coil, which resides outdoors in the condenser unit. If either of these coils is very dirty, expect some big problems to head your way. Scheduling routine air conditioning maintenance in Apex, NC is the best way in which to guarantee that your air conditioner receives the level of care that it deserves and demands.
What These Coils Do
Your air conditioner does not magically pull cool air out of thin air. Instead, it removes heat from the air already in your home, disperses that heat outdoors, and recirculates the cool air throughout your house. This process is entirely dependent upon the successful completion of the refrigerant cycles, which in turn hinges upon the coils in the AC system.
The evaporator coil is the point at which refrigerant, which transfers with ease between states, evaporates. This evaporation process allows the refrigerant and this coil to draw heat out of the air passing over the coil. That refrigerant then travels out to the condenser unit, where the condenser coil and the fins on the unit help to dissipate the heat. Then, the cycle simply continues until the desired temperature is met and maintained in your home.
What Happens if the Coils Are Dirty?
The heat transfer process suffers a serious blow. If the evaporator coil is dirty, then the system will struggle to draw a sufficient amount of heat out of the air. That leaves the AC working overtime in order to cool your home, increasing strain and wear and tear on the system, along with cooling costs, all while the comfort level in your home drops. The coil can also get too cold, causing condensation collected upon it to freeze up. That layer of ice further complicates the problem.
If the condenser coil is dirty — often covered with grass clippings from mowing the lawn, surrounded by dead leaves/fallen branches, etc. — then it is going to struggle to release heat into the air surrounding the unit. Some effort is already required, when the air outside is hot to begin with. Don’t make things harder than is necessary for your system. By changing your air filter regularly and cleaning up around the outdoor unit, you can help to protect these coils in between scheduled maintenance visits.
Count on Raleigh Heating & Air to handle all of your HVAC services properly, from start to finish.