How Often Should Air Conditioner Coils Be Cleaned?

With summer rapidly approaching, there’s no better time to ensure your air conditioner is up for the challenge of continuous cooling in triple digit heat. For your system to work efficiently, it must be able to transfer heat from inside your home to the outside effectively. If your system’s coils are coated with dirt, dust, and other debris, it can hinder the efficiency of this heat transfer process. This is why coil cleaning, as part of regular HVAC system maintenance, is so important.

Dirty evaporator and condenser coils can seriously impact the efficiency of your air conditioner. In fact, it can increase your energy consumption by up to 30 percent. This means higher monthly utility bills. As well, dirty coils cause a host of other problems, including poor cooling performance, frozen evaporator coils, and compressor overheating.

Preventing Dirty Coils

First and foremost, you’ll want to check your air filter at least once a month and replace it when it’s dirty. A dirty air filter allows dust and debris to gather on the evaporator instead of the air filter, preventing airflow in the system. To keep condenser coils clean, you’ll also want to keep vegetation away from the condenser unit.

Cleaning Coils

Because evaporator and condenser coils can be bent easily, it’s a smart idea to leave the cleaning of coils to the experts. This is something that is performed during routine maintenance. Between visits, you can keep your condenser coils clean by removing large debris and rinsing the coils with a hose, after shutting the power off. The evaporator is more difficult to access and should be cleaned by an air conditioning contractor.

Gain the Benefits of Preventive Maintenance

Along with coil cleaning, regular maintenance also includes identifying and addressing issues that have the potential of turning into major problems. With twice-yearly maintenance, you will not only extend the life of your HVAC system, you’ll also keep your utility costs in check.

Consider an ongoing air conditioning maintenance agreement with Bruce’s. You’ll get the benefits of flexible appointment schedules, savings on maintenance, and discounts on necessary repairs. Call us today to learn more about our HVAC maintenance agreements at 480-968-5652.