One large part of preparing for a San Antonio, TX summer is maintaining your air conditioner. With daytime temperatures consistently ranging in the mid-90s, you’ll need functional home cooling equipment to keep everyone protected. From filtering your indoor air to regulating indoor temperature and humidity, this appliance plays a critical hand in keeping residents comfortable and safe. The following are 10 top reasons to schedule professional AC maintenance before the outside temperature soars.
1. Stay Warranty-Compliant
AC manufacturers recommend scheduling professional maintenance once annually. When air conditioners are still protected by their manufacturer warranties, annual professional maintenance is also a requirement for compliance. Most air conditioners come with limited parts warranties that last two to five years and compressor warranties that last as long as 12 years. By taking care of this task before summer arrives, you can both prime your equipment for the peak cooling season and avoid having your AC warranty voided outright.
2. Enjoy Lower Summertime Cooling Costs
According to the United States Department of Energy (DOE), even simply replacing a dirty HVAC air filter can lower your air conditioner’s energy consumption by up to 15%. Imagine just how much more you’ll save when your air conditioner’s coils, coil fins, and condensate drain are clean. Air conditioners don’t have to work as hard to draw air in and move it when they aren’t riddled with collected debris.
Annual AC maintenance also supports efficient heat transfer. During each cooling cycle, your air conditioner passes warm, indoor air over its evaporator coil. Chilled refrigerant within this coil absorbs the air’s heat and moves it outside. With clean indoor and outdoor coils, air conditioners use less energy to lower indoor temperatures.
3. Catch and Correct Minor Problems Early On
Giving our HVAC technicians the chance to identify and correct minor problems before the cooling season begins can lead to lower repair costs in the future. In fact, you may even be able to sidestep the need for mid-season AC repairs altogether.
Professional AC tune-ups keep issues like overheating and icing at bay. Our early interventions also prevent minor issues from spiraling out of control. For instance, we can keep loose refrigerant lines from causing compressor collapse or failure by spotting and mitigating refrigerant loss. By consistently scheduling tune-up service in spring, you can even sidestep the need for early AC replacement.
4. Give Your Indoor Air Quality a Boost
A well-maintained air conditioner can protect and improve your indoor air quality (IAQ), but a neglected AC can actually decrease it. All of the air that’s drawn into your air conditioner passes through your HVAC air filter and travels through your ducting. If your air filter is already overwhelmed, incoming air can blow accumulated debris off and put allergens and contaminants back into circulation. This is how large amounts of lint-like material wind up behind HVAC air vents. Scheduling AC maintenance in springtime will help everyone in your home breathe a bit easier while minimizing IAQ-related symptoms like:
- Sneezing and coughing
- Frequent headaches
- Itchy, watery eyes
- Nasal irritation and congestion
When servicing your AC, our technicians will inspect and change your HVAC air filter. We can also show you where this component is located and give you a needs-specific schedule for inspecting and maintaining it.
5. Identify, Eliminate, or Prevent HVAC Pest Infestations
Spring and summer often bring dramatic increases in local pest populations. While rats, mice, and other critters enter HVAC systems for warmth in winter, pests are just as likely to congregate in and around HVAC components during the hot season. If you hear scampering and scurrying sounds coming from your HVAC air ducts or notice droppings, nests, or other evidence of pests around your outdoor condenser unit, scheduling pre-season maintenance will put the problem to an end. By shoring up accessible points of ingress, removing pathogen-filled detritus, extracting carcasses, and applying sanitizing agents, we’ll boost your indoor air quality (IAQ), eliminate unpleasant AC odors, and prevent serious HVAC equipment damage. Eliminating and preventing pest-related airflow obstructions can also lead to lower home energy bills.
6. Prevent AC Condensate Drain Overflows
During annual AC maintenance, we clean AC condensate drains, drain lines, and drain pans. After months of inactivity, many air conditioners have algal blooms, bacteria, biofilm, and other buildups in these areas. If left unchecked, they could lead to drain pan overflows, high levels of indoor humidity, and pervasive, musty odors.
Clearing condensate drains before summer arrives will also enhance your comfort. Moist indoor air feels heavier and hotter than the air in homes that have balanced humidity. With spring AC maintenance, you can keep your living space from feeling muggy and oppressive. You can additionally minimize your risk of summertime mold and mildew problems.
7. Prevent Dangerous, Mid-Season Cooling Emergencies
With pre-season maintenance, air conditioners are less likely to break down during the hottest point of the cooling season. Our technicians check for and replace worn and damaged parts, make necessary fan speed adjustments, lubricate moving components, and take many other steps to limit cooling system stress, optimize performance, and prevent serious issues.
8. Extend the Lifespan of Your Air Conditioner
You can extend the lifespan of your air conditioner with routine maintenance. With less operational stress, your AC will sustain far less wear over time. With more efficient heat transfer, it will also run shorter cooling cycles and less of them. Efforts to prime your home cooling equipment in advance of regular use will give you more time to plan and budget for your next AC replacement.
9. Beat the Summer Rush for Service
Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t remember to schedule AC service until performance problems arise. If you wait until turning your air conditioner on for the first time of the season to consider its health, you might find that local service providers have already been inundated with last-minute service requests. A delayed appointment will prove especially problematic if you discover that your cooling system has just reached the end of its lifespan.
For homeowners with air conditioners that are 15 years old or older, springtime tune-ups are of the utmost performance. With most ACs lasting between 15 and 25 years, total equipment failure could happen at any time. You’ll want plenty of opportunity to shop your options, secure financing, and have your AC replacement performed before unbearable summer temperatures arrive.
10. Limit Your Air Conditioner’s Operational Noise
Most air conditioners don’t offer whisper-quiet operation. You probably hear yours rattle and hum at various intervals, especially when just starting or stopping a cooling cycle. Air conditioners become increasingly noisy as they age and when they’re poorly maintained. By optimizing airflow, lubricating moving parts, and tightening loose connections, we can make sure that using your cooling system doesn’t become disruptive. Spring AC maintenance will make it easier to hear your television, hold indoor conversations, and enjoy deep, uninterrupted sleep.
Homeowners in San Antonio, TX can turn to us for exceptional heating, cooling, and indoor air quality services. We also offer new ductwork, smart thermostats, air sealing and insulation, and preventative maintenance plans. To schedule an appointment, get in touch with Cowboys Air Conditioning & Heating now.
