Keeping your cooling system at top efficiency during the prolonged heat of summer helps you cut your cooling bills and lengthen the life of your system. Clean A/C coils are essential for efficient cooling, and it may be as simple as keeping the air filter clean and tending to the outdoor condenser.
What Dust Does
When dust covers the A/C coils, it acts as insulation and slows the cooling process. The evaporator coil inside the indoor air handler carries the cold refrigerant that absorbs the heat from your home. The blower fan sends air over this coil, and if it isn’t clean, not as much air passes over and through it.
Running your system with a dirty air filter pulls particulate-laden air over the coil. Over time, the dust builds to the point where the refrigerant can’t absorb as much heat, driving up the length of time the system has to run. As the filter collects more dust, efficiency falls even further as the air flowing through the air handler slows.
The condensing coil is inside the outdoor condenser and dirt affects it the same way. This coil circulates the hot refrigerant from your home and a fan blows through it to dissipate the heat. When the refrigerant doesn’t cool quickly, energy costs go up.
Keeping the Coils Clean
Check and change the air filter monthly and change it when it’s dirty. Clean A/C coils outdoors by spraying them with the hose using light water pressure. Most condensing coils have fins that are easy to bend, which reduces their ability to lose heat. It’s especially important to check the condenser coils after a dust storm or heavy rain.
Sometimes evaporator coils aren’t easy to reach inside the air handler. If you haven’t had professional maintenance for a few seasons, you may need an HVAC pro to clean it thoroughly. Use a soft brush on a vacuum cleaner to remove the dirt buildup on coils that are easy to access.
Clean A/C coils are essential for efficient cooling. To learn more, contact Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company, proudly serving Yuma-area homeowners.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about A/C coils and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 928-723-3183.
Credit/Copyright Attribution: “condesign/Pixabay”
