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Residential air conditioning service:
Air conditioners are one of the most popular household appliances in Brisbane. Did you know that three out of four Australian households have some form of air conditioner installed in their home? When the temperature rises in the summer, Australia brings their air conditioners out of hibernation & puts them to work for the hotter days ahead.
You should maintain your air conditioner’s filters & cooling coils regularly to ensure your system serves you efficiently for years to come. Ignoring essential maintenance means that your residential air conditioning service deteriorates while energy consumption rises. Air conditioner regularly maintaining your AC system may save you money and hassles in the long run by preventing breakdowns which are both costly & inconvenient.
No one wants to have to arrange an urgent repair from their local air conditioning experts in the middle of a Queensland heatwave as lead times air conditioning specialists that offer quality service can often be weeks to months leaving you to sweat it out until they can attend to your repair. Getting a new air condition system installed can also be a lengthy process in summer if you haven’t booked in your air conditioning installation before the summer heat arrived. To ensure that your air conditioner works trouble-free on the first hot day of the year, follow these residential air conditioning service tips:
Replace your air filter
It doesn’t matter if you have a ducted AC system, split system, multi head residential air conditioning service or any other of the many types of air conditioning system, changing & cleaning your air filters is one of the most overlooked yet straightforward & cost effective ways to keep your AC unit in good health. Thankfully, this quick and simple air conditioning maintenance procedure does not need the assistance of an HVAC professional. Instead, simply find the filter on your indoor unit then pop it out of the air conditioner to assess the condition of the filter, if it has been well looked after you can simply give it a quick wash. Check out our video below!
Learn how to wash your air conditioner filters
If you find your AC filter has holes in it or it is extremely soiled it might be time to get a new air con filter, for this we recommend contacting your local air conditioning repair expert and requesting a washable electrostatic filter media be installed, this will normally cost you under $100.
Filters are available in various “strengths,” depending on how purified you want your home’s air to be. Best to speak to an expert to work out what filter you need as selecting the wrong filter can lead to airflow restrictions and condensation issues. In general, you should replace the air filter every few years. If you have pets, you should aim to replace the filter more often. The same guideline applies if your family members are allergic to dust or other allergies.
- Assess your A/C’s efficiency
It’s now time to evaluate your residential air conditioning service performance especially if you have an older system that may not be as energy efficient as it once was. To carry out this test you will need a few simple tools such as a ladder & a thermometer. Follow these simple steps to test your system:
- Turn on your air conditioner & set it to COOL with a set temperature of 16 degrees.
- Wait at least 10 minutes.
- Place your thermometer near the return air filter & ensure it is not touching anything, you want to measure the air temperature, not a surface temperature.
- Leave the thermometer to stabilize for 5 minutes.
- Record the return air temperature.
- Now take your ladder over to one of your supply air grilles and place your thermometer inside the grille to measure the air temperature, you may need to use tape to make sure it stays put!
- Wait at least 10 minutes.
- Now remove your thermometer and let’s looks at the results
- Now if your air conditioner is working well your supply air temperature should be at 10 degrees cooler than the return air temperature.
- Inspect Air Conditioner Coils
Over the lifetime of your air conditioner, the evaporator and condenser of an air conditioner develop a buildup of dirt, dust and other nasties. If you have done a good job of maintaining your filters your evaporator coil is less likely to become dirty.
Your evaporator coil is located in the roof cavity for ducted air conditioning systems & under the plastic cover of the indoor unit for split system air conditioners. The coils will gather dirt over the years & with heavy use, nasty moulds can begin to form inside the machine. This dirt restricts airflow and blocks the coil, lowering its heat-absorbing capacity. To avoid this problem, get your system serviced by an HVAC professional once a year and clean it as needed.
If the outside environment in your local area is dusty or you have pets that moult their hair, outdoor condenser coils can become dirty and get blocked. Go to your outdoor unit and take a looks at the condenser coil, if you see a build-up of pet hair or grass clippings simply remove them.
Covering your air conditioner with some form of cover is talked about on lots of home improvement shows on TV however this is a terrible idea as your air conditioner needs to be able to draw in fresh clean air and expel hot air quickly and efficiently. If someone has built a cover over your air conditioner be sure to remove it immediately & see how much better your system performs!
- Coil Fins
The metal fins on the indoor evaporator and outdoor condenser coils can easily bend, obstructing airflow. A “fin comb” tool is available from air conditioning wholesalers to comb these fins back to virtually original shape but we recommend getting this sorted when during your annual service as you these fins can be easily damaged!
Hiring a Residential Air Conditioning Service Near Me
Hire a professional HVAC service expert if your air conditioner needs more than regular DIY maintenance, such as when it fails to maintain your desired indoor temperature. Your air conditioning system will be diagnosed and repaired by a skilled technician.
The technician may carry out some or all of the following:
- Verify that the proper amount of refrigerant is present.
- Verify that your system contains the correct refrigerant.
- Use a leak detector, check for refrigerant leaks.
- Instead of unlawfully releasing refrigerant into the atmosphere, the technician should safely reclaim refrigerant from the system using a refrigerant reclaimer. Check for refrigerant leaks and repair as required.
- Your technician should measure airflow temperature supply & return air temperatures.
- Verify that the electric control sequence is proper and that the reversing valve is not stuck.
- Examine electric terminals, clean and tighten connections, and, if required, apply a non-conductive coating to prevent gecko or vermin damage.
- On larger commercial air conditioning systems, belts should be checked for tightness and wear.
- Check the thermostat is performing as designed.
When Should You Hire A Qualified Air Conditioning Technician to Service for Your Air Conditioner?
So you’ve switched ON the air con and noticed a strange sound coming from it. Worse, it isn’t blowing cold air at all. That means it’s time to enlist the help of experts, and the sooner, the better. A/C services rates may vary based on your location and could even require you to replace your air conditioner in the event of a large gas leak or compressor motor failure. However, if you have home & contents insurance with motor a burnout policy, you may be covered in the event your air conditioner needs to be replaced.
Are you looking for air conditioner services?
With over 22 years of experience, SmarterAir is one of the leading residential air conditioning service companies in Brisbane. We offer only quality major brands such as Panasonic, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric, Fujitsu, Samsung & TECO.
Client happiness is our top priority every season. We are dependable, have good customer service, our personnel is polite and professional, and always do a fantastic job when you require repair work or a yearly check-up.
No matter what you need we have a range of services from air conditioner installation, repairs, air purification, insulation, pool heat pumps, service plan options, member deals, commercial systems, amazing customer service and support, you can depend on us to keep you cool and save money on your heating and cooling costs this summer.
Our technicians are fully qualified and licensed electricians & air conditioning technicians. They are trained to perform air conditioner servicing and repairs to the highest standards!
