You can’t let a car sit in the garage for six months, start it back up again, and expect it to run without an issue.
It’s the same with your air conditioner. Every year we shut them off as fall rolls in, and we don’t even think about them again until we start getting into spring.
When you do start running that AC again, we highly suggest getting a maintenance tune up before summer starts. The last thing you want is for your AC to break down during the hottest part of the year.
Before summer comes, however, you’ll have some time to monitor the performance of your AC and to see if it needs any urgent service. Here are some of the things you can watch out for:
Higher Cooling Bills
If you’ve just dusted off your AC and started running it for the time being, you might not be surprised to find that it’s costing more to run than it did before. This is a classic sign that your air conditioner is in need of a tune-up.
An air conditioner’s efficiency will decline with every year of use. This gradual degradation is just a fact of how machines operate. However, regular maintenance helps to raise efficiency up closer to its original condition.
It’s better to have that tune up done sooner rather than later. For one, it’s going to cost you more to run an inefficient AC. But more importantly, an inefficient system is more likely to develop a repair problem that could turn out to be expensive.
Warm Air From the Vents
Does it feel like your air conditioner is taking a longer time than usual to cool your home? Or maybe it doesn’t really get cool at all. A good test is simply to feel the air coming from the vents. If it’s anything other than cool, then you might be looking at an air flow issue.
Some likely causes for this include:
- Broken blower fan: The blower is the fan that pushes cooled air through the ducts and into the rooms of your home. Without a functional blower, the cool air won’t be going anywhere.
- Frozen evaporator coil: If the air around the evaporator coil gets too cold, the coil can freeze up. That makes air flow problems worse and can even contribute to serious damage.
- Refrigerant leak: If a leak develops in the refrigerant line, that can lead to a frozen evaporator coil as well as general cooling issues. Again, this is an issue that can become costly if not fixed.
- Dirty air filter: Make sure to change that air filter! An air filter full of dirt will prevent air from flowing freely through the system.
Weird Smells
If there’s excessive amounts of dust in your AC, it might kick up an odor when you power it on. This odor should go away shortly (by the way, we highly suggest having your AC cleaned inside and outside during a maintenance check to improve efficiency!).
However, if you’re smelling something like burning, that could be a sign of wiring gone bad. Call up an expert for air conditioning repair in Sacramento, as wiring issues can be dangerous.
Need a maintenance check? Contact Sierra Pacific Home & Comfort, Inc. today to schedule service.