Filter Importance

One of the easiest air conditioning maintenance steps is to be sure that you use a high quality air filter. Air filter replacement is the most commonly needed air conditioning maintenance service.

Replacing the air filter monthly protects the mechanical components of your air conditioning system from dirty buildup. A dirty air filter also can impede airflow and force your air conditioning system to work harder and less efficiently to cool your home. A poorly maintained AC System may fail due to abnormal wear and tear. Dirt and dust buildup may cause you to need an air conditioner repair visit or may lead to expensive parts failures or AC Unit replacement. Our air conditioning specialists determine the condition of your AC System and thoroughly maintain it to help preserve comfort to your home.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Maintenance Checklist

Maintain your equipment to prevent future problems and unwanted costs. Keep your cooling and heating system at peak performance by having a contractor do annual pre-season check-ups. Contractors get busy once summer and winter come, so it's best to check the cooling system in the spring and the heating system in the fall. To remember, you might plan the check-ups around the time changes in the spring and fall.

A typical maintenance check-up should include the following.

• Check thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home and saves energy while you are away.
• Tighten all electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation of your system and reduce the life of major components.
• Lubricate all moving parts. Parts that lack lubrication cause friction in motors and increases the amount of electricity you use.
• Check and inspect the condensate drain in your central air conditioner, furnace and/or heat pump (when in cooling mode). A plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels.
• Check controls of the system to ensure proper and safe operation. Check the starting cycle of the equipment to assure the system starts, operates, and shuts off properly.

Cooling Specific

• Clean evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils. Dirty coils reduce the system's ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer, increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
• Check your central air conditioner's refrigerant level and adjust if necessary. Too much or too little refrigerant will make your system less efficient increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
• Clean and adjust blower components to provide proper system airflow for greater comfort levels. Airflow problems can reduce your system's efficiency by up to 15 percent.

Heating Specific

• Check all gas (or oil) connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and heat exchanger. Improperly operating gas (or oil) connections are a fire hazard and can contribute to health problems. A dirty burner or cracked heat exchanger causes improper burner operation. Either can cause the equipment to operate less safely and efficiently.

Actions To Do Yourself

• Inspect, clean, or change air filters once a month in your central air conditioner, furnace, and/or heat pump. Your contractor can show you how to do this. A dirty filter can increase energy costs and damage your equipment, leading to early failure.

Source: Energy Star

Why You Need a Maintenance Agreement

10 Reasons you should consider investing in a PEAK PERFORMANCE Precision Tune-Up & Professional Maintenance Agreement
1. Fewer expensive repairs and inconvenient breakdowns.
Professional maintenance results in fewer and less costly repairs.

2. Quick response to your call for service.
As a Peak Performance customer, you are given priority status over other callers.

3. Discounted repairs.
You will receive a discount of 15% on BOTH parts and labor, should your system require any repairs.

4. Never be charged overtime rates again!
As one of our preferred customers, you will not be charged overtime, should a repair be necessary after normal working hours.

5. 24 Hour service available 7 days a week.
Your comfort is our top priority, and we will be there when you need us.

6. Extended Equipment Life.
It is a proven fact that regularly scheduled professional maintenance will enhance the lifetime of your HVAC equipment.

7. Lower utility costs.
Our Peak Performance Tune-Up’s keeps your equipment running efficiently, which will reduce operating costs, and save you money each & every month.

8. Improved Dehumidification.
Equipment with dirty coils or filters can lose as much as 40% of their capacity, which can lead to a lack of proper dehumidification.

9. Improved Health.
A clean system is a healthy system. Professional maintenance will keep your system clean.

10. Improved Safety.
As a part of our Peak Performance Tune-Up, we check all factory safety controls and switches, as well as check for frayed and loose wires, which greatly reduces the chance of an electrical short or fire.

Home Maintenance

Save a little money later by doing a few small things now to maintain your air conditioning unit.

Change your filters. We will remind you on Facebook at the beginning of every month.

Clean the drain line. Pour a little bit of bleach down the drain line pipe every six months — that will reduce the amount of algae build up in the drain line and reduce the chance of the drain line filling up with water.

Clear the bushes. Check for efficient air-flow around your unit. Make sure your air conditioner has plenty of “breathing” room. Avoid enclosing or covering it; keep leaves, plants and other vegetation at least 18″ away.

Schedule maintenance. Your home's units should be tuned up at least once per year.

AC Maintenance

Step 1: Cool Breeze
Most people don't notice their air conditioning units until they stop working. Avoid that headache by cleaning and conditioning your unit. First, turn off the power.

Step 2: Get a Trim
Trim back any shrubbery and remove and leaves, lint or dirt from the outside condenser.

Step 3: Top Off
Remove the top cover with a drill.

Step 4: Comb It Out
If the fins are bent, use a fin comb to straighten them.

Step 5: Hose It Down
Clean the evaporator condensor coils by removing access panels, and use a strong spray from a garden hose to clean it.

Step 6: Clean It Up
Clean the fan blades and dust/vacuum around the motor.

Source: GMC Trade Secrets

Preventative Maintenance

From the experts at Trane, one of the leading manufacturers or AC units:

You wouldn’t drive your car 100,000 miles without changing the oil. The same logic holds true for your home comfort system. Regular preventative maintenance is the best way to ensure trouble-free operation and peak performance. Pre-season maintenance is also important. It can help to avoid a system failure in severe hot or cold weather when you need it most, and it can also keep your energy bill from getting out of control.

WHEN SHOULD I DO MAINTENANCE?

The old adage is true: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Below you’ll find our Preventative Maintenance Checklist, which is our proven method to keep your system in the pink and your home in constant comfort.

• For a system that heats and cools: perform maintenance in the spring and fall.
• For cooling only: perform maintenance at least once a year, before the cooling season.
• For heating only: perform maintenance at least once a year, before the heating season.

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE CHECKLIST

Many dealers provide priority service for their customers who have an annual maintenance or service agreement. Bi-annual preventative maintenance will ensure that your system runs as efficiently as possible. Your local dealer will perform the following tasks, depending on the unit:

OUTDOOR UNITS

• Inspect unit for proper refrigerant level and adjust if necessary
• Clean dirt, leaves and debris from inside cabinet
• Inspect base pan for restricted drain openings—remove obstructions as necessary
• Inspect coil and cabinet—clean as needed
• Inspect fan motor and fan blades for wear and damage—on older models lubricate as needed
• Inspect control box, associated controls/accessories, wiring and connections. Controls may include contactors, relays, circuit boards, capacitors, sump heat and other accessories. All control box and electrical parts should be checked for wear or damage.
• Inspect compressor and associated tubing for damage

INDOOR UNITS

• Inspect and clean blower assembly (includes blower housing, blower wheel and motor)
• On older models, lubricate motor and inspect and replace fan belt if needed
• Check combustion blower housing for lint and debris and clean as necessary
• Inspect evaporator coil, drain pan and condensate drain lines. Clean as needed
• Inspect for gas leaks in gas furnaces
• Inspect burner assembly—clean and adjust as needed
• Inspect ignition system and safety controls—clean and adjust as needed
• Inspect heat exchanger or heating elements
• Inspect flue system—check for proper attachment to the furnace, any dislocated sections, and for signs of corrosion. Replace if necessary.
• Inspect control box, associated controls, wiring and connections
• Clean or replace air filters
• Inspect conditioned airflow system (ductwork)—check for leaks

WHILE YOUR SYSTEM IS OPERATING

• Monitor system starting characteristics and capabilities
• Listen for abnormal noise
• Search for source of unusual odors
• Monitor air conditioning and heat pump systems for correct refrigerant charge
• Measure outdoor dry bulb temperature
• Measure indoor dry and wet bulb temperature
• Measure high and low side system pressures
• Monitor gas furnace for correct line and manifold gas pressure—make adjustments as needed
• Measure temperature rise and adjust airflow as needed
• Check vent system for proper operation
• Monitor system for correct line and load volts/amps
• Monitor system operation per manufacturer's specifications
• Provide system operation report and recommend repairs or replacement as necessary

NOTE: Trane recommends all maintenance and service work be performed by a professional air conditioning and heating dealer that holds the appropriate credentials to install and service air conditioning and heating equipment.

Maintenance is essential

Preventative maintenance is essential to your air conditioning unit. Regular maintenance helps to:

• extend the life of your unit
• ensure your unit works properly at all times
• reduce the number of repair calls and emergencies
• reduce your overall cost for repair
• save you time and money

Maintenance is necessary for both individuals and corporations. A recent article about a city library highlights the need for regular maintenance before you notice a major problem. In this particular case, the unit is so old that carpeting is ruined, the library has fallen out of favor with the residents, and rennovations have become necessary. This could have been avoided. 

Read the story here. Source: News OK

Service Your Air Conditioner to Save Money and Stay Comfortable!

We all know that we can pay our auto mechanics a little now for routine service, or pay them a lot later for a major repair. The same idea holds true for your air conditioner. If you don't service your air conditioner regularly, you'll find yourself uncomfortable and with a large expense.

An air conditioner is a very tough piece of equipment. It is engineered to withstand all sorts of abuse and keep on running. This is great in most respects, but it can lead to complacency about maintenance. Like a car, air conditioners need regular tune-ups to run properly.

Without regular maintenance an air conditioner looses about 5% of it's original efficiency for each year of operation. This means that the 12 SEER unit that you bought just a few years ago may be functioning like a 9 SEER unit today! The good news is that you can recover most of that lost efficiency through regular maintenance. Studies show that with regular tune-ups a unit will maintain up to 95% of it's original efficiency. This means that the cost of an annual tune-up is recovered very quickly in savings on your monthly electric bill and reduced repair costs. A properly serviced air conditioner will also do a better job of dehumidifying your home.

A service check includes cleaning the condensing unit coils, checking the amp draw of the compressor, oiling the fan motors, checking that belts are well adjusted, and checking the system operating pressures and temperatures against the manufacturers specifications. One of the most important items to check is the coolant level (commonly know as Freon) in the air conditioner. A system that is only 10% low on coolant will cost about 20% more to operate! The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) recommends that coolant levels be checked every year.

There are some things in addition to yearly tune-ups that you can do to help ensure a high level of comfort and proper system operation. First, buy good filters and change them regularly. Next, keep bushes and other materials away from the outside unit of your air conditioner. Another good idea is to avoid closing supply air outlets in your house. In almost all cases, closing supply outlets is harmful to the operation of the overall system.

All equipment, even the most reliable, needs routine maintenance. Complicated equipment like today's air conditioners benefit in many ways from annual service. They recover much of their lost efficiency, they are less likely to suffer a major break down, they have a longer life span, they increase your comfort, and they operate for less money.

source: greenbuilder.com