How Often Should I Get My Air Conditioning Serviced?
To ensure it performs as well as it should, your air conditioner needs to be serviced regularly, just like your car or bike. Routine maintenance on an air conditioning unit is critical to preventing dust and dirt buildup in its fans, filters, coils, and other parts.
Why is regular servicing important?
You should have your household air-conditioning system inspected and serviced at least once a year by a professional technician. This includes any split system aircon that you have along with ducted cooling systems and wall units.
It is important to have your air conditioning system serviced regardless of whether or not you suspect any problems. Over the course of time, dust and dirt collect in filters, condenser coils, and radiators which will mean your cooling system will be inefficient and prone to significant mechanical failure.
If you use the air conditioner while a large amount of debris is inside, this will slowly begin to damage the internal components over time and decrease its overall efficiency.
If you have a system that is struggling to work, it will take more power to run, which is more money that you will be paying on your energy bills if it's not operating efficiently.
Air conditioners that do not receive a regular service become more costly to repair as well as causing energy bills to rise. They can also cause a range of health concerns if they are not filtering the air correctly, and they become more likely to fail prematurely, which will result in a costly replacement.
It's also recommended that you open up your split system (when it is turned off) and remove the filters for thorough cleaning at least every couple of weeks.
What time of year should I get my aircon serviced?
For people who only have a cooling unit, the best time to get air conditioner maintenance scheduled in would be in the spring so you're ready for the hotter summer months.
Air conditioning maintenance should be scheduled twice a year if the air conditioner also serves as a heating system, once in the spring and then again in autumn before the colder winter months arrive.
How often should ducted air-conditioners be serviced?
While there are elements of a split system that you can maintain yourself (like the filters), ducted systems are more complex. Ducted air conditioning systems are one of the more difficult to service because of the way they are designed, with several vents and the ducts themselves running through your home and connecting to an outside condensing unit.
This setup makes it unsafe to attempt to clean the unit by yourself. However, you should vacuum or wipe down the ceiling vents about once a month to limit the amount of dust and debris that accumulates. You will need to do the same thing for the return air grille.
Taking this step helps your system operate more efficiently and reduces the likelihood of harmful particles travelling around your space.
Do commercial air-conditioners need to be serviced more often?
Generally speaking, it's recommended that you service your commercial AC system every quarter if you are running a standard office or retail operation.
However, if you're running a commercial or industrial business like manufacturing, food processing or any other operation where air quality can be compromised, you should service your air-conditioning system every month.
Davies Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning is the go-to company if you need quality air conditioning services on the Sunshine Coast. We can professionally service, maintain and repair a wide range of air conditioning units for residential and commercial needs. For more information, contact us today.
