A central air conditioner is one of the most critical systems in a home. There are certain considerations that must be put first during air conditioning installation and maintenance. Every owner of an air conditioner must know how it works in order to execute the right maintenance and repair procedures.

• Annual checkups

Every year, you need to consult HVAC professional to ensure peak performance and detect potential failures. Detecting early warnings of the equipment failure can prevent heavy repair costs in future and give you peace of mind knowing that your air conditioner is working in order.  Embrace the annual preventative measures to correct your home’s HVAC system.

• Other routine maintenance practices

These are activities you can do yourself and they will help to increase the longevity of your best central air conditioner.

1. Clean up the evaporator coil: dirty coils cause ice formation thereby inhibiting the smooth flow of air.
2. In case of power loss on the conditioning unit, find out if the breakers are tripping or if the fuses are blown up inside the circuit breaker enclosure. Handle this with extreme caution.
3. Eliminate debris and dirt from the condenser to ensure that the compressor is not suffocated. If there is poor airflow in the compressor, the evaporator coil overheats and shuts down.
4. If the conditioner is not cooling the house when it’s on, lower the settings on the thermostat by 5⁰.
5. Clean and replace filters: when the filters are dirty, the system runs but air does not come out of the vents. Dirty filters transfer dirt to the evaporator coil, causing more complications. Clean the filters if you don’t want to incur heavy repair costs in the near future.
6. To clean the evaporator coils you need:

• a coil cleaner solution or bathroom cleaner
• flashlight
• spray bottles
• cleaning rags
• vacuum cleaner
• protective wear
• a piece of cloth to protect the floor

Before you do any cleanup on your energy efficient air conditioner, switch off the power at the circuit breaker compartment. Remove filters to reveal debris and dirt and wash the part beneath the evaporator and vacuum if necessary. Then rinse off using spray bottles.