Following these steps before turning on your air conditioner for the summer will prepare it for the long summer ahead. It will run more efficiently, cost less to cool your home and experience fewer breakdowns. An A/C works hard in this climate, and starting the season out with a clean and fully maintained system gets it off to a good start.

Inspect the air filter.

If it’s dirty, change it. Nothing is harder on your cooling system than a dirty air filter. It increases the amount of time it takes to cool your home by reducing the amount of air going through the air handler. The extra running time increase the wear and tear on all the parts and drives up energy bills.

Clean the outdoor condenser.

Remove any dead vegetation from the condenser area before turning on your air conditioner, leaving at least a three foot clearance on all sides. Hose off the coils gently to loosen the dirt. If you find caked-on grass clippings or soil, use coil cleaner available from home improvement stores to loosen them.

Change the thermostat settings.

Switch the thermostat from “heat” to “cool” and set the temperature to your preferred degree for cooling. Install a new battery if your thermostat needs it. Thermostats control when your A/C turns on and off. If the battery goes dead, you won’t have any cooling until you replace it.

Schedule a tune-up.

A licensed HVAC technician will go through your cooling system carefully, cleaning and adjust all the parts to increase efficiency and extend their lifetimes. He’ll inspect the condition of the electrical components, removing any corrosion and applying nonconductive lubricants if necessary.

The technician will measure the amount of refrigerant in the system. If it’s lacking, she’ll add more after looking for and sealing any leaks. The technician will lubricate the blower and tighten the belt inside the air handler.

Following these steps before turning on your air conditioner will help you keep cooling bills low and avoid unexpected problems. For more information, contact Powers Heating & Air, serving homeowners in the Peachtree City area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Peachtree City, Georgia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 770-487-2040.