How to Care For Your Condenser Unit

One of the weakest parts of your AC system is the condenser unit. This has nothing to do with the construction of the unit; instead, it has to do with its placement. Condenser coils are located on the outside of your house where they are subjected to the full extent of mother nature's fury. To keep your condenser unit running like it should, you should inspect your coolant lines and condenser coils regularly and maintain them as needed. 

Keep Plants Back From Your Coils

To cool the freon running through your condenser coils, your unit will be equipped with a fan which sucks air through the coils. Thus, the proper function of your coils is dependent on airflow. If trees, shrubs, flowers, grass, or any other plants grow too close to your coils, the leaves of the plant can restrict airflow and prevent your coils from cooling freon like they should. This will cause your system to lose efficiency. To prevent problems, you should plant and trim shrubs back at least a couple of feet from your coils.

Clean Your Coils

All kinds of junk—such as insect carcasses, leaves, dust, and other debri--can build up on your coils, and as it does, it can restrict or block airflow. Thus, you should check your coils regularly--especially during the autumn when leaves are falling and in the spring when seed pods and pollen are rampant. Whenever you notice that your coils are getting dirty, suck up loose material with a wet/dry vac and use a coil cleaner to remove stuck-on grime. 

Replace Insulation

Once freon leaves your condenser unit, a set of coolant lines will carry the coolant to your evaporator unit on the inside of your home. It is imperative that this coolant stay cool until it reaches your evaporator. If it warms up prematurely, it will start vaporizing before it reaches its destination, and when this happens, your unit's ability to cool the air in your home is hampered. Whenever you notice that the insulation on your coolant lines is starting to deteriorate, remove and replace it. 

Taking care of your condenser coils and talking with an air conditioning service, like Enright and Sons, are both necessary parts of your AC maintenance. If you allow your coils to get dirty, they can decrease the efficiency of your system by up to 37%. Plants that encroach on your coils will have much the same effect. Insulation does not restrict airflow, but it will still create problems, so it is important to keep all of these issues in check in order to keep your system running at its optimum level.