Now that winter is waning, it will soon be time to turn on your air conditioner for the first time this year. Here’s a helpful checklist of steps to take to ensure your HVAC equipment is ready for the coming cooling season:
Prepare the Outdoor Condenser
If you have a custom cover on your condenser unit, or you’ve put a weighted piece of plywood on top to protect it from damage due to falling ice, remove it. Then, clean up any yard debris that has accumulated around the unit and make sure there’s a two-foot wide swath cleared to allow for efficient heat transfer.
Power up the Unit
If you have a power switch located outdoors near the condenser, check that it’s in the “on” position, and if you shut off the unit’s circuit breaker in your main electrical panel last fall, switch it back on so the condenser unit is receiving power.
Replace the Air Filter
If you haven’t checked your HVAC system’s air filter recently, inspect it now and put in a fresh filter if you see any sign of dirt buildup. Ideally, you should check the condition of the filter once a month. Replacing the filter every three months at minimum helps prevent efficiency and performance problems that can result from a decline in system airflow due to a clogged-up filter.
Schedule Professional Maintenance
Before you need cooling this spring, schedule a yearly inspection and tune-up to make sure your air conditioner is working efficiently and reliably. A maintenance visit should cover the entire cooling system and include key steps like cleaning the coils, flushing the condensate drain and verifying the refrigerant level.
Adjust Your Thermostat Settings
When you’re ready to start up your A/C, switch your thermostat over to “cool” mode, and put the fan setting on “auto.” Now’s also the ideal time to make any needed summer setting adjustments to the thermostat’s programming, and replace the unit’s batteries too.
To schedule expert maintenance for your Dayton home’s HVAC system before you turn on your air conditioner this spring, contact us today at Ace Hardware Home Services.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
