Summers in El Paso, TX, are hot and dry. With temperatures often reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit, you need a functional cooling system. Maintaining your AC in spring is the best way to avoid dangerous, mid-season breakdowns. With this spring startup checklist, you can prevent issues like icing, short-cycling, overheating, and more. Pre-season maintenance reduces operational stress and primes air conditioners for efficiency.
1. Ensure Adequate Condenser Clearance
Your AC lowers the temperature of your indoor air by passing it over its refrigerant-filled evaporator coil. The cold refrigerant inside this coil extracts the air’s humidity and heat. When converted to a hot, high-pressure gas, this coolant rushes to the outdoor condenser unit. Keeping your AC condenser’s perimeter clear helps hot refrigerant shed collected heat.
AC condensers need 18 to 24 inches of clearance on all sides. Check your owner’s manual to learn the specific clearance requirements for your model. Cut back all fast-growing grasses, shrubs, and tree branches to ensure optimum airflow. Rake up any loose, windblown debris. It’s also a good idea to check for and remove nesting materials and other evidence of pests.
2. Inspect Your HVAC Air Filter
Dirty air filters handily rank as among the most common causes of AC problems. All air that enters your cooling system must pass through this component. Keeping your filter clean ensures optimum airflow and efficient, trouble-free performance.
It’s best to start the summer season by installing a fresh filter. If you’ve recently changed your air filter, you should still take this component out and inspect it. Hold it up to a nearby light and assess whether light can still pass through it. When light can’t pass through the built-up debris on a filter’s mesh, air can’t move through either.
To avoid filter-related performance issues throughout the summer, repeat this test monthly. With El Paso’s dry, dusty summer air, you may need to swap out your filter every 30 to 60 days.
3. Test Your Thermostat
Test your thermostat to verify the accuracy of its temperature reading. You can use a secondary device to measure your indoor temperature for comparison. If your thermostat uses batteries or backup batteries, replace them as needed.
4. Look For Damaged Ductwork
While much of your ductwork likely sits behind drywall and other building materials, you can also have exposed ducting in remote areas. Unfortunately, exposed air ducts are the most vulnerable to damage. Located in basements, garages, and attics, exposed ducts can get crushed or perforated by falling items, rambunctious pets, pests, and more. Look for failed duct tape, visible corrosion, dirt streaks, and leaky seams. You can even shine a flashlight on your air ducts to find tiny holes. If you spot serious duct damage, schedule HVAC air duct repairs immediately.
5. Check For Dirty and Closed Air Vents
Look at the air registers or air vents throughout your home. Look for thick buildups of lint-like debris on and behind their covers. These buildups will look like the debris that accumulates on your air filter’s mesh. If your air vents are dirty, wipe their covers clean with a damp cloth. You can also remove vent covers and carefully vacuum behind them.
For a more comprehensive solution, schedule professional air duct cleaning instead. According to the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA), you should schedule these services every three to five years.
Make sure that none of the air vents throughout your home are completely closed. Closed air vents create stress within cooling systems by increasing the static pressure in air ducts. While closing an air vent will direct unwanted air away from a location, it also creates a rise in air pressure. Every vent in your home should be in a fully or partially open position.
6. Schedule Professional AC Maintenance
The maintenance that homeowners perform during the spring season helps prime ACs for summer. But every air conditioner in El Paso still needs professional pre-season tune-up service as well. During professional AC maintenance, HVAC technicians:
- Replace worn components
- Tighten loose motor bearings
- Lubricate moving parts
- Clear and disinfect AC condensate drains
Professionals also clean air conditioners inside and out, including their evaporator and condenser coils, air handlers, and blower fans. These visits allow HVAC technicians to address refrigerant leaks, bent fan blades, and other developing or hidden problems.
Proudly serving El Paso since 2008, SoBellas Home Services offers expert AC maintenance. We also provide HVAC air duct cleaning, thermostat services, and advanced indoor air quality (IAQ) solutions. To help homeowners save, we offer an affordable preventative maintenance plan. Our Comfort Care Club membership includes covered tune-up service, 24/7 smart remote monitoring, priority scheduling for repairs, and other member-exclusive benefits.
To schedule a pre-season AC tune-up in El Paso, contact SoBellas Home Services now!
Crew