Autumn means cooler temperatures, even here in Lousiana, and that means that your air conditioner can finally take a break after a long hot summer. It also means that you should schedule a maintenance session for your air conditioner as soon as possible. Maintenance most closely resembles a tune-up on your car: it’s a chance for a trained technician to check for possible problems and let you get an early jump on them should any crop up. The aim is to help save you money in improved efficiency, but also to help prevent repairs further down the road. Here’s a little breakdown on how that works.
An Ounce of Prevention
The sole purpose of a maintenance session is to check for any problems that the system may be experiencing, or look for signs of problems that might crop up later. Sometimes, this can be very small, For instance, a loose bolt could cause a component to rattle in its housing, which will add stress to the component and eventually lead to a breakdown. In the event of such a small issue, the technician can correct it immediately.
If the issue involved is more extensive, requiring a formal repair session instead of just being a part of a maintenance session. In many cases, the repair session can be scheduled immediately (provided the technician has the needed equipment in the van). If more equipment is needed or the homeowner has a preferred date, the repairs can be scheduled for later.
How Does All That Prevent Repairs?
Periodically checking the system for signs of trouble can prevent future repairs in a number of ways:
- Stopping the issue before it starts. Again, catching a big problem when it’s still small is the ideal way to prevent a later repair call. In some cases, it can be as easy as replacing a 5-cent bolt at the right time: keeping an expensive component in place and lowering the strain that will eventually cause it to break down. Indeed, reduced strain is one of the key goals of a servicing session, which will in turn help individual components last longer before requiring replacement or repair.
- Earlier is better. Even in cases where the issue requires formal repair, it’s usually better to get it take care of sooner rather than later. That way, the damage won’t have as much time to spread, which will protect components that have not yet been damaged, but will be if the problem is allowed to continue.
- Less wear and tear overall. These basic prevention steps will only improve if you schedule a maintenance session regularly for your air conditioner: ideally once every year at the beginning or end of cooling season. Such regular care will help each component last much longer, which will pay huge dividends as the system gets older. You’ll find it works more efficiently in most cases, even after the warranty has expired, and can help you go months or even years longer than you normally might before the system finally needs repairs.
Coll on Professional Heating & Air for air conditioning services throughout Mandeville, LA.