Air Conditioning Coil Cleaning: What You Need To Know

You will definitely have a meltdown when your air conditioning system could not cope during a heatwave. You have to take steps to prevent your air conditioning system from breaking down when it is crucial.

Sometimes your Air Conditioning may not be performing at its optimum just because the coils are clogged and you will certainly need air conditioner cleaning. Here is why it is important to keep the coils from clogging and reduce inefficiency.

Do you know what are air conditioning coils? And why air conditioner cleaning is very important?

There are essentially two types of coils in operation during air conditioning function. They are the evaporator and condenser coils. Both must function well for the air conditioning system to perform at its peak. If anyone of them is not functioning well it can lead to your AC not cooling your space. When that happens it means its system needs an air conditioning coil cleaning. Now let’s have a look at how the evaporator and condenser coils work.

The Evaporator Coil will absorb heat and humidity from your room and it is placed inside your home as in the indoor air conditioning unit.

The Condense Coil, on the other hand, releases the excess heat that it gathers from your home through the evaporator coil to the outdoors. As the condenser coil is placed outdoor it is susceptible to the elements like weather, soot, dirt and other forms of pollutants. It has a higher level of clogging up if you live in the city and the condenser unit is at street level.

Clean coils are vital to the efficient performance of the air conditioning system. Even a 1/100th of an inch of grime and dirt accumulated on the coil can cause the efficiency of cooling to decline by 5 percent. When you have inefficiency in your air conditioning system, there will be less cooling power and an increase in the electric bill.

Dust Causing Air Conditioning Problem

Blown from room to room, every home and business is afflicted by these tiny dust intruders. These dust may be tiny but it will cause the air conditioning system to breakdown. According to studies, an average Malaysian home accumulates 18 kilograms of dust annually, which is a lot.

Dust however minute is the most formidable enemy to your air conditioning system. It can clog the coils, and ducts thus reducing the effectiveness and cause a drop in air quality problems in your home and business.

(Related Article: Fact & Myths About Air Cond Servicing )

Dirty Coils Will Affect Your Air Conditioning System’s Reliability

You may wonder how the coils can affect the cooling power of your air conditioning. You may not believe that the simple task of cleaning the coils can really help in the cooling power. Here is the simplified look at the workings of the air conditioning system so you can further understand:

• Cold refrigerant will travel to the evaporator coil
• Here the blower will blow the warm air from your room across the evaporator coil
• The refrigerant in the evaporator coil will evaporate and absorbs the heat from the air blown across it
• The cool air will then be blown to your living room
• The warm refrigerant will then be pumped to the condenser coil
• Here the condenser coil will remove the heat from the refrigerant by having another fan blowing across it
• Here the heat from the room is transferred to the outside and released

If there are dirt and grime in any of the air conditioning coils the air blown across the coils cannot come into direct contact and so the heat transfer will be impeded. These layers of dirt and grime act as an insulator and thus making the heat transfer less efficient. The poor heat transfer lowers the efficiency of the cooling cycles and it takes longer to cool down the room. The air conditioning unit will run hotter and will consume more electricity. Thus you will end up with a higher than usual electricity bill.

In some cases the acidity of the dirt and grime will corrode the condenser tubes. These corrosion will cause cracks and holes in the coil and eventually you will have the leakage of refrigerant. When there is not enough refrigerant in the system your air conditioner will not be able to transfer heat away and cannot cool effectively.

What are the other problem associated with dirty air conditioning coils?

You have an air conditioning unit installed so that you can be comfortable but it defeats the purpose of the AC does not work as it should, that is keeping the room cool and comfortable.

The heat will get trapped inside the condenser coil as the heat transfer is impeded by the dirt. The evaporator coil will also face difficulties in absorbing the heat from the environment. As a result, the air conditioning system cannot function fully and has to work harder and longer to cool the room. As the system cannot function to reduce humility you will notice a drop in air quality and humidity in your home. When there is high humidity there will be the growth of mold, mildew, and bacteria. Your living quarters will not be healthy anymore. These will bring about respiratory problems.

Here are some other problems associated with not having your air conditioning serviced often.

• Low airflow throughout your home
• A decrease in refrigerant levels
• Ice forming on evaporator coils and further impeding airflow
• An overheated compressor unit
• A sudden increase in utility bills

How will you know it’s time to service your air conditioning coil?

As a general rule, our experts recommend air conditioner servicing of at least one or twice a year. The frequency of service will depend on these factors. Let’s have a look. By the way, you can also refer to this article: 15 Signs Your Air Conditioner Needs Servicing.

LOCATION. If your outdoor unit is located near a busy street and is exposed to vehicle exhaust or near a restaurant or manufacturing business, kitchen or industrial exhaust you may have to get it serviced more often. Having the outdoor unit at ground level will encourage debris, dirt, and foliage to clog it. Best to avoid all these locations.

THE AGE OF YOUR AIR CONDITIONING UNIT. You must accept the fact that older units may show their age by the formation of corrosion on their coils. Once corrosion starts it will act as a magnet to attract more dirt and debris. So it is also advisable to have more frequent service as the unit grow older.

RUNNING YOUR AIR CONDITIONING UNIT 24/7. If you are running your air conditioning unit 24/7 more dirt and debris will be collected on the coils. You will be better off scheduling the service more often.

The benefits of keeping your air conditioning coils clean

The number one cause of air conditioning failure is the lack of preventive maintenance. Most of the breakdown are caused by dirty coils. It makes sense if you can sign a contract with a service center as members you will be given a much better deal. Have your air conditioning unit serviced according to schedule. Make sure you are not short-changed by the technicians. Make sure they do a good job of servicing your AC.

• Having clean coils will extend the life of your aircon system as there will be less wear and tear on the parts.
• Your system will experience less breakdown even during hot seasons. It best to have your air conditioning system on a regular basis.
• Having clean evaporator and condenser coils clean regularly the system runs cooler and more efficiently.
• Clean coils will also save you money in the long run. It will run colder, and more efficiently.

Regular air conditioning coil cleaning the most simple and inexpensive method to maintain your comfort. There will be less expensive for repairs.