Imagine living in the Valley of the Sun and coming home to a stifling hot house; that is not the type of air conditioning surprise you want. The only thing you really want is to come home to a home that is cool and comfortable. The way to eliminate any surprises is to establish a maintenance schedule for your air conditioning system. In the Phoenix area there are few days when your air conditioning is not running. Even the month of January can get warm enough to kick the system in, in July; the temperatures can easily hit 100 degrees F.
How Can I Avoid An Air Conditioning Surprise?
When you consider the number of hours in a year that your air continuing unit runs, it is best to establish a schedule of maintenance. Twice a year is the ideal number. So as to eliminate any air conditioning surprise, have the system maintained in the early part of the year, in preparation for the heat of the summer, and again in the summer to assure the system will not fail under stress. As a consumer, you know that unscheduled failures not only cause distress, the repair costs more due to the urgency of the call out. You will not be faced with these occurrences when you maintain your unit to schedule.
Why Would My Air Conditioning Surprise Me?
To most homeowners, an air conditioning unit is a box. It sits on a concrete slab in the garden, or on the roof or through the window. Believe me, with all the complex components, it’s no wonder that an air conditioning surprise can crop up. When the technician performs his work, he is faced with electrical, mechanical and gaseous issues. Your unit contains a web of wiring, any loose connection can cause a problem, or worse yet, failure. The whole unit is primarily a motor and compressor. The motor is pulled out and inspected, especially the bearings. If the motor has a lubricant point, it is oiled. While it is out, the capacitor is checked for integrity. The drip pan is checked for evidence of over-fill; this is normally caused by clogged condensate lines. All air filters are cleaned or replaced, the Freon gas pressure and temperature is checked and the entire reassembled unit is stress tested to ensure reliability.
The scheduled service costs will have been established when the maintenance agreement was first negotiated. The price may include for small component replacement, but not the replacement of major components, such as the evaporator coil, motor or compressor. If, during maintenance, the technician finds a fault of this magnitude, it is in your best interest, to avoid another unpleasant air conditioning surprise, to first have an estimate prepared, then and only then should you authorize the repairs.
