Getting Your Air Conditioner Ready for the Off Season
As the fall season settles into the Mid-Atlantic area, it’s time to give your hard-working air conditioner a break. Some of the steps involved with prepping your A/C for the winter should be performed during fall furnace maintenance by your HVAC technician. However, there are many tasks you can do to put your A/C to bed until spring.
Update Your Thermostat
Update your programmable thermostat settings for the heating months. Energy Star suggests 68 degrees in HEAT mode when you are at home. Use turn-back settings of 4 to 10 degrees during sleep and work hours.
You may want to delete your programmable thermostat’s settings for cool mode so that your air conditioner isn’t automatically turned on during an unusually warm day. This is especially important if your outdoor unit is covered up. Additionally, remove the disconnect switch and reinsert it upside down to guarantee your A/C won’t turn on.
Filter Change
Few devices are as simple and important as your air filter. Change the filter to prepare for the heating months, and continue to check it monthly to save energy and make your furnace operate more efficiently.
Coil Cleaning
The indoor A/C coil is commonly located on top of your furnace. If this is the case in your home, the coil should be cleaned. Otherwise, debris obstructs heated airflow to the supply ducts.
Thoroughly spray the coil with a can of foaming disinfectant coil cleaner. Allow it to soak into the dirt and grime for about 15 minutes. Wipe the foam and dirt away with clean cloths.
At the outdoor unit, spray the side grilles with foaming cleaner. Let is soak in and then spray it off with a garden hose. Make sure the disconnect switch is off and the circuit breaker to the air conditioner is off before cleaning the indoor and outdoor coils.
At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues — especially HVAC and plumbing issues — so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.
