Protect Your Delaware Beach Home A/C From the Elements – Sobieski Services | DE, NJ, PA, MD

Protect Your Delaware Beach Home A/C From the Elements

The bracing sea air at your Delaware beach home is wonderful, but unfortunately that same air causes all sorts of damage to the external metal components of air conditioners. To avoid expensive replacements of air conditioner parts in your beach home A/C unit, a number of things can be done.

Damage from a Salty Environment

Salt, or sodium chloride, is extremely corrosive, and in a time span of 18 months or less, sea air can erode external aluminum condenser coils to such an extent that they disintegrate. Sea fogs, high humidity and extremely hot temperatures all increase the effect the salt has on metal. Aluminum is covered with a very thin layer of aluminum oxide, which helps to protect it.

However, when continuously exposed to the chloride in salt, this oxide layer breaks down quickly, resulting in corrosion of the aluminum. Another metal that is badly affected by salt is copper, which is also found in condenser coils. Corroded condenser coils mean that your beach home A/C unit runs at lower than optimum efficiency, taking longer to cool the air inside the building, and, of course, using more electricity to do so — sometimes 50 percent more.

Preventive Measures

Two things help to prevent the buildup of salt on your beach home A/C condenser coils:

  • Rinsing condenser coils with fresh water. This task needs to be done daily and is very effective in removing salt.
  • Onsite application of a specialized protective coating. A variety of coatings are available, and it’s best to purchase one that has been thoroughly tested by the manufacturer, that is non-inflammable, and that will protect the coils for at least a year after application. Although you may wish to apply the protective coating to the condenser coils yourself, it’s wise to get advice from your trusted air conditioner technician.

Contact Sobieski Services for more information about protecting your beach home A/C condenser coils or with any air conditioning queries you may have. Our goal is to help educate our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).

Photo Credit: Visit St. Pete/Clearwater via Compfight cc

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