What Is an AC Tune-Up?
You may have heard of an AC tune-up before but are confused about its purpose. Your AC system already works great, so why would you need to schedule a tune-up?
An AC tune-up is a form of preventative maintenance for air conditioning systems.
Air Conditioner Tune-Ups
To have a long-lasting and efficient AC system, homeowners must schedule regular AC maintenance.
For proper maintenance, you should trust your air conditioning system with a professional plumbing and HVAC company. At Stith Plumbing and HVAC, we recommend you have an annual AC tune-up to ensure that your system stays in great working condition.
When Do You Need an AC Tune-Up?
The best time for you to schedule your AC tune-up is during the spring or very early in the summer. This period of time allows you to check your AC system before any problems arise and have a technician visit your home before the busy summer season.
During an AC tune-up, a technician will thoroughly inspect an AC unit for issues that could need repair. AC tune-up inspections typically include:
- Cleaning or replacing your air filter
- Evaluating coolant levels
- Calibrating your thermostat
- An inspection of ductwork
An annual AC tune-up will help your AC unit run efficiently and will help you to have reduced repair costs and a lower monthly energy bill.
Increased Efficiency
The most obvious sign of an inefficient air conditioning system is that it struggles to keep your house cool. Because a malfunction within your unit is causing this issue, your air conditioning system will have to work extra hard to cool down your home. This means that it will have to stay on longer to complete its job. An AC that stays on longer will use up more energy and eventually increase your energy bill.
During an AC tune-up, one of our technicians will complete a series of tasks to improve your unit’s efficiency. This includes refilling low refrigerant levels and calibrating your home’s thermostat.
Reduced Repair Costs
For clarity, consider an AC tune-up to be like a doctor’s check-up, but for your AC unit. During a check-up, doctors hope to find and fix small problems before they become major issues.
An AC tune-up is the same! Technicians examine your HVAC system for common malfunctions and address them before they require costly repairs.
For example, an HVAC technician may perform an AC tune-up on your unit and find that your compressor coils are very dirty and need to be cleaned.
If you hadn’t scheduled an AC tune-up and the dirty compressor coils weren’t taken care of, they would have caused your air conditioning system to work extensively until the compressor failed.
Replacing a broken AC compressor can cost over $2,000. An AC tune-up is much less and will eliminate the stress that a broken AC unit will load onto your family and household.
Scheduling an annual AC tune-up can help to reduce future repair costs such as these.
Lower Monthly Energy Bills
Because of its ability to increase your air conditioning system’s efficiency, an AC tune-up can also help you to have a lower monthly energy bill.
Whenever heating and cooling systems run inefficiently or have malfunctioned, they have to use more energy to cool your home. This usually results in an AC that stays on all day long but still doesn’t cool down the house.
Within just a few days, this extra energy usage can stack up and cause a significant increase in your energy bill.
Most homeowners search for ways to lower their energy bills, but this one is simple. Schedule an AC tune-up once a year, and enjoy the savings all year long.
Scheduling an AC Tune-Up
Are you ready to schedule an AC tune-up for your home? Contact the Stith Plumbing and HVAC team to learn more about how preventative maintenance measures such as an AC tune-up can help to extend the life of your air conditioning system and keep your cool home throughout the summer and all year long.