A Tune Up Saves You Money and Gives You More Comfort
 In 1983, the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service at Louisiana State University teamed up with Gulf States Power to identify what benefits if any were provided by an air conditioning tune-up. A series of homes were heavily instrumented, data was collected over time, tune-ups were performed and data was collected again. The results of this landmark study were staggering. The researchers found that tune-ups saved energy and restored lost capacity.
How much?
Average Monthly Savings from a Tune-Up = $32.76
Average Cooling Capacity Restored = 0.79 Tons
The researchers concluded that:
Air conditioning maintenance benefits the consumer by lowering his operational costs, increasing his comfort control capacity and is believed to extend equipment life.
Tune up your HVAC equipment yearly
Just as a tune-up for your car can improve your gas mileage, a yearly tune-up of your heating and cooling system can improve efficiency and comfort. Learn more:
A typical maintenance check-up should include the following.
- Check thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home and saves energy while you are away.
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- Tighten all electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation of your system and reduce the life of major components.
- Lubricate all moving parts. Parts that lack lubrication cause friction in motors and increases the amount of electricity you use.
- Check and inspect the condensate drain in your central air conditioner, furnace and/or heat pump (when in cooling mode). A plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels.
- Check controls of the system to ensure proper and safe operation. Check the starting cycle of the equipment to assure the system starts, operates, and shuts off properly.
- Check for excessive static pressure. Excessive static pressure is s sure sign of an internal problem.
- Measure the airflow through the ducting. A lack of airflow through the ductwork means a lack of cooling and a lack of heating.
Cooling Specific
- Clean evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils. Dirty coils reduce the system's ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer, increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
- Check your central air conditioner's refrigerant level and adjust if necessary. Too much or too little refrigerant will make your system less efficient increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
- Clean and adjust blower components to provide proper system airflow for greater comfort levels. Airflow problems can reduce your system's efficiency by up to 15 percent.
- Record the Sub Cooling and Superheat temperatures. If your air conditioning repair person cannot tell you how many degrees of sub cooling that your system is producing then they cannot accurately adjust the Freon levels. They are guessing.
- Record the wet bulb and dry bulb temperature drops in the supply ducting. Both of these are needed to gauge the amount of cooling and the amount of airflow to lower your electric bill and enhance your cooling.
- A thorough examination of the ducting. Duct can account for upwards of 2 Tons of cooling loss.
Heating Specific
- Check all gas (or oil) connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and heat exchanger. Improperly operating gas (or oil) connections are a fire hazard and can contribute to health problems. A dirty burner or cracked heat exchanger causes improper burner operation. Either can cause the equipment to operate less safely and efficiently.
- Thoroughly check the condition of the heat exchanger. A dye test or water test of the firebox is a requirement for safe operation.
- Measure the temperature increase through he ducting. An abnormal increase in temperature can indicate a problem in the burners. A lack of increase can indicate separations in the ducting.
- A thorough examination of the ducting. Duct can account for upwards of 2 Tons of heating loss.
Planned Maintenance Program
· Provide a fixed, budgeted cost
· Low, monthly payments
· Reduces nuisance breakdowns
· Ensures safe operations
· Extend your system's productive life
· EPA Certified professional, courteous technicians
· Maintenance and repair on all makes and models
· Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express accepted
Learn more about our Planned Maintenance Program , Learn what ACCA has to say about Planned Air Conditioning Maintenance |
