Dust buildup is never a good thing. Around your home, it’s unsightly, but inside of your air conditioner, dust buildup can cause significant problems. That’s why it’s essential for homeowners to schedule a spring maintenance tune-up. This will help to keep the A/C free of dust buildup and ensure the system’s overall good health and efficiency.
The cooling process
There are many components inside of your air conditioner that must remain clean in order for your system to operate well. However, it’s particularly important that the coils stay clean.
Here’s how the cooling process works when coils are clean:
- Your air conditioner has two coils: the indoor cooling coil and the outdoor warming coil.
- Both coils work together to cool the air that’s delivered into your home. The indoor coil is designed to absorb heat as the air handler blows air into the home, while the outdoor coil works in reverse: Instead of absorbing heat, it rejects heat contained in the outdoor air, as the outdoor fan draws air into the system.
How dust buildup happens
The air in almost every home is contaminated with dust, dirt and allergens, all of which circulate through the air conditioner. Over time, these contaminants will build up within the air conditioner and affect the coil’s operations.
How dust buildup affects the cooling process
When dirt builds up on either set of coils, several problems ensue that can dramatically affect the air conditioner’s efficiency:
- The coil’s ability to transfer heat is diminished.
- The air conditioner will have to consume more energy to operate, in some cases up to 37 percent more.
- The air conditioner’s cooling capacity also decreases up to 30 percent.
- Dirt buildup on the coils greatly increases the pressure within the system as it operates, as well as the system’s temperatures, both of which can lead to a system failure.
If you’re concerned about dust buildup, or you need to schedule seasonal maintenance for your air conditioner, contact your local HVAC experts at Around The Clock Air Conditioning & Heating today! We’re proud to serve homeowners in the greater Los Angeles area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air conditioner maintenance and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Around the Clock Air Conditioning & Heating services Los Angeles, North Hollywood and the surrounding areas in California. Visit our website to see our current specials and get started today!