How To Prepare Your HVAC Unit for Spring
Preparing your house for the warmer months is something every homeowner should take seriously.
It’s important that you prepare your air conditioner or heat pump for warmer weather by replacing your air filters, cleaning your cooling system’s vents, checking the thermostat, and scheduling a maintenance check with a highly experienced HVAC technician.
Preventative AC Maintenance Checklist
Remove Any Air Conditioner Condenser Covers
Many homeowners make the smart decision to cover their outdoor air conditioner condensers to properly protect them from the harsh winter weather.
When the warmer months arrive and homeowners switch over to air conditioning, it’s important to remember to take off any covers, blankets, or lids you may have on your unit and examine the exterior unit for any debris that has built up or damage that may have happened to your unit.
If you turn your system on with a cover in place, it could severely damage your unit.
However, depending on your location and the location of your unit outside your home, you could discover vegetation, plants, or other debris building up near your system.
Since condenser coils transfer heat, any particles or debris can disrupt this process. To be certain your system performs properly, you should attempt to remove any of these buildups from the surrounding area.
Change the Air Filters
Most homeowners already know you should be changing your cooling system’s air filters every one to three months, but one helpful tip is that early spring is the ideal time to change them.
When winter hits, it typically results in more dust and debris in the air filters than usual, so it’s vital that you be sure your cooling system’s air filters are completely free of any of these before the warmer seasons begin.
It’s also extremely important that you make sure you’ve bought the proper type and size of air filters for your unit. If you aren’t sure which filter to use or buy, one of our highly experienced HVAC technicians can help.
One last tip is to ensure the air filters are placed in your unit properly. To verify this, you should place them with the airflow arrows pointing in the same direction.
Test the Thermostat
One thing homeowners typically forget is that thermostats should be regularly tested to be certain that they’re working properly. At the beginning of each new heating or cooling cycle, test your thermostat controls. If they aren’t working properly, you may have to recalibrate the unit.
You should also consider reprogramming your thermostat for the warmer seasons. If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, we highly recommend upgrading.
Turn On the HVAC System
If you’ve followed our instructions above, the next step is turning on your unit to be sure you’re getting enough airflow from the vents. The best time to perform this test is early in the spring on a cooler day when you have enough time to properly check the airflow every few hours.
If the air doesn’t feel cool, you should turn off the system completely at the thermostat, and confirm you’ve followed the previous instructions.
If you’re sure you’ve followed all our suggestions and the air from your system still doesn’t feel cool on the second try, we recommend contacting one of our highly experienced HVAC technicians to properly diagnose the problem.
Clean All Supply Vents and Registers
Your cooling system’s air filters can become clogged during the colder seasons, and so can your vents and registers.
This means, when giving your home a fresh spring cleaning, remember to also clean your cooling system’s supply vents.
If you’re not sure how to do this, all you need to do is vacuum them to remove any dust, dirt, debris, particles, or pet hair from the previous seasons. You should do this even if your home has separate supply grills for heating and cooling.
To recap the few tips mentioned above, if you have a system that is zoned and have covered AC vents that were unused during the winter, now is the ideal time to remove them.
Spring is also a perfect time to schedule a duct cleaning by one of our highly experienced HVAC technicians. This improves your system’s airflow and boosts your home’s indoor air quality.
Prepare for Spring With AC Maintenance
You can do many different things to prep your unit for spring and summer, but nothing replaces an expert HVAC system servicing. After one of our HVAC technicians evaluates your system, you can be confident that your system is in working order or, if a problem does arise, you’ll have enough time to properly fix the issue before summer.
Our highly experienced and certified HVAC technicians check your entire system, including, but not limited to refrigerant levels, electrical connections, wiring, and other components. This allows them to detect issues homeowners usually miss.
At Southern Pride Service, our technicians can quickly and properly diagnose any issues to get your unit summer-ready sooner.
We know an AC malfunction is the last thing you want to deal with, especially this time of the year. We offer many different resources to help you with your system and maintain it to reduce the likelihood of repairs and repair costs.
Consult one of our expert Southern Pride Service HVAC technicians and we’ll be glad to answer any other questions.