Maybe, just maybe, we're in the last of the cold days of spring. Before summer really heats up. You'll want to make sure that your air conditioner is prepped and ready to go. It isn't as simple as hitting a button. There are some things you should do to help bring your air conditioner back to life since it has been hibernating all winter.
It's also vital that you test your air conditioner while it's mild – NOT HOT! You don't want to flip your A/C on full blast for the first time on a 90 degree day. Test it while your A/C system can get back into gear more gradually. This way, you'll be able to catch and take care of any issues now before it's hot and humid. You don't want to be on our list waiting for an appointment when everyone else's systems are breaking down do you?
Your best bet of course, it to schedule your annual checkup with us. We know what to look for and what those funny sounds mean. In fact, many manufacturers require it to maintain your warranty. But if you're going to go it alone with year, at least do yourself a favor and check off these tasks.
HOW TO GET YOUR AIR CONDITIONER READY AFTER WINTER
1. Turn on the power.
First and foremost, if you are turning on your air conditioner for the first time you want to make sure that it is receiving power. If you have power switches for your air conditioner at your circuit breaker and/or near your condenser unit, make sure that the switches are flipped to “on.”
2. Remove the cover, if you used one.
We do not recommend using an air conditioner cover on your outdoor condenser unit for a number of reasons. If you did use a cover, however, it’s crucial that you remove it before turning on your system for the first time. Running your air conditioner with a cover on can lead to serious problems very quickly.
3. Clean your condenser unit.
During the winter months, your outside condenser unit likely gathered dead leaves, twigs, dirt and other debris. Make sure to remove any visible objects that have collected on or around the condenser unit. In addition, you might want to vacuum the outside of your condenser unit with an extension that uses a soft brush (being careful not to bend the fins). We’ll also give your system a thorough cleaning during your annual tune-up.
4. Change your air filter.
If you haven’t changed your air filter in a while, now is the time to do it. When you turn your system on for the first time, you don’t want to make it harder to run than it should be because of something that’s easy to avoid like a dirty filter.
5. Clean around your indoor unit.
This is the time of year for spring cleaning, and the area around your air conditioner’s indoor unit is one place that you don’t want to skip. Clean up the area and remove anything unnecessary that you might be storing there. It’s good to keep this area easily accessible for both you and your technician.
6. Change your thermostat settings.
In order for your air conditioner to turn on, you have to switch your thermostat from “heat” to “cool” mode. In addition, this is a good time to plan out your summer thermostat settings and make any necessary updates to the settings that you have stored in your programmable thermostat.
7. Schedule your annual maintenance.
While it's great that you tackled these tasks, we still recommend that you schedule your annual tune-up with us. During a tune up, our technician can detect small problems and fix them before they become big problems. You will have saved yourself the higher cost – and the bigger hassle – of a repair service call down the road.
But what if most major parts of your air conditioner are covered under warranty? Well, there is something you should know about your warranty.... Warranty certificates from Lennox, Trane and Comfortmaker all make this clear. These companies won’t provide replacement parts unless your air conditioner was regularly maintained by an HVAC professional.
It's a no-brainer to us really – get on the schedule today!