Now that it’s May, and summer will officially arrive in only a few weeks, the time has come to schedule maintenance for your air conditioning system—if you haven’t already done so. You don’t want to be caught unprepared when the serious heat and humidity starts. May is a slower period for HVAC technicians, making it easier to schedule the maintenance job at a time that’s convenient for you.
The Summer Puts Your AC Through Tremendous Stress
Maintenance is necessary each year for an air conditioner because of the amount of work it did over the previous summer. You don’t want to enter another hot middle of the year with a cooling system that still has the work stress on it from last year. Below are the ways that the summer workload can damage an air conditioner—all of which our technicians can alleviate with spring maintenance:
- Corrosion: This is a huge problem in Minnesota. Not only do we have high humidity levels because of all the lakes, but ice during the winter often leaves water moisture inside air conditioners. Corrosion is most damaging for the refrigerant coils and the electrical connections, easily leading to system failures and other problems.
- Worn down motors: Any motor suffers from strain as it runs. As dirt collects over the moving parts and lubrication is lost, the motor works harder and harder. This eventually will lead to it overheating and burning out when the wiring melts. Motors are essential for running the compressor and fans in an air conditioner, so if motors are allowed to wear down until they burn out, it will mean a non-working AC.
- Clogged condensate drain: The condensation that forms along the evaporator coil of the air conditioner (a result of pulling moisture out of the air along with the heat) drips down into a pan. A drain and pump them removes this moisture. But over a humid summer, the drain can clog, ending up overfilling the pan and shutting off the system. Maintenance takes care of routinely cleaning the condensate drain and pan.
- Failed capacitors: The capacitors in an AC are essential electrical components that send voltage to the motors to start them up and then keep them running. Capacitors are sensitive to extreme heat, so over a sweltering summer they can begin to lose their ability to hold an electrical charge. Technicians test capacitors during maintenance and know when to replace them with new ones.
To arrange for air conditioning maintenance in St. Paul, MN, or elsewhere in the Twin Cities, we’re the contractor to turn to. We offer membership in our Freedom Club to provide for regular air conditioning and heating maintenance. Membership also grants other benefits:
- $40 off our normal $89 service fee
- $100 off our normal $149 overtime fee (you’ll never pay any overtime charge as long as you’re a member)
- 20% off any repairs
- A 5-year service repair guarantee on any repair we make as long as you’re a member
- 5% off any new system installation
- Front of the line service: you’re first in the service queue
There’s more: call us today to find out the details of membership in the Freedom Club.
Freedom Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. serves Minneapolis-St. Paul and the surrounding areas.