2020/08/26 10:29:49
Author: Colin Bouwer

Air conditioners play a vital role in making our daily lives more comfortable, be it at home or in public or at the offices. Air Conditioners do more than just keeping your environment cold or warm. They facilitate the purification of the air by filtering out particles, odour, bacteria, and harmful chemicals.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SERVICING AND REPAIRING:

A service is needed if your air conditioning unit is still working but not at its optimal level or is due for its annual service.

A repair is needed if your unit is giving you any errors, flashing lights, or not working at all as this could indicate a part failure or installation error.

GOOD REASONS TO SERVICE YOUR AIR CONDITIONER:

If you want to prolong the life of your air conditioner, it is important to have it checked regularly.

There are several advantages that come along with it:

Eliminating health risks: Ensuring your filters are cleaned regularly minimises the amount of any bacteria, viruses, mould, and allergens that build up in your filters which could be harmful to your health.

Purifies the air: Dirty air conditioner produce impure and contaminated air due to the dust and oil particles trapped in the fans. Servicing helps clean all the dirt and oil.

Saves costs and energy: It will minimise the need to do any major repairs and when the unit is clean it works at its optimum capacity. A faulty air conditioner consumes more energy due to heat wasted during the process of warming up the air conditioning system and vice versa during the cooling process.

Servicing your air conditioner cleans all parts of the air conditioner and this makes the process of heating or cooling up the system easier and faster. When the air conditioner heats up or cools down quickly less energy is consumed and servicing your unit regularly will help you preserve its efficiency, and this will help you keep your electricity costs low.

Optimum cooling and heating temperatures and peak performance of your air conditioner unit:An air conditioner that is not working well is likely to produce inconsistent air temperatures. If filters are blocked due to dirt build up, or coils are dirty this can prevent your air conditioner from working at its full capacity, which means the unit will take longer to reach your desired temperature set and continue to work harder to maintain that level of temperature set if it is able to do so. This means more energy is used and more money is spent on electricity bills.

Eradicating bad odour: As a result from a build-up of mould, bacteria, or other organisms in the filters or system.

Maintaining your warranty: Manufacturers of air conditioning systems demand regular servicing to maintain the quality of the air conditioner. Servicing is a crucial aspect of maintaining quality because it prevents deterioration due to wear and tear and other activities.

Preventing any serious problems: Which would lead to major shutdowns or complete unit failure. Servicing your air conditioner is an important activity, much like how you take good care of your car and service it annually, so the same should be done with your air conditioner unit or system.

Servicing may seem like a time-wasting activity, but the benefits of regular servicing far outweigh the time spent and cost that could be incurred if you do not service your unit.

IMPLICATIONS OF NOT SERVICING YOUR AIR CONDITIONER

Prevention is always better than cure, and preventative maintenance is much more cost effective than having to replace expensive parts or replace your unit altogether.

Some implications of irregular service and maintenance to your air conditioner unit can include some of the following:

• Compressor and main component failures due to incorrect refrigerant pressures as well as any dirt build up in the system.
• Blockages in any parts of the system itself due to dirt build up causing insufficient air-flow, insufficient drainage of condensate, insufficient cooling or heating and overall insufficient operation of your unit
• Leakage of refrigerant which will have a negative in-fluence on the operation of the unit.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A MAJOR SERVICE?

• The Refrigerant shall be checked:
• Heating and cooling functions shall be checked;
• The thermostat shall be checked and adjusted, where necessary
• The condenser and evaporator coils shall be stripped and cleaned with blowers and paint brusher (if the Unit in question is outdoors) or washed with a high pressure WAD (if the unit in question is outdoors)
;
• The condenser and evaporator shall be checked for leaks and all leaks located shall be repaired at the Company’s cost;
• The overload protector shall be checked
• The fan blades and fan motors shall be cleaned and oiled
• The heating/ cooling contactor shall be checked;
• The electrical cables, panels and overall structure of the Units shall be checked and repaired where necessary;
• The evaporator condensate drains shall be inspected and water tests shall be carried out on each Unit to ensure the drains are not blocked;
• All filters shall be cleaned
• The units shall be checked for efficiency
• The expansion valves shall be monitored
• The evaporator drains shall be cleaned
• The safety controls shall be evaluated
• The temperature difference shall be measured
• The condenser coils shall be cleaned;
• The refrigerant level shall be topped up and monitored
• The valves shall be inspected; and
• The Service Provider shall provide the Company with complete, written report on the condition of the Units.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A Minor SERVICE?

• The filters on the indoor Unit shall be cleaned
• The operation of the Units shall be checked, and a written report to be provided on the condition of the Units

We recommend doing a service once or twice a year for residential units. Commercial units servicing will depend on the environmental conditions as well as the level of usage and this should be advised by the authorised air conditioner installer.