More and more people are discovering the advantages of a home air conditioning system, because prices have dropped in relation to to wages over recent years. However, most people’s attitude is ‘out of sight, out of mind’. That is, until they get home from work on a sweltering hot summer’s afternoon and the air con does not work.

The most frequent reason for this is years of no maintenance. The only way that you will get the most from air conditioning units, as with any machine, is to maintain it according to the maker’s suggested agenda and get it checked over by a professional every two or three years, whatever the instruction booklet says. You cannot completely eliminate the professional check up, but you can carry out the basic maintenance yourself, which will save you at least two years of fees.

Here then are my most indispensable basic air conditioning maintenance tips.

If you have a central air conditioner, clean or change the air filter roughly once a month during the hot weather period. This will help prolong the life of your air conditioning unit, raise its level of efficiency (thereby reducing running costs) and improve the quality of the air in your home.

The two standard kinds of air filters are the washable steel mesh form and the woven fibre glass type which is not reusable. These filters slide into the ductwork or blower compartment. You can further improve the performance of your central air conditioner by clearing all the grass, bushes, flowers and picking up the debris from around the outside compressor box.

Furthermore, if the outdoor apparatus is ever in full sunlight when it is in use, put up a small structure like a simple lean-to over it to keep it in the shade. Then it will not have to work so hard. It will also keep the snow and rain out of it during the winter. Get both the internal and external units looked at by an expert every two years.

Other basic air conditioning maintenance tips are to take the ‘top’ off your blower unit before the start of the summer and give it some attention. Gently remove the build-up of dust and grease on the blades of the fan, Then lightly oil the fan’s shaft and bearings so that it will rotate more easily. If your fan or blower is belt driven, check the fan belt for wear and tear, tightness and alignment. Rectify as you would for a car.

The motors on most recent blower units are totally sealed and self-lubricating, but the older ones have an oil reservoir which needs to be topped up every year. Check that, clean the sump, if you have one and fill up with clean oil.

You can also clean the coil, which is a loop of metal tubing. Vacuum it and then lightly clean it with a tooth brush and something like methylated spirits in order to degrease it. Mop up any spillage. All of these jobs can be applied to the outside unit too, because it too has a fan and a coil. Clean any cobwebs from the case’s vents too.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with central air conditioning systems. If you are interested in Home Air Conditioning Systems, please click through to our site.

If you have any form of air purification system installed in your house or office, you will need to replace the air filters at some time or another. I am not only talking about dedicated equipment that only purifies the air here, but also air conditioning units such as you would find at home, in the office or even in the car. The theory is the same for all.

So, you may be operating an air purifier without even realizing it, but in that case, especially if it is an older one, it could be doing you more harm than good. This is because a dirty filter will be blowing unpurified air into the room at best, but in the worst case scenario, it might even be blowing contaminated air at you. Modern air filters do not only stop flies or even pollen from getting into the set-up through the air intake, they go as far as trying to block common germs too.

So, you have two alternatives. If you have never changed or cleaned your air filter or if you did not even know you had one and the air conditioner or air purifying unit is over a year old, you should do something about it right away. Start by reading the instruction manual. If you do not have one go on line and look to see if there is any information on your model at the maker’s website or even just anywhere on the Internet. If on the other hand, you have been cleaning and changing your filter regularly, think about getting a better quality filter next time.

You can go about locating the best brands of air filters for your particular type of unit by writing down any serial numbers and identification numbers and names. The brand and model are very helpful too. You have two choices here too. If you like going around the shops, take this information with you and ask about the best filters in several outlets A large DIY or department store could probably assist here. Write every name and fact they give you down on paper and take it home. I prefer to go on the Internet first and take that information around the shops.

Check what they have told you on the Internet. Check it with the maker’s web site and compare prices. Decide what you want to buy and where from. Get a year’s supply in one go, it saves a lot of bother. Three or four units should last a year, if they are cleanable.

A high quality air filter will perform better than a cheaper one. It will trap more pollutants, including smoke and fumes – even some germs, if it has been impregnated with a germicide. Many come with a long-lasting mild air freshener too, which will save you buying sprays.

Better quality air filters will save you money and bother by lasting longer in good serviceable condition. Cheaper ones may say they last as long, but the germicide and the air freshener may have evaporated within a week or two. Try to get a filter that is cleanable. The best ones can be cleaned two of three times before they have to be changed. If it is three times then it will last four months, meaning that you only need three a year at most.

If you have purchased an unknown make of air conditioner or purifier, there is a good chance that it was still made by one of the big names or it a copy of a famous name, in which case a better filter may still fit into it. In this situation, take your old filter to the shop with you to get it compared.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with central air conditioning systems. If you are interested in Home Air Conditioning Systems, please click through to our site.

If you have any form of air purification system installed in your house or office, you will need to replace the air filters at some time or another. I am not only talking about dedicated equipment that only purifies the air here, but also air conditioning units such as you would find at home, in the office or even in the car. The theory is the same for all.

So, you may be operating an air purifier without even knowing it, but in that case, especially if it is an older one, it could be doing you more harm than good. This is because a dirty filter will be blowing uncleaned air into the room at best, but in the worst case scenario, it may even be blowing infected air at you. Modern air filters do not only stop flies or even pollen from entering the set-up through the air intake, they go as far as attempting to obstruct common germs too.

So, you have two options. If you have never changed or cleaned your air filter or if you did not even realize you had one and the air conditioner or air purifying unit is over a year old, you should do something about it right away. Start by reading the handbook. If you do not have one go on line and look to see if there is any information on your model at the maker’s website or even just anywhere on the Internet. If on the other hand, you have been cleaning and replacing your filter methodically, think about getting a better quality filter next time.

You can go about locating the best brands of air filters for your particular type of unit by noting down any serial numbers and identification numbers and names. The brand and model are very helpful too. You have two alternatives here too. If you like going around the shops, take this information with you and ask about the best filters in several stores A large DIY or department store could doubtless assist here. Write every name and detail they give you down on paper and take it home. I prefer to go on the Internet first and take that information around the shops.

Check what they have told you on the Internet. Check it with the maker’s web site and compare prices. Decide what you want to buy and where from. Get a year’s supply in one go, it saves a lot of bother. Three or four units should last a year, if they are cleanable.

A high quality air filter will work better than a cheaper one. It will block more pollutants, including smoke and fumes – even some microorganisms, if it has been impregnated with a germicide. Many come with a long-lasting mild air freshener too, which will save you buying sprays.

Better quality air filters will save you money and bother by lasting longer in good serviceable condition. Cheaper ones may say they last as long, but the germicide and the air freshener may have evaporated within a week or two. Try to get a filter that is cleanable. The best ones can be cleaned two of three times before they have to be changed. If it is three times then it will last four months, meaning that you only need three a year at most.

If you have purchased an unknown make of air conditioner or purifier, there is a good chance that it was still made by one of the big names or it a copy of a famous name, in which case a better filter may still fit into it. In this situation, take your old filter to the shop with you to get it compared.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with central air conditioning systems. If you are interested in Home Air Conditioning Systems, please click through to our site.

Air conditioning units will work for many years with very little difficulty, if you keep your apparatus properly maintained. However, this is not peculiar to home air conditioning units. Nearly everything we do these days can be done with the aid of a mechanical or electrical piece of equipment. However, some things are non-user maintainable and will break down after a while.

Home air conditioning systems are intended to last a long time, as long as they are correctly maintained. If you are loathe to do this maintenance yourself, you will need to call in a professional, but there is a lot of maintenance anyone can perform. Even the most ham-fisted klutz. If you carry out these straightforward cool air conditioning tips, you will only need a professional’s help once every two years, which will save you a fortune.

There are three basic varieties of fixed home air conditioning systems: central air conditioners; split air conditioners and room air conditioners. There is also a fourth type, the portable conditioner, but there are too many kinds of these to generalize.

Central Air Conditioners – this is made up of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. You can clean or change the air filter in the indoor apparatus according to its type. Wire filters can be cleaned, glass fibre filters must be replaced. You ought to do this monthly during the hot season in order to maintain peak performance and air quality.

You should also wash any dust or grease from the fan blades. Lightly oil the fan shaft and any bearings too. If your system is belt driven make sure that the belt is not worn and that it is neither too taut nor too slack, which means that there should be some give, but that it should not be so free as to slip. Like a car’s fan belt. Degrease and clean the coil of tubing.

The outside system should be treated in the same manner as the inside box, but you ought to also clear any undergrowth or rubbish from around it to permit an unrestricted airflow. If it is in direct sunlight while in operation, erect a lean-to to give it shade and shelter from rain and snow in the winter.

Split Air Conditioning Systems – the outdoor component should be serviced as above, but the indoor air handler is different as there is no fan driving air through a structure of ducts. At least once a year, take out the internal filter and wash it or clean it according to the maker’s instruction manual. If you do this often enough, you will not have to clean the coil.

If you overlook a few maintenance sessions, wash the coil as above. Service the outside unit as above as well.

Room Air Conditioners – take out the grille and wash or replace the filter at least once every summer. Filters can normally be washed three times and then ought to be replaced. If you fail to do this, you will have to wash the coil, as above. In the winter, cover the grille with cling film or a tarp, to prevent cold drafts.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with central air conditioning systems. If you are interested in Home Air Conditioning Systems, please click through to our site.

If you live in a hot country, or even one that merely has hot summers, it is just lovely to be able to sit in your home without sweltering. In particular at night as being too hot can prevent you from getting a decent night’s rest. Likewise, when you are at work. We all know the pleasure of walking into a cool, air conditioned building, like a bank on a hot summer’s day.

Total air conditioning like this used to be the privilege of office blocks and the very rich, but it is becoming more general now. In fact, if you already have ducting throughout your house to be used in connection with a central heating system, a total air conditioning package could cost as little as $4,000.

I know that $4,000 is not an insignificant amount, but if you do not have the ducting already, you can add another $3,000 to $4,000. These figures relate to a typical three or four bedroomed house or apartment.

A total air conditioning system like this will usually be adequate for seven areas in one or two zones, which could be two small bungalows next door to each other or a house and a garage or shed. One good thing about total air conditioning is that the whole house or just the ground floor can be cooled at the same time so that you can walk around the house as you normally would.

This is in direct disparity with split systems which only cool one room – every time you go out of the room, you let cool air out and warm air in, which makes the air conditioning unit work harder and costs you more money.

Total air conditioning has other less well-known features too. It lowers the humidity in a room or house by drying the air as it is returned to the unit for cooling and advanced units have filters with additional capabilities. The more sophisticated the unit, the more germs, bacteria and other substances (like pollen) the built-in filter will do away with.

Because these filters can remove airborne substances they can significantly reduce a person’s suffering from allergies. Good air filtration can help asthma and hay fever sufferers very much, if the filters are kept spotless.

In general, a total air conditioning system is divided into two major components – an outdoor condenser and compressor and an indoor evaporator in an air distribution system. The air distribution, or air handling system filters and dries the cooled air, and distributes it, via ductwork, to multiple rooms. Total air conditioning is usually much quieter than split air conditioners, because the noise of the latter’s compressor is so much closer to where the cool air is needed.

It is far better to take the ducting into account at the construction stage of a new house as part of its heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, but it can be put in later. A good HVAC system should be designed to supply adequate cooling, heating, and ventilation, taking into account such factors as the size of the building, the efficiency of its insulation and the regional climate.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with central air conditioning systems. If you are interested in Home Air Conditioning Systems, please click through to our site.

Air conditioners have always been popular, but they used to be expensive to buy and costly to run. These days they are less expensive to buy. It is not so bad if you live somewhere where you need heating for three months and cooling for three months, but if you live somewhere where you have one unit or other running twenty-for hours a day, seven days a week, it is still expensive.

However, the comfort that they impart to your life is remarkable. But, the thing to bear in mind is that air conditioners, like all pieces of equipment, do need servicing. That is, the actual moving parts, lubricants and other fluids need to be checked professionally every two years (or whatever it says in your handbook). There are other parts though that need to be checked much more frequently than that – maybe even monthly.

The good news is that you can do this maintenance yourself. I am talking about the filter. All good, modern air conditioning units come with an integrated filter. It depends on the sophistication of your air conditioner, what its filter can trap, but most will filter small particles such as pollen and traffic pollution out of the air it is circulating in the room.

These filters have to be cleaned or replaced pretty frequently and you will have to check your air conditioner’s handbook to find out what you can do. Frequently, it will say that they can be cleaned two or three times with either soapy water and a tooth brush or vacuumed clean. After that they have to be replaced, in order for the unit to be completely effective.

If you need to replace your air filter, you may find the following hints useful.

The best place to start is either the main dealer for your make of air conditioner, the people you bought it from or the people who fitted it for you. At least, you know you can trust them, even if it is only a matter of ‘better the devil you know’. Many of the stores that sell other makes of air conditioner may stock filters for your model as a sideline too.

You are already making use of the Internet, so that is another good place to check for current prices and bargains, before you go traipsing around town. ‘Fore-warned is fore-armed’, as they say. You can utilize the price knowledge you acquire from your Internet surfing as a bargaining tool to get the best price locally.

If that does not work or you just cannot be bothered, order on line and your air conditioner filter will be with you in a few day anyway. By the way, like with vacuum cleaner bags, it is usually better to buy several at a time. For instance, if you know that they will withstand three washes, then each filter will last four months. Why not buy three and be done with it for a year?

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with central air conditioning systems. If you are interested in Home Air Conditioning Systems, please click through to our site.