Florida’s heat and humidity put a huge amount of strain on your HVAC system. This makes it important that you take certain steps to make sure your HVAC is ready to go and works effectively once the heat arrives. Here are four simple tips on preparing your system that will help ensure your home always stays as cool as you want it to be.
1. Check That the Area Around Your Outdoor HVAC Unit Is Clear
Central AC units and heat pumps require sufficient space or clearance around them to work properly. The reason is to ensure that the fan in the unit can continually draw air through it. The air flowing through the unit is what allows the refrigerant to release the heat it removed from within the home. If there isn’t proper airflow, the process won’t work effectively, and the refrigerant will still contain quite a bit of latent heat when it gets pumped back to the evaporator coil inside. This means that the refrigerant won’t be able to capture nearly as much heat from the home, leading to much longer cooling times and greater energy usage.
When the refrigerant stays warmer than it should, its pressure is also much higher. This increases the workload on the compressor since the high pressure makes it more difficult to pump the refrigerant throughout the system. The increased workload can potentially lead to the compressor motor overheating, which can cause major damage to the unit. Whenever the unit overheats, it will usually shut down for some time until it can cool off.
All of these issues are why you should check your AC or heat pump in the spring before you turn it on. Specifically, you want to make sure there are no leaves and debris stuck to the sides of the unit or piled up around it. You should also make sure that there is no taller vegetation within 2-3 feet of the unit and trim everything back as necessary. This second step is something you should do regularly throughout the entire summer.
2. Change or Clean HVAC Air Filter
Your air conditioning won’t ever work nearly as effectively and will use much more energy if you don’t change or wash the system’s air filter regularly. The basic rule is that air filters should be replaced or washed at least every three months. That said, it’s always a good idea to just wash or replace it in the spring before you start running your AC since it can still accumulate quite a bit of dust even when your HVAC system is off.
It’s also essential that you use the right size and type of air filter for your HVAC system. The efficiency of most air filters is rated in terms of Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value or MERV. Generally speaking, most residential HVAC systems should use somewhere between a MERV 6 and a MERV 12 filter. Anything below MERV 6 isn’t efficient enough and will still allow lots of dust and debris to get inside the main indoor part of your HVAC system, i.e. the air handler that houses the evaporator coil and blower. Using a filter that is too efficient is equally as problematic since higher efficiency filters are far more restrictive. That means that they limit the amount of air that can get drawn into the system, which has almost the same effect as running the system with an extremely dirty filter.
When it comes to air filters, either a disposable or reusable filter should work. The main thing to understand if you choose a reusable filter is that you need to take the time to thoroughly clean it and then let it dry before putting it back in place. Running the system when the filter is still wet can potentially lead to mold and mildew growth. You’ll also want to make sure the system is off when washing the filter since you never want to run it without a filter in place.
3. Make Sure All Vents Are Clean and Open
One major mistake that many people make is keeping the vents in some rooms closed. The theory is that closing vents in unoccupied parts of the home will make an HVAC system more effective by directing all of the cool air to where it’s needed most. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work in practice and actually decreases the energy efficiency of the HVAC system and makes it work less effectively. The reason is that an HVAC system needs to continually circulate a certain amount of air to work properly. When you have some vents closed, it leads to air backing up inside the ductwork. This in turn creates much more air resistance in the ducts, which makes it much harder for the blower to move sufficient air around the house.
This issue is why you should go around your house and check that all of the vents are fully open and no furniture or other items are blocking the airflow coming out of the vents. It’s also a good idea to remove all of the vent covers and clean any debris off of them to ensure they aren’t clogged. Another good tip is to vacuum out any debris from inside the vents to prevent them from potentially getting clogged in the future.
4. Schedule an HVAC Inspection and Tune-Up
While taking all of the above steps will help to ensure your HVAC system is ready to handle the heat, the most important thing to do is to have your system inspected and serviced by a certified technician. Central HVAC systems require quite a bit of regular maintenance and won’t ever work as well as they should if not properly maintained. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the important maintenance tasks aren’t things that you can effectively do on your own. Unless you’re a trained technician, there’s also no way that you can inspect and test all of the system’s components to determine if there are any issues such as malfunctioning or worn-out parts that need to be replaced or repaired.
A spring HVAC tune-up involves a comprehensive check of all of the system’s components. The technician will also clean various components including the blower, evaporator coil and condenser coil. Cleaning the blower helps to ensure that the system has sufficient airflow while cleaning the two coils is essential for ensuring the heat transfer process the system uses to remove heat and cool your home works effectively.
Getting your HVAC system professionally serviced will ensure it’s ready to handle Florida’s extreme heat and humidity. It’s also the easiest way to keep your energy bills as low as possible and reduce the chances of your system suddenly breaking down over the summer and needing to be repaired.
If you’re looking to get your HVAC system ready this spring, you can count on the team at Ahoy! Cooling & Heating. We’ve been serving the Tampa area since 2010 and are the company to trust for all of your air conditioning and heating maintenance, repair and installation needs. To schedule a maintenance appointment or any other service, contact us today.
