Month: September 2021

The average air-source heat pump lasts approximately 15 years. But your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit’s life span is dependent on several factors, including its design and overall quality. However, there are many factors that you, as owner, directly control.

Pump It Up, Perfectly

Caring for your heat pump requires diligence, but is quite manageable if you get into the habit of it. Often, tasks are easier if you break them down into steps. So, from our experienced team at ACS Air Conditioning Services, here are five steps you can take to keep your heat pump in tip-top shape and help make it last even longer:

1. Change Your Air Filter

Changing your heat pump’s air filter is key to its long life. Filters help provide cleaner air for you to breathe in your Tucson home. They also protect your heat pump’s equipment from dust.

If a filter gets too dirty, it does more harm than good. With more and more built-up debris, your filter hinders air from passing through the way it should. A dirty filter means your heat pump will work harder and longer to reach the desired temperature, or it may even short cycle. Either way, it is definitely hard on your heat pump’s internal components.

Both ACS Air Conditioning Services and ENERGY STAR^® recommend changing your filter every three months—even more frequently if you have pets or a smoker in your Arizona home—but double check your manufacturer’s guidelines.

Additionally, it is a good idea to habitually check your filter. If it looks like it needs to be changed, it probably does.

2. Keep Your Outdoor Unit Clean

The cleanliness of the area around the outdoor components of your heat pump is often overlooked. Remove sticks, leaves, and excess dirt from your outdoor box. Trim any shrubbery or vines growing near it.

During cold weather, snow and ice can be the enemy of your unit. Be conscious of the outside component’s appearance during wintertime. If it becomes ridden with snow or ice, power your unit down. Then pour warm water over it, and clean off the remaining frozen buildup.

3. Have Your Ducts Cleaned

Dust, debris, and even mold can settle in your Tucson home’s ductwork over time. This can have negative effects on your indoor air quality (IAQ). In addition, it is rough on your system’s components.

To ensure proper airflow and clean air, you should have your ducts professionally cleaned periodically. As a result, your system’s internal parts will be less likely to develop residue and more likely to last longer.

4. Schedule Routine Maintenance

What is the best way to prevent system breakdowns? Maintenance, of course.

By scheduling professional preventative maintenance at least once every year, you will ensure your system is running at peak performance. During the visit, our ACS Air Conditioning Services licensed professional can quickly diagnose and treat potential problems. Any faulty parts, loose screws, or dirty components can quickly be remedied.

5. Have Repairs Performed by a Licensed Professional

If your heat pump needs to be repaired, have it done by one of our highly trained and experienced pros. While an under-qualified technician may tempt you with dirt-cheap prices, it is best to have a knowledgeable professional take care of the repair.

Many factors in the repair, if wrongly executed, can void your heat pump system’s warranty and lead to future problems. So you should always trust one of our team member’s expertise to address your issue.

We Are Your Heat Pump Experts!

ACS Air Conditioning Services is a team of fully licensed professionals. We go above and beyond to protect the condition of your heating equipment. For any questions or to schedule service, call our Tucson, AZ, office at 520-230-5668 or request service online today.

Aside from the professionals, like ours at ACS Air Conditioning Services, who really thinks about air conditioners and their components? Air conditioners keep your Oro Valley, AZ, home or business cool and comfy when the outside temperatures are high, and that’s all you really need to know, right?

Well, air conditioners do so much more than just cool, like dehumidify your home or business and help keep your inside air cleaner. Understanding a bit of its basic components and how they work can help you identify a problem or malfunction when it occurs.

Air Conditioner Overview

As already mentioned, your air conditioner does more than just cool. It dehumidifies by reducing the volume of humid air, thereby taking a portion of its moisture. That’s the reason for pans and drains with air conditioners.

Your air conditioner also aids in cleaning the air by removing allergen and debris particles from the airflow where they attach to the filter. But the largest purpose of your air conditioner is to remove the heat from your inside air and cool it, providing the maximum indoor comfort.

Looking at this side of your air conditioner, most conventional central air conditioners have a hot side, which is located outside, and a cool side, located inside. Since these air conditioners have both outdoor and indoor components, many times you’ll see your air conditioner referred to as a split-system air conditioner.

In the very basest of explanations, here’s how your air conditioner works. Air conditioners transfer heat to the outside, extracting it from the inside air. The compressed gas refrigerant in the system (you probably know DuPont’s Freon® refrigerant) absorbs the excess heat before it’s pumped through the piping in a closed system to an outside coil.

A fan blows air over the hot coil, transferring the absorbed heat in the refrigerant to the outdoor air. Since the inside heat has been removed, the indoor air is now cool. As a result, the refrigerant is recooled and condensed here, then sent back to circulate through the system to begin the process again.

There are many complex and smaller transactions throughout your air conditioning system, but this gives you an overview on how your system works.

On a side note, be sure to stay up to date on the phaseout of R-22 refrigerant by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States by 2020. Call and talk with one of our ACS Air Conditioning Services team members to see how it affects you.

Air Conditioner Components

An air conditioner is made up of many components, but the major parts doing the heavy lifting of moving the air indoors and outdoors are the evaporator, condenser, expansion valve, and compressor. Keep in mind they’re each either located outside (the hot side) or inside (the cool side).

Evaporator

The evaporator is located on the cool side. Its main function is to receive the liquid refrigerant. It’s paired with a fan blowing air over the chilled coils into your home. After it receives the liquid refrigerant, it converts it to gas through a drop in pressure.

Condenser

The condenser is located on the hot side. Its main function is to facilitate heat transfer. Resembling a car’s radiator in looks, it actually works the opposite of the evaporator by converting the evaporated refrigerant back into a liquid. This process is called a heat transfer, working on the principle that heat will always move from a warmer to a cooler substance.

Expansion Valve

The expansion valve is located between the evaporator and condenser coils. Its main function is to regulate the refrigerant flow into the evaporator. It removes pressure from the liquid refrigerant allowing the conversion into gas to occur in the evaporator.

Compressor

The compressor is located on the hot side. Its main function is to pressurize refrigerant. The compressor is a large electric pump repressurizing the refrigerant gas to convert it back into liquid. It assists the condenser, while the expansion valve assists the evaporator.

Call Us for Your Air Conditioning Needs

While there are additional fans, valves, sensors, and other components to your air conditioner, these four components are fundamentally the main components. Call ACS Air Conditioning Services at 520-230-5668 or request service online if you think you need service or replacement on one or more of them. Or one of our certified experts is happy to discuss the roles of these components in more detail with you any time you have a question.