Air conditioners are indispensable home and office appliances. An aircon can cool the surroundings within minutes and remove moisture too. This provides instant comfort. We have become so accustomed to using ACs that it is hard to imagine life without them. In providing us comfort, the aircons take a lot of hit from the environment, so aircon service is mandatory for optimal performance.
Why is aircon servicing crucial?
- Well-serviced aircons work optimally and cool faster while consuming lesser energy
- Small issues detected during service can become problems that may require expensive repairs if left untreated
- Aircons lose efficiency if not serviced regularly
How often to get the aircon serviced?
It is crucial that aircon servicing be done by a professional at least once a year
People often skip service if they feel the aircon is working normally. Skipping a service is a mistake. Your unit works for hours at a time, removing dust and circulating a considerable amount of air. This dust accumulates on your aircon’s components.
These are the effects of dust accumulation on critical areas:
- Filters: When the filters choked with dust, airflow significantly reduces.
- Condenser Coil: The condenser coil exchanges heat with the air. Dirt accumulation reduces its efficiency and effectiveness.
- Evaporator Coil: This is the coil inside the indoor unit. Air blows over the chilled evaporator, and that’s how your room gets cooled. Dirt affects the evaporators similarly.
Avoiding aircon service means losing cooling capacity, cooling speed, and increased power consumption.
Aircon servicing frequency
You aircon may require frequent service if used under certain conditions.
Consider the following points:
- Usage: Hours per day of aircon use
- Temperature: Higher temperature places more load on the components
- Environment: Moisture and rain causes dry dust to aggregate and becomes sticky
- Age: As your aircon unit ages, it would require frequent service
If the aircon is used many hours a day (let’s say 18-20), or the weather in your area is hotter. Singapore, for example, has many rainy days per month and perpetual humidity. Humidity combined with heat makes the aircon works harder than usual. Increased wear and tear of the components required frequent inspection and service. If it gets damaged, aircon repair is extremely expensive in Singapore.
Another environmental factor is moisture. Dust aggregates faster in moist air than drier air and begins to form clumps that clog the aircon coils and filters. You may not notice changes until the aircon loses much efficiency.
Older units have weaker parts with years of wear and tear. They will fail if the system isn’t given the right treatment.
In such harder usage conditions, have your aircon inspected every 3-4 months. This periodic maintenance will keep the evaporator and condenser coils clean, and the aircon retains its efficiency.
Signs to look out for
Under normal circumstances, continuous usage leads to a minimal decrease in efficiency and other parameters. Those are very hard to notice just by using the aircon.
Some signs point to a significant problem and could cause significant failure if not rectified early.
- Decreased Cooling: If there is a drastic increase in the time required to get your surroundings to cool, be alert. There could be some problem with the aircon. While hotter days will also increase the cooling time, problems can be observed easily.
An aircon loses cooling if its coils are clogged, or there is a leak in the piping leading to loss of refrigerant.
Consult your technician or service agency and have them inspect the system.
- Water dripping from the indoor unit:Dripping water means there is a clog in the outlet pipe for condensed water. Alignment issues during aircon installation sometimes cause water to drip instead of getting inside the outlet pipe.
Another reason could be the icing of the evaporator coils. When refrigerant pressure in the aircon system is low, the coils on the indoor unit (evaporator) have an ice formation. That ice can lead to water dripping your aircon.
Have your service technician inspect the system, and you may need to get the aircon refrigerant recharged.
- Compressor not cutting off:The outdoor unit, also called the compressor, is responsible for venting excess heat. After the surroundings cool to the desired temperature, the compressor cuts off for some time until there is a further requirement for cooling.
The compressor may have clogged coils that won’t allow it to exchange heat effectively, or there could be a problem of refrigerant pressure.
You may try cleaning the compressor coils yourself but if that does not fix the issue, have a professional service your aircon unit.
- Compressor not turning on:The compressor needs to turn on for the aircon to start cooling. If you feel that after a few minutes, there is no cold air coming out of the aircon, and then you probably have an issue with the compressor not turning ON. The fan will still turn, but it’ll blow air at the temperature of your surroundings.
Common reasons for this are capacitor failure, thermostat failure, or compressor failure.
These issues cannot be fixed without a professional. You must not try to attempt any fix on such issues. There are electrical hazards, and the refrigerants can cause choking.
Aircon repair is very expensive and is quite common in older aircon units that have been in use for multiple years. Relatively new aircons can also suffer such damage if servicing is not done correctly on time.
- Thermostat / Temperature sensor failure:If the aircon is not cooling as per the set temperature i.e., it is overcooling / undercooling, or not cooling at all, there could be issues with the thermostat or the temperature sensor that are collectively responsible for controlling the cooling of the aircon.
This issue would also require the services of a professional technician.
Conclusion
The air conditioner is a device without which the surroundings may become uncomfortable and, often, unbearable. Singapore’s hot and humid climate would be tougher to bear without aircons. You could have issues at your home or office if these systems don’t work properly. Keep them in top condition by regular service. With the careful inspection of the systems, you can yourself predict when your system needs service.
As the saying goes, “A stitch in time saves nine,” aircon repair can be costly and inconvenient if the system suffers major failure. Following the recommended aircon servicing schedule, you can avoid such failures and enjoy the relaxed surroundings whenever you want it. For general aircon servicing in Singapore, you can engage MCL Airconditioning for good quality work with affordable price. MCL is reliable aircon servicing company in Singapore.
