It is tough to imagine when the weather is mild, or even cold, that there are sweltering days of summer on their way. You know, those days when the sun is beating down and the humidity is so high your lungs feel like you are breathing through a wet sponge. This is when you need your central air conditioning to be operating at peak efficiency, but is your AC ready to handle the coming summer heat?

Central AC Cleaning

It is the air blowing over those aluminum fins that cover the coils of the condenser and evaporator that slowly build up grime that can drastically reduce AC efficiency. The part outside with the big fan and large surface area of aluminum fins is the condenser. It is the hot side of the AC system that dissipates the accumulated heat from inside your home to the outside. Oxidation, debris, insect nests and airborne particulates can block airflow. The evaporator is the cold side and is usually housed inside the main air duct of your furnace. These coils get wet with condensation that is drained away, and dust is the main offender that leads to blocked drains and coils that freeze up to block airflow. Your central AC system may be in desperate need of cleaning.

Low Refrigerant

Your central air conditioning system relies on a specific amount of refrigerant to operate at peak efficiency. The compressor has a low refrigerant sensor that will shut it off once the compressed gas drops to a set point. However, the system can operate for years with slightly low refrigerant levels that keep it working but at a considerably reduced level of efficiency. Also, low refrigerant can lead to evaporator coil freezing. If you notice your AC system is not pumping out air as cold as it did a few years ago, it is time to call professional AC technicians to have it tested. Getting your AC system back to operating at peak efficiency saves you money in energy costs.

Home Additions

Many homeowners have had a contractor add an addition onto their home. In some cases the ability of both the furnace and central air system to handle the extra square footage has not been taken into consideration. Each furnace and AC unit is designed to heat and cool a specific area usually determined by its volume in square feet. If you have noticed that your furnace or AC system is not heating or cooling your home like they did before the addition, then contacting an HVAC professional who can look up the specifications of your system and calculate the total square footage of your home can be useful. Also, there just may be a problem in how the air is distributed or a problem with returning air back to the system that just requires adjustments and not equipment replacement.

Tree Cutting and Insulation

Things can change around and in your home that affect the ability of your air conditioning system to be able to cool your home properly. Cutting down a large shade tree on the southern side of your home exposes it to more heat from the sun. This can make rooms on that side of the house hotter than they were before a tree was cut down. This can often be corrected with some fine tuning of the air distribution system. Insulation is usually only considered when it comes to keeping the heat in during the winter months, but good insulation is needed to keep the heat out in the summer as well. This may involve something as simple as installing solar films on windows on the sunny side of your home to block out some more of the sun’s heat in the summer.

If your AC system is not performing up to your standards of comfort on the hottest days of summer, it may just need cleaned and adjusted to get back to keeping your house cool and comfortable on those miserable days. The best time to ready your home for the heat of summer is to get your AC system inspected and serviced before that first hot day when you really need it.