When the weather starts warming up, Cedar Rapids area homeowners are eager to restart their air conditioners and keep their living spaces cool. After a long dormant period for your cooling equipment, there are important steps you should take before turning on your home’s AC after winter. In our most recent blog, Novak Heating and Cooling in Cedar Rapids, IA shares the steps that will help ensure your air conditioner runs optimally all summer long.
1. Schedule a Maintenance Tune Up
Before turning on your air conditioning system for the first time after winter, it’s best to schedule a professional maintenance tune up first. After the previous year’s cooling season and several months of rest, your air conditioning system needs some care before it kicks back into high gear. A tune up improves system efficiency and corrects flaws that cause energy waste and performance issues. Plus, any repair issues are taken care of right away, so you’re not stuck discovering them on the first hot day of the year!
If you don’t have time to schedule this service prior to turning on your air conditioner after winter, do so as soon as possible, as maintenance care is needed every year. If your heating, cooling and indoor air quality technician isn’t available to do so in the spring, try to take your cooling system for a test run before hot weather hits so you can identify possible repair needs and have them completed before summer. Just don’t turn the system on too early – air conditioners are designed to operate only in outdoor temperatures around 60 degrees or higher. Turning on your air conditioner when it is too cold outside can damage the system.
2. Uncover Outdoor Equipment
Some homeowners put a cover on their outdoor condensing units for the winter season. While this isn’t necessary, it typically won’t hurt anything as long as you remember to remove it before turning on your air conditioning system after winter. Accidentally running the air conditioner with the cover on will cause your system to experience severe airflow restriction, which could cause overheating and system damage in just a short time.
3. Clean and Inspect the Outdoor Unit
As you spend more time outside in the spring, make it a point to clean the AC’s outdoor condenser unit prior to turning it on after winter. Remove grass, leaves, and other matter that has stuck to the condenser’s fins. Weed around the unit’s base, and remove any vegetation growing up against the air conditioner. Prune close shrubs, and remove any items you’ve stored in the area directly around the unit. Give your air conditioner at least two feet of space on all sides for good airflow and accessibility for your technician.
4. Change Your Air Filter
It’s probably been a few months since your air conditioner’s air filter was replaced, as they generally don’t fill up as quickly during the spring due to reduced HVAC system use. Start the season off right by giving your air conditioner a fresh filter, which helps ensure correct airflow through the indoor system and protects inner components from debris buildup.
5. Open Vents in the Home
Before turning your air conditioning unit on after winter, walk through the house and make sure all supply vent covers are opened. Closed louvers don’t really help you save energy. Instead, they just increase pressure in the ducts, which can damage them.
Get Your Air Conditioner Ready for Summer!
Novak Heating and Cooling is ready to help you get your air conditioner in Cedar Rapids, Robins, Marion, North Liberty, or Hiawatha, Iowa ready for summer! Before turning on your AC after a long winter, be sure you schedule your maintenance visit and any repair work your system needs. We’ll make sure this work is completed ahead of time so you have a reliable air conditioner going into summer. Call us, or contact us online today to schedule service in the Cedar Rapids, IA area.