For your home’s central air conditioner to achieve peak efficiency and performance, clean condenser coils are essential. Though, over time, a condenser coil will become coated with dust, grime and even mold. This erodes A/C efficiency and effectiveness, and it can threaten your health.
External air-cooled condenser used in water cooler or refrigerator
Source: istockphoto
Condenser Coil Plays a Key Role in Your A/C
To understand why clean condenser coils are important, it helps to understand how an A/C cools your home. Employing the principle of refrigeration, a standard central air conditioner has an indoor air handler, containing a fan and evaporator coil, and an outside compressor/condenser unit.
As the refrigerant solution changes from a liquid to a gas in the evaporator coil, it extracts heat energy from the indoor air, which results in cool air. The refrigerant then transfers the heat outside where it’s expelled from the condenser coil into the outdoor air, with the help of the compressor and fan.
Both coils must be clean in order to properly complete the heat-exchange process. If the release and removal of heat energy, outside and inside respectively, is restricted by dirty coils, the A/C must work longer and harder to cool your home. You’ll lose efficiency, electric bills will go up, and your A/C may eventually break down. Dirty coils also impair dehumidification by your A/C.
Cleaning A/C Evaporator Coils
If you’re good with machinery, you may try cleaning the evaporator coil. A combination of blowing and brushing is the preferred method.
Compressed air can be blown across the condenser coil, moving from the cleaner to the dirtier side. If you’re using compressed air, avoid damaging the fins. Consistent airflow across the coil will loosen grime and dust without blowing it farther into the fins. Brush cleaning also may be necessary, though avoid forcing the issue or using a hard-wire brush that might damage fins or coils.
If this sounds difficult, there’s no need to worry. Cleaning A/C condenser and evaporator coils is a part of professional A/C maintenance. Contact us Bradbury Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning, providing quality HVAC service to residents in The Woodlands, Conroe, Magnolia and other nearby areas.
