If you take a look at the upcoming weather forecast, you will notice that there are not many warm days ahead of us. That does not mean, however, that you should ignore any signs of trouble with your air conditioning system, even this late in the game. Sure, we’re going to be turning to our heaters rather than our ACs before long, but you never know when you’ll need to cool down a bit on a random hot day.
Even if you do not run into an issue before the start of the heating season this year, we recommend that you file the following information away for cooling seasons to come. While many homeowners may not be particularly familiar with their air conditioner coils, these components play a vital role in the cooling of one’s home. Don’t let dirty coils impede your air conditioning in Naperville, IL. Read on to learn about how big of a problem dirty coils can really be.
What Do the Coils Do?
To understand the function of the coils in your air conditioning system, you need a basic working knowledge of how it is that your air conditioner goes about cooling your home. It all has to do with the refrigerant cycle.
Refrigerant serves as the heat transfer fluid in your air conditioning system. It easily changes its physical state, so it is ideal for the absorbing and releasing of heat. As refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator coil in your indoor AC unit, it draws heat out of the air passing over that coil.
Once the refrigerant has done that, it travels out to the condenser coil, located in the outdoor unit of your AC system. There, the refrigerant is condensed back down to a cooler state. Its heat is dispersed into the air outside with the assistance of the condenser coil. The cycle just repeats over and over until the desired temperature is met in the house.
The Problem with Dirty Coils
When you take a hot pan off of the stovetop, you use a towel or a hot pad to prevent burning yourself. That insulating layer between you and the heat source prevents that heat from being absorbed into your skin. Well, the same principle applies to a dirty AC coil. Stick with us here.
If your evaporator coil is very dirty, then it is going to struggle to remove a sufficient amount of heat from the air passing over it. That will cause the system to work harder than it should have to, increasing strain on the system and driving up energy costs — along with the risk of damage to your AC.
If the outdoor coil is very dirty, then your system will struggle to release the heat absorbed by the refrigerant. This can put the compressor at risk of overheating. Once the compressor in an air conditioner fails, well, it’s pretty much time for a new air conditioner. Keeping your coils clean protects your budget, your AC, and your comfort.
Schedule your AC services with DuAll Heating & Cooling.
