Okay, what the heck is an air conditioner condenser in the first place? And why does it have coils? Sounds gross.
No worries, because Rowland Air is here to help you unravel all of the mysteries of the HVAC world.
Actually, no, because we don’t want to bore you to tears. But we do want to help with an informational piece on condenser coils and why keeping them clean matters a lot.
What Is an AC Condenser, and How Often Should the Coils Be Cleaned?
The condenser sits inside the exterior AC unit alongside your home. The condenser coil is an assembly of tubing that works a lot like the radiator on your car; its mission is heat transfer, and it uses high-tech compressed refrigerant to do its job. It all happens because of the fins that increase the coil’s surface area and enable efficient heat transfer.
But how often you need to clean your condenser coils is going to vary depending on a lot of things.
In southern California, it’s relatively dry compared to other parts of the country, and you might think that’s a good thing for condenser coils, but don’t think so fast. We also get a lot of salt air in Ventura County and surrounding areas, and that means corrosion.
What Happens If They’re Not Regularly Cleaned?
Dust, grime, oil, and surface corrosion effectively insulate the coil, which is the opposite of good. The fins on the coil absolutely need bare metal-to-air contact in order to work their best.
Is This a DIY Job?
There are indeed many do-it-yourself condenser coil cleaning products on the market these days. Probably the most important principle to invoke here is that just because you can do a thing doesn’t necessarily mean that you should.
HVAC professionals go to school for a while and for a good reason. They learn quite a lot when they’re there, and that’s just the beginning. All of the technicians at Rowland Air have years of on-the-job experience. They’ve seen it all, and they know how to spot a problem and address it before it becomes expensive or catastrophic.
They also have an entire truck full of parts and tools specifically designed to be used on the highly specialized equipment that comprises your home’s HVAC system.
We don’t recommend you try this at home, in other words.
What Would a Professional Do?
The awesome thing is that a pro won’t just show up with a garden hose, spray your coil down with (damaging) high-pressure water, charge you a million bucks, and leave.
Professional technicians inspect and analyze the condenser coil’s performance and condition. They also not only clean but also align your coil’s fins with specialized tools and products designed for HVAC systems.
On top of that, they will confirm that the correct amount of refrigerant, no more and no less, is present within the system, and they will perform a full safety check of the equipment before they sign off on it.
It’s very important to keep your condenser coil’s fins clean and maintained. You don’t want that expensive HVAC system working harder than it needs to.