How to Keep Up with Your HVAC Coils

HVAC coils are the air conditioning components that capture heat and move it out of your home. After they’ve done their job, what’s left behind inside the house is cool comfort, even on the hottest day. Here’s how the AC refrigerant cycle utilizes HVAC coils to keep your home cool:

• Refrigerant circulating through the evaporator coil in the indoor air handler extracts household heat from the system airflow.

• Refrigerant flows through insulated tubing to the outdoor AC unit, where heat molecules are compressed by the compressor.

• As refrigerant enters the outdoor condenser coil, absorbed indoor heat is dispersed into outdoor air.

• The flow of refrigerant returns to the indoor evaporator coil and continues extracting heat from the home.

Things That Go Wrong with Coils

Because HVAC coils are exposed to indoor system airflow and outdoor weather, they may accumulate dirt and dust that reduces heat-transfer efficiency and increases AC operating costs. Also, coil corrosion and deterioration may trigger refrigerant leaks, potentially damaging critical system components like the expensive compressor.

How to Keep HVAC Coils Fully Functional

Most coil maintenance is not a DIY project. The indoor evaporator coil is sealed inside the indoor air handler and inaccessible to the average homeowner. Servicing the outdoor condenser coil requires removal of the housing to access the coil and the fan.

The most important step to maintain HVAC coils is to schedule annual preventative maintenance for your air conditioner that's provided by a qualified HVAC technician. This service includes inspecting both coils as well as cleaning away dust and dirt accumulation on coil surfaces. Annual professional maintenance also includes checking AC refrigerant charge and, if necessary, tracking down leaks in the system, including HVAC coils. 

There's one do-it-yourself task that helps sustain coil function: Cut back weeds, bushes, and other obstructions that may block air circulation into the outdoor unit that houses the condenser coil. Keep at least two feet of open space on all sides of the unit to ensure proper airflow.

For professional service to keep your HVAC coils fully functional and your house comfortably cool, contact the professionals at Air Assurance.

A Refrigerant Charge Can Give a Boost to a Warm A/C

Summer is upon us in Broken Arrow, and the air conditioner is something that everyone expects to work as well as last year. However, many homeowners are unaware that they should be checking their refrigerant charge to ensure effective and efficient cooling throughout the hottest part of the year. In a perfect world, your air conditioner would dutifully perform its job until the end of its warranty, but in reality, preventive maintenance is necessary to keep it cooling as it should.

Reasons to Check Refrigerant Charge

An air conditioner is a complex system of copper tubing, compressor and an evaporator coil that should be sealed to keep refrigerant inside. However, minor refrigerant leaks can occur that are not quite bad enough to purge the system of coolant completely. These leaks can cause enough of a leak that your A/C unit has a hard time keeping up with cooling needs in the dead of summer. If this happens, you will need to have your refrigerant charge topped off. Common causes for leaks include:

• Faulty parts

• Worn connectors

• Corrosion eating through components

• Vibrations causing holes in copper line

Schedule a Service Call

Whether you notice your A/C unit struggling to keep up with your annual cooling needs or not, it is a good idea to have a certified technician come out and check your refrigerant charge. Not only will this keep your unit running as efficiently as it should, it may also warn you of any impending problems you may have. Large leaks have to be fixed, and it is much better to discover them before the heat makes waiting on a service call miserable. Setting some time aside to make the call to your local service center to have a technician come out is a small investment considering the benefits of a properly tuned air conditioner.

Keeping your A/C functioning takes active involvement, and if you need expert advice or maintenance, please contact us at Air Assurance Heating, Air Conditioning, Plumbing. We have been industry leaders in the Broken Arrow region for nearly three decades.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).

Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Chatchawan/Shutterstock”

The A/C: How It Works, Some Terms to Know

The A/C: How It Works, Some Terms to Know

The hot and humid summers of Broken Arrow put quite a demand on your A/C. You can keep your air conditioning operating at its best with some basic knowledge and a plan for regular maintenance. Understanding how your air conditioning works and knowing some of the terms will help you get the most from your system.How it worksYour A/C removes heat from the air inside your home and releases it to the outside. Cool air is then circulated throughout your home. It does this by using a refrigerant that changes from liquid to gas and back to liquid. It absorbs heat as it evaporates and releases heat when it condenses.Basic components

• Compressor: The A/C compressor is typically located outside and driven by an electric motor. It compresses the refrigerant. The high pressure packs the molecules of the refrigerant together, thereby raising its temperature and energy. This hot, high pressure vapor then goes to the condenser.

• Condenser: The condenser is also located outside along with the compressor in what is called the condensing unit. Air blows across the condensing coils and releases heat from the gas to the outside air. As the temperature of the refrigerant lowers it becomes a liquid and is moved to the expansion valve.

• Expansion valve: The hot liquid refrigerant becomes a mist as it passes through the tiny opening of the expansion valve. The molecules have room to expand and cool. The refrigerant is now a low pressure cool liquid and moves to the evaporator coil inside your home.

• Evaporator coil: Warm air is cooled as it blows across the evaporator coil. The refrigerant heats up as it absorbs heat energy from the air and returns to a gaseous state. It then returns to the compressor to repeat the heat exchange process.

For more information on air conditioning and keeping your home comfortable and energy efficient, contact Air Assurance. We have more than 30 years experience serving the Tulsa metropolitan area and have the largest HVAC fleet in the area ready to serve you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  Image courtesy of Shutterstock