What if maintaining your air conditioning was the best way to preserve your thermal comfort over the years? Discover today, why and how to maintain air conditioning through expert advice.
Why Should You Maintain Your Air Conditioning Properly?
To preserve the thermal performance of your device but also to prevent any later breakdown or deterioration of the components, it is essential to regularly maintain your air conditioning. A fan full of dust and deposits, for example, will tend to perform its role less well and therefore evacuate less heat to the outside. A poorly maintained filter will promote the diffusion of dust and allergens in your home. A decrease in the volume of your refrigerant can generate too much frost around your air conditioner and damage the components of your unit.
Therefore, it is essential to carry out regular maintenance of your air conditioning, both to preserve your thermal comfort and avoid shortening its life.
Who Can Maintain An Air Conditioner?
When choosing your air conditioning, your salesman and your installer have certainly talked to you about an air conditioning maintenance contract, to maintain the thermal performance of your device over time. Thus, a sworn professional can maintain your air conditioning. However, check that he has a certificate of competence in handling refrigerants, especially useful if your refrigerant circuit leaks.
You can also choose to do your own maintenance. Be careful though, this will be possible if you are the owner of your home. But in the case of a rental, a maintenance contract with a professional will allow you to benefit from proof of its passage and thus of the maintenance of your appliance. In addition, as a tenant, you will have to refer to your rental agreement to verify who is responsible for maintaining the air conditioning system.
Generally, the replacement of damaged parts and any repair costs are the responsibility of your landlord, provided that these replacements and repairs are not secondary to a maintenance defect. In this case, you will be responsible for all costs. This is why it is strongly recommended to call an aircon repair professional.
Obligations & Maintenance Terms
Depending on your use and the quality of your air conditioning, the rhythm of maintenance or repair operations may change from one year to the next. However, the law requires mandatory maintenance by a professional of any heat pump with a power of 4 to 70kW and this at least every 2 years. Note that an inspection is mandatory every 5 years for a device of 70kW or more.
The operations carried out within the framework of the maintenance of your air-conditioning are then relatively similar from one model to another:
- Dusting off the fans and interior diffusers;
- Dusting of the fan of the external block;
- Cleaning the filters of the indoor units and replacing them if necessary;
- Cleaning the ventilation system by blowing it out and using an anti-bacterial spray;
- Emptying the condensate tray.
Of course, the system’s operation, the absence of leaks, and the unit’s adjustment will also be checked at this time. This will be the occasion to check that your refrigeration system is free of leaks, in which case your appliance could ice up abnormally and harm your thermal comfort but also your safety.
Note that a proper installation of your air conditioning makes the refrigerant circuit totally sealed, which means that the gas/fluid refilling is minimal or even non-existent. In case of malfunction of your air conditioning before the date of the annual maintenance, whether it is a leak, too much frost or a loss of thermal performance, do not hesitate to ask your refrigeration specialist.
Although most of these operations can be done easily on your own, we strongly recommend that you call in a professional to service your air conditioning system. In addition to cleaning and dusting your various units, he will be able to verify the integrity of your system and offer you expert advice on use, adjustment and consumption. Moreover, a professional will notice or even anticipate a probable leak or malfunction of your system and remedy it.