Have you recently purchased a new house? Have you discovered that the air conditioner doesn't exactly work as you expected? Although it's possible that your system may need to be replaced or may need serious repairs, it's also possible that the trouble lies with something that can be remedied relatively easily by you. Before you call in a repair technician, check out these things in order to determine if they are the cause of your current lack of cooling:

Change the air filter: It's always a good idea to change the filter for an air conditioning system as soon as you move into a new house. You have absolutely no idea how long the filter that's in place has actually been in use. It could be a couple days, it could be a couple months. To be safe, just replace it. Most air filters need to be replaced on a monthly basis. There are some filters that claim that they can last for 2 or 3 months but this isn't necessarily true. Heavy amounts of dust or pollen in the air can clog any filter more quickly than the manufacturer's expected time. If replacing the filter doesn't change anything, it may be time to call in your local residential cooling system repair technician.

Check the vents: Some systems have vents with levers that allow the vents to open and close as necessary. It's possible that the previous occupants of the home closed one or more vents for various reasons and then forgot about it. The vents don't even have to be completely closed for them to have an effect on your home's interior temperature. Even a partly closed vent can restrict airflow enough that part of your home is hotter than the rest of the house, causing you to think that calling a residential cooling system repair technician is going to be necessary. Even if your vents look to be open, get up on a stepstool to confirm that they actually are completely open and aren't partially closed. 

Clean the A/C unit's exterior: If your air conditioner is a ground-based unit, it's easy for it to collect dead leaves and other debris. Debris like this can block airflow and prevent proper cooling from occurring. If you haven't gotten much rain lately, it's a good idea to hose off the unit every so often to wash this debris away. If the house has been empty and unused for some time, it's also possible that insects or rodents have made their way inside of the unit and have caused issues within. This is definitely something that should be checked out by your residential cooling system repair technician.

For more information, contact companies like Controlled Comfort.