Your air conditioner works hard to keep you cool in the summer, so you want it to be in good shape at the start of the season. This entails cleaning the unit and having it serviced by an air conditioning technician. Here are some ways to get your AC ready for summer and why these steps are important.

Check The Refrigerant Level

Maintaining the refrigerant in your AC is a job for a professional HVAC technician. It's important to do this every year when your AC is serviced because low refrigerant can cause all kinds of problems with your AC. Your unit won't be able to keep you cool enough, and the AC will run longer and drive up your power bill when the refrigerant is low. If low refrigerant is found during a service call, the technician has to find and repair the leak so the refrigerant can be filled up to ensure your AC blows out chilly air.

Service The Motor And Coils

The blower and evaporator coils are in the air handler. These can get coated with dust over the course of the season, so they might need to be cleaned off to get the best performance out of your AC. In addition to getting dust off of the blower parts, the motor may need to have preventative maintenance done so it operates without overheating.

If the blower is coated with grime or the motor has failing parts, your AC may not blow very much air, the AC might make noises, and the AC could even shut down and not work at all due to the motor overheating. Grime can also affect the evaporator coils. It's essential that these stay clean or ice could form on the coils and cause your AC to shut down.

Clean The Condenser

The condenser has a fan, motor, and coils too. These need to be cleaned since they spend the winter outdoors and are exposed to dust, leaf debris, and bugs. The condenser has other important parts that work together to send refrigerant to the air handler. These parts need to be checked for damage and wear so they can be replaced if needed. Problems in the condenser can stress the compressor or burn it out, and the compressor is an expensive part to replace.

Your air conditioning service will do most of the work involved in getting your AC ready for summer, so be sure to schedule a tuneup that includes cleaning and preventative maintenance. One important job is left for you, and that's changing the filter regularly during the summer. If an AC filter isn't changed on time, airflow gets restricted and dust gets pulled in the air handler. That can lead to overheating, damage, and emergency shutdown of your AC.

To learn more, contact a company that offers air conditioning services.