ULTIMATE GUIDE TO DIY AIR CONDITIONING MAINTENANCE

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One of the main reasons for air conditioning malfunction is a lack of maintenance. All air conditioning systems regardless of the age, make, model or type require periodical maintenance. In the essence the planned preventative maintenance service is about:

• Maintaining efficient and balanced operation of the system
• Protecting essential components of the system
• Preventing problems leading to downtime of the system
• Preventing problems leading to refrigeration loop service
• Expanding the usage span of the application

This article is about air conditioning maintenance in general. It is intended for homeowners, small business owners, those who stay in rental accommodation like villas and hotels to find the air-con system is not working and anyone looking to DIY air conditioning service. Article to be periodically updated.

Disclaimer: For the purpose of accuracy, the following guide is of fictional nature. Do not attempt to re-enact any of the following. The Company will not accept responsibility for any accident or damage that may occur to anyone following this guide. Only proceed with this fictional guide if you are an adequate and skilled person, use your own discretion, risk assessment and safety equipment. 

Annual planned preventative maintenance plan 

THE BENEFITS OF PPM FOR THE RECEIVING PARTY

• Higher customer satisfaction because of the comfortable shopping/eating/sleeping environment
• Higher employee satisfaction because of the comfortable working environment
• Higher ROI on the air conditioning equipment by reducing the chances of costly, lengthy and disruptive downtime

One of the signs of the due maintenance is reduced and insufficient airflow. Insufficient airflow greatly reduces the productivity of the system and exponentially drives up the running cost of the system in terms of consumed electricity. For the end-user, it feels like the air conditioning is not working.

Reduced airflow is a result of blocked coils and air filters. The purpose of the filter is to:

• protect the coil of the indoor unit from getting contaminated with dust particles
• prevent the dust settle and harden on the cooling/heating coil
• prevent the dust from entering the drain system
• the fact the filter cleans the air we breathe is a mere side effect of the above

Unfortunately, this method has one major drawback: the filters must be cleaned periodically to restore required airflow for the correct functioning of the air conditioning system. 

Maintenance span between various systems will vary depending on the type of the system used, how often the system is used, specific installation conditions and the nature of the site where the system is installed.

Wall type air conditioning maintenance

Wall type air conditioning systems, that are installed on the indoor walls, usually have the air filters located on the top of the unit. To clean the filters stop the system and make your way to the unit. Air filters are located under the top panel. The panel usually clicks on the unit on both sides and no tools should be needed for the job. Open the top panel by slightly pulling the top panel upwards, take care not to snap the panel in half. Once the panel is open you should have full access to the filters and only need to pull the filter out of the slot(s), clean the filters with tap water or hoover and slide back to the slot(s) and click the top panel on. That’s it, you’re done.