Furnace and A/C maintenance

[bignana]

We have a 1973 double-wide, which has an older air conditioning unit (Carrier, round, outside, probably 10 years old or more) and a fairly new furnace (2008 or 2009 I think).

Everything runs fine, and we're in sunny California, so there's no snow, although it does get cold and also very hot in the summer. Both units work very well.

We're never sure whether to get each unit checked before the season; in other words, April or so for the a/c and September or October for the furnace.

The technicians were here in November 2012, and they checked the furnace. My roommate is not sure whether they checked the a/c (I wasn't home), but I think it's all one system, basically, so if one part is checked, so is the other one.

However, I'm not sure. Can someone advise? Thanks!

[David Oxhandler]

If in fact the air and heat are a combined unit there should be two separate components. The condenser unit is usually located outside the house, The evaporator coil is mounted inside or above the furnace.

Central air units should be professionally inspected and adjusted before the beginning of every cooling season to keep your system operating at peak efficiency.

A homeowner can save money by keeping the condenser and evaporator coils clean which will help the unit run longer and more efficiently. See our article archive - Cleaning Your Air Conditioner

[bignana]

Thanks for replying, David. I cannot imagine cleaning the a/c as in the article, although it's very descriptive!

I think you're saying that the a/c should be serviced at the beginning of the warm weather, and the furnace serviced separately at the beginning of the cold weather. Correct? Two times per year is best?

I'm presuming those that we pay $79 for the service will be cleaning the coils and condenser, won't they?

[David Oxhandler]

Regardless of how good you are about changing the filters and keeping your home clean, tiny particles pass through the filter and end up on the coil. We have dogs and if I don't clean the coil before cooling season tiny dog hairs coat the coils and my electric bill spikes up to obnoxious.

Cleaning the coils can make a huge difference in the efficiency of your AC and so, the cost of electric to run it. I would expect that coil cleaning should be part of the seasonal service BUT... you never know 'till you ask. When you call the guys that handle that service be sure to ask.

If you have part of the cooling unit inside, often you will have an "A" shaped coil... if that is the case that coil needs to be extracted from the unit and all three sides of it cleaned. Many contractors only clean the bottom, the part that is visible with out removing the coil. If the bottom of the coil needs to be cleaned it is almost a certainty that the entire coil needs cleaning. Speak up and ask about the extras cost to remove and fully clean that "A" coil. You will save more than the difference over the summer

When they come to do the job look at the inside of the unit once they have it open. The coils look kinda like a car radiator. If the coil fins are silver they are clean ... if they look black or have dark patches hanging from them they absolutly need to be cleaned.