Overview
Central Air Conditioning is a cooling system that circulates cool air to all or most of your home through ductwork which can be inside your walls, floors or ceilings. The registers where the cool air comes out can be mounted on your walls, floors or ceilings.
Central Air Conditioning has relatively expensive components (outside condenser unit, and inside blower and motor unit) and uses a significant amount of energy to operate. Your air conditioning unit actually performs three functions: cooling, dehumidifying, and filtering out particulates from the air. Your central air conditioning ductwork may be integrated as part of your home HVAC (heating ventilation and air conditioning) system.
Central Air Conditioning is different than a ‘Room Air Conditioner,’ which typically mounts in a window or on the floor, and does not have distribution ductwork.
If you have Central Air Conditioning, you may also have related home features such as: a Whole-House Humidifier; a Heat Pump (traditional); a Geothermal Heat Pump; Electronic Air Cleaner; Fresh Air Heat Exchanger; or Forced Air Heat which uses the same ductwork as your Central Air Conditioning. If you have any of these, you should put a checkmark for them as home features in your Home Wizard app, in addition to Central Air Conditioning.
Proper maintenance will help reduce unscheduled repairs to your home air conditioning system.
Routine Care
Check water drain
If the condensate lines or drain of your air conditioner become blocked or develops leaks, the result could be water spilling out around your unit, which can cause safety hazards and/or water damage
Timing: April (yearly)
How To
When an air conditioner cools the temperature of the air, water condenses out of the air (similar to the way water condenses on the outside of a cold drinking glass on a hot day). Most central air conditioning units have a condensate drain to collect this water. This is typically located on the side of the inside fan unit.
This condensation system and drain should be inspected to make sure there are no obstructions, and that the hoses all fit properly.
Benefits
The benefits of this task are relatively high. Doing this task can help prevent serious damage from water leaking in your home, especially if your air handler is located in the attic.
Costs
The cost of this task is very low. It is estimated that this task should only take about 10 minutes to complete, and the task is relatively easy to do. No specialized tools are required.
Originally posted at http://www.petermuehlbronner.home-wizard.com/central-air-conditioning/care/central-ac-check-water-drain