Steps To Test Your Central Air Conditioners Cooling Ability In No Time

The best time to check if your AC unit is working efficiently is before the summer season arrives. Having a central AC unit that does not cool your entire home effectively is a complete turnoff. Doing a DIY to test the efficiency of your system is a tedious task if you are not aware of the procedure to follow. Consider calling a heating and air conditioning Roanoke VA professional to help you figure out the efficiency of your AC unit. 

To test your central air conditioners cooling ability unit is working efficiently, will require a thermometer to read the temperature. Consider removing the air filters before testing so that they do not obstruct the airflow. 

Test the efficiency of your air conditioning unit by following the steps given below:

Step 1: Switch on your AC unit

The best time to check the efficiency of your AC unit is during the hot day to identify the efficiency of your system. Switch on your AC unit and let it run for at least 15-20 minutes before testing. Set the thermostat well below the average room temperature.  

Step 2: Locate the air ducts in your house

While your AC unit is on and running, locate the return and the supply ducts in your house. To identify this, you can take the help of tissue paper. If the tissue paper flys away when placed on the duct, this means that it is the supply duct. 

On the other hand, when you place the tissue paper on the return duct, the tissue paper will get sucked inside. Once you identify both the ducts, you can go back and begin testing the efficiency of your AC unit. 

Step 3: Check the airflow

Check if the air is flowing properly through the AC unit, you will experience a cold breeze out of the unit. If there is any restricted airflow, this will be because of clogged or dirty air filters. For this reason, as mentioned above, you may consider wanting to remove the air filters so that there is no obstruction in the airflow. 

But if the filters are clean and the airflow is low, there may be a problem with the air ducts. 

 

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Step 4: Clean around the outdoor unit

The surroundings of the outdoor unit must be clean. Dust off any debris, dirt, or fallen leaves by the outside unit. If any particles are entering the outdoor unit, this may cause many problems. Hence, make sure no dirt enters the system. 

Step 5: Read the temperatures

Fix a thermometer near the return duct and wait for nearly 5 minutes and then measure the temperature. Repeat the same procedure for the other duct as well. If the breeze coming out of the duct is 15-20 degrees cooler, then your AC unit is working fine. Otherwise, it is either running low on the refrigerant, or the filters must be changed.

Looking for reliable air conditioning Roanoke VA services? The Woods family is the perfect solution you are looking to test your central air conditioners cooling ability! Call us today at (540) 992-3944 or drop us an email at [email protected] to avail of our services!