When it comes to improving energy efficiency and saving money, nothing gets the job done quite like Preventative HVAC Maintenance. In fact, as we have stated before, heating and air conditioning can account for as much as 30% of a commercial building’s annual energy usage. So when your HVAC system is not performing at peak efficiency, your energy bill could be significantly impacted.
Cleaning Condenser Coils – A Critical Part of Preventive HVAC Maintenance
What is the Condenser Coil?
The condenser coil is part of your air conditioning system, located inside the condensing unit.
- If you have a spit system, the condensing unit is the outdoor part of your system.
- If you have a package or rooftop system, then the condensing unit is only part of the outdoor unit.
Why Clean Condenser Coils?
Condenser coils are highly prone to dirt and dust buildup. Over time, this build up can lead to major inefficiencies and even damage to your air conditioning unit.
What are the Benefits of Cleaning Condenser Coils?
Cleaning the condenser coils of an air conditioning system can be beneficial in several ways, including:
- Increase HVAC operating efficiency
- Extend equipment life
- Improve indoor air quality
- Save money
What happens if a Condenser Coils are not Cleaned?
If not cleaned annually, dirty condenser coils can cause many problems, including:
- Dirty HVAC coils can increase energy consumption by approximately 37%.
- When a coil is dirty, it can no longer provide the designed heat transfer, causing higher discharge pressure and increased energy usage. This leads to increased utility costs.
- When the coils are dirty, the compressor needs to work harder, which adds excessive heat to the system and can result in a loss of up to 30% of the system’s cooling capacity.
- Dirty coils create a breeding ground for mold and bacteria, directly affecting the air quality of your building.
- The increased workload, operating pressures, and temperatures dirty coils cause can significantly shorten the life of your HVAC equipment. Replacing a compressor is a fairly expensive repair.
Why spend all this money when you could have avoided the problem with preventive maintenance?
How do you Clean Condenser Coils?
There are many considerations to make when cleaning condenser coils. Where are the coils located? What equipment is close by? What material is being removed from the coils’ surface? All of these questions and more must be answered before even thinking about cleaning the condenser coils.
Cleaning options include:
- Coil Cleaner: When using a coil cleaner, be sure you are not using a corrosive cleaner. When you are done, your coils should not be bright. The brighter the coil’s surfaces, the more metal you have just removed. The consistent use of products like this can significantly diminish the life of the coil.
- Pressure Cleaning: One of the most popular methods for cleaning condenser coils is pressure cleaning. However, before pressure cleaning coils, take into consideration that pressure cleaning may increase airborne macromolecular organic dust (MOD). These airborne contaminants must be contained to the area being cleaned.
Of course, the best way to ensure your condenser coils are cleaned properly is to leave the work to the professionals. It is important to be careful when cleaning the coils. The aluminum fins are soft and easily damaged from high pressure water spray. If the coils get bent, they will not have efficient heat transfer.
Crocket Facilities Services: Helping Business Owners and Property Managers Increase the Energy Efficiency of their Buildings and Maximize HVAC Performance
Our MSCA GreenSTAR qualified technicians can optimize your mechanical and HVAC equipment and lower your utility costs with our commercial preventive heating and cooling maintenance agreements.
If you have any questions, please contact Crockett Facilities Services by calling 202.600.2787 or email sales@crockett-facilities.com and see how our MSCA GreenSTAR certified service technicians can help you. Since 2000, our customers have trusted us to run their high profile government and commercial buildings and mission critical data centers, giving them peace of mind. Contact us today to get a FREE assessment of your HVAC equipment. We’re in this Building Together!
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