Air conditioning

Why maintain your air conditioner?

The importance of cleaning and preventive maintenance of an air conditioning system sums up to three points:

1. Prevent public health problems due to the accumulation of harmful bacteria and substances in filters;
2. Decrease expenses with corrective maintenance tasks and/or compensation for public health problems.
3. More comfort and convenience for its users, as the device will be working in optimal conditions;

One of the most important maintenance points for your air conditioning is cleaning. It’s not hard to see why: since we normally use air conditioning indoors, the air never renews itself. This makes the air conditioning’s in-house filters ideal for all types of bacteria. On the other hand, lack of care with the drainage/cooling system creates standing water where bacterial colonies can also be returned.

Air Contamination

All airborne diseases are difficult to contain. Still, air conditioning units can contribute to storing and spreading bacteria, fungi, viruses and pollens, which are harmful to those suffering from asthma, allergies and chronic bronchitis.

Prevent Legionella

Legionella is a bacteria that accumulates in hot water tanks and deposits such as bathtubs, swimming pools or cooling systems such as air conditionings. Inhaling these waters causes Legionnaires’ Disease, which can be deadly.

Decrease your expenses

Proper maintenance of the air conditioning also extends its lifespan and ensures that the unit operates at its maximum capacity. Failure to clean filters, for example, could cause the equipment to overheat or not cool the interior temperature as much as possible. Therefore, proper maintenance is essential to offer more convenience to its users. Finally, it reduces expenses with new appliances and expenses with corrective repairs.

What does the law say about the maintenance of air conditioning equipment?

Since sanitation (or lack of it) has real implications for public health, many countries have adopted specific legislation and regulation. In Portugal, the Regulation of Energy Systems for Air Conditioning in Buildings (RSECE) focuses above all on air quality and energy efficiency and rationing, although it also emphasizes the importance of proper monitoring and maintenance. In point 3 of article 19, the preventive maintenance plan is mentioned, which includes maintenance and sanitation operations.

Tasks to be performed:

– Indoor Unit – Cleaning and sanitizing the air filters, checking the panel of the indoor unit, checking the interior of the unit, checking for gas leaks, checking the unit fixing, cleaning and sanitizing the tray and pipe, checking the good flow condensate, cleaning and checking the condensate pump (if any), checking the tightness of the connections, checking the proper functioning and checking the status of the batteries.

– Outdoor Unit – checking the heat exchanger, checking for corrosion, checking for gas leaks, checking the fixing of the unit, cleaning and sanitizing the tray and tube, checking the good flow of condensate, cleaning and checking the pump condensate (if any), check tightness of connections, check consumption and noise and check for proper functioning and noise.

After carrying out the aforementioned tasks, a maintenance report will be delivered with an indication of any anomalies detected and the necessary corrective actions proposed by the responsible technician.