Did you know that air conditioners require regular servicing to perform at their best? In this post, we’ll take a look at…

• Why servicing your air conditioner is important,
• How much an air conditioner service costs, and
• What happens during an air conditioner service?

If you’re looking to learn more about air conditioning servicing, then this is the blog for you!

Why is Servicing Important?

It is important to understand why you need to get your air conditioner serviced in the first place. One important reason why you should service your air conditioner frequently is the health aspect. 

With ducted air conditioning, conditioned air is distributed through ducting to each room/zone. As time goes on and with use, dust and other debris may accumulate inside these air conditioning ducts. If your air conditioning filter hasn’t been cleaned or replaced for a while, then it won’t efficiently catch and trap this dust and debris. Instead, it may flow directly into your home. 

Another big reason why you should have your air conditioner serviced at the required intervals is to keep the running costs in check. As the dust and debris get caught and trapped over time, the airflow gets restricted. With restricted airflow, the unit must now work harder to keep the conditioned air flowing into your home at the same speed and to reach the set point. Think of it like having a kink in your garden hose, the flow of water out of the hose is reduced. When airflow is restricted, and the unit is working harder, the running costs can increase significantly, costing you more money. 

Another aspect to consider is the manufacturer’s warranty policy. For some manufacturers, there are terms that state you must service your air conditioning unit at specific periods, with specific work performed, to keep the manufacturer’s warranty valid. Much like a new car warranty, this work may also need to be completed by an authorised air conditioning company, such as Ford & Doonan Air Conditioning.

How Servicing a Ducted Air Conditioner and a Split System Air Conditioner is Different?

Ducted and split system air conditioners operate differently. Therefore, the servicing technique differs as well. Let’s take a brief look at how both of these works.

Ducted Air Conditioner

Ducted air conditioners have both an indoor and outdoor unit. The indoor unit is mounted in the roof, whilst the outdoor condenser unit is located outside. The indoor unit pumps conditioned air throughout your home via ducts. These ducts are connected to outlets that allow the conditioned air to flow into your rooms. These rooms can also be split up into different zones on applicable zoned ducted air conditioning systems.

Split Air Conditioner

A split system air conditioner provides conditioned air to a single room, or several rooms when a multi-split system is used. The split system features a wall hung or floor mounted indoor unit, and a single outdoor condenser unit. 

What happens during an air conditioning service?

Let’s start with a ducted air conditioning system. As mentioned earlier, the ducting must be inspected for tears and damage, and the filter must be inspected and cleaned (or replaced if necessary). The indoor unit must also be inspected to ensure that all the ducting is still correctly connected. Also, evaporator coils must be inspected, and inspection of the condensate drain and emergency drain system is performed to ensure they’re free from blockages.

On the contrary, servicing a split system air conditioner doesn’t require maintenance on the ducting. For a split system service, technicians will clean the filter, ensure the indoor unit is still correctly and safely mounted to the wall, and adjust controller settings as per the customer request. If a new filter is required, the technician will organise a quotation.

For both air conditioners, technicians will also inspect the condition and wear and tear of the outdoor condenser unit to ensure it aligns with the manufacturer’s expectations.

How Often Should I Get It Serviced?

The frequency can depend on the manufacturer. Here at Ford & Doonan, we highly recommend that you service your air conditioning unit at least once a year. This is our recommendation because it ensures that you have your air-con running at the highest efficiency, no matter the season. 

While once a year is the general rule of thumb for air conditioner servicing, your manufacturer may beg to differ. So, make sure you go through the manual or contact our Service Department to know exactly how often you are supposed to service your unit. Remember, servicing your air conditioner can be a requirement for your warranty.

Another main reason why you would want to service your air conditioning unit after a certain period is performance. Think about your car. It requires servicing at a certain time or mileage, right? If you don’t service your car for several years, the engine and other componentry will be negatively impacted. The same goes for your air conditioner. Without servicing and maintenance, filters will get clogged, tears and rips will occur in your ducting, and the outdoor unit may become damaged. All of this will contribute to poor performance.

How Can Servicing Improve Performance?

Now that we’ve covered the basics of air conditioning servicing and why we recommend it being serviced once per year, let us now explore how an air conditioner service can improve performance. 

The first thing that improves is the airflow when you service your unit. As we mentioned previously when airflow is restricted, the performance and efficiency of your air conditioner are significantly impacted. 

But, less airflow also means less comfort, as you won’t be receiving anywhere near the correct or required conditioned air.

With a well serviced ducted air conditioner, rips or tears in the ducting is less frequent. These rips or tears can be caused by rodents or other trades performing work in your roof space. Conditioned air can escape when a tear forms. Rather than being pumped into your home, instead, it’s going out to your roof space! 

A waste of conditioned air and a waste of money.

Finally, there is condensation. It’s not a system issue rather it’s something inevitable. During summer, it’s very common for ducted air conditioners to have small amounts of water on the outdoor condenser unit. This is caused by the refrigeration cycle and isn’t a system issue. However, too much water can be a sign the unit isn’t working efficiently, and when your unit is working inefficiently up go the running costs.

How Much Does an Air Con Service Cost?

Ford & Doonan provide maintenance servicing and breakdown repairs for residential and commercial air conditioners. Ford & Doonan provide ducted air conditioning services, split system air conditioning services, and evaporative air conditioning services throughout Perth.

Ducted Air Conditioning Servicing starts from $270* 

Split System Air Conditioning Servicing starts from 210**

* The price might vary depending on the condition of your system and how much servicing it requires and time spent on site. Excludes parts.

** For a single residential split system. Excludes parts.

*** For a single residential system. Excludes parts.

Speak with our Service Department for a full list of inclusions.

How to Change Your Ducted and Split System Filter

If you wish to simply change your air conditioning filter, then be sure to watch our handy videos below.