Air conditioning is often times similar to our own personal health – we don’t give much thought to it, until it breaks down. And when it comes to your air conditioner, breaking down usually comes at a time when the mercury’s rising and you can’t imagine one more minute of sweating yourself away into extinction. But there is a way to avoid the dreaded AC breakdown, while helping yourself save on energy costs as well – regular maintenance.

Regular maintenance performed on your air conditioner will not only ensure your machine is up and running when you need it, but it can help you in a variety of other ways as well. Here’s how.

When You Prepare, You Don’t Have To Repair

As one of North Carolina’s most trusted names in AC service and repair, we get far more emergency repair calls than we’d like. Don’t get us wrong – we’re glad to help our customers regain their comfortable living environment. And while there are plenty of times when a repair just can’t be avoided, the truth is that with regular maintenance, most AC emergency repairs would never occur.

We get it – regular maintenance costs money. However, if you were to hold the numbers side by side, you’d be surprised to learn that regularly maintaining your AC costs a whole lot less than having to fix something (particularly if you have to fix it in a hurry, which is often the case on a hot summer day). With regular maintenance, your coils will be cleaned out, your Freon levels will be checked, and filters will be replaced as needed. It’s these little issues that when neglected evolve into something disastrous that’ll take out your system. A small investment now – with regular maintenance – will save you a fortune, and your sanity, down the line.

Be True To Your Warranty

Warranties are fantastic things, aren’t they? They protect you from any hardships if something goes wrong with your AC unit, unless … wait a minute, didn’t you read that fine print? Most factory warranties are voided if you neglect regular maintenance. Most manufacturers require annual maintenance in order for your warranty to be honored. What’s that mean? It means that even if your AC fails while under warranty, you may be left footing the bill if you didn’t have regular maintenance performed.

Lower Your Bills

Time marches on. Your AC unit is not immune to this fact. For each passing year, an AC unit loses – on average – 5% of its efficiency. Over time, your unit’s components breakdown and weaken, and begin to underperform. In an effort to keep you as cool as you were 5 years ago, your AC unit will have to work even harder, and that kind of energy consumption does not come free. For every year you neglect to maintain your AC, your electric bill will likely increase. But, through proper care and maintenance, you can actually keep your AC unit running at 95% of its original efficiency, meaning your electricity bills will be lowered.

There are plenty of reasons why people don’t regularly maintain their air conditioning units. Perhaps it’s an “out of sight, out of mind” response; perhaps they feel that the chances of their units breaking down “this year” is unlikely; or perhaps they’re putting it off until later. However, with each passing year that your AC is not maintained properly, you’re increasing your bills and your likelihood of a breakdown. Investing in regular maintenance now can save you from a major catastrophe in the future.