By Sierra Air Conditioning & Plumbing
What is Evaporator Coil?
Your Home Comfort System has both evaporator coils and condenser coils. The condenser coils are located in your outdoor unit and your evaporator coils are located in the inside unit. Evaporative coils are made from copper or aluminum and hold the chilled refrigerant which is continuously running through the evaporator coils in order to remove heat from your home’s air. As the refrigerant becomes warmer, it travels back to the outdoor condenser coil.
How Does the Process Work?
As the fan blows air over the coil, the refrigerant becomes cold and turns into a vaporous state. The refrigerant then absorbs heat and flows to the outside unit where it goes through compression and pressurization to become a hot gas and is dispelled into the air outside of your home. The refrigerant then loops back to the inside unit to get cold again, absorb heat, and then disperse it outside again. The evaporator coils and the condenser coils form a continuous loop.
Why is it Important to Keep Your Evaporator Coil Clean?
Dirty evaporator coils can increase your energy usage by up to 30%! Not only will it decrease your Home Comfort System’s efficiency, but dirty evaporator coils can cause other issues such as frozen coils, overheating your compressor, and decreased cooling power. A layer of dirt and dust on the evaporator coils may start acting as an insulator, making heat transfer less effective. This in turn may make your system work harder and run hotter. Having dirty evaporator coils may also decrease your indoor air quality and affect those with respiratory issues.
When your evaporator coils are well maintained, your system will run more efficiently, lower your energy bill, cool your home more quickly, give you better indoor air quality, and extend the life of your Home Comfort System.
How Often Should You Get Your Evaporator Coil Cleaned?
Evaporator coils typically need to be cleaned everything 3-5 years but can go longer with proper filtration. Your evaporator coil’s best defense to staying clean and efficient is using appropriate filtration and changing your filters regularly. We recommend filter changes every month. If you have not gotten your yearly maintenance, call us today to schedule yours!
And if you sign up for our Sierra Air Conditioning & Plumbing Annual Maintenance plan, with your maintenance we include a treatment that helps to prevent mold, mildew, and corrosion inside of your drain pan and drain lines (value $110).
