Kolkata summers are brutal, with excessive humidity and heat making even the indoors too hot to handle. Naturally, air-conditioner use rises during these months. But ACs overheating and failing to cool rooms enough is a recurring problem in the city.
Experts and technicians advise on the essentials you need to keep in mind to prevent your ACs from overheating.
Prabir Chatterjee, senior technician and mechanic, Godrej Electronics, says outdoor units need more care than you think.
“Keeping your outdoor unit in a cool, shady place is key. The outdoor unit recycles the gas in your AC to liquid, which goes back into the AC. If the outdoor unit is in a warm place, the gases do not return to liquid form. This makes the ACs overheat, and it takes a longer to cool a room,” says Chatterjee.
“Keeping two feet of space on all sides of the outdoor unit is also key to saving energy and increasing the life of your ACs,” added Chatterjee.
Keeping two feet of space on all sides of the outdoor unit is key to saving energy and increasing the life of your ACs, say experts
Sukanta Ghosh, a technician at Khosla Electronics, says cleaning services are important.
“Just like you keep yourself clean, keep your ACs clean too. Changing the filters every six months is essential to maintaining good airflow,” says Ghosh. “Pollution levels are high in the city, and air filters get clogged frequently. A simple hack is cleaning the air filters with a nylon brush and rinsing the filters under cold water. Just be sure to dry them thoroughly before fitting them on again,” added Ghosh.
Low coolant levels, often indicated by ice on the coils or warm air blowing, force the system to run continuously, says Chatterjee.
“This can overheat the compressor. Coolant requires a sealed system; if it is low. Contact a local professional to fix leaks and recharge the unit to keep your ACs in perfect health.”
Sudip Das, a service person working for Great Eastern Electronics says pollutant accumulation is a big problem.
“Dust and grime on outdoor coils prevent proper heat transfer. Turn off the power and gently spray the exterior fins with a garden hose. Avoid high-pressure washers, which can bend or damage the delicate fins. If you are not confident about washing it, call for help,” said Das.
Always check the technician is refilling the standard AC coolant (R-32 or R-410A), and not LPG
Another reason, graver than the rest, is using LPG instead of the standard AC coolant (R-32 or R-410A).
Chatterjee says, “Before any gas is added, ask the technician to conduct a nitrogen leak test to find exactly where the gas is leaking. If they jump straight into refilling without fixing a leak, the ‘new’ gas will also leak out within days.”
You can ask the technician to attach a pressure gauge, says Chatterjee.
“If the reading comes between 60-70 PSI for R-32, and 100-120 for R-410A, the gas being refilled is genuine. LPG will never have these readings and will wildly fluctuate,” says the senior technician.