If you told someone who lived in the northern part of the country to consider having a maintenance inspection and tune-up for their air conditioner during the second half of February, they would probably laugh at you. But we live in a desert community in Southern California, and the hot weather not only starts early, it is very unpredictable. Although the weather predictions still have some days in 50s marked out for us, it also has days that will climbs into the 90s.
In other words… it’s time to start thinking about your annual maintenance visit for your residential air conditioning system.
The conventional wisdom and standard practice when it comes to AC maintenance is to have it done during the spring. That prepares the cooling system in time for the period when it will work the most, and it also beats out the hottest weather.
This conventional wisdom doesn’t hold for the deserts of Southern California. Getting a head start when it comes to maintenance is a wise idea for a number of reasons.
First, it allows you to beat the crunch. People will start to think more about maintenance in April and May, and HVAC company schedules will start to fill up—and this is also the time when more emergency repairs (due to lack of maintenance) will appear and contribute to crowding the schedule.
Second, the weather is simply too unpredictable. With the chance of 90°F and hotter weather ready to strike in late February and through March, you shouldn’t take a chance on having your AC unprepared to handle it. When a scorching day arrives, the last thing you want is to turn on the air conditioning for relief and discover that it’s struggling to handle the job, or may not even work at all! Maintenance is primarily about preparation, and you can’t afford to be caught unprepared in our climate.
Finally, consider how much wear and tear an AC suffers around the year in a desert environment. With such long periods of operation, air conditioners require special attention to reduce the work stress on them. Take a proactive approach and have your AC tuned-up early.
Call us today to find out more about our maintenance programs. Our AC maintenance includes a complete check of all major components, recalibration of the thermostat, Freon level adjustment, and everything you need to weather the weather.
Russell’s Heating & Air Conditioning serves Cathedral City, CA and through the Inland Empire and Desert Communities.