AC Service & MaintenanceService & Maintenance

Air conditioning systems work hard here in Naples, FL.  Therefore, Dolphin Cooling does too.  We provide AC service & maintenance from Ft Myers to Marco Island.  In order to keep your ac system running reliably and efficiently regular maintenance is required.  We offer several AC service & maintenance plans so you can select the right plan for you.  Click HERE.  In addition, we allow you to include your pool heater in the same plan.  Dolphin Cooling is certified to perform warranty work on many pool heat pump systems.  Therefore, we have seen it all and our AC technicians provide outstanding service.  With that said, we would much rather include them in your AC service & maintenance plan and keep them running.  Please visit our pool heat pump page Click HERE.

What is an AC System Made of?

Your air conditioning system is a lot more complicated than people think.  It's not some unit stuck in a window and plugged into the wall.  If your unit is stuck in the window well... we don't do that.  Otherwise, we do and it is safe to assume that your system has these four or five main components:

Indoor Unit

The indoor unit is known as the Air Handler.

  • The air handler consists of a cabinet, a filter rack, a blower motor, electrical connections, a cooling coil and a drain pan.
    • All of these components should be included in your AC service & maintenance plan.

Outdoor Unit

The outdoor unit is known as the Condenser.

  • The condenser rejects heat that was picked up from the house outdoors.  Therefore, this unit needs to be kept clear of dirt and debris.
  • The condenser consists of a coil, condenser fan, a compressor and electrical connections.
    • All of these components should be included in your AC service & maintenance plan.

Ductwork System

First of all, it is important to understand that proper ductwork design and balancing is crucial for even comfort in the home.  Most importantly, the size of the ducts needs to be correct for the volume of air needed to cool the home.  More often than not, the ductwork is under sized.  As a result,  the entire system has to struggle to meet the demand.

  • Supply Ductwork directs cool dry air out to the home from the air handler.
  • Return Ductwork pulls air back from the home to the air handler to be cooled and dried.
  • On rare occasions, during winter, the heater in the air handler is used to provide heat to the home.
    • Ductwork systems should be included in your AC service & maintenance plan.

Split AC System

Drain System

The condensate/evaporator drain line drains the condensed humidity (water) removed from the home.

  • This drain line usually consists of 3/4" white PVC pipe.  Typically, the condensate drain line runs from your indoor unit outdoors.  It usually drains to a location near the outdoor unit.  Most importantly, there should be overflow safety switches in place to protect from backups and flooding.
    • Clearing the drain line and testing the safety switches should be included in your AC service & maintenance plan.

Advanced Systems

Finally, more advanced systems usually include additional zones.  For example, the master bedroom could be a separate zone from the main living space.

  • Zone control boards, motor operated dampers and WIFI thermostats are needed to operate the system.  With these, homeowners are able to control the zones separately.  For instance, the master bedroom is set to cool to 72°.  Meanwhile, the main living space is set to 78° and conserves energy.
  • WIFI thermostats are connected to the internet.  Therefore, the homeowner is able to monitor and operate the system from any place connected to the internet.
    • Checking the programming and functionality should be part of the AC service & maintenance plan.