Now that it’s beginning to warm up it’s time to think of AC. The hot days of summer are just around the corner and many of us are depending on our central air conditioning to help us beat the heat. This photo I took the other day at an inspection is not unusual. This sad piece of AC line I saw in a basement should be free of paint, duct tape, and fully enclosed in insulation.
This is one of the lines coming from the AC compressor that is out in the backyard. When the AC is running this line is filled with cold gas. Like a cold glass of soda you have outside on a hot day, water droplets form on the outside surface of this AC line if it’s not insulated.
Couple of issues with a poorly insulated AC line:
- Since the line is exposed to warm air the gas inside begins to warm up and so it takes longer to cool your home.
- The water droplets that form on the surface begin to drop off the line and can potentially damage anything it falls or drains on.
- Exposed lines can potentially be damaged by anything that comes in contact with it.
Just to clarify there are two line the go out to the compressor, the one that is insulated brings cold gas into your home. The cold gas goes into a cooling unit in your furnace or air exchanger, a fan blows the warm inside air across the unit which cools the air which is then blown through your duct system cooling your home.
When I see an issue like this in a home I recommend a licensed HVAC contractor evaluate the whole system. When I can see a cooling line looking like this one, I can imagine there are many more issues hidden throughout the system.
Manufactures recommend that before each heating/cooling season you should have your system checked and maintained so that when you need it — it will be there for you.
