The Walton EMC Blog

Check the Drain Pan

A friend's air conditioner ruined his upstairs ceiling the other day and it made me remember to warn you about this.

If the indoor part of your air conditioning system -- called the air handler --  is located in the attic, it's a good idea to check its drain system occasionally.

Here in the South, a big part of your AC's job is to remove humidity from the air. That moisture goes through the ductwork and into the air handler where collects on the cool coil inside. It then drips down and exits a drain in the unit. The drain should be plumbed with a pipe that takes the moisture outside.

Since the unit has a ceiling underneath, it should have a backup drain system. If the indoor unit is installed properly, it will have a sheet metal pan below to catch the water in case the primary drain fails.

But many times, the backup system doesn't function. That's what happened to my friend.

The drain pan may also have its own pipe that's plumbed to the outside. Problem is, many times blown attic insulation gets in the pan and stops up that pipe. You should check and make sure the drain pan is clear of debris and that the pipe connected to it is open.

The primary drain is probably plumbed to a "hidden" location. The outside end of the backup drain pipe should be placed where you'll notice it dripping. That way, you'll know something's up with the primary drain.

The alternative fail-safe method is for the pan to have an electromechanical float switch that cuts the unit off if the pan gets full of water. With the unit running, use your finger to trip the lever on the float switch and make sure the unit cuts off.

Here's hoping you never have unsightly water stains on the ceiling.

Keeping Your Cool

Here are great tips to beat the heat and help your energy bill:

• Keep blinds and drapes closed on the sunny side of the house. You'll be surprised how much difference it makes to keep out solar radiation.

• If your home has large expanses of exposed glass, consider window tint.
• It  won't help right now, but plant hardwood trees on the southern and western sides of your home. The leaves shade the home in the summer and fall off in the winter to let the sunshine through.
• Keep the doors and windows closed. Okay, I know this one seems obvious. But how many times have you caught the kids leaving the doors wide open?
• Use ceiling and floor fans to create a wind chill effect. This may allow you to set the air conditioner thermostat a tad higher.
• Put off heat-producing chores -- like cooking, drying and ironing -- until the evening. Hey, now you have an excuse to go out to dinner.
• Turn off lights. If your fixtures are equipped with incandescent bulbs, they're using 90 percent of the electricity they consume to produce heat. Yep, that's right, old-fashioned light bulbs are more of a heater than a light source.
• Better yet, replace all those old bulbs with compact fluorescents. You'll light for one-fourth the energy and the bulbs don't create near as much heat the AC has to get rid of.
• Speaking of the AC, keep it in tip-top shape. It works hard when the weather is hot. Keep the filter changed, make sure indoor vents are not obstructed and don't block the airflow around the outdoor unit. Having your AC unit checked regularly isn't a bad idea, either.