AIRCONDITIONING

If you are en expat in Thailand, coming from a cooler country you may well educated how to use and maintain various home heating systems. Air-conditioning may be new to you. Here are some basic things to know.

QUICK USER INSTRUCTIONS:

TEMPERATURE SETTING:

Set the temperature to a comfortable degree like 24 and keep the windows and doors closed. Point the remote control to the fan-unit when using it.

FAN SETTING:

Set it on “100MATIC”.

AIRFLOW

You can adjust the direction of the cold air mostly by remote control, using the horizontal swing and vertical swing function. Older models can be manualy adjusted on the fan-unit itself. Make sure the cold air is not pointing directly to your bed or sofa! The machine is designed to cool the room, not the person.

When returning home in to a hot room, a commomn error is, to set the temperature to 17 or 18 degrees in the misconception that this low setting would speed up the cooling process to the desired 24 degree. NO, IT IS NOT cooling the room faster as just setting it to the desired 24 degree. There is may be a “Power” or “Booster” button, feel free to use it, but set the machine to a realitic temperature.

Setting the temperature to 18 degrees is not economical and unhealthy, because people may falling asleep with the low temperature setting and wakeing up sick the next morning.

Set the fan speed at “100matic” so the fan unit will adjust the fan speed according to the room temperature, running at high speed until the set temperature is reached and then slowing down, reducing the noise signifacatly and saving energy.

Keep each remote control at each room and not carry them around from room to room.

Just like any mechanical system, your air conditioner needs regular maintenance to operate at peak performance. The outdoor unit (Condenser) and the indoor unit (Fan / Wall unit) along with various pipes needs to be cleaned and checked on a regular basis.

Basic maintenance you can handle: Clean the furnace filter.

The air conditioning filter is one of the most important air conditioning parts in the air conditioning system. Without it, your air conditioning system would be dirty and the air you breathe would be filled with pollutants. All air conditioning parts, from the ductwork to the air conditioning refrigerant, need the air conditioning filter to be clean and replaced to ensure you're getting the very best in central air conditioning.

If an air conditioning filter is left dirty, over time, it can lead to higher energy costs and short equipment life due to all the air conditioning parts relying on each other.

Switch OFF the unit by remote control and turn off the power to the unit at a nearby switch or at the main power panel. Then pull out the furnace filter and check it for dirt buildup. If the filter is dirty, just take it outside and flush it with the garden hose until it is clean. Let it dry and fit it back in to the unit. Clean the ventilation fins as well. This should be done every month, eventually every two or three months, depend on the using hours and the environment the unit is operation in.

While you can't re-gas or repair an air conditioner, you can give it a regular cleaning. Not only will this extend the life of an air conditioner, it's also important to keep the air clean you are breeding and allow an air conditioner to operate efficiently.

Maintenance handled by professionals:

Please let a professional A/C technician clean and maintain your system regularly, minimum once a year, may be more often, depend on how many hours per day the system is running and the location of your home. Beachfront or upcountry locations with less pollution in the air are much easier on the system as a busy downtown location. Over time the system may leak aircon refrigerant gas, the technician will measure the content inside the system and top up to the required level.