The right to install, maintain and repair air conditioners is granted by an official license, which any company offering its services in the climate technology market must obtain. However, the presence of this document does not guarantee high professionalism of employees.
Specifically, a license for the maintenance of air conditioners is not required, since this type of activity does not involve any alterations in the construction, reconstruction and overhaul of buildings, therefore, does not affect the safety of facilities in any way.
At the same time, companies offering maintenance services are also involved in the installation and repair of HVAC equipment, and these actions are considered illegal without this document. The presence of an official permit gives the right to install / dismantle any type and type of refrigeration machines with corresponding changes in the architecture of the premises. They get a license to service air conditioners and other types of work in the Gosstroy of Russia on a personal application upon submission of relevant documents.
Maintenance time schedule
There are certain time standards for any action with climate technology. The time frame for maintenance is drawn up taking into account the recommendations of each manufacturer individually.
On average, under normal operating conditions, the time norms for servicing air conditioners look like this:
- visual inspection of the device for mechanical damage - 5 min;
- power check - 3 min;
- check of operating modes and system indication - 5 min;
- comparison of temperature parameters with the norm in the passport of the device - 5 min;
- calibration of the drainage system - 7 min;
- detection of leaks of freon - 5 min;
- cleaning of mechanical filters, heat exchangers, fans and external panels of split system units - 40 min.
Standard maintenance of the air conditioner lasts about an hour +/- 10 minutes.
The increase or decrease in time costs depends on what type of maintenance the customer wants and what air conditioning system is available. Here is not a complete list of work on maintenance of air conditioners, so the time standards can vary significantly.
For maintenance of the VRF system, you will also need:
- diagnostics of working currents of electric motors;
- checking the health of compressors and fans;
- checking the tightness of thermal insulation;
- inspection of anti-vibration mounts.
All these additional steps add time to the maintenance of air conditioning systems.
During the maintenance, malfunctions of the refrigeration machine can be identified that require repair and restoration work. Some of them can be carried out immediately in place, and in some cases, a split system or other type of cooling device will have to be dismantled and taken to a service.
The list of maintenance of air conditioners
The simplest maintenance involves the following services:
- equipment inspection;
- checking the status of the filter system;
- diagnostics of the operating parameters of the display system and the main modes;
- control of the temperature of the exhaust air;
- check the drainage system.
If necessary, clean the filters, drainage, heat exchangers, fans and the casing of the indoor unit. The outdoor unit is most often treated with a high pressure washer. If there is a suspicion of a freon leak, the worker measures the suction and discharge pressure, and determines whether refueling is necessary based on the results.
Tariff plan
You can choose different tariff plans for the maintenance of air conditioning systems. Most firms offer MOT:
- annual or one-time;
- semi-annual or seasonal (twice a year);
- quarterly;
- monthly.
For domestic air conditioners, which are used only in spring and summer, it is recommended to carry out annual service. For split systems used in the cold season, it is better to order semi-annual.
In the presence of semi-industrial and industrial refrigeration systems, it is recommended to conclude a contract with the company for quarterly or monthly maintenance. The choice depends on where the equipment is located, what heat load is on it during working time, where the object itself is located. If a crowded office with a mass of computers and office equipment is located along a busy highway, it is better to give preference to after-sales service of air conditioners every 3 months. When it comes to technical rooms of service centers, warehouses, production enterprises, regular cleaning and checking of parameters should be carried out once a month.
When concluding a contract with a company for the repair and maintenance of air conditioners, the customer should remember that if a piece of equipment fails during the validity of this document, he has the right to demand free repair. Only spare parts and consumables are paid.
Cost
First of all, the contractor looks at the cooling capacity of the equipment. For a household split system up to 5 kW, you will have to pay one amount, and for a device from 5 kW - another. The more power, the higher the price. From 10 kW in the cold, 30-35% is added to the initial amount. Maintenance of semi-industrial splits will cost 2 times more than cleaning and diagnosing a household model.
The calculation of the cost of maintenance of a multi-split system and central air conditioning systems is based on the number of indoor units, their type and capacity.
An increase in the tariffs for maintenance of the chiller can occur in the following cases:
- blocks are located in inaccessible places;
- work is carried out at night;
- requires a call from an industrial climber.
In each individual case, a technical task for maintenance should be drawn up, which indicates all the technical and architectural features of the object, the model of the device, as well as its characteristics.
Terms of Reference for maintenance of air conditioners
It is required to carry out maintenance of two wall-mounted DAIKIN air conditioners with a cooling capacity of 2.5 kW and 5 kW in a private house at the following address: Moscow Region, Serpukhov, ul. Zakharkina, d.8E.
| Name | Qty | Name | Qty | Power | Date of service |
| outdoor unit | 1 | indoor unit | 1 | 2.5 kW | quarterly by agreement |
| outdoor unit | 1 | indoor unit | 1 | 5 kW | quarterly by agreement |
| Total | 2 | 2 |
The list of required work on maintenance of air conditioners from a service provider:
- Visual inspection of split systems and fasteners to detect mechanical damage.
- Checking the drainage system and the tightness of the freon cold path.
- Monitoring the performance of systems: the temperature of the outlet stream, the pressure of freon.
- Diagnostics of the display system and the main modes of the indoor unit using a self-diagnosis system.
- Checking power supply wires, taking measurements of inrush and operating current, voltage in the network.
- Cleaning the coarse filters.
- Cleaning the heat exchanger of the indoor unit with a steam generator.
- Cleaning the heat exchanger of the outdoor unit with a high-pressure apparatus.
- Refueling as needed.
- Drawing up a checklist for the work performed.
- Drawing up an act on the condition of the equipment with recommendations for a possible repair.
Something like this may look like a technical task for servicing air conditioners in an application.The main part prescribes the legal obligations of the parties and the requirements for each other. Be sure to start a service card for each piece of equipment.
Repair work
During the service, malfunctions can be detected, then we will talk about repairing the air conditioner. Here, too, there are time regulations. The list of possible repair and restoration services is very long. Here are a few points:
- leak detection in the device up to 20 kW - 20 min;
- compressor replacement for mechanical or electrical damage - 250 min;
- capacitor replacement - 150 min;
- replacement of the electric motor of the fan of the external unit - 120 min;
- replacement of the impeller of the fan of the indoor module - 120 min;
- four-way valve replacement - 100 min;
- drainage pipeline repair - 15 min;
- reloading - 10 min;
- replacement of the temperature sensor - 30 min.
This list has over 100 items. In most cases, necessarily take into account the power of the device in the cold.
Equipment
Repair and prevention of air conditioners involves the availability of special equipment and materials.
For standard maintenance, you will need devices:
- manometers;
- scales + cylinder with freon;
- high pressure washer;
- steam generator;
- clamp meter;
- chemical solution for processing the evaporator of the indoor unit;
- Swedish key
- rags.
Depending on the type of malfunction, completely different tools may be needed:
- To replace the board, you need a screwdriver and a multimeter that measures voltage and current resistance.
- To replace the fan motor, you need: a screwdriver, a multimeter that measures the resistance of the stator winding of the fan motor, a key, a test capacitor to check the health of the starting capacitor.
- To replace the compressor you need: keys, clamp meter, freon, pressure gauge, vacuum pump, pipe cutter, which cuts off the tube from the compressor, burner, solder, nitrogen.
Professional equipment for the maintenance of air conditioners must not be replaced with improvised means.
Repair and maintenance of air conditioners is trusted only by experienced professionals who have been trained and have an electrical safety group of at least 3rd. All work is carried out in accordance with the current operational and technical documentation for the equipment.
