While concrete repair services are most commonly known for their value on some of the larger concrete slabs on a given property, such as driveways or garage floors, these solutions are also often useful for smaller concrete areas as well. One great example here for numerous homeowners: The condenser pad on which your air conditioning condenser sits outside the home, a pad that’s often made from concrete.
At Lift-Up Concrete Lifting, LLC, we’re happy to provide a robust and varied range of residential concrete lifting and leveling services in Salt Lake City and other parts of Utah, ensuring the quality of concrete on any part of your property. What is an AC condenser, why are AC condenser pads important, and why is it vital to keep concrete condenser pads in a good state of repair? This two-part blog series will go over several important areas to be aware of.
Role of AC Condenser
First and foremost, for those who aren’t aware, it’s important to understand what the AC condenser is and why it matters. The condenser refers to likely the single most important feature of your air conditioning: It sits outside your home and collects air to be cooled, then passes it through your ducts and vents and into your home to cool the space.
A major factor for condensers is clearance – they need space on all four sides and above to allow for proper air intake. For this reason, they are typically set up on what will be known as condenser pads.
Concrete AC Condenser Pads
And while there are a few materials that might be used for today’s condenser pads, the most common one has long been – and remains – concrete. Concrete slabs are perfect for supporting an AC condenser, with enough strength to support their weight plus the ability to be built in any location. This makes it easy for condenser pads to be created at any precise spot on your home’s exterior.
However, if you do not properly attend to this concrete, it could experience sinking, water infiltration or other forms of damage that can worsen its functionality and aesthetics simultaneously. Our next several sections, leading into part two of our series, will go over the issues that will be prevented by ensuring you have solid, high-quality concrete – including by the sorts of concrete repairs we offer regularly to clients.
Problems With Condenser Sinking
As we noted above, clearance is a huge factor for any AC condenser unit. If the concrete it sits on begins to sink, however, the condenser will fall partially below-ground – and will not have the same clearance throughout the component. It will be more difficult for it to draw in air, meaning it will have to work harder than usual just to produce the same amount of cooling. By allowing concrete to sink or settle below the condenser, you’re actually diminishing your overall AC efficiency.
For more on concrete AC condenser pads, or to learn about any of our concrete lifting and leveling services in Salt Lake City or other parts of Utah, speak to the staff at Lift-Up Concrete Lifting, LLC today.
