Derek Cole explains what's included in HVAC tune-ups: cleaning the outdoor condenser coil as part of a 21-point checklist. For duct sealing, he recommends a pressure test to measure leakage, which typically runs 20-30% per Energy Star standards.
Questions this video answers
Yes. A tune‑up includes cleaning the outdoor condenser coil as part of the 21‑point checklist. Indoor coil cleaning is a separate service.
Look for airflow loss in the attic, have a technician visually inspect the ducts, or request a pressure test. Energy Star says 20‑30% loss is typical; if the test shows a high percentage (e.g., 20%+), sealing is recommended.
Chapters
Hey, on this episode we talk about cleaning outdoor coils on a tune-up, how do I know if I need duct sealing, and the German person behind the camera has her opinion. You ask your comfort and energy questions and they get answered. This is the Ask Derrick Cole Show. Hey, this is Derrick Cole. Welcome to episode 105 of the Ask Derrick Cole Show, answering your home and energy questions. And finally, finally, it's getting warm outside. You can feel the excitement. K-Ro is excited back there. Not really. She didn't even care. They don't need AC in Germany. All right.
We don't need it.
What kind of temperatures you got?
First of all, yeah, Texas.
Okay, how about you're talking Fahrenheit? You have to talk in Fahrenheit for us Americans. I mean, like 60-ish springtime might be the warmest. We have warm springtime in the 60s, maybe like today would be probably the warmest. Yeah, where it's like 70.
But we We have hot summers, but we don't have humid summers. We have dry summers.
It's a dry heat then.
Yeah, so we don't need ACs. We just close the windows.
And fans.
And have fans. Yeah.
But here it's sticky and nasty.
Here it's sticky, so it's different.
Nasty.
I understand why people turn the ACs on. But around that time, I would not turn my AC on, to be honest. I open the windows and that would be sufficient.
Yeah, you open the windows around here, you get Get bit by mosquitoes.
Every house has a screen on the window or the door.
The gnats come in.
How big is your screen holes?
How big are gnats? Gnats are like little.
They're still not gonna get through.
I don't know. I've never tried it and I'm not going to.
When I'm coming home after work, I open the door to the backyard. I have another screen door in there.
You're doing this in summer?
Not in summer, now during springtime when it's not— no, I get that during summer there's no point because you're gonna have that sticky air in your house.
I'm curious about the gnats.
I have a screen though, again.
I know, but can gnats not get through it?
Through my screen?
Yeah. No, I mean, do you— it means that it's a screen like you put on a window, right?
Yeah, hopefully.
I mean, I mean, gnats are little.
I never seen any nets in my house. I love the breeze. Like after Hurricane Matthew.
I love the breeze of AC. Hurricane Matthew was?
The day after Hurricane Matthew, well, the Monday we were off after Hurricane Matthew.
Yeah.
It was nice. It was like it never happened. Sunny day, clear. Open the windows. It was so nice. But that was October, so you don't need heat or AC when it's nice outside and you have a breeze and you just open the door and it's natural air. But I mean, I'm talking about heating and air over so I can keep talking.
Folks, you need heating and air in your home at all times, all seasons, doesn't matter, spring, fall After a hurricane, you always need it.
Don't listen to the drummer.
Yeah, don't listen to the one behind the camera. All right, let's go.
Okay. Do you clean my coil during a tune-up?
Yes, we do. We clean the coils during tune-up. Uh, tune-up is a kind of a stripped-down version of a full maintenance. So if you're part of our Comfort Club or if you want a single maintenance, that is a like an 84-point checklist we go through. Tune-up is a 21-point checklist, but included in that 21 points is cleaning of the outdoor coil, not the indoor, the outdoor coil. So yes, we clean that as part of the tune-up. Tune-up is a good way if you don't have a maintenance agreement to check everything to make sure you're good to go before the spring, summer, winter when you're going to run the AC and the heat later. So it's a good way to have all those checks done at a pretty substantial discount, and you also get the outdoor coil cleaned. It's really important, especially after summer, because you have all those grass clippings on it and weed eating, so all that's dirty and needs to be cleaned. So a coil cleaning is good for the beginning and ending of the summer, and another check to make sure you're good to go. But yes, we do clean the outdoor coil The outdoor, not the indoor. So indoor is a whole different deal.
How do I know I need duct sealing?
If you're losing any kind of air under the home in the attic, if you go in your house or in the attic and it feels— okay, it's 95 degrees outside and it's a nice cool breeze under your house and it's a breeze in your attic then you have a duct problem. A way you can find out too is that if a technician goes by and does that tune-up or does that maintenance, he's going to visually inspect the duct system and can let you know if he sees anything. Another thing we do when people are not sure if they want to go ahead and do a duct sealing or not is we go ahead and send the crew out, do a pressure test on that duct system, which will give us a reading of how much air is being lost Then at that point, the homeowner can make a decision. Yes, I want to go ahead with it. No, I don't want to go ahead with it. We've had both. Yeah, we've had both. So, you know, we've done the test before and it's come back 4 or 5%, it's not really worth it, don't worry about it. And we've done tests before where it's come back 20% and we need to go ahead and do a doxing. So if you're not sure and you don't have a technician out, We will come out, hook up the machine, do a test on it, see where we are. Because according to Energy Star, 20-30% of your air is being lost from the duct system. So in this area, it's a little bit less because a lot of older systems have duct board, which is actually better as far as sealing than metal duct. It's not healthier. But it is better on that aspect, so you don't see quite that much of a loss of 20 to 30%, but we have seen 20, 24% loss in some cases. But again, if you're not sure, we can come out, hook up the machine, do a test, and get a digital reading as to where you are with that duct loss. So don't worry. That's it. That's the last one. That's episode 105 of the Ask Derrick Cole Show. Be sure to hashtag your questions #AskDerrickCole, and again, please don't listen to the lady behind the camera.
