An imperative “rite of spring” in our house is checking our two central air conditioning systems to make sure they are working properly. This involves eliminating any dirt or debris that may have accumulated during the winter as well as checking the hoses and ductwork.

This year, the main AC didn’t seem to have the cooling power it should, so we decided to have it checked out by a professional. As it turns out, this was an excellent idea.

Degraded conduit pipes' insulation

The technician checked our coolant levels and did a thorough inspection of the system, quickly discovering the source of our trouble: the insulation on the cooling conduit pipes between the inside and outside units was disintegrating. This lack of insulation was compromising the integrity of the whole system, the technician said. We were losing a good 10 degrees of cooling power!

Always eager to maximize energy efficiency and save ourselves money, we gave this project top priority and headed off to the home improvement store to do some research on pipe insulation.

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