At Aaron’s Service, we’ve been called out to a number of homes across Gladstone and Kansas City to fix a seemingly problematic issue with air conditioners and heat pumps of all makes and models. It’s an issue that can be particularly frustrating for homeowners but comes with an easy fix. So easy, in fact, that it deserves its own blog article.

Since we’ve been the heating and cooling experts in Gladstone and the Greater KC Metro Area since 2006, we routinely get called out to homes for all manner of heating and cooling service needs. One call that we receive regularly is when a homeowner is concerned that their outdoor A/C or heat pump unit isn’t producing as much cold or warm air as normal. In some cases, the homeowner believes that there may be a problem with the condenser or the refrigerant charge or, in cases where the heat pump isn’t warming the house adequately during cold winter months, the thermostat. And when our service personnel arrive on site, we’re always glad to perform maintenance, check-ups, and tune-ups on any A/C unit, furnace, or heat pump. But every so often, we arrive at the home to find that the outdoor A/C unit or heat pump is struggling to produce the right temperature because it’s clogged or blocked by landscape greenery.

Air conditioners and heat pumps come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them are more attractive than others, but none of them are particularly beautiful. Consequently, some home builders are in the habit of hiding these outdoor units with plants, shrubs, decorative grasses, or rose bushes simply to make them less conspicuous as part of the landscape. And even though this practice can offer some aesthetics to the overall landscaping design, this can also cause a number of problems with outdoor air conditioners and heat pumps. The takeaway of all this is that your air conditioner or heat pump needs to breathe in order to function correctly!

Heat pumps and A/C units operate in much the same way. Very simply – they each suck in great volumes of air, change the temperature of the air, and send it back into the house. Heat pumps, obviously, differ from A/C units in that they can both heat and cool the air. Nevertheless, when shrubs, grasses, and bushes that have been placed around your exterior A/C or heat pump unit grow too close to the air intake, the unit – try as it might – is unable to adequately perform its duty. And on the inside of the house, things may get very cold in the winter or warm in the summer. In some extreme cases, we’ve seen shrubs and bushes around the A/C or heat pump unit act as a sort of catch for snowfall – with snow-packed between the unit and the bushes all the way to the top. This is not good.

So, in order to keep your A/C unit or heat pump working in tip-top form, prune the bushes and shrubs as far back from them as you can. Keep outdoor obstructions (lawn and leaf bags, children’s playhouses, garbage cans, and any other outdoor clutter) far away from your air conditioner or heat pump as well. Give it room to breathe and you’ll be comfortable all year round.

At Aaron’s Service, we can service and maintain any heating or cooling system, regardless of size or brand. If you have a question about our heating or cooling service offerings, or if you wish to schedule a Kansas City furnace tune-up in your home or office, we encourage you to phone us at (816) 471-7890 or simply click here to send us an e-mail from our online form.