Air conditioning is more important now than ever. If you've lived with air conditioning all of your life, you'll be miserable if your AC breaks down. People may have lived without air conditioning in the past, but they were used to it. One of the most important reasons to keep up with the maintenance of your AC equipment is so you can reduce the risk of problems developing and having your air conditioner break down. Here are some important things to know about the central air conditioning in your home.

1. The AC Acts As A Dehumidifier

The air conditioner cools your home well because it also pulls moisture from the air. This happens because warmer air from your home is pulled into the unit and blown across cold refrigerant lines. This causes moisture to drop out in the form of condensation that runs through a drain and empties outdoors.

So, you can help your air conditioner work more effectively by keeping humidity low in your house. You might do this by using the fan to pull humidity out of the bathroom when you shower, venting the dryer to the outdoors, and using the kitchen hood vent to pull steam outside.

2. The AC Acts As An Air Purifier

At its most basic, a central air conditioner has a filter in the air handler that blocks dust from entering the equipment. The goal of the filter is to keep dust out of the air handler, but the secondary effect is that the filter pulls dust out of circulation in your house. This keeps your air cleaner.

However, your air conditioning contractor can add other equipment to your HVAC that makes the air in your home even cleaner. They might add a more effective filter system, UV lights, or an HVAC dehumidifier. This equipment purifies, filters, and dries your air even more every time the air conditioner runs so there are fewer irritants in your indoor air.

3. The AC Also Pulls Heat From Your House

One important thing to understand about a central air conditioner is that it doesn't create cold air and blow it into your house. Instead, it pulls warm air out of your house. It does this by circulating refrigerant from the unit outside to the unit indoors. When refrigerant flows through the indoor coil, the air from your house is blown over it and heat is pulled from the air. The result is the same. Cold air blows from the register vents, and that's what makes your home nice and cool in the summer.

Contact a local air conditioning contractor to learn more.