Do bent fins on a central a/c unit really hurt efficiency? ?

Question

There was a hail storm and it bent 75% of the fins shut. my electric bill was $300 bucks in a 1200 sqft house. i know how to comb them i have done quite a few but this one is beyond combing. could this be the reason?

Answer 1

Consider that the fins require air flow around them to effectively transfer the heat across them. You can have a few bent ones and not hurt the efficiency, but 75% is way too much.  

Answer 2

Get them replaced. Bent fins will obstruct air flow and make it harder to cool down. You can also punch a hole in it with a s***w driver, then you'll really have to replace it then......

With 75% of the fins damaged just replace it.....

Answer 3

Yes very much. The high side pressure will stay very high when the unit is running, therefore the compressor much work much harder to pump the freon. The unit will not be operating very efficiently and will have to stay on longer to try to satisfy the thermostat setting. It will probably burn up the compressor before long. Better to replace the condenser or if the unit is older, now is a good time to upgrade to something with a higher SEER rating. It will pay for itself in a few years at to days electricity rates.

Answer 4

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!

Answer 5

The condenser is a heat exchanger.  If the fins are mashed, there's no air flow to remove the heat from the fins, so the unit runs, overheats, and wastes energy.  Ditto to "Alwayson's" answer re using a small thin screwdriver to straighten the fins.  Been there, done that too many times.  It's nit-picky, but you'll fall into a rhythm, and you can get the coil back (almost) to it's original condition.  Do it before you have to replace the entire unit due to a dead compressor.

If the unit is less than 10 SEER efficiency, you might consider replacing it with a new 13 SEER or higher efficiency system (indoor coil as well as outdoor unit), and realize a payback in electrical savings.

Answer 6

Yes.It will also smoke your compressor.

You can make it somewhat better with a flat head s***w driver.It is very time consuming.One condenser can take several hours easy.

I know because I have straightened out the fins on many a rooftop unit, that did not have a hail guards,with extreme hail damage.Good luck and do something before you have a "no cool" and a smoked compressor.