A/C Compressor Fin Damage?

I hired a landscaping company to do a pretty big job (50+ trees, over 1/2 acre of turf, flowers, plants, etc.). This is a company that I have used for some time now for all my maintenance.

During the landscaping project, the crew put some river jack stones around the house (per design) and managed to bend and dent some of the fins on my a/c compressors.

I do not know much about a/c systems. I've heard that you can straighten out the damaged fins carefully in some cases. Is this something I should bring to the attention of the landscaping company?

The damage is not substantial. I'd say about 5-10% of the fins are bent or dented. Will this decrease the efficiency of my a/c during the summer?

Also, contrary to the design, the crew installed a plant about 5-10 inches in front of one of the compressors. Will this affect a/c?

 

Airflow through the coils in your air conditioner is crucial. We have had success combing out the fins a few times, but some times it can end up causing more damage. Any restriction to air moving freely through the coil hurts your efficiency and puts some added strain on the unit. The reduction in efficiency isn't tremondous, but it adds up as more of the coil surface is damaged. Airflow reduction includes plants that are too close as well. Each manufacturers requirements are different, but as a rule of thumb plants should allow at least 12" of breathing room for the unit on all sides(once grown). This is one of those situations where the more space, the better.

Sonny Swann
Climatic Heating and Cooling, Inc.