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Energy Saver: Air Conditioning
(continued ...) everything looks to be dry, reassemble the condenser unit back to its original state and reapply power.
Have a look around the condenser unit. Ask yourself: how did it get so dirty? Do you drive past it regularly with the lawn mower and blast yard debris at it? Stop that. Is there landscaping within 6 feet? Remove it. Is the ground surface next to it smooth, free of leaves and other debris? Change it. Is there a fence around it so as to hide it? It is okay to hide it but move the fence out to at least 6 feet clear.
I'll share my rules for the absolute minimum spacing of condenser units. They are based on the unit's maximum dimension as that is based on the unit's capacity and efficiency. Find the largest length x width x height dimension. This is the absolute minimum spacing dimension clear in all directions of any obstacles but no less than 3 feet for left-right-front-back. For top clearance use at least 1.5 x H but no less than 6 feet. For residential condensing units, my perfect clearances are 6 feet left-right-front-back and 10 feet above the unit free and clear. The least energy will be used when a free flow of new air is constantly available to the unit.
Shading the condenser is based on some sound engineering called heat shielding. Some manufacturers of condensers inadvertently integrate a heat shield into the construction of the unit as a weather/hail shield. The heat shielding idea is to place something between the condenser coil surface and the sun. But the weather shield conflicts with condenser fan performance, so I would opt for no weather shield, place the unit in the shade and protect from weather with separate fencing and a roof placed at distances recommended.