You don’t have to know the science behind how air conditioning works to understand that the unit outside (the condenser) needs to be able to breathe for optimal efficiency.
The condenser is the component of your system that expels the heat the system gathers during the cooling process. If that process is interrupted it results in poor cooling.
One of the ways the cooling process is undermined is because of excess foliage growing all over it. It doesn’t take a heating technician to solve this problem. Just get out your pruning shears and give your condenser the one thing it needs the most — room to breathe.
If you are updating any of the landscaping, or starting with a blank canvas in a new home, plan on giving your condenser the room that it needs. Putting down a perimeter of weed block fabric with a top layer of river stone is ideal. This way, no weeds can take root and infiltrate your system.