Although there are potentially hundreds of reasons why your home’s central air conditioner may need to be repaired, there are a few reasons that are quite common. Knowing what they are may help you to understand what a technician is referring to when you need to discuss the options for correcting the problem. Here are the top five problems that may cause your air conditioning system to break down:
5. Faulty wiring
Improper, haphazard or uncertified wiring is dangerous and a potential fire hazard. Bad wiring often prevents the system from getting power, or can trip the circuit breaker.
4. Low refrigerant
Refrigerant (more commonly referred to as Freon) is the chemical that cools the air. Low refrigerant may indicate a leak or problem with the refrigerant system. If your system needs to be recharged with refrigerant, typically that means there is a leak. All refrigerant leaks should be located and repaired.
3. Outside fan is not working
The outside fan is responsible for transferring the heat from your home to the outside air. If the fan on the outside unit doesn’t run, proper heat transfer is not taking place and the air conditioning compressor may overheat and trip the safety overload. Worse yet, it may cause internal damage to the compressor.
2. Outside unit not functional
This typically indicates lack of power, contactor problems or even a faulty thermostat.
1. Frozen Inside coil
A frozen coil often indicates a problem with the airflow, such as restrictions caused by dirty air filters or blocked return air ductwork. Frozen indoor coils could also be caused by low refrigerant.
In many cases, the only way a homeowner can prevent these common problems is by participating in a
preventive maintenance program. Bad wiring, low refrigerant and airflow problems can be detected during routine maintenance tune-ups. For all these common issues, a professionally qualified, NATE-certified technician can quickly diagnose the problem area and make the necessary repairs.
Posted on: 6/22/2008 3:00:00 PM by Sam
Buying A New Home Comfort System
In my
first post of this Five Keys To A Perfectly Comfortable Home series, we discussed how important it is to choose the right home comfort company… one that will partner with you when your current system suffers a breakdown, and will also provide you with:
- An understanding of what to expect throughout the service process
- A complete analysis of the entire system, including what must be repaired now and in the future
- An energy-consumption analysis
- An easy, worry-free maintenance program
- Upfront, flat-rate repair pricing
- Standards of Excellence
Now let’s take a look at what you should understand about the most significant upgrade that you can ever make in your home, a new home comfort system.
What Exactly Makes Up My Heating & Air Conditioning System?
Your home’s Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) system, what we refer to as the home comfort system, typically consists of three major components:
- the furnace, which provides heat and air movement
- the condenser, the air conditioner or cooling equipment, and
- one or several products that control air quality and humidity levels in your home
In some homes, a
heat pump may be used in place of a furnace and condenser. Heat pumps remove indoor heat in the summer and add outdoor heat in winter. Working together with the
thermostat, these primary components control your indoor environmental comfort level. Like the engine of a car, the home comfort system is the engine of your home that ‘drives’ your family’s indoor comfort every day.
The Golden Key Is Quality Installation
When you are ready to upgrade from an old, less efficient comfort system to a new one, you can think of the buying process similar to buying a new car, except the company comes to you instead of you going to a store or dealership to choose the car that’s right for you. That’s because the new home comfort system must be sized and measured correctly for your specific home in order to determine the selection of equipment and options that can be properly installed. The image on the left shows a cleanly and properly installed air conditioner.
Home comfort system installation is like having a crew of assembly line workers install a new ‘engine’ into your home. As your car’s engine is installed into the car at the factory, an HVAC system is literally ‘integrated’ into your home’s physical body. In fact,
the mechanical installation of the equipment is the critical factor to consider when buying a new home comfort system. The installation work quality is often much more important than the make or model of equipment or the price.
If the installation is unprofessional and performed poorly, like the condenser shown on the right, the equipment, energy-efficiency and, likewise, your comfort suffers dramatically. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you spend, the equipment will suffer from frequent repair problems in the future from a poor system installation. So it’s absolutely critical to work with a company that can prove professional installation quality.
Look At All Available Features And Options
Also like buying a car, there are a myriad of makes, models, features and options of comfort equipment available to choose from. You’ll want to look into every option that can make your home’s air quality, humidity level, temperature and energy-consumption exactly the way you desire for your family’s lifestyle and health needs. A good home comfort company will help you determine your family’s specific comfort needs and desires, then simply walk you through all the options available that will meet those needs for you. When they're done, you should have everything you need to make an informed buying decision you are comfortable with.
Energy Savings Now Prevail
A reputable home comfort company will also perform what’s called a heating and cooling load calculation and an energy-efficiency analysis on your home. These calculations not only determine the proper type of equipment needed, they show how you can benefit from the additional savings of high-efficiency heating and air conditioning products.
Energy-efficiency and utility savings are important factors because
the cost of operating a heating and air conditioning system is often overlooked when estimating your budget. For example, if you can save $700 per year in utility costs with your new home comfort system, that’s just extra money in your pocket that you would otherwise be spending on utility bills. As energy costs rise in the future, high-efficiency equipment becomes more and more beneficial to your family’s budget. Likewise, as heating and air conditioning manufacturers move toward making more efficient equipment, the
outdoor environment also benefits. So carefully consider high-efficiency equipment. It’s equipment designed to save much more than just your utility bills, it's environmentally conscious. You can easily estimate your average annual energy savings with our interactive
Energy Savings Calculator.
Only Stability Makes Warranties And Guarantees Matter
When comparing Warranties and Guarantees from different companies, strongly consider and aggressively question the financial stability, history and longevity of the company you are dealing with. There are plenty of inexpensive, inexperienced HVAC service companies doing business today; they are the companies you will want to watch out for. A paper certificate does not make much difference if the company is not around tomorrow and you’re stuck with a poorly installed, malfunctioning system. The company should be viable enough to offer you favorable
financing so you can further leverage the financial investment with low, easy to manage monthly payments. In a weak economy many smaller companies are sold or just go out of business.
Therefore,
choosing a reputable, professional and financially stable company is critical to your lifetime of home comfort. The manufacturer of the equipment will typically warrant defects in the equipment, but the comfort company alone guarantees the installation work. That’s why I just can’t stress enough that installation quality is the real key to your indoor comfort and should be central to your buying decision.
Getting Started
If you’re ready to look into buying a new home comfort system, I recommend first contacting your local
Better Business Bureau. The BBB can refer you to reputable companies and steer you clear of those that have had more than a few problems. There are also great online resources such as
Angie’s List, which can help you research the right company to work with. To request a professional new system consultation now from Service Experts,
find a Service Experts location near you and schedule an appointment online, or simply call
888-HEATCOOL.
A new home comfort system can save you energy and money every single month. Although it’s a big decision to get a new system, I hope this information has helped you understand the buying process and what to watch out for as you move through it.
Posted on: 6/9/2008 4:00:00 AM by Sam
The
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has developed an excellent interactive tool for helping homeowners find ways to reduce energy consumption, called
ENERGY STAR @ home. Click on the image of the house, and then click on each room to view tips that can help save energy.
Be sure to check with your heating and air conditioning repair company to see if they endorse the EPA and
ENERGY STAR rated products and services.
Posted on: 6/6/2008 2:07:39 PM by Sam