It can be quite upsetting to arrive home at the end of the day to discover your air conditioner or heating unit isn’t working right.The tips are great for helping you in this process.
Get all of the details regarding a broken system before calling for repair. Find out the brand and model and, if possible, dig out the maintenance history. This information will be helpful to any contractor you hire to repair it.
Know the name and type of system before looking for a repair person. This will help you to give the new contractor the necessary information.
Check the whole house before you call for help. Determine which rooms are hotter or colder than they should be. That way, the contractor will have an easier time diagnosing the problem and repairing it fast.
If you’ve been having trouble with an HVAC system, do a tour of your house before you call in help. This will help the repairman determine where the problem is and how to fix it.
Help the outside condenser fan run efficiently by cleaning the coils and fan blades before the summer starts. Always shut off all power to your unit for any work beyond superficial cleaning. Keep the exterior of the condenser unit free of debris.
Know what you need before you select an HVAC contractor. It will be hard for a contractor to give you a price estimate on the phone if they have not seen your current system. It will be way more hard if you don’t know what’s wrong.
Clean the fan blades and coils in your condenser each spring. Don’t forget to disconnect the power first. Take the grill off and pull the blades out to clean them.
Clean your fan and coils each spring to ensure that your condenser fan operates at it’s best. Clean off any leaves or debris from your condenser unit regularly.
If your condenser comes with oil ports, you should lubricate it yearly. These ports are typically covered with caps made of metal or rubber. Use a lightweight oil and do not overfill them.
Don’t get grass clippings on your outdoor condenser. Direct the clippings away from the HVAC unit. This also applies when you are taking care of the leaves in debris.
A programmable thermostat can really help you out when it comes to your power bills. It will help save on your heating and cooling costs by turning itself down at certain times. Some can even be controlled from a computer.
10 Drops
When everyone is gone, turn your AC off. Your home will become somewhat warmer during this time. The unit will use a large amount of electricity to combat the heat during the day when the house is empty.
Lubricate your condenser at least once each year. You can find these ports have a rubber or metal caps. Use a lightweight, and put 10 drops or fewer in each port, putting 10 drops in each port.
Do not allow your home to reach excessive levels of heat during the summer. An air conditioning unit is really only able to reduce the temperature by twenty degrees in a short time span. If your home happens to get near 100 degrees Fahrenheit, then you will only be able to reasonably cool to around 80. With high humidity, this is an unsafe temperature even for sleeping.
It is always a good idea to swap out single pane windows with ones that have double pane ones. This also help you keep in the winter.
Sometimes, air conditioners collect ice. The drain line can freeze, making you think it’s a plumbing leak. Try switching to fan-mode and disabling your compressor to test whether the water is a leak or melting ice. If this doesn’t work, call a professional.
Install a programmable thermostat you can program to save money on cooling your home. Some can even be controlled from a PC or other device.
If you are purchasing an AC unit, there are calculators on the Internet that can help you figure out the right size. If you buy a unit that is too big, it won’t do an efficient job. Look at the manual to figure out the manufacturing rates the unit for accurate cooling information.
Companies that are well established have track records that haven’t been. Hiring a new contractor may be taking a bigger risk.
Before you hire a contractor, make sure you get different quotes. If you call around before making a final decision, it can save you a lot of money in the end. To get the best picture and get an idea of what rates are reasonable, call five or six different contractors.
Ask for helpful information when you can find a HVAC contractor. People that have gotten great work done in the past generally love to share this information. This can also be used to see who you learn the names of those companies that you should avoid.
Have you been thinking about buying a new HVAC system? There are many things to consider. Systems are rated by the amount of area the system can heat and cool effectively. If you are debating the size of the unit, always get one that is just a little bigger rather than one that is a little too small.
Contractors determine their own fee levels, so make sure you get quotes from several contractors before you make any hiring decision. You can save quite a lot of money when you call different companies for price quotes. You should try to contact 5 to 6 contractors to find out what reasonable rates are.
Make sure that your ducts are not leaking. Your utility company can test this for you, oftentimes at no charge. If not, it should be less expensive than a HVAC contractor. The testing will pay for itself once you find and repair the leaks.
Figure out which direction your home is facing so your HVAC system can work better. The less amount of heat inside of your home, the less time that the AC has to work.
Which way does your home face? Block the sun in the morning with trees around your home. The less your home is heated, the less you’ll have to use your air conditioner to cool things off.
If the HVAC unit makes a clicking noise, check immediately for any debris that may have accumulated in it. Often the issue is some sort of debris that’s hitting fans in your cooling system. Look at this prior to calling in a technician.
If you hear a clicking noise coming from the HVAC unit, see if there is any debris in it. Sometimes debris interferes with the cooling system fans. Get rid of the debris and this will no longer be an issue. Look carefully at it before you call up a service technician.
Make sure they are tightly sealed so air inside. You can hire someone to test them all for you and often this testing is free.
Replace your air filters every month. This will help your unit run properly. A new air filter is only a couple of bucks at your local hardware store.
Measure the living area you wish to cool before going air conditioning. You will need 20 BTU per square foot of the room. If you have multiple rooms to cool, combine their square footage in your calculations.
The best HVAC company will be able to arrive quickly and work quickly and effectively. Good companies attend to their customers in a timely manner. A licensed technician should also have no problem diagnosing any potential faults with your HVAC unit quickly. Once the technician figures out what’s wrong, they can help resolve the problems in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Use these tips to master your HVAC system. A breakdown of your unit can be frustrating. And, trying to figure out how you’re going to pay for repairs is even worse. Using the information in this article can help. Keep these tips handy at all times so that you can tackle any HVAC issue.
Consider what potential direction your air conditioner’s flow will have when choosing where to put it. If it has to be placed in a corner, get a unit where the air won’t be trapped against the wall.
