It seems hard to learn about HVAC at first. This doesn’t need to be that way, though, if you’re willing to take your time to go over the following paragraphs. This advice should help you with all of the issues that you encounter.
When you start making calls to get someone to help with your HVAC system, it’s a good idea to know what system you have before that phone call. You need to know who manufactured the product and the item number. Also, get the maintenance records from your files if you have them. This makes sure your contractor will be sufficiently prepared.
Know the name and type of system before calling someone to fix it. This will help you give the contractor you hire has all the necessary information.
Prior to choosing an HVAC customer, try to have an idea of what you want done. You can’t get a decent estimate over a telephone, so disregard those numbers and wait until they view your system. If you are unable to explain the work that needs to be taken care of, the conversation will be even less fruitful. Know this stuff ahead of time.
If you have some problems with the HVAC system, check the entire house before contacting someone to come for repairs. This will help the repairman determine what the problem is and how to fix it.
To make sure your condenser fan works properly, keep the fan blades and the coils clean. Always make sure you shut off the power before you do any work on the unit other than superficial cleaning. In addition, be sure to get rid of any leaves or other debris that may have accumulated on the outside condenser.
Grass Clippings
If your condenser comes with oil ports, you should lubricate it yearly. You’ll see that the ports here are closed with a rubber or metal cap. Use SAE 20 oil that is lightweight and detergent free, and put ten drops or fewer into each one. Make sure not to overfill them.
Don’t get grass clippings on your outdoor condenser. Direct the grass clippings away from the HVAC unit. This also applies to leaf blowing and any other yard work that results in the yard.
Get your HVAC unit serviced two times per year. The ideal thing to do would be to have it checked out in the fall and spring so you’re able to figure out if everything is ready for the cold and hot months. Even if you don’t think anything’s wrong, it’s still worth an inspection.
Lubricate your condenser once a year. You will notice these ports have a rubber or metal caps covering them. Use a lightweight, and put 10 drops or fewer in each port, putting 10 drops in each port.
If nobody is home, turn off the air conditioner to save money. Sure, the temp will rise, but no one is home anyway. Leaving it on for the entire day means that it is struggling to keep things cool, something that takes lots of energy.
Have your HVAC system serviced at least yearly. This should be checked often for debris and the spring.
Avoid allowing your home to ever get exceedingly hot. Your average AC unit can only reduce the temperature in your home by about 20 degrees in a normal span of time. This means that if the weather is above 100 degrees, then you’ll still be baking in 80 degree weather at first! This won’t be a healthy environment to live in.
During a maintenance visit, the serviceman will inspect the unit’s motor, oil the unit’s moving parts and ensure the unit has proper freon levels. These few simple things will keep your HVAC system to run at its peak performance.
Sometimes air conditioners get iced up. Drain lines can also suffer an occasional freeze, and these are sometimes mistaken for plumbing leak issues. If this happens, turn the thermostat so it is on fan only mode, which will disable the compressor. The fan setting can help melt some of the ice, but you should still call a professional to check your unit out.
Research and check the reputation of companies that you consider using. Check with the BBB and online reviews posted by former customers. These simple steps will help ensure you make a better decision.
When you’re purchasing an HVAC system, make sure that you get a unit that is properly sized for your space. Proper sizing will increase efficiency. Check your manual to figure out what the rating is from the manufacturer to be sure you’re getting the right information.
Fan Setting
Figure out how long the HVAC company you choose has been in business. Companies that are established have been proven, and you can use their track record to to determine if they provide good service. Hiring a new company will be riskier.
Air conditioners sometimes ice up at times. The drain line may also freeze over. If this is something that’s happening to you, immediately put your thermostat on the fan setting to turn off your compressor. You can call a HVAC professional, but switching to the fan setting should start to melt the ice.
Check around and get a number of quotes prior to hiring a contractor. This will reduce your overall spending. Ideally, five or six contractors should be called so you can get a good ball park figure of a reasonable rate.
Look for air conditioner sizing calculators online to truly understand what size of unit you need for your home. Look in the manual to determine the recommended size for this information.
A radiant barrier is an awesome device which will help improve the efficiency of your HVAC unit. It ensures that your unit stays hot or cold as it should be. It can even make your attic a livable space.
Companies with proven track record that you can use to decide if they are worth the time and money. Hiring a new contractor may be taking a considerable risk.
Be sure to test for leaks in the ducts if your system seems inefficient. The local utility may be able to test for you, and their services are frequently free or low cost. If a leak is found, the money spent on finding and repairing the leak will pay for itself.
Ask friends and trust for their HVAC contractor recommendations. People who have had great service are often happy to share the name of it. This will also let you with good information on which contractors you should avoid hiring.
Measure the living area you wish to cool before going air conditioner shopping. Typically, 20 BTUs are required per square foot. If the unit will be cooling several rooms, combine their square footage in your calculations.
There are quite a few sites that let customers talk about their service experiences. This will be an excellent way to locate people that you wish to work with and those that you don’t.
Ask a contractor about their experience prior to hiring them. Confirm that they have done this work before. While someone with less experience might be able to do a great job too, you do not want to take that chance.
Contractors are responsible for their own charges and fees, so make sure that you acquire multiple estimates. You can save quite a bit of money this way. You may want to call at least a handful of contractors in order to know what reasonable rates are.
Always get some references before hiring any contractor. Be sure previous customers got the service and value they expected. Also, it will prevent you from getting robbed.
The information here is not hard to understand if you’re truly interested. You should be able to get the results you want if you educate yourself on the topic at hand. Apply it liberally, and you might even turn a profit.
When hiring a contractor, choose one that offers 24-hour emergency hours. They owe it to you to show up to fix anything, no matter how extreme the weather or what time of day it may be.
