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Scheduling a “tune-up” or regular maintenance is an important part of caring for your HVAC unit. To keep yours in the best condition, we advise booking a maintenance service at least once a year, especially before seasonal changes.
In hot, humid regions like Florida, contacting an HVAC professional for a tune-up can prevent the environmental issues AC units are vulnerable to. But what other benefits can you look forward to?
While our friends and family in the midwest and northeast get ready for chillier days by scheduling heating maintenance and making sure their homes are well insulated, we’re still using our air conditioners on a pretty consistent basis.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t invest in heating maintenance too–you should–or that you won’t benefit from proper insulation–you will–but the fact is we have to give extra attention to our cooling systems.
That said, did you notice this past summer and fall that your air conditioner was struggling a bit? Maybe it’s just not keeping you as cool as it used to, or it’s running in short bursts instead of regular cooling cycles (this is called short-cycling). Read on to learn about some signs that it may be time for you to upgrade to a new air conditioner!
If you’ve lived in Northwest Florida for even just one summer, then you get that humidity is a major concern when it comes to home comfort. Even the mildest of warm days to us can still feel sweltering when the relative humidity level is high enough. This is because the higher the moisture levels in the air, the easier it is for heat to get trapped in the body. Basically, too much humidity makes you feel hotter than it actually is, because you can’t sweat it out!
Humidity creates other problems too. It encourages the development of mold and mildew, as well as other bacteria, and can cause water damage to surfaces. But if you have an air conditioner in your home, you may think that this won’t be a problem–that the air conditioner is a natural dehumidifier.
While this is true–that your forced-air cooling system does have dehumidification properties–it needs a little help. Read on to learn more!
You have several jobs to take care of when you move into a new home. Sign over the utilities, ensure you have homeowners’ insurance, hook up the internet…
Among all this, the last thing you’re probably thinking about is your air conditioner. But, if you’re new to our area, we’ve got news for you—you’re gonna wanna think about your air conditioner. Especially if you’ve never lived in a climate that gets above 75°F in the summer!
It’s not often we meet a homeowner who doesn’t care about saving money. This is particularly true in regards to energy savings or utility bills. In addition to these charges every month, you also have AC upkeep to keep in mind. After all, we need these systems here in Florida, which means staying on top of maintenance, repairs, and eventual replacement when needed.
We have some good news! There are some pretty simple tips you can follow to actually boost your AC efficiency. As a result, you can help the system last longer and you can save money by lowering your bills, since your air conditioner won’t have to run as long or work as hard to do its job.
Do keep in mind, that if you have an aging system (10-15 years old) then it may be time to start considering replacement. Soon, no amount of efficiency tips will keep your system running as it should. In the meantime, though, read on for some of our best AC efficiency-boosting tips.
While in other parts of the country, homeowners are getting ready to schedule heating maintenance appointments and turn their sights to fall, we’re still focusing on our air conditioners around here. And perhaps yours isn’t performing up to par and has you considering an upgrade. Whether this describes you or you just want to know more about the intricacies of air conditioners, there’s a term you should know–SEER. And yes, it matters!
Your air conditioner’s SEER rating describes the energy efficiency ratio that applies to all cooling and heat pump systems. You should be able to use this rating to guide your AC choices now and in the future, if you want a truly efficiency and effective air conditioner.
Read on to learn more about SEER ratings and just why they matter so much.
If there is any single air conditioning service we think is vital for your cooling system, it’s maintenance. Homeowners often still see this as a frivolous or “luxury” service but that’s just not the case. The fact of the matter is, if you want your air conditioner to last as long as it is meant to—an average of 10-15 years—and work as effectively as it is meant to throughout its lifespan, you have to have it tuned-up by a trained professional.
This is particularly true when you consider our climate. If you have a traditional central air conditioner, then annual maintenance is essential. If you have a year-round heat pump or ductless system, then this should be increased to every 6 months.
But, is there anything else you can do to ensure the efficiency of your air conditioner?
There sure is! Read on to learn more.
First off, you might be wondering what R-22 is. It’s refrigerant—the substance needed for your central air conditioner or heat pump to function at all. Perhaps you have a basic understanding of how refrigerant works, and you might have even had someone tell you that refrigerant needs to be refilled (called recharged in the HVAC industry) every once in a while.
First off, that’s not true—if your system is losing refrigerant, it means there is a leak in the line that has to be repaired before it can be recharged. In the ideal scenario, your AC system has enough refrigerant upon installation to last throughout its entire lifespan.
That brings us back to R-22. If your system is a decade old or older, chances are that it uses this type of refrigerant. And unfortunately, R-22 is being phased out. The reason is due to the harmful effects it has on the environment, so it’s for a good cause! But you may be in for an unpleasant surprise should your older AC need refrigerant.
You might think that a UV air purifier is “just another air cleaner.” However, it’s quite different from a standard ionization or electronic air cleaner—more on that below.
Basically, there are a number of things that can have a negative impact on your indoor air quality, but there are a few systems that can help improve this situation. Indoor air quality is a big concern no matter what time of the year it is—in fact, without the right products in place, it’s worse than the quality of the air outdoors.
But, what type of air purifier is best? To answer that, we first need to explain what air purifiers actually do.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had air conditioners that could self-diagnose malfunctions and report them back to the homeowner, in detail? We’re sure that will exist someday, but in the meantime, we have to rely on other methods for an air conditioner to send warnings that something is wrong. Perhaps it’s a drop in cooling power, an unexplained spike in energy bills, or frequently tripping circuit breakers.
Or it could be something else entirely–strange and unfamiliar noises coming from the air conditioning system. Anything that’s different from the normal hum of the fans and compressors, and the occasional clicking as the system comes on and shuts down, might be telling you of a malfunction. Do not try to investigate these problems on your own, since there are various possible causes for them, and we don’t want you to injure yourself or damage the air conditioner even more by inspecting.
Be sure to call our HVAC pros and we’ll track down the exact source of the problem so it can be quickly repaired.