Coming home to a hot or cold house due to a broken HVAC unit is no fun. Taking care of your home’s HVAC system is vital to keeping your environment comfortable. These tips will ensure you stay on top of your game!
Before you contact people to assist you in getting your system fixed, know what kind of system you’re working with in the first place. It is important to understand what model it is and which brand it is. Also, if it has been serviced before, you should have that information handy. In this way, you can be sure your repair person has all vital information.
Before you hire an HVAC contractor, have some sort of idea of the work that needs to be done. Providing you with an accurate estimate over the telephone may be difficult to impossible is they can’t see the system you have. It can be harder if you don’t know what’s wrong. Know this stuff ahead of time.
You should clean your condenser fan’s blades and coils every spring. Turn the power off so nothing moves. Next, pop off the grill, pull out the blades and start cleaning them and the unit itself off gently.
Don’t get grass clippings on your outside unit. Have the grass shoot in the opposite direction. This also applies when you blow leaves, so be very careful near your exterior HVAC units when you move debris.
Make certain that an outdoor unit is in the shade. If it sucks in cool air, it will need to work less to coll the air inside, which can make it last longer.
Put your outdoor unit in places with shade. As you get your air conditioner to suck in cool air it won’t have to do too much work to cool it which saves you some money.
Save some cash by shutting down the air-conditioning system when there is no one in the house. The house will heat up, but not too much. Obviously, if you leave your air conditioning set at a low temperature all day long even if you’re not home, you’ll be paying to maintain that low temperature.
Don’t let your home get overly hot. Expect an air conditioning unit to drop the temperature down 20 degrees within a short amount of time. The temperature will only reduce to about 80 if your home heats up to 100 degrees. This won’t be a healthy environment to live in.
You can get ice in your air conditioner. Freezing drain lines are also possible and can be mistaken for leaks. If you notice this, switch your thermostat to fan only to disable the compressor. This problem will need to be handled by a professional, even though the fan will probably help with the ice situation.
Online reviews are a great source of information about HVAC contractors. There are a number of great sites out there that let customers talk about how they were treated by services. This will be an excellent way to locate people you should work with and people that may not work well with you.
If you are a having trouble with your existing system, check for leaks in the ducts. Your utility company can test this for you, oftentimes at no charge. If not, it should be less expensive than a HVAC contractor. Paying for the test is fine as repairing the leaks will pay for itself quickly.
Which way does your home face? Strategically placed trees outside your home can block out the morning sun which can cause your home to overheat. The cooler your home already is, the less work your AC will have to do.
When your unit is clicking, immediately go out and look to see if anything is inside it. Often the problem will be some kind of debris hitting your fans in your cooling system. Removal of the debris should solve the issue. Before you call a technician, look at it yourself.
You can’t know what sized air conditioner to purchase unless you measure the area you need cooled. This calculation will tell you how many BTU’s you need. If more than one room needs AC service, combine all the square footage.
Replace the air filter as often as possible. This is the simplest thing that you can do to keep your unit running in tip top shape. Filters are cheap, and changing them regularly adds up to long term savings.
Before hiring a contractor to work on your HVAC system, you should inquire about the type of experience they have. The contractor should be experienced in handling the kind of work that you require. While a worker with less experience may be capable of doing a good job, you will be taking a risk.
If you’re hiring a contractor, get references. You need to know if previous clients have gotten what they needed, like timely service within their budget. Also, it will prevent you from getting robbed.
Don’t hire a HVAC repairman unless they offer 24 Hour Emergency service. They need to be able to come to a home when needed, whether during a heatwave or a terrible snowstorm.
Be sure you keep your HVAC up and running by using the advice found above. It’s never a good feeling to come home to a broken HVAC system. The repair costs will be very high too. With the information in this article, it will be a smoother process. Use them as necessary.
