Tips for Troubleshooting Air Conditioner Problems at Home

When most homeowners HVAC systems are out of their warranty period and they have to pay from their pocket foe every single expense, it becomes necessary to start looking for ingenious ways to cut down expenses related to AC repair services. Even though you may not be able to solve every issue you encounter on your own, it is always good to at least have an idea of what could be causing the trouble; this makes you more comfortable when calling for emergency AC repair service.

Is anything actually wrong? Amazingly, not every call made to AC repair contractors involves something that should necessarily get fixed by a professional. A good example is whether you know up to what limits the AC unit can cool your home below the outside temperature. Sometimes the temperature outside is in triple units and because of humidity the house feels like it is 120 degrees; you cannot expect the compressor to keep your home at 60 degrees. You may also realize that your AC unit is pulling more watts than usual at the peak of the summer heat; this could easily throw a breaker and the unit shuts down making your home feel muggy. Check on the breakers to ensure it hasn’t flipped before you make an emergency AC repair call.

The thermostat: Many homeowners are surprised at the number of HVAC issues that can be traced back to a thermostat that is not communicating with the system on what the appropriate temperature should be. There are thermostat models that use batteries together with electricity, you may want to change the old batteries and that may solve your problem. In other cases, the solution is replacing the thermostat altogether.

HVAC runs too long or not long enough: Very few people know this fact, but the placement of the thermostat and the return vent are responsible for the efficiency of your AC system or lack of it. The thermostat will base the temperature using the air around it; if you place it next to a window where there is direct sunlight, this will definitely raise the temperature of the thermostat. When this takes place, the AC will be forced to run until it cools the air around it and at times this could mean freezing other rooms in the house. Don’t call for air conditioning repair before you first adjust the position of the thermostat.

Air filters: If you can’t quite recall the last time the air filters we replaced or cleaned, this may be contributing to the inefficiency of your AC. When the filters are clogged they can impede that airflow into the system; this forces it to work harder but still create less conditioned air. Remember that some problems are very cheap to fix so don’t hesitate to call an air conditioner contractor whenever you are in doubt.