July 20th

It is hot!!!! And in a really random and total change of pace, I am posting a PSA about your AC equipment:

I am by no means an HVAC expert. But, after three years of receiving and sending out service calls, putting together invoices, and putting together service proposals I have picked up on a few things.

The most important thing to keeping your HVAC equipment healthy through those hot summer months (and cold winter ones) is MAINTENANCE! Home equipment does not really require as much maintenance as commercial equipment, but it is important to call your local HVAC provider to come out and service your equipment. Ideally this would be done right before cooling and right before heating seasons. If you really don’t want to do that, at least once a year is good (try to be patient if you call during a peak time – heat wave or cold snap as those without are going to be a higher priority).

There are a few things that you can do to keep your equipment running smoothly. Change those filters! If you are not sure where your filters are, ask a technician when they come to service your equipment or refer to the owner’s manual. This can tell you which way the airflow goes, what size filters you need, and where they go (sometimes they go in the units themselves, sometimes they go in at the grilles). To ensure proper air flow, change your filters quarterly (or more frequently if there is a lot of dust or smog or smoke in the air) and label them with the date in which they are installed. If you do not change your filters they can get junked up with dirt and restrict the air flow. Not only is this gunk something that you’re breathing in, a lack of airflow can cause your unit to shut down.

If your cooling is not coming on, take a look at the condensing unit (the outside part) and see if the copper lines are iced up. If so, kill the power to the equipment (usually by code the unit will have a disconnect switch or box to kill power located within sight of the equipment). Allow the equipment to thaw out and also change the filters. Start up the power to the equipment and try running it again.

If the unit is smoking, grinding, making a loud noise, or not working after these steps turn off the power to the unit and call a professional. Never attempt to repair the equipment yourself: you could injure yourself, your equipment, or your home and you may also void any warranty that your equipment has.

Invest in a programmable thermostat (installed by a professional). This way you can more accurately control the temperature of your home. You can program your equipment to save energy: by keeping your home a little bit warmer during the day you will save energy and not have to cool an empty house. You can then program the thermostat to come on before you get home so that you will never come home to an uncomfortable house! There are also a few options that actually allow you to control and monitor your thermostat and home temperature from your smartphone.

During summer months when the temperature is close to triple digits your home may not be as cool as you’d like. Odds are your cooling equipment will not be able to satisfy the demand of cooling a house to 72° if the outside temperature is 100°, most equipment cannot support more than a 20° temperature split between the ambient temperature outside and the temperature inside. As amazing as AC is, it cannot defy the laws of thermodynamics.

Unfortunately, heating or cooling problems could be many things so it is impossible to make a diagnosis without inspecting the equipment.  If the professional that comes to inspect your equipment does not feel trustworthy to you, get a second opinion! Some companies would rather replace a unit than perform a repair (in older equipment it can overall be more cost effective and energy efficient to replace, in newer equipment sometimes it is laziness or they receive a bonus if they install a new unit). If you feel that a company is not being honest, thank them and pay them for the service call and schedule a second opinion with another company. It is important to remember that the customer never has to do anything they don’t want to do besides take the technician’s recommendations under advisement, you should never feel pressured to make a decision right away.