HVAC Repair Companies: Valuable Air Conditioner Placement Tips

Posted on July 29, 2020 by HVAC

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Buying the right size and type of air conditioner isn’t enough—you need to place the unit in the right place. Wondering where to place your air conditioner? Here are valuable air conditioner placement tips you should consider as given by HVAC repair companies:

Have enough space for your outdoor unit

During AC installation, most homeowners focus on the indoor unit and ignore the location of the outdoor unit, which is wrong. A good spot for the outdoor condenser is vital for the proper functioning of the air conditioner.

Air conditioning experts report that the air conditioner works better when the outdoor unit has enough room to operate. As you are installing it, ensure the unit has enough space to take in fresh air and release heat from inside your home.

For best results, leave enough clearance space around the condenser unit that will encourage free flow of fresh air.

During the installation, also ensure the location of the outdoor unit is easily accessible so you can clean it, among other regular maintenance tasks.

Locate the indoor unit away from heat sources

Placing the indoor unit close to heat-producing appliances will make your air conditioner work harder than it should. When the air conditioner senses heat, the thermostat may trigger the air conditioner to start working, which translates to a high energy bill at the end of the month.

To avoid this from happening, keep the indoor unit as far from heat sources as much as possible.

Locate the outdoor unit in a shaded area

An outdoor unit exposed to direct sunlight tends to work harder to provide sufficient cooling of the house. Since the unit is working too hard, it tends to consume a lot of energy, which significantly adds to your monthly bill.

To prevent this from happening, place the outdoor unit in a shaded area. By doing this, you not only keep the appliance functioning optimally, but it also extends the lifespan of the appliance.

Place the condenser unit high enough.

Due to the high density of cold air, the air tends to move towards the bottom of the room. To adequately cool your house, you need to consider this factor when installing your new air conditioning system.

When you place the unit too close to the ground, the unit might not properly cool the house leading to a high energy bill. For effective cooling, keep the AC unit high enough. For best results, place the air conditioner 5 to 6 feet above the ground. From this position, the air conditioner will effectively and evenly distribute cold air throughout the house.

As you are positioning the indoor unit, also think about cleaning and replacing the air filters. The location should be easy to access so you can easily reach and replace the filters.

Place the outdoor unit on a flat surface.

You must ensure the outdoor unit is on a flat surface. If the unit is not on a flat surface, it might vibrate excessively, leading to coolant leakage, breakage of copper wires, and compressor damage. The vibrations might also be too loud to disturb your neighbors or even prevent you from sleeping properly.

Installing a split air conditioner? Maintain the right distance between the indoor and outdoor unit

To understand the importance of maintaining the right distance between the indoor and outdoor unit, you need to understand how the split air conditioner works.

The coolant, at low temperatures, flows inside the copper tubes between the indoor and outdoor units. As the refrigerant flows between the units, it loses some cooling effect.

To reduce this loss, keep the distance between the indoor and outdoor units as minimum as possible. For best results, ensure the distance between the two is no more than 15 meters.

Over to you

These are tips on how to install your air conditioner properly. For peace of mind, the air conditioner will be properly installed, have it installed by an expert air conditioner repair services Huntington provider.

After installing the unit, take good care of the unit, so it lasts for a long time and consumes little energy. This calls for you to clean or replace the air filters regularly. You also should routinely inspect the unit and fix any issues you come across.

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Do Air Conditioners Take In Air from Outside? AC Repair Experts Answer

Posted on July 25, 2020 by HVAC

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One of the most common questions new homeowners ask is, do air conditioners take in air from outside? The short answer is no. To understand why the units don’t take air from outside, AC repair experts recommend you first understand how the air conditioner works.

How the AC works

The air conditioner has two components: the inside and outside component. These components are connected by copper lines that are filled with refrigerant that is either gas or liquid.

The outdoor unit uses a fan to draw air in and takes the existing heat back out of the refrigerant, allowing it to cool down before being recycled. The air passes through the outdoor unit and doesn’t stick around.

The heat is drawn out and allowed to go its way.

The indoor part has an AC return air intake that is sometimes located on the wall or ceiling. The return air intake has some type of a filter that keeps dust and debris out while allowing air to pass through.

As the air blows through it, it passes over the supercooled coils inside to cool down. This process transfers heat out of the air and into the supercooled coils.

Other air conditioner facts

Other than the fact air conditioners don’t get fresh air from outside, there are plenty of other facts about the appliances you should know. These facts include:

The HVAC system can be too big

When many homeowners are buying air conditioners, they have the impression they should buy the largest unit as it gives the best results, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. When you buy a unit that is too big for your house, you not only increase the amount of energy your appliance consumes, but a large unit also doesn’t remove all the humidity it’s supposed to.

As the air conditioning system can be too big for your home, it can also be too small. A small unit tends to work too hard to cool the house. It also tends to keep on breaking down which increases the amount of money you spend on repairs.

To avoid buying an air conditioner of the wrong size, you should do your research about the right size of unit you should get. For easy time, ask a well-trained HVAC contractor to guide you through.

The air conditioner MERV rating can be too high

To keep the air conditioner in good shape, you should clean or replace the air filters at least once every few months. As you are shopping for replacement air filters, one of the important factors you should consider is the air filter MERV rating which indicates the filtering power of the air conditioner.

The higher the number, the more particulates the filter can trap. Due to this fact, many homeowners aim for air filters with the highest ratings, but this isn’t right.

As you are scouting for the filter, you should note that a MERV rating over 16 isn’t ideal for home use. Such a filter is designed for large residential buildings that require air to move through super-tiny pores.

For your home, go for an HVAC system with a MERV rating of 13. This way you will have properly cleaned air and you won’t be wasting money on an air filter that isn’t right for your home.

You should note that the higher the MERV rating, the more you will pay for the air filter. Of course, regardless of the rating, remember that an air conditioner filter is an important part of your air conditioner and comes in handy at not only ensuring your air conditioner functions optimally, but also ensures that the unit lasts for a long time.

Annual inspections are vital

At least once a year, you should hire air conditioner repair services Plainview providers to go through your unit, identify any issues the unit might be having and fix it. When hiring the contractor, ensure they are experienced enough. They also should be certified to work in your local area.

Plenty of things can go wrong as the repair professional is fixing the unit. The contractor can fall, the air conditioner can get damaged, among many other things. To avoid carrying the expense, ensure the air conditioner technician is insured.

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7 Reasons Why Home Air Conditioner Smells Bad As Given By Air Conditioner Repair Services Providers

Posted on July 7, 2020 by HVAC

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When you get into the house, you expect to come to the cool relief of a sweet-smelling air-conditioned home. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes you step into the house and an unpleasant odor greets you. When this happens, it means your air conditioner has a problem.

Plenty of reasons can lead to unpleasant odors. Here are some of these reasons and what to do about them as given by air conditioner repair services providers.

The drainage line has blocked.

When the air conditioner removes excess humidity from the house, it pushes excess water down the drainage line. Sometimes the drainpipe clogs up, and the air conditioner begins producing a stale odor that is pushed from the central system to the ducts into your house.

So when you notice a stale smell when you step into your house, your drainage lines must be blocked.

To get rid of this problem, you should contact a certified HVAC technician to inspect the drainage lines and clean them if necessary.

There are dead animals in your system.

Have you noticed bad smells, especially at the beginning of the summer season? There must be a dead animal in your system. It’s normal for birds, mice, rats, and other rodents to seek warmth in the warm areas of the house, including the air conditioner.

Unfortunately, these animals die in the air conditioner and begin to disintegrate, giving off a rotten egg smell.

To get rid of the smell, you need to inspect the supply and return vents in the house. When you notice dead creatures, remove them using kitchen tongs or any other instrument.

If you have inspected the system and still your house has the rotten egg smell, chances are the animals have died in the air ducts, and you can’t easily find and remove them if you don’t have the necessary tools. In such a case, you should get an AC expert to inspect and clean the system.

You have a central motor leak.

When you have cracks or damage to the internal motor of the system, you are bound to experience exhaust odor in your house. In most cases, the smell will go away when you deactivate the power of the system.

If you deactivate the system and still the problem doesn’t go away, you must be having dissolving parts or hardware in your HVAC system.

You have clogged sewer lines.

Sometimes you might think the smell is coming from the air conditioner while it’s coming from the sewer lines located near the air ducts. A malfunctioning sewer pipe releases methane gas, which is harmful and might even lead to a fire. To eliminate the risk, contact a reputable licensed local plumber to inspect the system and fix it.

Smoke is infiltrating your air conditioner.

Many people know the effects of smoking indoors. The excess smoke is absorbed by the drywall, carpets, and furniture, giving your house a bad smell.

While many people know this, most of them don’t know the effects smoking indoors has on the air conditioner. When you choose to smoke indoors, odor from excess smoke gets into the evaporator coil of your system.

To get rid of the smell and leave the house smelling fresh, you should contact a certified technician to sanitize the evaporator coil and other parts of the air conditioner. If the smoke was excessive, you may have to replace other areas of the house, including rugs, carpet, furniture, and drywall.

The refrigerant is leaking.

A telltale sign of leaking refrigerant is odor that closely resembles acetone. In addition to the air conditioner being less efficient, leading to high utility bills, it can lead to death in your family, so you should fix the problem as soon as you notice it.

The motor or circuit panel has a short

The chances of the motor or circuit panel shorting increases as the central air conditioner ages. Is your air conditioner producing a smell that closely resembles gun powder or fireworks? Your appliance might be having a motor or circuit panel short.

You should contact an AC repair services Woodbury provider to inspect the system and fix it. This is to prevent internal damage to your expensive air conditioner.

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