How to Know When Your Air Conditioning Needs Maintenance

Keeping cool in the summer is a luxury to some but can be critical to others that have issues dealing with the heat. Being able to spot when your air conditioner is asking you for help can cut down the time that you have to spend without it. You also end up wasting less money on running a dying or inefficient AC unit, which can add 5% or more to cooling costs for every year you ignore the problem.

Don’t wait until the heat of the summer crops up on you and your AC unit goes down all the way. Look for these warning signs to know when it is time to give your professional a call. Here’s how to know when your air conditioning needs maintenance.

Your Professional Tells You There is Something Wrong

You have your AC unit serviced every year before the summer, right? If you don’t, then you may not know about a problem until it is too late. Regular service from your local professional can help you spot issues before they become serious and end up costing money in the hundreds or even thousands. Have your unit serviced regularly in order to keep it in tip top operating shape.

If you have kept up with your regular servicing but a problem occurs or gets worse after the technician does his annual (or bi-annual) checkup, then there are still additional warning signs to pay attention to. We interviewed several heating and air professionals to get their advice on major warning signs to watch out for. Here are some of the symptoms they reported seeing from their years of experience in the field:

Your Unit is Blowing Warm Air

If your AC unit is acting more like a furnace than an air conditioner, it might be time to have it looked at. Usually, the difference in temperature won’t be that noticeable and may not be drastic at first. You may start to notice that you need to keep setting the temperature lower and lower in order for your house to get the temperature that you like. You may also notice a higher increase in your cooling costs, causing an increase of $50-$100 or more a month than the year before. If you are spending more money or lowering your temperature consistently to stay comfortable, odds are you need service.

Blowing warm air is usually an indication that the refrigerant needs recharged or refilled. You will have to call out a technician to examine the problem and possibly recharge your refrigerant. With a simple service call, you can go back to enjoying a comfortable home and normal energy bills.

Note that units built before 2010 use a type of refrigerant called R-22, which is no longer legal to use per EPA regulations. Since the type of coolant may not be available, your AC professional may not be able to recharge it for you. If this is the case, you will want to strongly consider replacing your AC unit so you can keep recharging it.

Your Air Conditioner is Running Hot

One of the biggest signs that your air conditioner needs help is that the unit keeps overheating.

Overheating can mean a few things are wrong with it, but is most likely a problem with the condenser. The condenser is the part of your AC unit that takes the hot air and makes it cool. It does this by using a liquid. If it is unable to remove the heat from the liquid using the condenser, then it will overheat and not operate properly. Other causes include low refrigerant or a clogged filter.

The best way to look for overheating is to just touch the unit. If you notice it is running hotter than normal, it might be a sign that it is overheating. In more severe cases the unit will shut down totally until it cools off. Then it will run again for a bit until it overheats again. The unit could also send an electrical surge that trips the circuit breaker in the house, shutting down the unit.

Before your unit gets to this point of severity, you can call a professional AC service technician to check on your unit at the start of the season. They will be able to anticipate problems relating to overheating and correct them before they become severe enough to trip the breaker.

You Hear Strange Noises

If your AC unit is making an odd knocking or cracking noise, it (probably) isn’t haunted. Before you call the Ghostbusters, it might just need a visit from your local AC serviced professional.

Your AC unit has a quite complex internal piping system that is used to move the coolant around to let the unit operate. If something is wrong with this system or the parts that pump the coolant, then you will begin to hear strange noises.

Pay attention to all of these warning signs to prevent your AC from costing you hundreds of extra dollars a month or going kaput in the middle of the hottest days of the year. If you think you may be in need of an air conditioner system replacement, give Service Whale a call today. We will connect you with a local contractor who can get your system fixed in no time.

Are you in the market for maintaining your heating and air conditioning system? Click here to get free custom quotes from reputable HVAC contractors. You’ll receive upfront pricing without having to invite a contractor to your home or even enter your contact information!

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