Comfort is essential in one’s home or office. If it’s hot, the feeling of uncomfortability is heightened. It’s difficult to relax or be productive in an indoor space that’s hot and humid. That’s why an air conditioner is an essential appliance that you should have in order to negate heat and bring about comfort to your place.
In order to pick the right air conditioning unit for your home or office, you should be able to determine if it’s suitable for your space. In short, it would be advantageous for you to get familiar with air conditioners to get the right one.
Here are the top things that every consumer like you must know about air conditioners:
1. How it works
Every home air conditioning unit is designed to move heat from inside your home to outside, thereby cooling your home. AC units blow cool air into your home by pulling the heat out of the air. This is cooled by blowing the air over a set of cold pipes called an evaporator coil, which is filled with a refrigerant that transforms from a liquid into gas as it absorbs heat from the air. The air is then pumped outside the house to another coil where it gives up heat and changes back to liquid. The energy to do all of this is used by the motor that runs the compressor. Regular AC maintenance and checkups, therefore, are important to keep your AC running smoothly.
2. What’s usually wrong
An air conditioner is a complex mechanical system that depends on an array of conditions in order to work properly. It has to meet a certain “load” requirement in the house. It is designed to contain a certain amount of refrigerant, known as the “charge”. It is made to have a certain amount of airflow across the coils. If any of these specifications are not met, then expect that your unit may not work properly. If that happens, you should consider professional help for AC repairs.
3. Ducts are crucial
One of the reasons why an AC unit loses cold air is because of duct leakage. Duct leakage can sap 20 to 40% of the energy out of even a well-operating air conditioner. When exposed outside, ducts need to be well-insulated. Various products exist specifically for insulating ducts that can be installed by a keen homeowner or a professional HVAC contractor.
You might be able to get an extra half ton of air conditioner capacity for free if you seal your leaky ducts or avail of duct cleaning and maintenance services.
4. Importance of maintaining the Air Conditioner
There is routine AC maintenance that could be handled by the owners themselves, such as changing the filters. However, there are others that would require professional expertise to be done correctly.
For owners, it would be helpful to brush dirt and obstructions off the coils and the drains regularly, such as before summer begins. Depending on the unit and the knowledge of the owner, a service call for AC maintenance from a trustworthy professional may be needed. If the problem involves the system not producing cold air as it usually should, it’s an indication of a refrigerant charge or airflow problems. These problems may require servicing.
These pointers will help owners become more aware of AC maintenance. Should it become necessary to replace or repair your air conditioning unit, seek out a qualified HVAC professional such as Tim & Sons Services.
Tim & Sons Services is the most trusted HVAC Company in Fairfax VA and surrounding areas, they provide the best and most trustworthy air conditioning Services & installation. We’ve been in the business for over 25 years and have earned the loyalty of customers.