August Can Be Cruel for an AC! Watch for These Problems

Monday, August 20th, 2018

dog-sleeping-on-floorThe dog days of summer are here. Although this saying is based on Greek and Roman constellations—when the star pattern Sirius the Dog is on the horizon—most of us think of it as a time when dogs are panting on porches next to people trying to fan themselves off. Of course, if you have a working air conditioning system in your home, you won’t need to be fanning yourself on the porch, and your dog will probably not need to pant so much.

But August’s dog days can sometimes put air conditioners out of commission. Most ACs run steadily from June onward, so all the accumulated work stress can lead to an air conditioner that’s at a much higher risk of malfunctioning in August. Below are some air conditioning problems to watch for during this late summer period of high heat and humidity. You can call us for the professional air conditioning service in Haughton, LA, that will get your AC back on track.

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Should I Just Replace a Noisy Air Conditioner?

Monday, August 6th, 2018

woman-surprised-by-loud-noiseRattle and whir—an air conditioning system can really turn into a major piece of noise pollution, can’t it? If you dread having to turn on your AC because it sends a racket through your home and disturbs the summer peace, you may have to make a decision about replacing it.

Yes, sometimes you should replace an air conditioner that’s making a lot of noise. But a noisy operation isn’t an automatic reason to scrap an AC. Let’s go a bit deeper into the Case of the Loud Cooling System.

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What Is Refrigerant—Really?

Monday, May 14th, 2018

air-conditioning-condensers-on-risersIf you looked up the word refrigerant in a dictionary, you’d probably come across a definition like this:

re·frig·er·ant: noun 1. A substance used for refrigeration.

Not terribly informative or helpful, is it? If you’re curious about what the refrigerant in your home’s air conditioning system is, how it actually provides cooling, and why it’s so important, we’re here to give the dictionary a bit of help.

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Summer Problems You’ll Avoid Thanks to Spring AC Maintenance

Monday, April 16th, 2018

service-markerWe always encourage our customers to schedule spring air conditioning maintenance with us. We don’t want to be a pest about this, but it is extremely important to have these inspections and tune-ups done each year before the big summer heat and humidity arrives. There are many reasons why air conditioning maintenance is such an important job, and we’re going to look at a few specific problems an AC that doesn’t have spring maintenance done might run into.

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How to Shut Down Your AC at the End of the Season

Monday, October 30th, 2017

ice-on-acEventually, your air conditioning system is going to shut down for the rest of the year. The cold settles in for winter, and it won’t be until spring arrives that you’ll turn on your cooling system once more. But you can’t simply trust that your AC will leap to life next year, fresh from a winter nap and ready to get to work once more. Air conditioners don’t work that way! You’ll need to schedule maintenance for it in spring, the same way we encourage homeowners now to schedule maintenance for their heating systems.

And there are a few steps you can take now to help your AC shut down for the season and remain in good condition over its winter break. You can call on us if you need any other air conditioning service in Benton, LA or elsewhere in our service area.

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How a Dirty Evaporator Coil Affects Your Air Conditioner

Monday, June 26th, 2017

Air-conditioner-repairmanWhere does the actual “cooling” in an air conditioner occur? It happens along the surface and fins of the evaporator coil, located in the indoor cabinet of the air conditioner—which is also known as the (surprise) evaporator. Warm air drawn through the return air ducts by a blower fan passed over the coil, and the cold refrigerant moving through the coil evaporates. This draws heat from the air (as well as moisture), lowering the temperature of the air. The air continues into the ventilation system and then to the various rooms around the house.

It’s important for an the evaporator coil and fins to have a clean surface. During regular air conditioning maintenance, HVAC technicians always make a check of the coil and fins to see if they are developing dirt and grime across their surfaces. If they are, the technicians clean off the dirt so the air conditioner will work at its best during the summer.

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How Summers Strain Your Air Conditioner

Monday, May 1st, 2017

Air-conditioner-maintenance-technicianDuring spring is when we encourage our customers, as well as our soon-to-be customers, to arrange for regular professional air conditioning maintenance with our team. A maintenance visit from one of our skilled technicians will find any spots where an AC needs to have repairs or adjustments, as well as provide a general cleaning and tune-up to alleviate wear and tear on the system so it performs at peak efficiency through the summer. A well-maintained AC should few malfunctions over its service life.

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The AC Danger Zone: Why This Time of Year Is Rough for Your Air Conditioner

Monday, August 22nd, 2016

Late August: a time of back-to-school sales and some pretty bad movies getting dropped into theaters. It’s also a time when your air conditioner is going to face the hardest fight of the year. It’s the true “danger zone” for air conditioning equipment, as we’ll explain.

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Does Turning My Thermostat Down Lower Cool the House Faster?

Monday, August 15th, 2016

The simple answer to this question: No, turning the thermostat as low as possible won’t speed up cooling your home.

This is a common misunderstanding people have about both thermostats and air conditioning systems, and it results in an unfortunate waste of energy and additional strain on ACs that can shorten their lifespan and make repair needs more frequent. We could just tell you to maintain a higher thermostat setting in the 70s (78°F is recommended for general comfort) and leave it at that, but we believe that informing our customers helps both them and us. So below we’ll explain in greater depth why setting the thermostat too low is unhelpful and can backfire on you.

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I Need Help: My AC Keeps Tripping the Circuit Breaker!

Monday, August 1st, 2016

Even if you don’t know much about electricity or how the appliances in your homework, you know that they shouldn’t be causing the circuit breakers in the electrical panel to trip when they turn on. You especially don’t want your air conditioning system to start tripping its circuit breaker during the summer, since it will cause the AC to stop working and leave you without the cooling you desperately need.

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