7 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Try to Handle Your Own Air Conditioning Installation | Dallas, TX
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Dallas, TX is known for its hot weather. Even during the winter months, the temperatures do not drop too low in Dallas, which is why homeowners have to take their air conditioning seriously. If something is wrong with your system, then you may be facing the task of a new air conditioning installation. While some people may be tempted to tackle installation on their own to help reduce costs, this is not usually a good idea. Unless you happen to be a certified HVAC professional here are a few reasons why you need to schedule your new installation with an HVAC professional.
It may be tempting to try to save money or hurry up the process of getting a new HVAC system up and ready to go, but the potential for damage is not worth a few day’s wait. Sometimes you indeed have to wait for parts or availability, especially during the peak summer months in Dallas, TX, but an air conditioning system is not cheap. The potential lifespan of your new unit and its overall efficiency both depend heavily on proper air conditioning installation, so it is not a task that should be taken lightly. Keep reading to discover more reasons why it’s worth the price to wait for a professional to handle your installation.
Void Your Warranty
Your air conditioning system is a very expensive home appliance. In fact, outside of your entire HVAC system, it may be one of the most expensive appliances in your home. Therefore, you want to ensure that you are protecting your investment. This means making sure you do everything required to ensure that your warranty is valid. Most air conditioning systems require that you have your system maintained once a year and have a professional perform air conditioning installation.
Believe it or not, a lot of manufacturers automatically void the warranty on their A/C systems if you do not have a certified technician install it. This means that if you do your own air conditioning installation you have no warranty. It also means that if you make a mistake and damage anything during air conditioning installation in Dallas, TX you have nothing to cover you. That is a very expensive and harsh lesson to learn because the only thing more expensive than one air conditioning system is two. Do yourself a favor and hire a professional HVAC system to handle your air conditioning installation so that you don’t need to worry about voiding your warranty.
Being Able to Troubleshoot Issues as You Go
Installing a new air conditioning system is not a simple process. It would be nice if there was a simple guide that you could follow and then sit back and enjoy some cool air, but it doesn’t work that way. Every single home has different needs and will need adjustments made during the air conditioning installation. If you have a full HVAC system and only need to replace the air conditioning component then you will need to adapt your A/C to fit in with the rest of the system.
You also need to route your A/C unit to connect inside properly. The A/C unit needs to sit in a central location outdoors that can be conveniently reached indoors and outdoors. It also needs to be connected to the right circuit and properly balanced. All of these components change by the house and by the installation. You never know what is going to pop up as a serious issue during an air conditioning installation. Attempting to troubleshoot these issues on your own can lead to disaster and at the very least a great deal of frustration.
HVAC professionals have diagnostic tools that allow them to figure out where the problem is coming from if something is not working right during air conditioning installation. As a homeowner, you likely do not have access to any of these tools and will just be grasping at straws. It takes training and tools to diagnose an issue during installation, and if you get stuck you will end up needing to call an HVAC technician. The bad news is that at this point you will have voided your system’s warranty, and will still have to call an HVAC technician to finish the installation. Better to save yourself some trouble upfront and just let a professional handle the air conditioning installation.
Installing a New HVAC System Can Be Dangerous
When a lot of people think about air conditioning installation they think more about vents and tubes than they do about electricity. However, most of the venting system and ductwork is already installed within a home. What you need to install is the unit and connect it to the main HVAC system. Unfortunately, this requires a lot of electrical work, and unless you happen to be an electrician is it not a good idea to tackle this on your own.
Not only do you need to connect the new air conditioning system to your HVAC system, but most of the time the unit will also have its own connection to a separate circuit. This requires additional wiring that must bypass the unit and head over to your circuit box. Sometimes an entirely new circuit needs to be created if your new air conditioning system will be more powerful than the last one you had in your home.
Most air conditioning systems run on about 220 to 240 volts of electricity. That is enough power that it could kill you if you get shocked along the way. It’s not worth taking a chance just to skip the costs of proper air conditioning installation. Simply put, you should never play around with electricity if you don’t know what you are doing. Keep in mind that even if you get it hooked up and the system turns on, you could leave behind an improper connection or loose connector that could eventually start a house fire. It’s just not something that should be left to anyone without proper training.
Refrigerant Issues
If you are installing a new air conditioner, then it will need to have a refrigerant. Unfortunately, refrigerant is not something that you can walk into the store and buy. Refrigerant has very strict rules surrounding its use and for that reason, you are not able to handle the substance unless you are deemed qualified and trained. There are very specific instructions that must be followed whenever refrigerant is involved. The same way you cannot tap off your car’s A/C system, you are not legally allowed to handle the refrigerant for your home A/C.
As you might guess, this will heavily complicate your air conditioning installation since you can’t finish the job and fire up the unit until it actually has refrigerant in place. As a note, you should never attempt to use the old refrigerant from an old unit. This is a disastrous idea and not only can lead to leakage, but it can also result in ruining your old system. So however tempted you are to do it, don’t. Unless you are properly certified to handle refrigerant just don’t.
It May Not Save You That Much Time
One of the top reasons that people attempt to handle air conditioning installation on their own is because they don’t want to wait for someone to come out to their home. It is true that Dallas, TX HVAC technicians can get busy during the summer months, but if you are dealing with a reputable company they can triage needs. Most have an emergency repairman who can come out to your home.
Attempting to do it on your own first might actually make the job even more complicated, increasing the amount of time the job will take to complete and forcing you to wait even longer. Before getting worried about waiting, call around in Dallas, TX and see what the wait looks like. You may be surprised by what you find out. Usually, the wait has more to do with ordering the new system, not with the installation time. Even if you were to install it on your own you would also have to wait for the new system to be delivered. Therefore, in the end, you are not gaining anything by attempting the air conditioning installation on your own.
Selecting the Right System
For your A/C to work correctly you need to ensure that you choose the right system for your home. This is not a task for the average homeowner. A lot of factors go into deciding which air conditioning system is the right choice, and they change by house and location. When studying your home, a trained HVAC technician will consider the square footage that needs to be cooled, the location of your home vents, the location of your home, its position in comparison with the sun, any available shade coverage, and average Dallas, TX climate. They will then use all of this information to choose the right unit.
While there are formal calculations that help determine the right A/C system, experience also plays a role. Some homes have unique cooling needs, and most HVAC technicians with experience can spot these while investigating the space and make allowances while choosing the right A/C system for your home. An A/C is not a cheap investment, you want to make sure the one you choose fits your home perfectly. With any luck, after the air conditioning installation is complete your system will last for decades. You don’t want to be making do with an A/C that doesn’t work efficiently to cool your home for the next few decades. Hire an HVAC professional for your air conditioning installation and they will ensure the unit you purchase fits your home like a glove.
Eventual Repair Needs and Parts
While we are talking about air conditioning installation, it is also useful to highlight the fact that air conditioning repair should also be left to professionals. Before buying a new system, it is a good idea to contact an HVAC professional to have your system investigated. If you have not done this yet, there is a chance that a repair is still possible. HVAC technicians can diagnose a variety of issues that may not have even crossed your mind.
They also have access to AC part supplies so there is a chance that they can find a replacement part that you have been unable to. On the slight chance that a repair is possible at a reasonable cost, it pays to have an HVAC technician look at your malfunctioning unit before you jump into buying a new unit.
At the very least, as noted above, if the HVAC technician recommends that you replace your system they can offer their input to help you choose a new system. You will likely find their guidance is on point, and it can help you be at peace with your decision to make such an expensive investment into your home. While it is always nice to repair instead of replacing, if the part is too expensive and/or your system is over 20 years old, it will make more sense to stop putting money into your A/C and instead replace it. Think of your HVAC system the same way you would a used car, there is only so much money most people are willing to place into a used car before they are ready to replace it.
Whether you are ready to replace your A/C or simply want to have your system evaluated, One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas is here to help you. Give us a call and we can send an HVAC professional out to evaluate your current system and offer you guidance on your new air conditioning installation.