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Air Conditioning Repair Stories: Bats In The Central Air Condenser, Units Older Than The Homeowner, And Other HVAC Discoveries We’ve Heard Of | Frisco, TX

Air Conditioning Repair Stories: Bats In The Central Air Condenser, Units Older Than The Homeowner, And Other HVAC Discoveries We’ve Heard Of | Frisco, TX

Photo By freemixer at istock

At One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas, we serve our customers in Frisco, TX with quick response in the heat of summer and thorough maintenance in the off-season to help them keep their comfort systems running smoothly at a reasonable cost. Our expert air conditioning repair team serves the Dallas area, and our company has been a fixture in the community since 1988. What makes us a leading heating and air conditioning company in the local area in addition to our focus on customer service is our constant technology updates through training on cutting-edge HVAC developments and repair strategies. We’re licensed and insured, and proud of our reputation, ready to serve your heating and air conditioning needs.

Challenging Work, From Diagnosing Complex Systems to Discovering Creatures in the Condenser Unit

Our air conditioning repair team in Frisco, TX is a team of experienced professionals, but still, there are always new challenges for us to meet in our profession. For example, it’s not unusual to find a rodent nest in a condenser unit, especially if it’s been sitting idle for a while. Taking care of wildlife that’s moved in is one of the reasons we clean out the unit as part of the annual maintenance service. It’s important for the unit’s operation and the condition of the interior, as visitors tend to make a mess and can chew on important components while they’re there. It’s not always the creatures you expect, like mice, rats, and chipmunks. There’s a clip online of a condenser unit, bungee-corded to a rooftop which is a whole other set of air conditioning repair issues, that has a family of bats flying in and out of the narrow slots on the side. You just never know what you’re going to find in the field of air conditioning repair.

Cleaning Is a Key Part of Air Conditioning Repair and Maintenance

Air conditioners get dirty. The outside unit housing the compressor is of course exposed to more weather and nature and tends to get dirty, with everything from brush and trash to lawn clippings and landscaping debris is blown inside, covering and blocking the coils and getting into the mechanisms, both the fan and the electrical equipment that turns it on and off. We’ve already mentioned how animals get inside and make a mess as well, so we have to check fan belts for tension and wear, but also for bite marks sometimes. Depending on the unit’s location near your house, it may occasionally get rough treatment as people retrieve ladders, lawnmowers, and other equipment from nearby, dinging the outside cover which is how the animals find openings, and also sometimes damaging the fins and coils as well. In the great outdoors, air conditioning repairs sometimes are the result of surprising situations, such as corrosion on a corner of a unit placing the coils and refrigerant at risk that may be caused by dogs or other animals relieving themselves as they would on a fire hydrant.

We Deal with Brand New Units and One Still Running Since the Beginning of Time

Our air conditioning repair team has the parts and training to handle decades-old air conditioning systems as well as the latest multi-speed compressor high-efficiency units. Sometimes it’s hard to believe just how long these systems can run, but on service calls, we may wind up extending the life of a unit that’s much older than the homeowner. While the average lifetime of a central AC unit is 10-12 years for older units, 15-20 years for modern ones, many air conditioning repair technicians have stories to tell about the units that just keep on ticking from decade to decade, sometimes making it 40 years or more. If you’re young, starting a family, just bought your first house, and are checking out your HVAC system, you might be surprised to find that it has a birthday long before yours.

Emphasizing Maintenance So You Can Relax in the Summertime

When our air conditioning repair team takes on your system for annual maintenance in the offseason, we’re not only cleaning it up and checking the fluids, we’re also keeping our eyes out for signs that, in our experience, show that the unit may need air conditioning repair service once it starts working hard in the summer. There’s nothing like a couple of weeks of “heat dome” in Frisco, TX to put an AC system under stress, and we’d rather catch your failing fan motor now than give you a reason to sweat, even with our quick service, in the heat of summer. Between the manufacturer’s recommendations and our extensive experience, we can often anticipate problems, test to confirm our suspicions and provide you with the opportunity to replace components and perform other repairs on a planned basis.

Duct Cleaning and Filter Maintenance for Your Health and Your System’s Efficiency

Speaking of small creatures and other intrusions, your indoor system is, to a lesser degree, vulnerable to visitors as well, depending on where it is located. In some cases, critters can get into ducts and if they do, having a thorough duct cleaning is a health-conscious idea. We recommend regular duct cleaning, typically every few years, to clear accumulated dust, allergens, and organic growth from your ducts, providing better air quality as well as better airflow. If your ducts have never been cleaned, your system could be significantly impaired by the thickness of the material lining them. Air conditioning repair technicians have found material lining ducts that reduced the open space for air to travel by half. Your air filter is also a critical part of your system’s operation and should be replaced on a regular schedule that your air conditioning repair team can suggest. When it gets too dirty, and that happens in many homes, airflow is impeded so your home doesn’t cool as well, but also your fan motor works harder, the fan belt gets more wear, and your evaporator unit can even freeze up when the airflow is reduced far enough. Changing the air filter is definitely worth doing.

When Your AC System Talks to Our Air Conditioning Repair Team

As our air conditioning repair experts in Frisco, TX maintain your system, they go over it in detail and clean it, but they also use their experience and observations to note any potential issues. For example, for a condenser unit that’s been a dog’s favorite stop, they might pay extra attention to the condition of the coil and the state of the refrigerant. A quick hand-spin of the unit’s fan can indicate whether the motor is in good condition, followed by an electrical test to see if it’s working harder than it should due to wear. A leaking capacitor indicates that there’s trouble ahead, and melted or damaged wiring insulation needs to be investigated. The contractor should be checked to make sure it’s ready for heavy-duty AC operation through the summer, and belts and hoses should not show cracks or other signs that they’re ready to be replaced. If it’s time, scheduled replacement is also a good idea. Our air conditioning repair team gets many messages from your system that they investigate, test to confirm, and then present to you as opportunities to anticipate problems on your schedule, rather than coming home to a hothouse and calling us in the heat of the summer.

Things You May Notice That Can Help Us Serve You

If your airflow isn’t happening but your unit outside is still firing up and sounds normal, that’s a helpful clue for us. When there’s air flowing indoors, but it’s warm and it should be cold, there are a few things that we can check for to narrow that down, but it helps to know. If any of the possible symptoms you notice seem to occur at particular times of day, or just intermittently, we’ll be glad to know that so we can make sure we’ve made the right fix. Any noises that have recently started to occur, from your indoor fan squealing to a rattle or buzz on the outdoor unit, there are dozens of telltale sounds that we listen for, and it will be helpful to know what you’ve heard.

Humidity

Air conditioning helps reduce the humidity of your indoor air, which is a great side-benefit, but many homeowners have humidifier and dehumidifier units added to their HVAC system so they can better control the moisture in their air year-round. If your home’s air feels moister than usual, especially if you have add-ons to control humidity, make sure to mention it to us. Either way, it could be a clue that something isn’t as it should be.

Zoned Systems

Some homes have multiple systems of ducts, called zones, that distribute their cool air separately to different areas. These zoned systems have separate thermostats and fans, so diagnosing problems that involve air circulation requires a few more details. If a fan stops working in one zone, you may have no cooling there but find that the other zones are still fine. If you don’t have zones, our air conditioning repair team can tell you about how they are installed and talk a bit about the efficiency gains that homeowners typically experience when they have more control over where they’re cooling.

Leaks, Puddles, and Smells

Your air conditioning system does condense moisture out of the air, but that moisture is supposed to drain away and not make puddles. If your drains are blocked or you see leaks of any other material, our air conditioning repair team in Frisco, TX can investigate and unblock any problem areas. Other sources of puddles can include evaporators that are freezing and thawing, so it’s definitely worth checking out. In some cases, moisture that’s not draining can start to grow microorganisms, and that often has a telltale smell.

Electrical Issues

From your thermostat and contactor to your fan motors, compressor, capacitors, and control circuitry, the electrical side of your air conditioning system can be complex, especially in newer units that may have controller boards as well. Our team will perform basic checks including a visual inspection when we do maintenance, but problems like motors starting only on the second or third try, or “hot” smell coming from units, especially near where electrical components are located, are the kinds of things that we should look into. If your unit’s circuit breakers have tripped and you know how to reset them that can get you going again, but if it’s happening more than once, some part of your system may be working harder than it should and needs attention.

Planning Ahead When It’s Time to Install a New AC System

Knowing the overall state of your air conditioning system and its likely repairs in the coming months can help you decide when it’s time to take advantage of off-season sales and installation deals and put in a new system. Often, the increase in efficiency will also factor into your decision, making it something you should have a chance to think about. Our team tries to keep our customers informed about their systems’ current condition, so they can avoid the pressures of summertime system failure.

How Can Our Air Conditioning Repair Team Help You?

We’re One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas, serving Frisco, TX with versatile, expert air conditioning repair teams. Our technicians are highly skilled and trained to handle both the legacy system that you bought with the house, recently or years ago, and the new, high-efficiency unit you had installed last year that needs maintenance. With fast response in the heat of summer, fair prices, and maintenance designed to keep your system running through the tough days of July, we’re your best choice for heating and air conditioning in the area. Give us a call when you need us, and don’t forget to schedule your maintenance and filter changes. We look forward to your call.