Is Your Air Conditioner Acting Up? Call A Professional In AC Repair | Irving, TX
If you’ve ever had to go without air conditioning for as little as an hour, you understand how miserable and uncomfortable it can be. Texas summers are hot, and your house can reach 120 degrees on a 90-degree day if your air conditioner fails.
Routine maintenance is one of the best ways to prevent a complete breakdown in the middle of the summer when you need it the most. HVAC professionals recommend annual maintenance before the cooling season begins to ensure the unit functions as efficiently as possible and to detect minor issues. In addition, it’s best to recognize the signs that the unit isn’t working correctly so you can call an AC repair service quickly before further damage occurs.
Your HVAC system is complex, so DIY repairs aren’t recommended. Without the necessary training, you could cause further damage, and it will cost more for an HVAC tech to repair it.
If your unit experiences any of the following problems, it’s best to hire an AC repair tech in Irving, TX as soon as possible.
#1 The Unit Produces Warm Air
The most obvious sign it’s time to hire an AC repair tech in Irving, TX is when you feel warm air coming from the vents when the air conditioner runs. Before hiring a professional, check a few things to avoid an unnecessary service call.
First, check the thermostat. It must be set to the cooling mode, and the temperature in the house must be warmer than the thermostat setting. In addition, the fan must be set to AUTO. If the fan is set to ON, it will continue running between cycles, and you’ll feel warm air from the vents. Next, check the air filter. If it’s been a while since it was replaced and is covered in dirt and grime, it can reduce the airflow in the unit, causing it to overheat and produce warm air. If the thermostat and air filter check out, it’s time to hire an AC repair tech. A few issues can prevent the unit from producing warm air, and you’ll need an HVAC tech to diagnose and repair the problem correctly.
- Faulty compressor: The indoor unit and the compressor work together to keep your house cool and comfortable. If the compressor stops working, the indoor unit cannot produce cold air on its own, and you’ll feel warm air from the vents.
- An HVAC company can send a tech to your home to inspect the compressor to determine why it isn’t working, and they’ll fix the problem, which will restore the cold air, ensuring your house remains cool and comfortable.
- Refrigerant leak: Refrigerant leaks can be serious, depending on when the unit was installed. Your air conditioner relies on refrigerant to produce cold air. When the refrigerant circuit is subjected to excessive heat, contaminants, and moisture, it creates a chemical reaction, creating formic acid that will eat away at the metal, creating tiny holes that allow the refrigerant to leak. A leak wouldn’t be a significant problem if your unit were manufactured after 2010. An AC repair tech in Irving, TX can fix the leak and refill the refrigerant, restoring the cold air. However, it must be replaced if the unit was manufactured before 2010. Older units use R-22 refrigerant, which is toxic and harmful to the environment and was banned in the US on January 1, 2020. The AC repair tech can fix the leak, but they won’t have R-22 to refill the unit, so installing a new unit is the only way to keep your house cool and comfortable.
- Frozen evaporator coils: The evaporator coils play an essential role in keeping your house cool. They extract the heat and humidity from the air to begin the cooling process, and the coils cannot do their job if they’re frozen.
- A few issues can cause the coils to freeze, such as dirt and grime on the coils, a clog in the drainage hose, or you ran the AC when it was too cold outside. An HVAC company will send a tech to your home to thaw the coils and restore the cool air in the house. They’ll also try to figure out why the coils froze to prevent it from happening again.
Your house will get hot if your air conditioner fails to produce cold air, so it’s best to call an HVAC company as soon as possible.
#2 Restricted Airflow
You’ll feel an intense rush of cold air from the vents if the air conditioner runs correctly, and this is necessary to keep your house cool and comfortable. If the airflow is restricted and you feel minimal airflow from the vents, it’s best to hire an AC repair tech in Irving, TX.
Restricted airflow will do more than affect your home’s temperature and your family’s comfort and can cause your electric bills to increase. Without adequate airflow, the unit will work harder to keep the house cool, consume more energy, and increase your electric bills. Restricted airflow will also affect the unit. The extra work necessary to keep your home cool will strain the unit, reducing its lifespan, and it will need to be replaced sooner. A few issues can cause minimal airflow from the vents, so hiring a professional in AC repair is best to ensure the problem is correctly diagnosed.
- Damaged air ducts: The air ducts are designed to deliver cold air from the indoor unit to the vents in your house. If there’s a crack or break in the ducts or the seal fails, it will cause minimal airflow. The cold air will escape from the damaged area before reaching the vents, and you’ll feel minimal airflow from the vents.
- An AC repair company in Irving, TX will send a tech to inspect the ducts for damage to determine why there’s minimal airflow, and they will make the necessary repair to restore the airflow.
- Clogged air ducts: Regardless of how clean you keep your home, dirt, dust, and debris from the house will accumulate in the air ducts. Up to five pounds of debris can accumulate in one year and will clog the ducts as it continues to accumulate.
- Clogged air ducts do more than affect your home’s temperature and can also affect the air quality. When the unit runs, the debris in the ducts will circulate in the air, causing your family to develop allergy symptoms.
- An AC repair tech can clean the debris from the ducts, restore the cold air, and will ensure your home’s air quality is safe.
- Broken blower: Your air conditioner has a blower designed to force the cold air from the unit to the vents. If the blower isn’t working, the cold air will remain stagnant in the ducts, resulting in minimal or no airflow.
- An AC repair company in Irving, TX will send a tech to check the blower to be sure it is broken, then they’ll determine whether the component can be fixed or if replacing it is the best option.
Restricted airflow affects your home’s temperature, the unit, and your bank account, so it’s best to hire an AC repair tech as soon as possible.
#3 A Burning Smell When the Unit Runs
Does your air conditioner produce a burning smell when it runs? If so, turn the unit off immediately and call an AC repair company in Irving, TX. The smell indicates a wiring issue, and the wire insulation burning causes the burning smell. Allowing the unit to keep running can cause an electrical fire that can destroy your house in minutes.
An AC repair tech will inspect the unit to find and replace the faulty wires, eliminating the fire risk.
#4 A Moldy Smell When the Unit Runs
Do you smell mold in your house when the air conditioner runs? If so, it’s best to turn off the unit and call an AC repair company. The smell indicates mold somewhere in the system, and the air ducts are the most common place to find mold. Your air ducts are dark, and humidity will cause condensation in the ducts, creating the perfect breeding ground for mold.
Mold exposure causes many health issues, such as chronic headaches, skin rashes, burning eyes, respiratory problems, and a weakened immune system. In addition, mold exposure can worsen chronic lung or respiratory conditions. If the mold is in the ducts, the spores will circulate in the air, jeopardizing your family’s health, so it’s best to hire an AC repair tech as soon as possible. They’ll inspect the ducts from mold, which can be quickly eradicated using an antimicrobial fogger.
If the tech cannot find mold in the ducts, it could be in the unit. Mold can form in the unit due to a lack of maintenance or an issue with the drain line. Unfortunately, mold in the unit is more challenging to eradicate, and if the tech cannot eliminate every mold spore, your only option is to replace the unit. If the tech can eliminate the mold, you should consider installing a UV lamp to prevent mold growth in the future.
#5 Your House Is Humid
Your air conditioner is designed to dehumidify your house, keeping it cool and comfortable. If the home is humid, it’s best to call an AC repair company. A few issues will prevent the unit from eliminating the humidity, and you’ll need an HVAC professional to determine which of the following issues is the cause.
- The fan is set to ON rather than AUTO.
- The evaporator coils are covered in dirt and grime.
- There’s a refrigerant leak
- The ducts are damaged and leaky.
- The unit is too large for the size of your house and will cycle frequently.
- The thermostat is broken, and the unit cycles too often for the AC to eliminate the humidity.
An AC repair company will send a tech to inspect the unit to determine why your home is so humid and then make the necessary repair.
#6 Strange Sounds
It’s normal for your unit to make a faint clicking sound when it cycles, and any other sounds require a call to a call to an AC repair company. Clanging, humming, screeching, screaming, and other sounds indicate a problem that will worsen if not addressed immediately.
An HVAC tech can get an idea of what’s wrong with the unit by hearing the sound it makes and will fix the unit before further damage occurs.
Call One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas Today
If your air conditioner isn’t working right and you need a professional to fix it, look no further than One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas. We’re a full-service HVAC company, proudly serving customers in the area since 1988, and many of our customers have been loyal customers for decades.
Our techs have undergone years of professional training, and their knowledge and skill have allowed them to tackle some of the most challenging jobs in the industry. They also receive ongoing training to ensure they can install, maintain and repair the latest HVAC models, which is essential since thermostat technology is constantly evolving.
We want you to feel safe and comfortable when you allow one of our techs into your house, so they must pass a background check and drug test before they’re hired.
When you call for service, the tech will arrive at your house on time in a fully-stocked truck. This allows them to make most repairs on the same day, eliminating the need for a second service call.
Your comfort is our top priority, and if you have an HVAC issue that must be addressed immediately, don’t panic. We provide emergency service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and we’ll get a tech to your home quickly to resolve the issue.
To schedule an appointment to have your AC fixed or any other HVAC issue, give us a call at One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas today.
See our previous post on this topic here.