Is Your Air Conditioner Acting Up? Call An Air Conditioning Service | Dallas, TX
Your home is where you should be the most comfortable, which is only possible if your air conditioner is working. Texas summers are very hot, and temperatures reach 90 to 95 degrees on a typical day. Without a functional air conditioner, the temperature in your house can reach 120 degrees on a 90-degree day, and it will get very humid in your home. This makes it impossible to remain cool and comfortable in the house and can put your family at risk for heat-related conditions, such as heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
The last thing you want is for your air conditioner to break down when you need it the most, and fortunately, you can prevent this from happening. First, it’s best to maintain the unit every year before the cooling season begins to ensure it functions as efficiently as possible. Also, the tech can detect minor issues before escalating to something serious that can cause a complete breakdown. Next, if you can detect problems early, you can call an air conditioning service to have the problem fixed before further damage occurs.
If your air conditioner experiences any of the following problems, it’s best to call an air conditioning service as soon as possible.
Thermostat Issues
The thermostat is your air conditioner’s brain, and if it isn’t working correctly, the air conditioner won’t either. The thermostat will exhibit the following signs if it isn’t working correctly, including:
- It doesn’t light up
- It’s unresponsive
- The air conditioner doesn’t turn on.
- The unit cycles too frequently.
- Your home is humid.
If your thermostat experiences any of the following issues, try changing the batteries. If this doesn’t resolve the problem, it’s time to call an air conditioning service. They’ll send a tech to check the thermostat to determine if it can be repaired or if a replacement is the best option. If your thermostat is old and has no money-saving features, you may want to replace it even if it can be fixed. Thermostat technology has come a long way in the past decade, and a few options can save money on your energy bills.
- Programmable thermostats: You can program this thermostat to increase and decrease the temperature based on when your family is home and when they aren’t. You can program the unit a week in advance, and when the air conditioner isn’t running on full blast all day, your energy bills will considerably decrease.
- Wi-Fi thermostats: If you don’t want to program the thermostat every week, a Wi-Fi thermostat is an excellent option. You can control it using your Smartphone from anywhere in the world, as long as you have an internet connection. You can adjust the temperature when everyone leaves in the morning and change it again before you head home to ensure your house is cool when you arrive.
- Smart thermostats: These thermostats work with smart devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Home. You can adjust the thermostat settings using the sound of your voice when you’re home, and you can use the smart device’s app when you aren’t.
Replacing your existing thermostat with one of the types listed above and air conditioning service can send a tech to install the one you’ve chosen.
Minimal Airflow from the Vents
You should feel an intense rush of cold air from the vents when the air conditioner runs, and this is essential for the unit to keep your house at the desired temperature. If you feel minimal airflow, you should call an air conditioning service. A few issues can prevent sufficient airflow, and you’ll need an HVAC tech to diagnose and repair the problem.
- Damaged air ducts: The air ducts in your home allow the cool air to travel from the unit to the vents. If there’s a break in the ducts or the sealing around the joints fails, the cold air will escape before reaching the vents, resulting in minimal airflow.
- An air conditioning service will send a tech to find and fix the damaged duct to allow sufficient airflow.
- Clogged ducts: The dirt, dust, and debris in the house will get into the air ducts, and over five pounds can accumulate in just one year. When too much debris accumulates, it will clog the ducts, affecting the airflow. Clogged ducts also affect your home’s air quality, and the debris will circulate in the air when the air conditioner runs, and your family can develop allergies.
- Fortunately, an air conditioning service can send a tech to clean the debris from the ducts to restore the airflow.
- Broken blower: The blower forces the cold air through the ducts to the vents to ensure sufficient airflow. If the blower isn’t working, much of the cold air will remain stagnant in the ducts, resulting in poor airflow.
- An air conditioning service will send a tech to determine if the blower can be repaired or replaced, and the airflow will be restored when the job is complete.
You should hire a professional immediately because minimal airflow will cause your unit to work overtime and consume more energy, causing your electric bills to increase considerably. Also, the extra work will strain the air conditioner, reducing its maximum lifespan. The last thing you want is to replace the air conditioner sooner than you should have, and you should call an air conditioning service immediately.
The Unit Produces Warm Air
Your air conditioner should produce cold air to keep your house cool and comfortable. If you feel warm air coming from the vents when the AC runs, you may need to call an air conditioning service. Before you make the call, check the thermostat and air filter to avoid an unnecessary service call. If it’s been a while since you replaced the air conditioner and it’s covered in dirt and grime, it will prevent airflow in the unit, causing it to overheat and shut down. If the filter is dirty, replacing it should solve the problem. Next, check the thermostat. Is it set to the cooling mode? Is the fan set to AUTO? Is it warmer in the house than the thermostat setting? If you can say no to any of these questions, adjusting the thermostat should solve the problem. If everything checks out and the unit isn’t producing cold air, it’s time to call an air conditioning service. A few issues can prevent the unit from creating cold air, including:
- Broken compressor: The indoor unit can’t create cold air independently and works with the outdoor compressor. If the compressor isn’t working, you’ll feel warm air from the vents. An air conditioning service will send a tech to repair the compressor to restore the cold air.
- Refrigerant leak: Formic acid can eat away at copper piping, creating pinholes that allow the refrigerant to leak. The air conditioner can’t produce cold air with an insufficient amount of refrigerant, so you should call an air conditioning service.
- The HVAC tech will fix the leak and refill the refrigerant if the unit was manufactured after 2010. if it was manufactured before 2010, the unit must be replaced. R-22 was once the preferred refrigerant, and most older models used it. When it was determined that R-22 is toxic and harmful to the ozone layer, it was banned in the United States. The tech can fix the leak, but they won’t have R-22 to refill the unit, so your only option is to replace it.
- Frozen evaporator coils: The evaporator coils play an essential role in keeping your house cool, as they extract the heat and humidity from the air to start the cooling process. If they freeze up, the cooling process cannot begin, and you should call an air conditioning service.
- A few problems can cause the coils to freeze, such as poor airflow in the unit, low fan speed, dirty coils, or you run the unit when it is too cold outside.
- An HVAC tech will thaw the coils to allow the cooling process to begin. Also, they’ll try to figure out why the coils froze, so it doesn’t happen again.
You need air conditioning when it is hot outside, so if you feel warm air coming from the vents, you should call an air conditioning service immediately.
Foul Smells When the Unit Runs
It’s normal to smell dust when you run your air conditioner for the first time during the cooling season, and it will dissipate after a few minutes. If the unit emits any other smell, it indicates a problem, and you should call an air conditioner service immediately.
- Mold: A moldy smell indicates mold somewhere in the system and can be hazardous to your family’s health. Mold exposure causes several health issues, such as burning eyes, chronic headaches, skin rashes, respiratory problems, and a weakened immune system. Also, if a family member has a chronic lung or respiratory condition, such as asthma, bronchitis, or cancer, mold exposure will worsen the condition and symptoms.
- The most common place for mold growth is the air ducts. They’re dark, and condensation can form when it gets humid, creating the perfect breeding ground for mold. Fortunately, an air conditioning service can send a tech to inspect the ducts and eradicate the mold using an antimicrobial fogger. If the ducts are clear, the mold is likely in the unit, and it’s more challenging to eliminate. If the tech cannot remove every last spore, the unit must be replaced for the sake of your family’s health. If they can eradicate the mold, consider installing a UV filter to prevent mold from forming in the unit again.
- Burning: A burning smell indicates a wiring issue, and the odor is caused by burning wire insulation. If you smell something burning, you should turn the air conditioner off immediately and call an air conditioning service. Continuing to run the AC can start an electrical fire that could destroy your house in minutes. An HVAC tech can locate and replace the missing wire, eliminating the fire risk, and it will be safe to run the AC.
Foul odors indicate problems that can put your house and family at considerable risk, so it’s best to call an air conditioning service immediately.
Your House Is Humid
Your air conditioner is designed to eliminate humidity from the air, and if your house is humid, there’s a problem that requires a call to an HVAC tech. The humidity will make everything feel sticky, and it will feel warmer in the house than it really is.
A few issues can prevent the unit from dehumidifying your home, including:
- The thermostat is faulty
- The thermostat fan is set to ON instead of AUTO
- The evaporator coils are dirty
- There’s a refrigerant leak
- The ducts are leaking
- The unit is too large for your home’s square footage.
An HVAC tech can diagnose and fix the unit, reducing the humidity and making your house more comfortable.
Call One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas
If your air conditioner is acting up and needs to be repaired, look no further than One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas. We’re a full-service air conditioning service, and we’ve been providing superior service to our customers since 1988.
Our techs are professionally trained, and their knowledge and skill have allowed them to make some of the most complex repairs. HVAC technology is constantly evolving, so our techs receive ongoing training to ensure they can install, maintain and repair the latest HVAC models. If you have a problem that must be addressed immediately, you don’t have to panic because we provide emergency service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We’ll get a tech to your house quickly to resolve the issue and get the unit up and running again.
To schedule an appointment for air conditioning repair or any other service, give One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas a call today.
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