Options To Consider When You Plan A Replacement Air Conditioner Installation | Dallas, TX
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Planning ahead for the replacement of your central air conditioning unit is a great opportunity to make choices that will serve you well in the years to come. Your new air conditioner installation can provide energy saving, plentiful cooling, and new conveniences that will have you wondering why you didn’t reach out and find out about your options earlier. Still, for most people, their central air conditioning unit is in the background until it gets older and starts showing its age. Then, it’s time to find out what’s available and what makes sense to serve you for the next decade or so. At One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas, TX, we’re your partner for maintenance and repair, and from time to time also your team for air conditioner installation. So, what kind of unit are you thinking about?
First, Is It Time to Make a Change and Plan for a New Air Conditioner Installation?
Age is an important factor in considering a new air conditioner installation, but there’s a reason you may not have considered. Certainly, the typical lifetime of a central air conditioner unit is around ten years, and planning replacement around that point is fairly common. Your air conditioner service team will probably give you feedback about the repairs that they think are necessary based on what they’ve observed during periodic maintenance, and you may even have experienced some disruptive failures that suggest important parts are wearing out. The efficiency of the unit may also be lower than it was a few years ago, as the wear in the air conditioner’s parts begins to bring them out of tolerance enough to cause problems. The biggest concern for many air conditioners, though, is when they become inefficient due to refrigerant problems. For environmental reasons, the refrigerant used in older models, R22, is being phased out and is hard to acquire for repairs. A new air conditioner installation of any kind in Dallas, TX will make a big difference in your unit’s efficiency and eco-friendly status thanks to the newer refrigerant it uses.
What Kinds of Units Are Available These Days?
Central air conditioner units are becoming more sophisticated these days, with the compressor systems offering variable levels of operation. High and low operation helps your temperature and humidity management features throughout the house to better regulate air conditioning for rapid cool down and temperature maintenance operation, as well as greater efficiency. With older units, you had a choice between higher capacity units that cooled beautifully but had a difficult time managing humidity since they cooled so quickly, and lower-capacity units that could regulate humidity better but couldn’t respond to extra-hot days as well.
Multi-step and variable compressors offer a selection of responsive systems that can address these problems, meeting comfort needs by applying the right level of cooling for the situation. By varying the intensity with which the compressor works, the unit also can produce less noise while it’s operating at lower levels, which can be a big plus if it’s located near bedrooms or other areas where reduced noise would be appreciated. Manufacturers have taken this even further with sound insulation and other features that reduce the sound level during operation even further. Our air conditioner installation team can also help you select a better location for your unit if necessary. With the comfort and sound advantages of multi-level and variable compressor operation comes important energy efficiency advantages as well. High-efficiency models are available that offer as much as double the energy efficiency rating (EER) of base models.
Heat pump technology is a good option for many homes, but as a replacement, it may have drawbacks compared to a simple upgraded air conditioner installation. Heat pumps do provide an effective heating solution as well, especially for milder winters. Our team can help you compare the features and advantages, such as the traditionally longer lifespan of compressor-based air conditioners.
Are There Significant Features That Interest You?
As with any major purchase, the cost and benefit of a new air conditioner installation can be complex to calculate. It can be wise to look at which features, such as high efficiency, are important to you and see if there are ways to get those advantages in an air conditioner installation package that works for you. Choosing the simplest unit can often have drawbacks in efficiency as well as comfort, and in our area air conditioners tend to work hard during peak season, then address the varying climate of transitional seasons, so the new variable-operation units can provide significant advantages. In addition, our air conditioner installation team can help to make adjustments to your in-home equipment to make sure you’re getting the most benefit from your new system.
Inside Your Home, Considering Upgrades to Complement Your New Air Conditioner Installation
Technology for the in-home portion of your air conditioning system has advanced quite a bit over the years, and along with your new air conditioner installation, our team will take a careful look at what repairs and upgrades are needed for proper operation. This is a good time for you to also consider options for increased efficiency and effectiveness for your whole-home cooling, from air quality upgrades to air distribution services and equipment that can help provide steady, relaxing comfort everywhere in your home that you want. Many options can be planned for the near future, too, in an air conditioning improvement plan that works for your family.
The Main Unit, Cleaning and Upgrading
Your air conditioning equipment inside the Dallas, TX home, including the evaporator, fans, ducting, and control systems, can play an important part in taking advantage of your new air conditioner installation. In particular, the evaporator should be well-maintained and repaired as needed to provide maximum efficiency and to address any issues such as leaks that need attention. The fans should be cleaned and lubricated if appropriate and ducts cleaned for better air flow and air quality.
Duct Cleaning Services
Air conditioning ducts should be cleaned every few years, but in many cases, our air conditioner installation team finds heavily clogged ducts that haven’t been cleaned in a long time. This leads to lower air quality as material clinging to the insides of the ducts breaks free and circulates, and lower airflow as the depth of the material lining the ducts expands. In addition, organic material lining your ducts can provide a growth medium for biological hazards, making regular duct cleaning a very attractive option. If your ducts need it, an air conditioner installation plan should include a thorough cleaning for a fresh start.
Existing Filters and Serious Filtration
Another factor for serious air quality is adding HEPA filters to your existing standard filtration. This will reduce the particles allowed to circulate from smaller dust and dirt to only the smallest microscopic elements, even trapping pathogens for improved healthy air that your whole family will appreciate. Our team can install a HEPA unit for whole-house use. If you’ve been using smaller units throughout your home for HEPA filtration already, you’ll appreciate putting them away and no longer having to hunt for replacement filters for each unit and replace them on varying schedules.
Humidity Controls for Year-Round Comfort
While air conditioning does control humidity in the air to some degree, for proper control independent of cooling, a humidifier and dehumidifier make an excellent addition to your upgraded air conditioning system. They’re straightforward for our team to add to your air handling system, and can be controlled by humidistats to precisely regulate your home’s humidity. The right moisture level in your air helps with breathing, dry skin, static electricity issues in winter, the ability for dust and dirt to travel in the air and cling to surfaces including your ducts, and other issues that arise in extremely dry or moist environments. These additions will regulate your humidity year-round, extracting moisture or adding it to meet your target relative humidity level.
UV Light for Extra Care Against Pathogens
In addition to HEPA filtration, if your family is being careful about pathogens in the air, a UV light system on your air handling unit will expose circulating air to pathogen-neutralizing UV similar to that used in germ-sensitive locations such as restaurants and doctor’s offices. It’s a simple solution that can help you relax when your system is working hard to keep you comfortable and you’re worried about germs that might be traveling around.
Zone-Based Airflow
One of the most important upgrades for homeowners with older units planning a new air conditioner installation in Dallas, TX is converting an existing whole-house single thermostat system to a zone-based system. This type of system distributes air to targeted locations such as living rooms and bedrooms using independent controls, providing the ability to have different comfort levels depending on the room’s use. Since a zone-based system divides the demand on the air conditioner unit into multiple areas with separate ducting and fans, if some areas are not cooling as much, your air conditioner unit won’t have to work as much either. This can save a lot of wear and tear on your compressor as well as decreasing your energy use while still keeping your family comfortable the way you want. Managing the separate zones for even better efficiency and comfort can be done by using intelligent thermostats that follow your schedule or cool according to the time of day.
Upgraded Controls and Thermostats
A traditional thermostat was basically a temperature-based on-off switch for your air conditioner, just as a traditional air conditioner provided a single level of cooling. It was a pretty simple arrangement, not that efficient in its use of energy and definitely not providing the most comfortable cooling. In many cases, some parts of the house would be cooled too much, some too little, since the target temperature was set for one specific room, usually the living room. As the system tried to adapt, blasts of cool air would burst forth throughout the house, providing a cool breeze that often chilled people who were in its path. It just wasn’t that comfortable, but people were glad to be cool in the heat of summer when these blasts would be most common due to the high heat. Upgraded thermostats help in simple ways like adjusting the home’s temperature according to your preferences, learning what you like, and adjusting according to time so that your home isn’t cooled when you’re not there. When your home has a zoned duct system, there’s a thermostat control for each zone, and your system can adapt to your needs very precisely, reducing the blasts of cold air to nearly nonexistent, just when the system is working hard on a hot house. Everyday life with a zoned system, intelligent thermostats, and a variable air conditioner installation just cruises along smoothly.
Smart Home Features and Energy Management
Once you have your new air conditioner installation in place in your Dallas, TX home, with zones adjusted for your comfort and efficiency, you may be tempted to integrate your system with a smart home controller. By using smart thermostats, you can have your smart home system programmed to manage your heating and cooling intelligently, using information about your daily solar heating, cloudy days, even intelligent window shades and motion sensors that help track which rooms are in use. If you have planned ahead and selected a responsive, variable system, you’ll enjoy even more energy efficiency.
Your Air Conditioner Installation and Upgrade Experts in Dallas, TX
At One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Dallas our team of experienced HVAC technicians can help you learn about the ways that newer air conditioner systems can serve you, saving on energy costs and providing flexible operation like never before. We look forward to serving you and your family and keeping you comfortable with HVAC services from season to season. Give us a call for quick service on your existing air conditioning and thorough, informed discussions of your options on a new system.