Why You Can’t Ignore Late Summer Air Conditioner Problems

Summer is winding down. Within another week or two, the kids will be back at school. Autumn is right around the corner. This means we have just a few more weeks of heat before temperatures begin to cool and the leaves change colors. It also means that some of you, whether you admit to it or not, are ignoring some type of problem with your home’s air conditioning system. There’s a strange noise coming from the unit. Some rooms aren’t cooling as well as others. Something just isn’t right and you know it.

You also know you’re putting it off. You’re justifying it for one reason or another. Perhaps money is tight. Or you might just be thinking to yourself, “Why schedule an AC repair now when I’m just 2 to 3 months away from possibly having to turn the furnace on?”

Well, there are a few reasons you shouldn’t shrug off an air conditioner problem this time of year – here are several.

The Hot Weather Isn’t Over Yet

Pittsburgh weather isn’t predictable. A stretch of July or August-like hot temperatures in September or October isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Needless to say, if your air conditioner isn’t optimally performing, there’s a very good chance it’ll fail you when you need it the most. Why take that chance? At the very least, if you suspect a problem, rather than cover up the unit for the winter; subsequently kicking that can down the road until May or June, why not get your yearly AC tuneup in September instead of next year? This way, it’s ready for that surprise stretch of hot weather around Halloween and primed for the Spring.

Small AC Problems Get Worse the Longer They’re Ignored

You really shouldn’t run an air conditioner if you sense any type of problem whatsoever. Any type of fault or malfunction will get progressively worse if you ignore it and continue to run the AC. There’s often a chain reaction effect when one component of a cooling system wears down. You may think you’re saving money by putting off a late summer AC repair, but you’re likely making that inevitable repair a far more expensive one by the time you call.

Higher Utility Bills if You Continue Running Your AC

If you run an air conditioner while it has a mechanical or electrical problem, the extra strain placed on the system drains more power. This results in a higher utility bill. Nobody wants to go into winter’s high gas bills with unnecessarily high electric bills in the late summer or fall.

Why not head into the fall knowing your air conditioner is ready for action whenever it’s needed again – even if that’s not until Spring? If you’re in the Pittsburgh area and you detect even the slightest potential issue with your Ac right now, get a top-notch tuneup from one of the best air conditioning contractors in town!

7 Most Common Reasons for Air Conditioning Repairs

Is there anything more miserable than a hot and muggy August day under a gray Pittsburgh sky? How about coming home from work that day to a broken air conditioner?

Why chance your comfort this summer? As much as we at Top Notch love all yinz, so many of the emergency AC repair calls we get are preventable. People just aren’t familiar with the most common causes of air conditioner problems and how to be proactive with maintenance to prevent them.

So, we thought it would be helpful to talk about seven of the most common causes of air conditioner problems. You’ll see that many of these problems are preventable with routine maintenance.

Dirty Condenser Coils

Warm air inside your house is caught and released outside your house by your AC’s condenser coils. Condenser coils don’t work as well when they’re covered in dirt and grime. This impedes heat transfer. The unit has to work much harder to sufficiently cool your home. This increases wear and tear on parts, raises your utility bill, and ultimately leads to a complete system failure. While Pittsburgh is no longer the “smokey city” it once was, soot and pollution still fill the air. Dirty condenser coils are a very common cause for air conditioner repair in Pittsburgh.

Frozen Evaporator Coils

Refrigerant fills your AC’s evaporator coil. An air conditioner’s evaporator coil sucks up heat from the air – similar to how a sponge absorbs water. While it may sound weird, these coils only work properly if warm air circulates around them. If anything restricts airflow, ice may build up on the outer part of the coil. When this occurs, you might notice warm air – or no air at all – coming from registers.

Low Refrigerant

Your air conditioner relies on refrigerant to remove heat and humidity from the air inside your home. Sometimes leaks in the refrigerant lines will result in low refrigerant. When this happens, your AC loses its ability to effectively cool the air. Unfortunately, this AC repair is more complex than just replenishing the lost refrigerant. The source of the leak must first be detected. Any holes in lines must then be repaired. Sometimes there can even be multiple leaks. This makes for a time-consuming and often expensive air conditioner repair.

Fan Problems

To cool the air inside your home, a fan inside your air conditioner blows indoor air over the unit’s evaporator coil. At the same time, another fan expels heat from inside to the outside of the house through the outdoor unit’s condenser.

Several problems can keep either of these fans from working properly. Anything from a lack of lubrication to a faulty motor, worn belts, and a build up of dirt and debris. Anytime airflow is affected, as in the case of fan problems, many air conditioner problems can arise. Overlooking or neglecting these issues can result in a complete compressor failure, which is often fatal to an air conditioner unit.

Thermostat Problems

Believe it or not, there are still plenty of old Pittsburgh homes with dial-type thermostats. Sometimes these aren’t calibrated correctly. This means the control system doesn’t send the right instructions to the air conditioner. The fix can either be to replace or re-calibrate the thermostat.

The newer programmable thermostats aren’t without their hiccups either. Programming these thermostats can be tricky and result in them being set incorrectly.

While we certainly don’t mind visiting you, before calling us, check your thermostat’s manual to confirm the settings are correct. It’s a quick painless trip for us, but it can be a little embarrassing for the homeowner. However, it’s very common. Many air conditioner repair calls we get end up being nothing more than a thermostat’s settings. That said, many times the thermostat itself needs to be repaired or replaced.

Leaking Ducts

The cool air coming from your AC is carried throughout your house by the duct work running through your walls. Any break or hole in these ducts can trap all this coolness inside your walls. That does no one any good. It also makes your air conditioner work harder to cool your house to the thermostat’s setting. This spikes your energy consumption and utility bill.

Clogged Drains

Ever wonder what your AC does with all of that moisture it removes from the air? Well, ideally, it’s emitted into a pan and down the drain through a drain line. But problems arise when the drain or line gets clogged or the pan fills and a water backup damages the cooling system. Leaks can also cause significant property damage – potentially damaging your ceilings, walls, furniture, etc.


BE PROACTIVE. PREEMPT COSTLY AIR CONDITIONER REPAIRS

Don’t wait until your AC completely breaks down to get an HVAC tech to your house. A yearly AC tuneup should get your home’s central air in shape for the demands of summer.

  • Dirty air filters can be replaced too prevent frozen evaporator coils.
  • The condition of your ductwork can be assessed.
  • A modern programmable thermostat can be installed and controlled remotely with a tablet or smartphone. Bill or one of our Top Notch techs can even give you a brief tutorial so you’ll know how to use it.
  • A springtime air conditioner tune up lets us clear brush and debris from around the unit so the unit can more effectively expel heat.

If you’re in the Pittsburgh area, and you’d like an AC inspection and tune up each spring, it’s a relatively inexpensive maintenance call with short and long term monetary benefits.

Call 412-381-0598 or contact us online to schedule a spring time Pittsburgh air conditioner inspection and tuneup.