Continuation on Preventive Maintanence of your Air Conditioning Unit

AC Breeze Cooling and Heating has been gearing up for the summer months when everything gets crazy for us.  Also because the boom of home building was between 8-10 years ago now, many of these homes are in need of new air conditioning units. 

You may be in a position on needing a new unit or you may have just purchased a new unit or if your lucky, you units are still plugging away.  In any of these cases you need to be prudent in your caring for your air conditioning system.  At least twice a year, your system should be serviced.  We have been talking about what is involved in a service and how important each component is.  We already talked about filters, cleaning the coils, oiling motors and tightening all electrical wiring and screws.  Today we want to talk about checking the Freon levels.  As a system sits for any length of time, some Freon is lost due to tiny leaks in the fittings or even a coil might have a small leak.  technically the system is a closed unit so therefore if the Freon is low there must be a leak.  Not every leak needs to be leak checked.  The cost to seek a leak out maybe prohibitive if just topping off the Freon is a simple and inexpensive alternative.  Your unit came with either a 5 or some even a 10 year warranty so if you are the original purchaser you should call the company that installed it so they can take care of the problem for you for less as you will only be responsible for the labor if it indeed is still under warranty.

If you are being told that a leaky coil is a culprit for you, the system should be freezing.  If that is the case, it's time to see what is causing the leak and depending on how bad the leak is and how old your system is and how well it has been taken care of, to determine the best course of action to take.

I hope this series is helping you understand your system and why a bi-annual service is so critical to the overall health and life of the system.  Next time we will continue with our series of what to expect when we come to do a bi-annual service on your Air conditioning system.

What else is part of a service tune up

AC Breeze Cooling and Heating is up to the challenge of taking care of SW Florida by keeping you informed about what is involved in keeping up with your indoor air quality.  Yesterday we talked about changing the filter and also cleaning the coils on your ac system.  Today I wanted to talk about oiling the motors and checking all the wiring and screws for tightness.

As the motors run so much they heat up and with the hot weather combined they can dry out pretty fast and can seize over time.  That is a quick way of needed emergency service at probably the most inconvenient time (remember things always break at the wrong time).  Keeping the bearings and shaft with fresh oil (changing the oil if not sealed)  and oiling the fan and condenser fan motor will save it from happening (preventive).  If the motor the goes bad is the Compressor Motor, you are looking at some major repair money. 

Checking the wiring for tightness will stop an arc from frying some of the electrical devices like the contactor or capacitor.  With the equipment rattling with normal operation will cause the screws and the like to loosen.  A simple tightening of these items on a regular basis is another great preventive measure to take.

Tomorrow we will address more items that are covered in a service tune up by AC Breeze Cooling and Heating.  Check us out on the web at http://www.acbreeze.net or call us at 239-303-1318

What does Regular Maintenance do for your Air Conditioning unit

Air Conditioning is something we can take for granted, especially here in an area we really cannot be without.  The single most important item to keep fresh and clean is your filters.  This is your strongest and first line of defense to trap dirt, dust, allergens and much more before it reaches your equipment and ultimately your conditioned space and you.  First let's understand that the air passing the filter is prior to your coils.  Below is an example of what the coil looks like:

Dirty Coil Image

If you notice that the fins are very thin aluminum.  Each of those carries Freon.  When they get dirty the grime acts like a insulation and the efficiency of the system is decreased.  Additionally this makes the system run at a higher temperature and higher pressure.  This leads to problems over time.  Most of this dirt and grime is eliminated with a good filter and regular replacement of the filter or cleaning the filter if it is cleanable.

However you will not stop all of the grime, dust and dirt from getting to the coils so part of a regular maintenance service will include cleaning this coil.  There is a special chemical that is used for cleaning coil and you can only purchase it from a AC Supplier.  Only licensed contractors can purchase this chemical.  It will save you so much in comfort as well as preventing some costly repairs that can occur if left dirty.

AC Breeze Cooling and Heating takes this seriously and when we go out on a service call this is just one of the items we clean and check for you.  Next post will cover the some of the other important service items that should be done at least 2X year to keep your costs down and your system giving you many years of trusted service.  Check us out on the web at http://www.acbreeze.net or give us a call at 239-303-1318.  Mention this blog for $50 off our first call (new customers). 

What is a High Efficency Unit?

AC Breeze Cooling and Heating is here and is making your comfort their priority.  In order to make that happen, sharing lot's of information about air quality is of utmost importanceWhen speaking of high effeciency what does that exactly mean?  When upgrading your air conditioning unit, at what point should you spend more to save or at what point is it spending too much and the recoup of a return just does not make sense.  Lots of questions to ask and you should seek the answers so that you can make an informed buying decision.  The answer is not the same for everyone either.  We all have different priorities and different ideals and what makes sense for me does not make sense for the next person necessarily.  Let's first talk quality.  Quality is something that some may consider as an important buying decision.  The amount of warranty is another.  If a system is a less expensive item then maybe having a longer warranty or purchasing an additional warranty may be an option.  Most systems do not have a set MSRP as there really is no one size fits all.  Each system needs to be fitted for your space.  Just because you had a 3 ton unit in place does not necessarily mean you need to replace with a 3 ton.  Your technician should complete a cooling calculation and make sure that the size of the home and the size of your ducts will match the correct size new unit.  We are finding that most systems are undersized for the sq footage being cooled.  Then the SEER or Seasonal Efficiency Rating is another factor.  13 seer is a high efficency unit and is the minimum unit that can be put in place but should you spend the extra dollars to have a 14 or even a 16, 18 or a 20 SEER unit.  How much will it save you and how long after spending the extra dollars will it take to pay for the extra investment?  If you don't plan on getting regular service on your new unit, it may not make sense to spend a lot on any extras because any unit not cared for properly is just not going to last anyway.  The warranties can easily be voided by lack of care also.

This is a lot to take in but when you make a purchse that brings you comfort and lends to your overall health and wellfare, it's best to make an informed decision.  Make an appointment with us and we will be happy to sit down with you and go over all the options that are available and then compare  what is most important to you and show you several systems that will fit your budget.  Don't try and do it on your own.  Call us at 239-303-1318, email us at tammyjrodriguez@gmail.com or check us out on that web at http://www.acbreeze.net

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog.  I will be answering and addressing different questions and thoughts regarding air comfort and conditioning in South West Florida.  I am a HVAC contractor for the State of Florida.