Common Reasons To Call An Emergency Heating And AC Repair Service | Fort Worth, TX
Temperatures in Fort Worth, TX can fluctuate considerably within one year. In summer temperatures usually exceed 100 degrees. Although winters don’t usually get brutally cold, it is not unusual for temperatures to approach the freezing point. Therefore, residents of the city need properly working HVAC systems to keep their indoor temperatures at comfortable levels throughout the year. In winter, the heating systems work extremely hard to ensure that their homes remain comfortably warm even on the coldest nights. The air conditioners then take over when the weather gets uncomfortably hot to cool down homes and business premises.
Like other appliances in your home, your heating and air conditioning equipment can break down at any time and fail to heat or cool your house as expected. Unfortunately, considering the inconveniences an HVAC failure can cause, most heating and air conditioning problems will need to be addressed urgently. For instance, if you walk into your home on a hot summer afternoon only to realize that your air conditioning system has not been working for some reason, you will have to make an immediate call to an emergency heating and AC repair service. This is because, in such an environment, an HVAC failure could render your home virtually uninhabitable. But what exactly can prompt you to see the attention of an emergency HVAC contractor? Below is a rundown of the various heating and air conditioning emergencies you can run into as a homeowner.
Your AC Blowing Hot Air
As mentioned earlier, the AC is essentially supposed to cool your indoor air. It draws the warm air from the various rooms in your house through the return ducts and blows it over the evaporator coil for it to get cooled before it can be pushed back to the rooms through the supply ducts. When your air conditioning system is working optimally, you should feel the cold air from the AC coming into your house, especially when you move closer to a vent. Therefore, if your HVAC system is in cooling mode, but the AC seems to be blowing warm air, you could be staring at a severe air conditioning failure.
This issue might occur due to a wide variety of problems. For instance, if your ducts are leaking, they might lose the cooled air and suck in the hot air around them, causing your AC to blow warm air. The issue might also occur if the condenser coil is covered with dirt failing to release heat as expected. In the worst-case scenario, your AC might blow warm air if the compressor is broken. Whatever the reason behind the issue might be, you will need to seek the immediate attention of an emergency heating and AC repair service to ensure it is diagnosed and fixed promptly. Emergency heating and AC repair service providers deal with such problems almost every day, and they know the areas they need to check when your AC is blowing warm air instead of cool air.
Your Furnace Blowing Cool Air
The furnace is supposed to heat your house when the weather gets frigid. It draws cold air from your rooms through the return duct and blows it over the heat exchanger for it to get heated before it can be pushed back into your house through the supply ducts. Therefore, the air coming from your furnace through the vents should feel warm. As such, if it feels cold instead, you have a legitimate reason to be concerned.
There are several issues that might cause your furnace to blow cold air. For instance, if the ignition assembly is broken, the fuel will not get ignited, meaning that your furnace will not heat your indoor air at all. If you are using an oil furnace, it might blow cold air if the nozzle or the fuel line is clogged, making it impossible for heating oil to get to the combustion chamber. The issue might also be caused by issues such as leaking air ducts and flame detector failure. Therefore, if your furnace is blowing cold air, you need to hire an emergency heating and AC repair service in Fort Worth, TX to ensure that the underlying cause of the problem is quickly diagnosed and decisively fixed.
A Frozen Evaporator Coil
The evaporator coil is one of the essential parts of your air conditioning system. It is essentially a network of copper tubes that increases the surface area for the refrigerant in it to efficiently cool the air being blown through the air handler. For your air conditioning system to work as expected, the surface of the coil should be relatively warm. Therefore, if the condensation forming on the surface of the coil seems to be freezing, there could be something seriously wrong with your air conditioning system. Indeed, if the issue is not resolved promptly by an emergency heating and AC repair service, it could lead to more serious problems. For instance, a frozen evaporator coil could put your refrigerant at risk of condensing, meaning that the compressor might get damaged. Unfortunately, fixing or replacing a compressor can be extremely expensive, and you might even be forced to replace your entire air conditioning system. To circumvent such an eventuality, you need to switch off your air conditioner and make an immediate call to your emergency heating and AC repair service when you notice that the condensation on your air conditioner’s evaporator coil is freezing up in summer.
A Cracked Heat Exchanger
The heat exchanger is the part that facilitates heat exchange in your furnace. It is made of metal tubes that get heated as burning gas in them releases heat. The hot tubes then heat the cold air drawn from the various rooms in your house through the return ducts before the hot air is pushed back into your home through the supply ducts. With time the heat exchanger can deteriorate and develop cracks that might leak. Unfortunately, a cracked heat exchanger can lead to several serious problems. For example, it can allow carbon monoxide and other dangerous combustion gases to leak into your house. This will not only compromise your indoor air quality but also put your family’s lives in danger. Some signs of a cracked heat exchanger include soot buildup, strange smells, and the presence of carbon monoxide in your house. However, it is important to note that a cracked heat exchanger is not repairable. Therefore, if your heat exchanger is cracked, your emergency heating and AC repair service will have to replace the heat exchanger. However, this is quite an expensive fix, and therefore, if your furnace is too old, the emergency heating and AC repair service provider may advise you to replace the entire heating system.
Your HVAC Equipment Is Running Constantly
Your HVAC equipment is only supposed to run when necessary. For example in summer, your air conditioner should kick on when your ambient temperature goes above the preset level. Once your desired comfort level has been achieved, the appliance should automatically stop running. This is meant to keep your indoor temperature stable. It also helps you minimize the amount of energy you need to keep your home comfortable. Therefore, if your air conditioner or furnace is running constantly, you may be having a serious HVAC issue, and you will need to call an emergency heating and AC repair service in Fort Worth, TX to help you determine what could be going on and what should be done to fix the issue. In most cases, the issue can occur due to thermostat problems, dirty air filters, blocked vents, dirty evaporator coil, or low refrigerant levels, among others. But whatever the underlying cause of the problem might be, you can count on an emergency heating and AC repair service to ensure it is accurately diagnosed and swiftly fixed.
Refrigerant Leak
The importance of refrigerant in your air conditioning system cannot be overemphasized. This chemical is circulated between the condenser coil and evaporator coil to transfer heat from your home and release it outside your house. While inside the evaporator coil, the refrigerant absorbs heat from your indoor air. It is then pumped to the condenser coil via the compressor. While in the condenser coil, it condenses and releases the heat to the atmosphere before flowing back to the evaporator coil.
For your air conditioning unit to work as expected, it must have an adequate amount of refrigerant. The good news is that since the refrigerant is circulated within a closed system, it does not get depleted, meaning that you do not have to refill it. However, with time, the hoses within which the refrigerant flows can deteriorate and develop cracks and holes that can leak. When this happens, the level of refrigerant will drop and affect the capacity of your house to keep your home cool, making it necessary for you to call an emergency heating and AC repair service in Fort Worth, TX.
Some signs of refrigerant leaks include high levels of indoor humidity, high utility bills, long cooling cycles, and hissing or bubbling sounds. It is also important to note that a refrigerant leak can put your family and pets in danger. This is because exposure to a Freon can cause refrigerant poisoning, which is associated with symptoms such as nausea, fainting, seizures, and vomiting. In severe cases, freon poisoning can be fatal. Therefore, if you have noticed any signs of refrigerant leaks, you need to make a quick call to your emergency heating and AC repair service. The emergency heating and AC repair service will locate the leaks, seal them, and refill the refrigerant to restore the performance of your air conditioning system.
Water Leaking from Your HVAC Equipment
Under normal circumstances, you do not expect water to leak from your heating and air conditioning system. Therefore, if you have noticed a puddle of water collecting near your HVAC equipment, you could be facing an issue that needs the attention of an emergency heating and AC repair service. In most cases, leaks from an HVAC system are caused by a clogged condensate drain line. The condensate drain line is responsible for draining out the condensation formed as the water vapor in your house is cooled. If the condensate drain line is clogged, water will back up, fill, and the condensate drain pan, and leak from your air conditioning system. If the issue is not promptly resolved by an emergency heating and AC repair service in Fort Worth, TX it will put your HVAC equipment at risk of getting damaged. Besides, the leaking water might create dampness that could encourage the growth of molds, which might compromise your indoor air quality. Therefore, when you notice a puddle of water collecting around your air conditioner or furnace, you should quickly call your emergency heating and AC repair service to get the issue fixed before it can lead to more serious problems.
Weak Airflow
When you move close to an air register, you should feel the air from your furnace or air conditioner blowing strongly into your house. If this is not happening, you could be facing the issue of weak airflow, and you might need to seek the attention of an emergency heating and AC repair service in Fort Worth, TX. Weak airflow can be caused by issues such as leaking air ducts and a malfunctioning blower motor. Whatever the cause of the issue might be, it will make it harder for your air HVAC system to achieve your desired ambient temperatures. As such, your home will become less comfortable, and your energy bills might skyrocket. Therefore, if your air conditioner or furnace is not blowing air as strongly as it should, you should call an emergency heating and AC repair service to get it resolved promptly.
Feel free to call One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth for the best emergency heating and AC repair services in Fort Worth, TX.