Heating And AC Repair: Essential HVAC Components Every Homeowner Should Know | Dallas, TX
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Regular heating and AC repairs may prolong your heating and AC systems (HVAC) for more than 15 years. Commercial and residential HVAC units ensure comfort for most homes and workplaces in Dallas, TX, by regulating temperatures of the surroundings at will.
That aside, these systems account for a substantial percentage of your electricity utility bill, hence it’s essential to have them checked regularly. However, you need to have at least some knowledge of the components that contribute to the sound functioning of your heating and AC system. These major components are described below.
Combustion chamber
The combustion chamber consists of the furnace that produces the heat that keeps your house warm, making it an important element of the HVAC system. The chamber has few conditions that need to be met for it to perform optimally, and to eliminate the need for heating and AC repairs.
First, you should set it up in a spacious area of your house, preferably the attic, basement, or a compartment explicitly built for the installation of the chamber. Also, you need to ensure that there’s enough air in this unit since it mostly relies on the presence of oxygen for the heating process to take place.
How does the furnace work? You may ask. Well, a gas furnace’s combustion process begins when a mixture of air and gas enters the chamber. After that, depending on the type of heater you’re using, a glow stick, which is an electronic matchbox of sorts, ignites the mixture. It burns in a controlled environment sending out hot air that translates into a warm and cozy Dallas, TX home.
Earlier, HVAC systems used a pilot stick in place of the glow stick. However, pilot sticks have to be reignited manually when the power goes out, an aspect that allows the formation of carbon monoxide, which is a health hazard.
Not to worry, though, new heating and AC units have multiple combustion tanks that complete the combustion of unburnt gases from the other chamber. They also have LED warning signs, which a heating and AC repair specialist could alternatively fix for you that show when something is awry with the system.
Heat exchanger
This component of your heating and AC unit is responsible for housing the furnace making it an equally important part of the whole system just as the combustion chamber. It plays crucial roles such as absorption of the generated heat and eventual transfer of the heat to the HVAC outlets in your Dallas, TX home.
The heat exchanger is present in electric and non-electric heating and AC systems. It’s structurally made of stainless steel that has heat-resistant alloys that prevent malfunctioning because of high temperatures from the furnace. Modern models have special ducts that permit fresh air to get in and out of your HVAC unit, thus attaining the cooling effect faster.
The heat exchanger’s role in your HVAC system is crucial. However, heating and AC repair professionals who diligently tackle heating and AC repairs, claim that a faulty heat exchanger could have detrimental health effects resulting from a carbon monoxide leak. Carbon monoxide, which is odorless and colorless, may cause nausea, mild headaches, and even death if you’re exposed for long hours.
As such, it is vital for you to have your heat exchanger checked regularly and have heat and AC repair professionals install carbon monoxide detectors inside your home.
Blower motor
This component comes after the heat exchanger, and it’s a blower that has an in-built fan powered by an engine. After the air in the heat exchanger has been heated to the predetermined temperature, the blower motor then forces the heated air out of your HVAC unit’s internal connectivity into every room of your house.
For this process to be complete, the combustion process must be fully completed to allow the total clearance of the duct framework of your system. This process then recurs.
Heating and AC repairs service providers tell us that blower motors incorporate the use of variable speed motors that are responsible for regulating the flow of air in your Dallas, TX, home.
Moreover, these speed motors reach their top speed gradually, a feature that makes them more effective at lowering your home’s temperature during the summer. This feature also makes them less noisy. Additionally, through this feature, homes achieve the desired temperature before the motors reach their full speed, which saves energy.
Compressor or condenser coil
The compressor is also part of your heating and AC unit, and it’s located outside your house. Professionals in the field of heating and AC repairs refer to this part as the fridge of your house because it’s the core of the cooling process since it releases heat from home outside.
This exchange occurs when warm air, also known as the refrigerant, is compressed and condensed into a cold liquid. A fan then blows air over the condenser coil to rid the HVAC system of the heat of cooling the refrigerant promptly. After the whole process is complete, your Dallas, TX, home’s HVAC unit then transmits the liquidated refrigerant via an aluminum or copper tube and into the evaporator coil.
With this in mind, Dallas, TX, homeowners should be keen on the following conditions to prevent premature wear and tear that brings about costly heating and AC repairs. Your compressor shouldn’t have fallen leaves and twigs, clippings, or any form of debris around it.
Also, you should turn off the compressor and rinse it off using a hose at least annually. Heating and AC repair service providers also suggest that the compressor should have at least a few feet of space all around it to allow maximum flow of air. Additionally, your heating and AC repair consultant could set up shade as protection for your unit.
Evaporator coil
From a technical point of view, water has a cooling effect when it evaporates. The evaporator coil uses this principle in its operation. It’s located in your system’s internal air handling apparatus.
It has small nozzle-like features known as evaporation valves, which spray liquid refrigerant from your heating and AC unit so that it can evaporate into a gas at a much faster rate. In due process, heat is absorbed, thus producing the cooling effect you may experience in your Dallas, TX, home.
The HVAC system’s fan blows warm air from your house into the evaporator coil through return ducts to cool it. After the air has cooled down, the system distributes the air to every room in your homestead.
The process then replicates itself with the refrigerant gas going back to your condenser, thus setting the cooling cycle in motion once more. Once the condenser coil is exposed to the warm air, condensation occurs, hence lowering the level of humidity in your home. Professionals from heat and AC repair companies claim that this process goes a long way in cutting the cost of power, especially during summer.
However, evaporator coils require occasional scrutiny by you or from your heating and AC repairs service provider to ensure that your HVAC system doesn’t break down. You need to watch out for mold growth that occurs because of moisture produced during the condensation process.
Also, you should beware of leaks in your refrigerant line because they tend to promote ice formation on your evaporator coil. This could have grave consequences, making you spend hefty payments for heat and AC repairs.
Thermostat
The thermostat has unique features, which allows homeowners to control the temperature of the house through special connectivity of wires to their HVAC unit. Thermostats come in different forms, and heating and AC repair professionals recommend that once purchased, it should be placed at a central point in your home.
Some HVAC systems have only one thermostat while others have multiple locations throughout your house. The latter is more energy efficient because it allows the homeowner to control the temperature of areas that have active occupants.
Modern technologies have revolutionized the functionality of the thermostat. There are programmable thermostats that you could control remotely using your phone or tablet. Also, your heating and AC repairs experts could program the thermostat to change the temperature automatically, a feature that’s quite efficient in saving time, money, and energy.
Additionally, you could change the temperature units for weekdays and weekends or even for each passing day. More advanced units monitor your home’s humidity and could also identify your temperature preferences.
Refrigerant lines
HVAC systems depend on the evaporation and condensation of refrigerants that takes place between a condenser located outside and an internal evaporator coil. The apparatus that carries this refrigerant to facilitate these processes is what makes up the refrigerant lines, which are made of copper. These lines encompass the vapor line, also referred to as the suction or return line that’s insulated, and it ferries the cold gas.
The other line, which isn’t insulated, is known as the liquid line, and it carries warm liquid between the systems. Also, the refrigerant lines have an oil passage that takes oil to lubricate the condenser alongside the refrigerant. Heating and AC repair service providers advise homeowners to reach out to them for any maintenance services for this section as it is complicated.
Ductwork
This component of your heating and AC unit consists of ducts or pipes that transport air from the system into your Dallas, TX, home. This is the final stride of the ventilation and air conditioning process, making it essential to ensure that it’s always in good condition.
It’s found internally, and a malfunction on any part of the duct system can be quite hard to find, not to mention expensive to repair. As aforementioned, HVAC units produce small amounts of harmful carbon monoxide gas.
If there’s a leak in the ductwork or clogging of the pipes within, the gas may find its way into your homestead, leading to potentially life-threatening health consequences on your family.
Carbon monoxide leaks are preventable through simple routine duct maintenance. Moreover, other advanced problems you may encounter with your system may require heating and AC repair guru.
Vents
After the pervasive ductwork of your HVAC system has ferried air between the condenser and the indoor heating and cooling interface, the vents now come into play. Vents are rectangular outlets that allow movement of air in and out of the ducts. HVAC units have two types of vents, supply, and return vents. The former is connected to the supply ducts whose function is to facilitate the movement of conditioned air into your indoor spaces.
They are smaller and often have louvers located behind the grills that facilitate direct airflow. Supply vents can be identified in your house, turning on the AC and placing a paper on top of the vent. If the paper is blown away, then you’ve found your HVAC unit’s supply vent.
The return vents, which are rather sizable compared to their supply compatriots, don’t have louvers, and they transport air from your indoors into the heating and cooling system. You can perform the same experiment as that of the supply vent to identify it; only this time, you will notice a suction effect.
Heating and AC repair service providers in Dallas, TX, have a few warnings for homeowners regarding the vents. Firstly, you should never block any of the vents as they operate simultaneously, and such blockages affect the whole system’s balance.
Also, you are advised against cutting off the conditioned air supply to unoccupied rooms because this creates an immense amount of pressure internally, an aspect that could later cause massive leaks and costly heating and AC repairs. Additionally, if you don’t watch out for these phenomena, be ready to compromise your comfort.
What next?
Since you are now equipped with adequate knowledge of the inner workings of your HVAC unit, you should do due diligence and begin taking care of these aspects. However, accidents are unavoidable, and if you need any heating and AC repair services, One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth is a phone call away.
Our skilled technicians offer HVAC related services in Richland Hills, Plano, Dallas, Haltom City, and Grapevine, among other cities within Texas. These services include 24/7 emergency repair and heating installation, repair, and maintenance services, as well as AC installations and repairs.