Key Indicators That Show You Need To Contact An Emergency Heating And AC Repair Company | Fort Worth, TX
Photo By
Summers in Texas are hot and humid and the winters are often cold, dry, and windy. With that in mind, Fort Worth, TX, homeowners know how important investing in a residential HVAC system can be, especially during these extreme weather seasons. However, most property owners often neglect or downplay the essence of routinely maintaining their home’s heating and cooling unit. Instead, many of them let minor problems, which are repairable and quite inevitable, remain unresolved for too long, eventually raising the need for costly solutions from their local emergency heating and AC repair company.
Even though emergencies can occur unexpectedly, you can take a few proactive steps to prevent them from happening. Your residential HVAC system is a complex piece of equipment that has the potential to fail even when handled with utmost care. The threat becomes more imminent if your air conditioner has served you for upwards of 12 to 15 years and if the furnace has surpassed the 20-year mark.
In that regard, if you’re keen on preventing the need for emergency HVAC services, the best way to do so is by creating an annual maintenance plan, with the help of your Fort Worth, TX, heating and AC repair company. During the service, your local heating and cooling service professional may comprehensively clean the system’s interior and inspect it to identify some of the components that may be failing. This can be quite easy for the technician since most HVAC parts rarely fail without warning.
As time passes, they may gradually begin to show signs of wear and tear. When these signs are ignored, a visit from your local emergency heating and AC repair service is almost inevitable. Conducting any repairs or replacements as recommended by your technician can help you improve your unit’s efficiency and lifespan.
Past that, as a homeowner, you should expect to encounter HVAC issues sooner or later. Most people have trouble determining whether or not an HVAC problem requires it to be treated as an emergency. Some homeowners may find it hard to contact an HVAC service professional at night or over the weekend. This can be harmful to the unit since most heating and cooling problems may only result in more damage if left unattended for a long time.
Due to the aforementioned complexity of heating and AC systems, when one component wears out, it often leads to another working harder to compensate for the functionality lost by the faulty piece. The extra burden placed on the second part may eventually wear it down, causing yet another element to follow suit. This chain reaction may force you to request your local heating and AC repair professionals to fix multiple components yet only one was responsible for the whole mess.
To avoid such scenarios and the inconveniences resulting from total HVAC failure, below are some of the key indicators that should tell you when it’s time to contact your emergency heating and AC repair company near Fort Worth, TX.
Electrical Problems
For your home’s heating and cooling system to effectively keep your indoors comfortable during the cold winter season or hot summer, it relies on electricity as a source of power. That’s why your heating and AC repair company connected it to your home electrical system during installation. Residential HVAC units in American homes account for about six percent of the total electricity consumption in the country. Specifically, approximately 46 percent of the energy consumed in the average American home goes to heating and cooling.
In that context, if the system isn’t in tip-top shape, you may begin noticing an enigmatic rise in your monthly energy utility bills. High energy utility bills aren’t the only electrical problems associated with a faulty HVAC unit. If you don’t find prompt solutions from a professional heating and AC repair company near you, additional problems you may encounter include sparks from electrical connections, damaged wiring, and burning odors.
Other electrical issues that may arise due to HVAC problems include dimming lights and buzzing noises that are often prominent behind the walls, where the wiring passes.
Although your residential furnace and AC may automatically trip the circuit breaker or fail to turn if there’s a major electrical hitch, you should always treat issues with your home’s electricity as emergencies. Electricity, if improperly handled, can be dangerous to your property as well as the members of your family. It can give rise to a fire that obliterates your Fort Worth, TX, residence or result in electric shocks that can cause serious injuries, and sometimes, even death.
Even if you have the right gear needed to remedy basic or complex electrical problems, HVAC experts recommend hiring professionals from a licensed emergency heating and AC repair company when faced with electrical HVAC issues. They can ensure that all the issues are resolved on time to prevent further damage and per the prevailing safety codes and standards.
Strange Noises
Many home appliances produce some type of noise as they help you complete various activities. You may hear the dishwasher as it sprays water on your utensils, the refrigerator cycling on and off, or the laundry machine rumbling on as it cleans your laundry. With that in mind, you can easily tell when a sound is unfamiliar. Ideally, your residential HVAC system should operate almost inaudibly, producing little to no sound as it works to keep the indoors of your home comfortable. If it’s been producing funny noises such as banging and rattling, something could be amiss and your emergency HVAC technician from a reliable heating and AC repair company near you can help you identify and fix the issue.
Your HVAC system may produce strange noises due to wide-ranging circumstances, but the most common ones include improper installation and the standard wear and tear of the components. Below’s a detailed description of some of the common noises you may hear, what they mean, and how your local emergency heating and AC repair company can help.
Screeching or Squealing
These noises hint towards a damaged fan belt in the blower. In some instances, they may mean that the motor may need a lubrication service. While the latter may seem easy to the DIY-savvy homeowner, replacing the damaged fan belt should be left to a trained emergency HVAC service professional. To ensure that you don’t use the wrong type of lubricant, you should probably consider also leaving this service to an experienced technician.
Buzzing
If you notice a buzzing noise coming from your residential AC, it could be due to a compressor malfunction. The sound can also be produced when there’s a refrigerant leak that’s causing your unit to freeze from the inside. Regardless, you should contact your local emergency heating and AC repair company for informed evaluations and recommendations. Refrigerant leaks can be harmful to both people and the environment.
Screaming or High-Pitched Whistling
These are outright distress signals, and whenever you hear them coming from your AC’s compressor, you should immediately turn off the unit’s electrical power supply. Once you’ve done that, it should remain switched off until technicians from your reliable emergency heating and AC repair company have arrived.
Screaming or high-pitched whistling noises often mean that the internal refrigerant pressure could be dangerously high. In some scenarios, they may point to internal leaks, which can be identified by hissing sounds, or compressor failure. As aforementioned, refrigerant leaks can be hazardous and that’s why you should consider scheduling an emergency heating and AC service if you hear any of these noises.
Distress Signals from Your Home’s Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Carbon monoxide problems often affect homes that use a natural gas or propane-powered furnace. The gas is a by-product of the combustion of natural gas and HVAC manufacturers usually equip heating and cooling systems with components that can expel the gas to ensure that it doesn’t negatively impact your health. Your local heating and AC repair company staff may also recommend installing carbon monoxide detectors in your home to help detect carbon monoxide leaks.
If there’s a carbon monoxide leak in your home, experts recommend that you first open all the doors and windows to assist in lowering the concentration of the gas indoors. After doing this, you should also evacuate the premises since carbon monoxide exposure can prove lethal to both people and pets. Once your home has been evacuated, you should then contact your local fire department so that the service providers on staff can evaluate the carbon monoxide levels to determine when or whether it would be safe to come back.
Your next call should go to your local emergency heating and AC repair company. Its professionals can check out and repair your residential HVAC system to prevent the issue from coming up again in the future. However, if your residence doesn’t have carbon monoxide detectors, you can look out for the symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure in your family members. They include weakness in the muscles, confusion, headaches, nausea, and flu-like symptoms.
Warm or Hot Air from the Vents
Ideally, your home’s air conditioning service is designed to remove hot air from your indoors and replace it with cool air. Therefore, if it begins blowing out warm air, it may be time to schedule an emergency HVAC service with a reliable heating and AC repair company near Fort Worth, TX. There are a plethora of reasons why your residential AC may begin expelling hot air, including faulty evaporator and condenser coils. Regardless, only a professional from a licensed and certified heating and AC repair company can comprehensively inspect the system to get to the root cause of the problem. After inspection, the expert can repair or replace the culpable components to restore your indoor comfort.
Since your residential HVAC system comprises a heating and cooling unit, you should also be keen on airflow problems with your furnace. Designed to warm up your residence during the cold season, furnaces can develop airflow issues due to regular wear and tear, improper installation, or lack of maintenance. In that regard, if your furnace can’t seem to push any hot air through the vents, it may be time to contact your preferred heating and AC repair company in Fort Worth, TX for emergency HVAC solutions. HVAC professionals strongly advise against attempting to fix furnace issues by yourself since many things could suddenly go wrong, increasing the chances of further damaging the unit. Under such circumstances, they recommend turning off the unit and waiting for professional assistance to arrive.
The Smell of Natural Gas
This is yet another emergency that almost exclusively affects heating units that use natural gas or propane to keep homes comfortable. That said, you don’t have to worry about the matter if your heating and AC repair company installed an electric furnace in your residence. The smell of propane or natural gas should prompt you to request an emergency HVAC service from your local contractor.
This odor is often indicative of a failing residential heating system. Since it can also be caused by a gas leak within your home’s gas supply infrastructure, homeowners are usually advised to contact their local fire department. The department’s representatives can conduct detailed inspections on your property to pinpoint the exact origin of the gas leak. If the problem isn’t with the main gas supply line, you should contact your preferred heating and AC repair company for emergency solutions since as predetermined, carbon monoxide exposure can affect your health negatively.
Frequent Cycles
Generally, your residential HVAC system isn’t designed to run around the clock. It should jump into action when the temperatures rise beyond a predetermined level or when they drop beyond certain preset limits. Once the preferred indoor thermal conditions have been achieved, it should instinctively switch off. With this in mind, you should contact your preferred emergency heating and AC repair company if the on and off cycles become too frequent.
Frequent cycles can increase the rate at which your unit’s inherent components wear and tear, consequently affecting its operational efficiency and life expectancy. Besides total HVAC failure, this phenomenon can also lead to high energy utility bills. Needless to say, attempting to troubleshoot or fix the matter could put your safety at risk. Therefore, it’s best to hire the right emergency heating and AC repair company for the job.
Contact Our Heating and AC Repair Company in Fort Worth, TX
If you notice any of the above-described signs of an HVAC emergency, don’t hesitate to contact the professionals at One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth. We’re available around the clock to serve your needs. You can also come to us when in need of HVAC installation and maintenance services.