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Texas: Summertime… and the Living is… Hot! | Tips from Your Trusted Fort Worth, TX Air Conditioning Service

Texas: Summertime… and the Living is… Hot! | Tips from Your Trusted Fort Worth, TX Air Conditioning Service

Photo By gollykim at istock

If you live in the Fort Worth, TX area, you know how hot and muggy it can get in summer, with temperatures often approaching 100°F, or sometimes even hotter. That kind of heat’s bad in itself, but the heat in northern Texas is particularly grueling. It’s these humid summers that make men sweat and ladies perspire. Like in Ella Fitzgerald’s Summertime, summers in Fort Worth, TX might be easy, but they’re also hot!

Give Your AC a Tune-Up

But even if you don’t need AC at the moment, HVAC systems require regular maintenance to work properly by experienced technicians from a reliable air conditioning service. When you’re not using your air-conditioning is the best time to have it checked out by an air conditioning service, and to prevent problems in the future, when you need it.

Periods of cooler weather, especially during the winter months or early springtime, are the best times to arrange for maintenance. With its relatively mild climate in winter, an air conditioning service can quickly ensure that your air conditioner works during those hot summer months. Even basic jobs like changing the air filter can really make a difference to your AC system’s performance, though full maintenance work by a professional air conditioning service will ensure that your air conditioning works when you need it.

Look at your HVAC system as you would your car, which any responsible car owner takes in for regular check-ups. After all, just like your car, your air conditioner is a machine with moving parts that can break down, and which needs to be maintained. Just like your car needs servicing, so too does your air conditioner, in order to work at optimal levels later.

Finding a reputable air conditioning service with experienced and trained technicians to inspect your electrical connections and motors just makes sense. And besides the tune-up they give your air conditioner, they can additionally clean coils and ensure that all the moving parts in your system will work when you need them.

Benefits of Regular Air Conditioning Service & Maintenance

A common question many homeowners ask about maintaining their air conditioner is whether they need to do maintenance every year. And any reputable air conditioning service or HVAC technician will tell you the same thing. Yes, you need to. Just like with your car or any other machine, maintaining your air conditioner is not a luxury. For those who’ve lived in Fort Worth, TX their whole lives, you know that an air conditioner is a requirement, and skipping a service just once encourages problems to develop.

Here are some things to consider when looking into an air conditioning service provider to do maintenance on your AC system, though much of this advice also applies to heating and ventilation issues as well:

  • Reliability: An important thing to remember about these annual check-ups is that by doing it in the off-season, there’s less of a chance you’ll experience an operational failure during the summer, when you’re actually using it. Through regular inspections, HVAC technicians can find places where there’s wear and tear on the whole system. They can make adjustments and clean in places to prevent future breakdowns or other air conditioning problems. A well-maintained AC ensures that when summer comes, you won’t have to call out for an emergency air conditioning service.
  • Fewer Necessary Repairs: No one wants to spend money having their air conditioning unit repaired. Over 80% of AC repairs are preventable. When you maintain your air conditioning through inspections and regular maintenance, you catch problems earlier, when they’re less expensive to fix. Over the course of your air conditioner’s lifetime, you’ll save huge money on repairs. And who doesn’t like saving money?
  • Energy Efficiency: Wear and tear strains any machine, and your air conditioner is no different. Its components, and especially the blower motor, can get over-worked when not maintained properly. Usually this means higher energy bills, as the AC struggles to work with parts that aren’t working optimally. The lowered electricity bills should be enough to encourage any homeowner to have routine and professional maintenance done by an air conditioning service. For AC systems that are properly maintained, they should never lose more than 5% of their efficiency rating through their entire service life.
  • Increasing AC Longevity: Most air conditioners will last between 10 to 15 years, after which they’ll probably require replacement. But this is only with routine and professional maintenance by a dependable air conditioning service. It’s the annual inspections, tune-ups, and regular cleaning of parts that ensures that your air conditioner lasts as long as possible.
  • Serenity: Doing regular maintenance on your air conditioning system ensures you won’t have to panic or worry about having to do expensive repairs in the heat of a Texas summer. It gives you the peace of mind that you and your family can remain cool even during the peak months of a north Texas summer.

Common AC System Issues

Knowing about your air conditioner and how it works is generally a good idea. It helps you understand what’s wrong, and what needs to be done to fix it. This isn’t so you can fix it yourself, but rather so that you understand what an HVAC technician is telling you. Just like when you take a car in for repairs, knowing a bit about the machine will help keep disreputable air conditioning service companies from taking advantage.

Here are some common yet serious concerns:

  • Ice build-up: When ice builds up in your evaporator coil during the summer while it’s working, or in other parts of your AC unit, it may not be cooling the air efficiently. You’ll need to thaw all the ice off of it before it will start functioning properly. Once you do this, call a reputable air conditioning service for advice.
  • Faulty motors: If you’re AC system’s motor isn’t working properly; the whole system will likely shut down. Once this occurs, the motor will need repair, or even replaced.
  • Faulty compressors: When you have issues with your compressor, it may cause your system to shut down. Cleaning can usually prevent such issues.
  • Sediment accumulation: Dirt can accumulate in filters, evaporators, and condensers, leading to breakdowns. Preventative maintenance on a regular basis generally prevents this. That’s why, just like with your car’s oil filter, these should be changed according to the manufacturer’s recommended schedule and using a licensed air conditioning service.
  • Coolant shortages: When your AC runs low on refrigerant, it may not operate correctly. Typically, a qualified technician will check refrigerant levels, another reason to regularly service your air conditioner.
  • Thermostat difficulties: Take a look at your thermostat if your AC won’t turn on. It may be faulty, and a skilled technician can easily and quickly troubleshoot to see what’s causing the issue.

Purchasing a New AC System

There’s always a chance that when you call out an air conditioning service to do regular maintenance on your AC system that they’ll recommend you buy a whole new system. A reputable HVAC technician will tell you honestly when you need a new one. And with tight household budgets, it’s not an easy decision to make.

But sometimes these things need to be done, and in these cooler winter months when you’re not using your AC, it’s the best time to call out an air conditioning service to install a new AC system. Besides, an air conditioner isn’t just a convenience, it’s an investment in your house, which can pay off, especially if you’re looking to sell your home within the next few years.

When to Replace Your AC 

There are a number of things to consider before deciding to replace your air conditioning system. Some indicators that you may need to replace your old air conditioner include its age, the type of refrigerant it uses, if it’s not producing cold air, or when it doesn’t complete a cooling cycle.

Unlike your teenager, who can drive in Fort Worth, TX once he or she reaches 16, when an air conditioner reaches that age, it’s generally a good idea to let it retire. It might last a few extra years if it’s been well-maintained, but if you’re experiencing any significant issues with your AC unit, it may very well be time to just replace it outright rather than spend more money on repairs.

As of January 2020, R-22 refrigerant will be replaced with R-410A refrigerant. What does this mean? In short, the government came up with new regulations to phase out the former and replace it with this eco-friendly alternative, though a knowledgeable technician from an air conditioning service company may be able to help source additional supplies.

It goes back to the Clean Air Act of 1989, which stipulated that the coolants used at the time that depleted the ozone layer were replaced with a type of coolant that doesn’t. So if you need a coolant recharge for an older air conditioning system that only uses the R-22 refrigerant, any air conditioning servicing will become more expensive. Also, once stores run out of this coolant completely, you’ll need to replace your AC in any case.

When your AC system no longer produces cold air regardless of how many times you call someone out to fix it, it’s also a sure sign that you need to replace it. And then there are instances when your air conditioner short cycles, when it doesn’t properly complete a cooling cycle. The extra money you’ll spend on heavier usage of your AC system along with the heavy wear it puts on the whole system is one sure sign you need to replace it.

AC Replacement Benefits

Now that you know about when to repair and when to replace your air conditioner, let’s take a quick look at the benefits of replacing it. Besides the obvious one of not having to pay for expensive repairs, some long-term benefits include:

  • Saving Money: Considering how expensive installing a new AC system can be, the savings you get from a new air conditioning unit can soon pay for itself. Because of new technology that improves AC system performance, a brand-new model will be much more energy-efficient, bringing your electricity costs down.
  • Climate Control Improvements: Newer systems with more modern technology inevitably work better, allowing you to control indoor climate much more effectively and meaning more comfort for you and your family.
  • Peace of Mind: For those who still have AC systems that use R-22 coolant, replacing your AC system with the newer, greener model means you won’t have to replace it in the future. Plus, it saves you money.

HVAC Solutions

Regularly servicing your air conditioning system is important. Keeping your air conditioner well-maintained thwarts costly breakdowns and keeps you from having to regularly call out an air conditioning service. Scheduled maintenance can even prevent the need to replace your whole HVAC system.

But it’s a major frustration any time of year. When your air conditioner or heating system breaks down, it’s never an opportune time. And finding someone qualified to fix it not only costs you money, it costs time. You’ve now got to contact a busy contractor and wait for them to show up during a window of several hours they give you, if they ever do.

There’s a solution. A reliable HVAC company that can provide quick solutions for your broken-down air conditioning or heating systems in Tarrant County, TX. Conveniently located in the Fort Worth, TX area, One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating® can help with AC servicing or repair, or even give you advice on indoor air quality products.

Call Us for Advice on AC!

Really, there’s no need for you to feel uncomfortable in your own home or business. If your AC’s broken or your heating system’s down, call us at 817-283-6911. We’ll answer your questions honestly and directly. You can even schedule an appointment online, and we’ll be there when you want us.

Also, if you’re in need of immediate service, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We deal with emergencies all the time, day or night, and provide 24/7 HVAC servicing. We know that emergencies don’t happen when it’s convenient, so give us a call. Located in theFort Worth, TX, area, One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating® technicians can be to wherever you are in the Fort Worth, TX area in a flash. Call us at 817-283-6911.