When To Call For Emergency Heating And AC Repair Service | Fort Worth, TX
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If you wake up to no heat or no AC in Fort Worth, TX you will immediately know something is wrong. Unlike other more moderate climates where you can open the windows and get by for a few days without AC or pile on the blankets, you know when the AC is out. The hot summer is on its way and during the summer months, you cannot live in a home that is not properly cooled. It seems every year the temperatures get hotter, and this year promises to be no different so if your AC quits working you will need emergency heating and AC repair service in Fort Worth, TX.
Of course, the problem for most people is that they don’t know who to call, or they don’t know whether or not something truly requires an emergency heating and AC repair service. If you haven’t had an HVAC emergency before you will not be prepared for one to occur, but of course that is the very nature of an emergency. The best thing you can do is prepare yourself for the fact that one day you probably will need emergency heating and AC repair service.
How to Prepare for Emergency Heating and AC Repair Service
You are probably wondering how you can prepare for something you can’t predict, and the simple answer is by taking proactive action. It is true that there are some emergency situations that will occur regardless of how proactive you will be because an HVAC system is a complex piece of machinery and all machinery has the potential to fall. This risk gets even higher as your system starts to age. Even the best system with the best maintenance record will eventually start to fail. You won’t ever see an HVAC system make it to the 30-year mark because it simply doesn’t happen.
That said, new and old systems can fail if you don’t take good care of them. Therefore, the best way to avoid emergency heating and AC repair service is by booking regular annual service for your HVAC machine. Almost every manufacturer recommends that you have your HVAC system serviced once a year because this is the best way to clean out your system and have a trained, Fort Worth, TX professional take a good look inside.
As part of the service call, they will thoroughly clean out your system and look for components that may be failing. Usually, an HVAC system will not just fail without warning, and most of the time parts start to show signs of wear and tear before they quit. However, if you are not a trained technician you will not know that they are starting to wear down. This is why an annual service call is so important because the proper people will have a chance to inspect the inside mechanisms that power your machine and give you a head’s up if something is breaking.
This allows you to proactively fix the problem. At the end of an annual service, the HVAC technician will give you a list of all of their recommendations based on what they found inside. It is usually in your best interests to make the repairs or replacements proactively so that you don’t end up waking up in the middle of summer to a room that is baking because your AC quit. This is the only way to help ward off a call for emergency heating and AC repair service in Fort Worth, TX. However, sometimes things still go wrong, which is why you need to learn the signs of trouble.
When Do You Call for Emergency Heating and AC Repair Service?
At some point in your life as a homeowner, you are going to experience issues with your HVAC system, but you may be unsure of whether or not the issue you are dealing with is one that needs to be immediately addressed. Everyone would rather wait until the weekend is over to have an HVAC technician out to their home, or at the very least until the next morning, but sometimes you need prompt service. In some situations the longer you wait to call for help the higher the chance that more damage will be done.
Given how complex HVAC systems are, sometimes one component will wear down forcing another component to work harder to compensate for it. The end result is that both pieces are working harder and using more energy. Long-term however the extra work may wear down the second component which starts to push another piece to work harder. As you can see it is now a chain reaction and instead of fixing one piece you need to have multiple pieces repaired. Worried about falling into one of these situations? Here is a quick guide to help you learn when you need to call for emergency heating and AC repair service.
Signs You Need Emergency AC Repair
To start, let’s take a look at a few things that signify you need emergency heating and AC repair that stem from your air conditioning unit. Given summer is now underway in Fort Worth, TX, this is the list you probably want to commit to memory right now, but keep in mind that emergencies can happen at any time so it is good to have a balanced knowledge of both the heating and AC components of your HVAC system.
Your AC Starts Making Funny Noises
It is normal for your AC to make some type of noise. Most people describe it as a hum while others might describe it as a whooshing sound when it starts up. Regardless of what you want to call it, you should have a general idea of what it sounds like on a normal day. Therefore, if you notice that the AC is sounding different than usual or making loud noises then you probably need to call someone to have it looked at. This alone will not need an emergency heating and AC repair service.
However, if you notice certain sounds it could be another story. Some sounds you should never hear include a very loud hissing noise since this can indicate that air is trapped inside of the coolant or grinding noise that could be two parts clashing against each other within the motor or compressor. A hissing noise can also indicate that there is a leak in your refrigerant which means that soon your system may not be able to cool down. Even worse, refrigerant is highly toxic and not something you want pooling on the ground if you have children or pets in your home. For this reason, these situations require emergency heating and AC repair service.
Rapid Cycling
Another sign that something is wrong with your AC is if you notice something that HVAC techs refer to as rapid cycling. This is when your AC is turning off and on a lot more than usual. You have probably noticed that your AC doesn’t have to run all day in order to cool your home (excluding a few brutal days in Texas), and that is normal since your AC only runs until the desired temperature is reached in your home. At that point, it shuts off until your home warms back up.
When something is wrong with your thermostat or electrical wiring your HVAC system won’t be able to properly read the temperature in the home and as a result, you may notice that your AC is turning on and off constantly. Not only is this a huge waste of electricity, but it is also extra wear and tear on your AC unit and could significantly shorten the lifespan of your unit which is why it needs to be explored immediately. If you notice rapid cycling, you need to call an emergency heating and AC repair service.
Circuit Breaker Keeps Tripping When the AC Turns On
The first time this happens you might just be annoyed and figure that you will fix the circuit and that will be the end of your problems. However, if your AC starts tripping the circuit frequently you need to call for emergency heating and AC repair service. This can actually be an indication that something is seriously wrong with the wiring on your AC unit or the electrical panel. Given the high risk of fire or electrocution, you don’t want to mess around with this sign. Call for help and get to the root of the problem promptly. Just so you know, if your heater is doing this it is also a sign of electrical problems and you need to immediately seek help from an experienced HVAC company that offers emergency heating and AC repair service.
Signs You Need Emergency Heating Repair
Now that you know the signs of your AC going array, it is time to learn when you need emergency heating and AC repair service because of heating issues. While you probably will not rely on your heater the same way you would rely on your AC system, this is not a reason to ignore it. Fort Worth, TX can still experience some cold nights, and as last year’s sudden cold snap in spring taught us, it pays to be prepared for cold weather because these days you never know what is going to come your way.
Your Pilot Flame Is Yellow
As a general rule of thumb for any device in your home with a pilot light such as your HVAC system or your hot water boiler, the flame should always be blue or white. It is turning more of a yellowish color; this is a sign that there is not enough oxygen in the air. Instead, it is possible that your furnace is releasing too much carbon monoxide. Given the fact that carbon monoxide can kill you without any warnings, you need to treat a yellow pilot flame as an emergency and call an emergency heating and AC repair service. In addition, if you don’t already have a carbon monoxide detector located on the same floor as your furnace, this should serve as a reminder that you need to purchase one.
You Smell Rotten Eggs
Unless you have rotten eggs sitting on the counter, this sulfur-like smell is always a sign of an emergency. Natural gas has an additive placed in it so that homeowners can detect a leak. Therefore, if you smell it you need to leave your home and then call the gas company. Once they safely turn off your gas you will need to call for emergency heating and AC repair service to repair your furnace and the leak. You should not use your HVAC system again until it is fixed.
There Is Water Around the Boiler
If a valve breaks down then they may release steam or sometimes the water will actually drip out and you can see puddles on the floor. Not only is this a sign that something is wrong with your boiler that needs to be addressed, but if you ignore it the leaking can eventually cause damage to the home. With that in mind, you want to call for emergency heating and AC repair service. It is not worth putting off the service if you end up spending thousands of dollars on flood damage repair bills.
Now that you know some of the most common reasons to call for emergency heating and AC repair service you should print this out and refer to it in the future. On the other hand, if you recognize one of these signs as your current issue, then you need an HVAC professional right now. One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth is ready to help. Call us today and we will send an HVAC tech out to your home right away. We always have someone on-call ready to respond promptly.