A reliable HVAC system is important for your home. But when your system suddenly stops working, it can be a nightmare. Learning about your unit minimizes the chances of a breakdown; these tips below.
Be aware of the type of system that is installed in your home prior to calling a contractor to fix it. Get information on the make and model, plus if you have information on the history of maintenance, that will help, too. This will help you give the new contractor the necessary information.
If your HVAC is giving you problems, do a tour of your house before you call in help. This will help the contractor determine what the problem is and how to fix it.
Know what work you want done before you hire a contractor. It will be difficult for an HVAC contractor to provide you a price estimate over the phone if they have not seen your current system. It will be more hard if you over the phone without the information readily available.
Before you choose an HVAC contractor, have an idea in your mind of what needs to be done. This is necessary so that they can give you a quote before doing any work. If you are unable to explain the work that needs to be taken care of, the conversation will be even less fruitful. Be sure to find this out ahead of time.
Clean your fan and coils come spring. Clean the outside of your condenser unit.
Turn the power off first so you don’t get hurt or break something. Next, pop off the grill, put the blades out and start to gently clean them along with the unit.
If your fan condenser has oil ports, you must lubricate it once per year. You will notice these ports have a rubber or metal cap covering them. Chose SAE 20 oil, which has been proven to be the most effective.
Grass Clippings
Don’t let grass clippings on your outside unit. Aim the grass clippings in a different direction from the other direction. This also applies to leaf blowing and any other yard work that results in the yard.
Outdoor condenser units need to be turned off when the weather turns cold. If you get into temperatures that are less than 60 degrees you need the unit to be shut off so it doesn’t get damaged. Doing this keeps your system working well for years and saves you from having to spend money to repair it.
Your outdoor HVAC unit may suffer when trees start to lose their leaves. Make sure you clean out your fan grill is cleaned frequently when the leaves begin to fall. The fan needs unobstructed air flow, and if debris is blocking this air flow, you’ll have a lot of headaches eventually.
Lubricate your condenser once each year. These are usually covered with rubber or metal cap. Use SAE 20 oil that is non-detergent and lightweight, and put 10 drops or fewer in each port, putting 10 drops in each port.
The Internet can really help you out when it comes to finding someone to work on your HVAC unit. There are quite a few sites now that allow customers to share their experiences with different services. This will be an excellent way to locate people you should work with and people that may not work well with you.
Be sure to have twice annual HVAC unit in your home checked about two times every year. This should happen in the fall and malfunctions.
A programmable thermostat can help you out when it comes to your power bills. Some of these thermostats can even be controlled from a computer.
Determining the direction in which your house faces can help make the HVAC system efficient. If you have trees placed in strategic areas, you can block the sunlight in the morning. You will reduce the need for AC when your home is naturally cooler.
When they visit to service the unit they’re going to inspect the motors, expect inspections of freon levels and the motor, and they will oil all the moving parts.These simple things are going to allow your system running at peak performance.
You should now know more about your HVAC unit. You can be in a lot of trouble if you have a poor running HVAC. Fortunately, this article has given you the foundation you need.
If you are purchasing an AC unit, take measurements. You need to know how big the area is that you want to have cooled off. Normally, you need 20 BTU for each square foot that you wish to cool. If you need to cool multiple rooms, make sure to add the square footage together.