This is a good question to ask whenever the hot weather starts up and you turn on your trusty ol’ cooling system for comfort. Because once an air conditioner is “too old,” it won’t stay trusty much longer. You could end up with a busted AC on the hottest day of the year, waiting for repairs to arrive and hoping that the system can be fixed. If your air conditioner has been with you long enough that you’re starting to wonder if it is past its prime, put serious consideration into replacing it.
Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog: Archive for the ‘Air Conditioning’ Category
The Different Air Filters for Your HVAC System
Monday, June 13th, 2016
If your home’s HVAC system is like most in the region, it consists of an air conditioner and furnace installed within a single cabinet that connects to ductwork and uses the same blower fan. Air enters the cabinet through a return air duct, and between this duct and the cabinet sits a special filter. The filter protects the internal components of the AC, furnace, and blower from dust that can lead to stress on the mechanical parts.
Reasons You Never Want Amateurs to Install Your Air Conditioning
Monday, June 6th, 2016
We live in an era when “Do It Yourself” projects are more popular than ever before. It can be fun to tackle some household ventures on your own, but it’s important to know where to draw the line between jobs that an amateur can figure out… and jobs that must have a professional.
Ways You Might Damage Your AC Over the Summer
Monday, May 23rd, 2016
We hope that you make every effort to keep your air conditioning system in good shape during the summer. It’s in your best interests to see that the AC makes it through the season without mishap or a drop in efficiency.
Why Is My Air Conditioning System Making So Much Noise?
Monday, May 16th, 2016
As the weather warms up through the spring, and with summer just over the horizon in June, you’ll begin to run your residential air conditioning system more and more often. It’s important to pay attention during this time to any warning signs that the AC isn’t performing as well as it should, or that it may need immediate repairs so that it won’t fail when temperatures rise even higher.
Can I Take Care of Air Conditioning Maintenance on My Own?
Monday, May 2nd, 2016
Have you already arranged for an air conditioning maintenance visit from a professional HVAC technician? If you have, that’s great: you’ll have the best preparation possible for the coming summer, as well as a system that will operate at its peak efficiency level.
A Hissing Sound from Your Air Conditioner: What It Might Mean
Monday, April 25th, 2016
We are getting closer and closer to the time when you’ll need your air conditioning system working steadily to provide your family with pleasant indoor temperatures. As the cooling system starts its regular operation for the middle of the year, make sure that you pay close attention to unusual sounds coming from the cabinets. This is one of the ways that a refrigeration device like an AC warns that something is wrong with it that requires the attention of professionals.
One of the common warning sounds from an air conditioner is a hissing, like gas escaping. We’ll look into what this might mean.
Brief hissing sounds
Your air conditioner will sometimes make hissing sounds as part of its regular operation. The expansion valve, which lowers the pressure of the refrigerant gas as it moves from the condenser coil, creates brief a hissing that lasts only a few seconds. If you hear periodic hissing and don’t notice other signs of problems with the AC (a drop in cooling capacity, ice along the evaporator coil) it’s usually nothing to worry about.
Sustained hissing sounds
This, however, is something to worry about. There are a number of different causes for continuous hissing noises coming from an air conditioner. The most common is that holes have opened along the copper refrigerant line, allowing the high pressure refrigerant gas to leak out. Loss of refrigerant will not only lower the cooling power of the AC, it can cause damage elsewhere to the system as the pressure levels decline. The leak could also be in the compressor valve, which is designed to control the pressure levels of the refrigerant.
Worst of all is when the hissing sound is due to a malfunction in the compressor itself: the pressure levels inside it are rising too high. Permanent damage to the compressor is one of the most expensive repairs that an air conditioner may need, so get on the phone right away to have professionals look into the problem and prevent it from getting worse.
Need air conditioning repairs? Call Red Rock Mechanical LLC in Burlington, VT.
Here Are AC Troubles That Maintenance Helps Avoid
Monday, April 4th, 2016
For any quality HVAC contractor, spring is the season of air conditioning maintenance. It’s certainly the time when everyone here at Red Rock Mechanical recommends our customers schedule their annual inspection and tune-up to get their cooling systems prepped for the hot weather ahead.
As Summer Approaches, It May Be Time to Replace Your AC
Monday, March 14th, 2016
It may be hard to imagine with the chilly, rainy weather we’ve had in recent weeks, but spring is well on its way to Plattsburgh, NY. Before we know it, warm weather will be here. When that time comes, you’ll definitely want to make sure you have a properly functioning air conditioner. This is especially true if your system is 10-15 years old. However there are some additional signs you should watch out for, which we’ve highlighted below.
Is It Too Early for Air Conditioning Maintenance?
Monday, March 7th, 2016
Spring is almost here, and we probably have a month or two of unpredictable weather to look forward to. Your heating system probably won’t be heading off into its summer hibernation for a stretch, and the air conditioner will start to turn on during short stretches during April. Although you still won’t need to steadily run the AC until the real summer heat starts, right now is definitely a good time to think about arranging for its annual maintenance service. March is not too early to have this job done. In fact, it’s ideal in many ways, and here’s why:
