Air Conditioner Repair in Rockwall, TX

Having access to a quality air conditioner repair service is vital in Rockwall, TX. Having your AC unit break down during the summer in Texas does not bear thinking about. Temperatures above 100 degrees with high humidity to match can lead to high levels of heat exhaustion, dehydration, and heatstroke among the young, the not-so-young, and those with health problems.

You do not want to wait long for an air conditioner repair and neither does any business. They want to keep staff cool and safe and may have temperature-sensitive goods and medicines to protect.

Not all air conditioner companies will operate after business hours or at weekends and holidays. This is no use when your family’s safety is put at risk. K&S Heating & Air offers the most professional Air Conditioner Repair Service in the Rockwall area.

We have highly trained technicians ready to offer emergency services 24/7. We have spent years building up a reputation for reliability and quality work at an affordable price.

If you want somebody around quickly for an air conditioner repair whatever the time of day, then please call K&S Heating & Air.

How Does My Air Conditioner Work?

You do not need to be an expert to have a basic working knowledge of the workings of an air conditioner. Being armed with this knowledge will help you detect any early signs of trouble, and you will be able to take prompt action and reduce the costs of air condition repair.

Inside your home are the compressor and evaporator coils. Outside are located the condenser and cooling fins. Fans help to blow air over the coils, condenser, and cooling fins. These components are connected by copper tubing that contains the coolant. Warm air from inside your home is extracted and blown over the evaporator coils.

Heat is absorbed by the coolant within the coils. The compressor pumps the coolant around the copper tubing, where it reaches the condenser and cooling fins. Another fan blows outside air over the condenser and cooling fins and the heat from inside your home is lost to the outside air. Once the warm air inside your home cools the moisture in the air will condense and collect inside the drain pan. This water then flows outside via the AC drain line.

How to Prevent an Air Conditioner Repair

K&S Heating and Air believes that the best way to prevent an air conditioner repair is having your unit regularly maintained. We recommend that you have this done before the hot summer season starts. This will give you peace of mind that your air conditioner will work properly when needed most.

Common Problems With Air Conditioners

There are many components in an AC unit that could break and require repair. Numerous problems could be avoided with a regular service from a skilled technician employed by K&S Heating and Air. During service, many checks are carried out, and potential problems are eliminated before the need for an expensive air conditioner repair. Even a well-maintained AC unit could still break down, but there are some tell-tale signs you should be on the alert for to avoid this:

• Reduced airflow from the unit.
• Larger than expected energy bills.
• strange noises from the unit.
• Strange smells coming from the unit.
• Weak cooling from the unit
• The pooling of water around the unit

If you experience any of these issues, then you probably will need an air conditioner repair at some point. The longer you wait the greater the chance that you will increase the cost of the repair.

When Do You Need an Air Conditioner Repair?

We sometimes take the reliability of an AC unit for granted. But without a regular service, they will break down. K&S provides a top-class AC maintenance service, where many checks are performed, and any minor issues sorted out. This ensures that the AC unit is running safely and as efficiently as possible, saving from expensive energy bills and expensive repairs.

An average air conditioner has a useful working life of about 10-15 years, even if it is well maintained. As it gets older it will become less efficient and more expensive to run. It will produce less cool air and start to need more work done on it to keep going. If your air conditioner uses Freon (R22) as a coolant, recharging your unit will get more difficult and expensive as Freon is no longer manufactured in the United States.

This may be time to consider having a replacement unit. Although initially expensive to install, you will recover that outlay because the new unit is more economical to run. We at K&S Heating and Air are happy to help you decide what model best suits your needs and budget.

To reduce the risk of a repair there are some symptoms that you should keep an eye open for as a red flag to call for an air conditioner repair company.

• Increased energy bills.
• Less and less cool air is produced.
• Airflow from the unit is reduced.
• You hear strange noises coming from the unit.
• Strange smells coming from the unit.
• Puddles of water forming around the unit.

If you experience any of these symptoms you need to call K&S immediately to arrange a callout, as continued use of the unit could cause further damage.

Signs That Your Air Conditioner Needs an Air Conditioner Repair

Your Energy Bills Are a Lot Higher

As your unit gets older it costs more to run. Wear and tear will reduce the efficiency of each component, and they must work harder to maintain the temperature. As they work harder the components will use more energy, driving up your bills. You are also more likely to need an air conditioner repair as the components will get hotter as they use more energy and could overheat and burn out.

During a service, your air ducts will be checked for signs of damage. Cool air will escape through any damaged air duct or loose joints. You could be wasting a lot of money as it has been estimated that up to thirty percent of your unit’s energy could be escaping from the air ducts making air conditioner repair an affordable choice.

Badly calibrated thermostats are another source of wasted energy. If your thermostat tricks your unit into believing the temperature is higher than it is, your home will be cooler than you would like.

Less Cool Air Is Coming from Your Unit

If there has been a coolant leak, this will reduce the amount of coolant in your unit. Less coolant in the evaporator soil will reduce the amount of heat absorbed from the warm air. The air blown back into your home will be warmer. A problem with the fan will also reduce the amount of warm air blown over the coils, so there is less that can be cooled and blown back into your home.

Humidity Levels Have Gone Up

If the air blown back into your home is warmer, it will also be more humid. Warmer air has more moisture in it because the moisture only condenses back into the water at lower temperatures.

Frost Appears on the Evaporator Coils

It may seem strange to see frost on your evaporator coils in the middle of summer. If the coolant in the coils receives no heat, then the coils will start to freeze over. First, you will notice frost starting to form and later ice layers.

The ice layers will only make matters worse as they will function as an insulating layer further reducing the rate at which any heat can reach the coolant.

A faulty fan will reduce the amount of warm air and heat reaching the coolant, so will dirty air filters. If the evaporator coils have gotten dirty this too will reduce the heat flow.

Cleaning the coils, cleaning, or replacing the air filter, and dealing with problems with the fan are tasks that are performed during a regular service. Failure to deal with these problems will almost certainly result in an air conditioner repair.

Water Is Overflowing from Your Unit

If you see puddles of water inside or on the floor around your air conditioner, the explanation could be that there is a loose water connection somewhere. Usually, these are easy to fix by simply tightening a nut. Another cause of water overflowing is that the drain pan and AC drain line could be blocked by moss and algae growing in them.

Without an exit from your unit, the drain pan will overflow. This could cause a short circuit and the need for an air conditioner repair. Your unit could also shut down when the AC drain blocks, if this were to happen too many times, this could cause a breakdown and an air conditioner repair.

Strange Smells Coming from Your Unit

Any mold and algae spores that are growing in the drain pan or AC drain line are likely to make their way inside your home. This will give rise to any moldy smell in your home.

Other smells that you could experience are burning smells due to overheating components or pieces of loose solder. Burning smells shouldn’t be ignored as they indicate a risk of fire. Call K&S Heating & Air straight away for an air conditioner repair.

Your Air Conditioner Is Short Cycling

Have you noticed that your air conditioner is cutting off before it reaches the desired temperature? You may have a short cycling problem. Typically, an air conditioner will have about three cooling cycles every hour. The compressor will work for 10 minutes to complete a full cooling cycle and then rests for ten minutes.

The main causes of short cycling are dirty air filters, frozen evaporator coils, and low coolant levels. These causes are dealt with during regular maintenance, but if you ignore these you will end up with an expensive air conditioner repair bill. Strange as it may seem, having an oversized air conditioner could cause short cycling and the cooling effect will be so fast that the cool air will not be able to distribute evenly throughout your home.

Faulty Fans

A faulty fan will also restrict the airflow over the coils. You should listen for weird sounds coming from the unit, particularly the fan. Any sounds strange, like grinding, or squealing sounds could indicate you have a worn-out fan belt or bearings. Any loud banging sounds could be due to a loose or bent blade hitting the inside of your unit.

What Causes These Symptoms?

An AC unit is made up of many parts any of which could break down, through overwork, or lack of maintenance requiring an air conditioner repair.

Frost on the Evaporator Coil

If you notice frost or ice starting to form on the coil you have a problem. To work efficiently the evaporator coil needs an optimum level of liquid coolant to flow through it. It also needs a constant flow of warm air over it.

Without either enough coolant or airflow, it can start to freeze. As it starts to freeze so the amount of cool air from the AC unit will start to fall off, the other components in the AC unit like the compressor will have to work harder to maintain the temperature you have set. This overworking will increase your energy bills and may cause the components to overheat and burn out, leaving you with an air conditioner repair.

Coolant Leak

If you have a coolant leak you may notice a sweet and chloroform-like smell. If the level of coolant in the AC unit falls it can cause the evaporator coil to freeze with a corresponding fall in performance.

Condenser and Cooling Fins are Dirty

The condenser and cooling fins also need plenty of air to flow over them. The excess heat from your home is transferred to the air outside. The dirt if not cleaned away will act as an insulting level and reduce the heat transfer. Any weeds and moss covering the condenser will restrict the airflow and further reduce the heat transfer.

AC Drain Line Is Blocked or Burst

The AC drain line carries the water from the humid air outside your home. The water is captured initially in a water pan inside the AC unit and then flows outside via the drain line. Mold or mildew could grow in the line and block it.

The water in the pan has nowhere to go and collects there. Eventually, it will overflow and form puddles around the AC unit. The blocked drain line will increase the humidity in your home and may give rise to a moldy smell in your home.

Other Signs to Look Out For

A faulty fan will reduce the airflow over the evaporator coil and condenser, resulting in your AC unit having to work harder and resulting in higher energy bills. A faulty fan is often the cause of many strange noises coming from your AC unit.

It is also worth checking your air ducts and joints for any damage. A lot of energy will be wasted when the cool air escapes through any gaps.

How to Avoid These Problems

The best thing you can do for your AC unit is to have it regularly serviced by one of our experienced air conditioner repair technicians. Many checks are done during the service to ensure the unit’s smooth running. These checks will include:

• Replacing dirty air filters – this will improve the airflow over the evaporator coil and improve air quality.
• Cleaning the evaporator coil – any dirt deposited on the coil will reduce the heat transfer between the warm air and coolant.
• Topping up coolant levels
• Checking electrical connections for loose wiring.
• Cleaning the condenser and cooling fins – this can be done as part of a service but is a job you can do yourself.
• And many other procedures to make sure your appliance is reliable and perfectly maintained.

K&S Heating & Air a Trusted Air Conditioning Company in Rockwall, TX

K&S Heating & Air is a family firm, with strong ties to the Rockwall area. We would strongly advise you to schedule regular service for your air conditioner. This will give you peace of mind during those long summer months when the temperatures and humidity are soaring. Without air conditioning repairs can put a severe dent in your bank account. Poorly cared for and the older appliances are too difficult to fix the issue.

You might be surprised what a little, upfront expense can save you in water and heating, energy rates. Plus, it is an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint.

EnergyStar, the standard experts can maintain the perfect functionality with a year-round subscription service that can help you find exactly what size, model, and air conditioner is best for your home. Please give us a call if you need us or just want to chat!