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Common Mistakes Homeowner Make When it Comes to HVACs

Common Mistakes Homeowner Make When it Comes to HVACs

Your air conditioner contributes to up to 40% of your electricity bill and that too many times because of improper care and negligence in its maintenance. Here are some common mistakes that we know almost every homeowner makes when it comes to air conditioning systems.

Getting an Oversized/Undersized Air Conditioning System

This might not seem like a big deal to many and maybe that is why this mistake repeatedly occurs in the first place – putting up an air conditioning system that is not suitable for your house in terms of its size. It is very common for homeowners who want to install their own air conditioning systems without any professional help to save the money. However, not taking a professional help robs them off the chance of getting proper advice regarding what size of air conditioner to get for their house.

If you buy an air conditioning system that is too large for your house, then it will not work efficiently as per the needs of your room. The reason being, air conditioner does two things for you: it cools the room, and removes humidity from the air. Large air condition systems cool the room relatively faster and run a short cycle. However, to dehumidify the room, the air conditioner has to run for a little longer, which large HVAC systems normally don’t.  With an oversized air conditioning system, you may be getting a cooler room but it will not dehumidify your room efficiently and to do so, constant run offs of the system will eventually wear it down.

Moreover, if it is too small, it will simply not meet the cooling needs of your room even after running for too long. This, in turn, will wear down the air conditioning system because of running continuously just to achieve the desired cooling temperature. This will shorten the life of your cooling system, just like getting an oversized cooling system and running it improperly would do.

Now, what is the solution to this issue? Well, this was the mistake you should have simply avoided instead of fixing it later on because it straight forwardly requires you to replace the system and get the one that is properly sized for your room. If your system still has its warranty on, you might get a cheaper replacement but generally, it is a costly solution.

Improper Placement of Outdoor Cooling Unit

The outdoor cooling unit of your HVAC system is the main component that is responsible for expelling hot air from inside to out of your room and bringing the cooled air, back in. The way you place your outdoor cooling system makes significant effects on the life of your air conditioning system.

The outdoor units should be kept away from the direct sun exposure, as too much heat falling on to it will fry up the wirings inside and affect the system overall.

You may have heard it from many people that you should keep your outdoor cooling unit in a shady area. That’s true, you should. But make sure that it is not too packed and away from proper ventilation because then it will not be able to dissipate heat properly. This will overheat the system and eventually lead to permanent damage. In addition, not placing the outdoor cooling unit on a fixed flat surface makes the system not have a stable base. The outdoor unit normally vibrates when running and this constant vibration without having a surface to rest on will put pressure on the copper wires and break them, and cause pipe leakages. Lastly, having your outdoor cooling unit placed in a place where there is dirt, leaves, grass or weed growing, will put it to the risk of sucking in these debris and dusts, and eventually clogging up the unit.

To have it properly installed, it is always better to call in a professional heating and air condition service in Plano, TX, so they can put their expertise and service at it and save you from costly repairs.

 Building Up Pressure by Closing the Vents

It is a common belief that if you have open vents in the room and the air conditioner is still running, you will be losing the cool air. This is why often people get their vents shut so the cool air does not escape. People do this in rooms, which are not in use. They shut the vents close so as to save energy and money, of course.

However, things are not that simple. Yes, having open vents in unused rooms can lead to wastage of energy when the cooling system is running and closing them down can help somewhat. But, we need to keep in mind that your air conditioner is designed to maintain a proper balance, and if you close up the vents, you will be putting unnecessary pressure on the cooling system by letting the pressure not dissipate equally. Closing the vents will affect the efficiency of your cooling system for worse, and wear it down.

To fix this issue, call in heating and air condition service in Plano, TX, and ask them if your air conditioner can deal with this pressure build up and if closing the vents would be effective in any way. If no, then do not block the airflow and save yourself from further possible damages.

Thinking of Regular Checkups and Maintenance as an Extra Cost

Regular maintenance is something people often consider unnecessary. This is because they think that if there were a problem, it would have showed up. This mindset prevents people from giving the proper care that their air conditioning systems require. Regular tuning of your cooling system is how you can increase its lifespan. Regular maintenance is a way you can spend few dollars and save hundreds of them in return. Regular maintenance lets you keep your system up to date and allows you to find any problem with the system before it becomes worse.

You will never be able to look at your air conditioning system and find if there is anything wrong. However, through regular heating and air condition service in Plano, TX, you will pick on those small cracks, which you were unable to see before.

The solution? Scheduling monthly or quarterly air conditioner servicing and maintenance and not thinking of it as an extra cost. This will ensure your AC unit works in its optimal state, for a long time.