How to Best Care for Your AC During Cooler Seasons

October 19th, 2020

autumn-backgroundIn other parts of the country, winter is a time when air conditioning systems shut down for months until needed again in the spring. We don’t have that kind of climate in Texas! We have plenty of colder days, but the heat can always make a return, and air conditioners need to be ready to work at any time.

We have some advice for how to best take care of your air conditioner during the fall and winter, it’s “off-season” but not the AC’s “vacation season.” We offer HVAC service in Sugar Land, TX to help you help your AC and prevent unpleasant surprises this year and a good start to the next.

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October Is Not the Time to Ignore AC Malfunctions!

October 5th, 2020

air-conditioning-with-flowersWe all have in our heads an ideal version of what “October” looks like. It’s filled with autumn colors and crisp leaves and pumpkins and a slight chill to the dry air. People have this idealized October in their minds wherever they live, even if the world outside their windows never looks like it. And here in Texas, we don’t necessarily get a cool, crisp October. In fact, plenty of October days can feel close to summer days, with regular temperatures in the 80s.

This is one of the reasons that now isn’t the time to let any air conditioning repair in Houston, TX slip away. Your AC has just done a hard summer of work as it fought against extreme temperatures to keep the inside of your house comfortable. All that stress can lead to malfunctions, and if you ignore them because it’s fall and you’re hoping you won’t need the AC as much—you’re headed for trouble.

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5 Signs of Compressor Trouble in Your AC

September 21st, 2020

compressor-in-ac-unitLast year we wrote a post about what to do about your air conditioning system when the compressor fails: do you pay to repair it or have the entire AC replaced? The reason this question comes up is because the compressor is vital to an air conditioner and expensive to replace if it does fail. This is the part of your air conditioning system that you want to watch out for the closest so you don’t end up having to make this big decision.

Since we’re at the tail end of an extremely hot summer, the compressor in your air conditioning system has gone through a heavy workload. We have listed five signs to watch for that you need AC repair in Katy, TX to rescue a compressor that’s entered a risky zone. A fast response can repair a compressor before it’s beyond help and you’re looking at possibly replacing the entire air conditioner.

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It’s Almost Fall—But Your Air Conditioner Is Still Hard at Work

September 7th, 2020

sunshineYou probably know what Texas weather is like—summer temperatures hang around for a long time, even after the official first day of fall. We started the month of September with temperatures in the high 90s. That’s serious air conditioner weather. An air conditioner can lower the temperature inside a house by a maximum of 20°F. So when you have a 96°F day, you almost have to work the AC to the maximum to get the house down to the recommended 78°F for comfort. (Try not to set the thermostat lower than this, especially in intense heat, since it not only wastes energy, it can actually lead to the evaporator coil icing over.)

All this preamble is our way of saying that it’s crucial to watch for signs you need AC repair in Cypress, TX at this time of year. The heat is intense and the air conditioner is working as hard as it ever has after months of consistent operation. This can put an air conditioner into the danger zone, even one that has always gotten spring maintenance. (Just a reminder: the AC needs maintenance every year.)

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Ductless AC Can Work With a Central AC—It’s Not All-or-Nothing!

August 24th, 2020

ductless-system-with-technicianWe offer services for a wide range of types of air conditioning in Houston, TX. For example, we install and service ductless mini split systems, which offer houses both cooling and heating without the need for an inch of ductwork.

One of the best reasons to have a ductless AC installed is because you live in an older house that wasn’t originally constructed for central cooling and has no ductwork to hook a split system air conditioner to. If you’re planning to build a house and don’t want to deal with pesky ducts, you can design with a ductless system in mind.

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Too Much Refrigerant in the AC? Yes, It Can Happen—And It’s Bad!

August 10th, 2020

ac-unit-repair-with-technicianA common and major repair problem air conditioning systems run into is leaking refrigerant. Tiny holes along the copper refrigerant lines allow the refrigerant level in the system to drop, and that puts the entire air conditioner in jeopardy. Air conditioning systems are manufactured to run a specific charge (amount) of refrigerant. If that drops, it will not only lower cooling capacity, it will eventually inflict irreparable damage to the components, concluding with a burnt-out compressor.

There’s an opposite to the problem of the undercharged air conditioner with refrigerant leaks. It’s the overcharged air conditioner. The refrigerant level cannot be more than the unit’s specified charge, because that puts the system in danger as well.

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Thinking About an Evaporative Cooler? Here’s What You Need to Know

July 27th, 2020

waterYou may have heard about evaporative coolers as an alternative to using a conventional central air conditioning system. Evaporative coolers are popular now as small, portable units people purchase to sit on a desk and give a bit of extra cooling. But evaporative cooling is available as a way of air conditioning an entire house through a ductwork system. Using an evaporative cooler (also called a swamp cooler) offers a number of potential benefits to a home.

However, before you decide you’re going to replace your old AC with a swamp cooler, there are some basics you’ll need to know. Evaporative coolers are not ideal for all homes!

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Is a High SEER Rating for a New AC Always Good?

July 13th, 2020

ac-with-toolsIn the world of air conditioners, SEER ratings are just about everything. We’re sure that when you started looking into an air conditioner, you did a little research and quickly stumbled upon SEER ratings. SEER stands for Season Energy Efficiency Ratio. It’s what you use to measure how efficient an air conditioner is. Most of the time, you’d think that the higher the SEER rating the better, right? But what if this isn’t always true?

We’re going to get into everything that you need to understand below. For now though, just know that you can contact us for everything air conditioning in Katy, TX. We’re the professionals that know their stuff. You won’t be disappointed with our work.

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Why Doesn’t the AC Respond to the Thermostat?

June 29th, 2020

setting-thermostatThis is frustrating. The heat is rising outside, and you need your house cooled down. You go to the thermostat, make whatever adjustments are needed to get the air conditioner running—and then nothing happens. Or whatever happens doesn’t result in the comfortable house you expected.

The unresponsive thermostat often requires calling for AC repair in Houston, TX. Even the most basic manual slider thermostats cannot be repaired with DIY techniques or amateur tinkering. It’s not only that thermostats are too complicated to fix; it’s that the problem may not actually be the thermostat but located elsewhere in the HVAC system. A huge part of professional air conditioning repair is diagnosing what’s wrong—and you can’t get that from amateurs or a “do-it-yourself” YouTube video.

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Can My AC Deal With the Summer Humidity?

June 15th, 2020

desk-fanNobody likes it when the humidity rises on a hot summer day, because we know what that feels like—a much hotter day. The truth is that high humidity doesn’t raise the temperature of the air. What it does is make it harder for our bodies to release heat through our skin. More heat is trapped in our bodies, and so we feel even hotter. Think of humidity as like throwing a blanket around your body on a hot day. Not something you would want to do.

“Yeah, humidity is rough in summer,” you say, “but I’ve got my air conditioner to handle it.”

Except that’s not quite how it works…

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