Home Air Conditioning Service & Repair Specialist Services

Air Conditioning When You Need It Most

It’s the sweltering heat of summer. The temperature is so hot that without air conditioning, sleep is next to impossible. The basement offers little relief and you wake up next day to a headache. Your sheets are drenched in sweat.

The thing that really gets you though is that you did install air conditioning in your home several years before. You were supposed to be enjoying the fruits of that now. But it’s not working. You’re left with a malfunctioning unit that doesn’t provide you with the cool air that you were anticipating – just when you need it most.

As you know, you need to call an experienced home air conditioning service and repair specialist to help. You need a qualified technician to diagnose your problem and fix it. And you want to do something to avoid this from happening again.

Common Problems with Home Air Conditioners

Other than the problem outlined above where your unit just doesn’t cool your home, you may also be experiencing other annoying problems with your home air conditioning unit. For example, you might have uneven cooling, or your condenser unit might turn on and off repeatedly. Alternatively, you could have cooling but it is inadequate. A noisy system could also be a problem, as well as general reliability of the system.

A good way to avoid future problems with your home air conditioning system is to have it serviced regularly. That way, problems can be anticipated in advance and dealt with in a proper manner – before they keep you awake at night.

A Crash Course in Central Air Conditioners for the Home Owner

The condenser and the evaporator are the two main components that make up the central air conditioning unit. Usually the condenser is situated outside the home, and often sits on a concrete slab. The evaporator is often found mounted above the furnace in a home.

At its most simplest, condensation occurs when heat is released and evaporation occurs when heat is absorbed. Using these principles, air conditioners use a compressor to cause changes in the pressure between the two components. These changes in pressure are what allows an air conditioner to cool down a building.

In slightly more detail, a chemical refrigerant is pumped through the system. In the evaporator coil, the refrigerant is evaporated into a vapour by the low pressure. This evaporation absorbs heat. By absorbing heat, the unit is removing hot air from the room.

On the other end of the air conditioning cycle is the condenser. Here the refrigerant, which is now a vapour, is compressed. As it is forced through another heat exchange coil, the refrigerant once again turns into a liquid. This then releases the heat that was absorbed during the evaporation phase. Hot air is then released out of the system.

The end result is that your home is kept cool and comfortable.

The Role of Humidity and Air Conditioners

An important role of an air conditioner is that it also usually removes humidity from the air. As it operates, the cooler evaporator coil condenses water vapour from the air. This sucks the moisture from the air, and the resulting water is drained from the system. In effect, the air in your home is kept dry and cool as the relative humidity is lowered.

In some tropical or sub-tropical places where humidity is high, air conditioning units are installed that only dry the air and do not cool it. In a climate where humidity is the driving factor for discomfort in high temperatures, this can be the ideal solution. The advantage to this type of system is that only about a third of the energy is needed to keep the building comfortable. However, in the Greater Vancouver area, air conditioners are generally installed that both cool and dry the air since it is our winters that are generally more humid than our summers.

Distributing the Cool Air Through the House

In most cases, central air conditioners use the home’s existing forced air distribution system to circulate cool air and remove heat. The motor, blower and ductwork that is used for heating is thus most often used to cool the home as well.

In this way, when your home isn’t being cooled by your air conditioning unit even though the unit is working, your likely problem is in the distribution system. An experienced home air conditioning service and repair specialist should be able to pinpoint what the problem is.

Calling a Home Air Conditioning Service and Repair Specialist

Other than the most basic routine cleaning, a professional home air conditioning service and repair technician should be called in to deal with any problems with your unit. Not only are both the evaporator and the condenser that make up the unit sealed, but the system needs to be dealt with by someone who can rigorously uphold safety standards and who knows exactly what to look for in the event of a problem.

You could have a problem with your motor, compressor or evaporator. You may have an issue with your refrigerant, or your distribution system could be to blame, or many other factors that need to be looked at by a qualified technician. A professional and experienced service provider will know what to look for and how best to tackle the problem.

Regular inspection and maintenance will go a long way towards keeping a system that is efficient, long lasting and free of problems. This lets you enjoy the unit when you most need it.

So instead of suffering in the heat and cursing your system, make sure you keep up to date with the servicing of your air conditioning unit. Much like your car needs regular maintenance, so does your home air conditioning. And just like a car, the proper functioning of your air conditioning is usually not appreciated until it’s too late. Don’t let that happen to you.

If you’re stuck with a faulty system, though, you should know that SD ATLAS HVAC can help. We are experienced and highly knowledgeable trouble shooters and can find out where your system is going wrong. We’ll find exactly what you need and get your system working to its optimal performance again. Our service is always professional, courteous, and reliable.

HVAC Key Facts

• Studies show that regular maintenance of your commercial HVAC system will reduce unexpected breakdowns by about 70% to 75%.
• A dirty condenser coil can increase energy consumption by 30%.
• Duct leakage can sap 20% to 40% of the energy out of even a well-operating air conditioner.
• HVAC units last an average of 12 years.
• HVAC systems require maintenance inspections twice a year.
• A one-ton AC unit can remove about 12,000 British Thermal Units of heat per hour.
• The average commercial air conditioner size ranges from two tons for small buildings to 30 tons for very large buildings.
• Airflow problems can reduce your HVAC system’s efficiency by up to 15%.
• 54% of energy consumption in commercial buildings can be attributed to HVAC and water heating systems.
• The filter on an HVAC unit should be changed at least once every three months.

Contact SD ATLAS HVAC for general servicing of your home air conditioning, as well as for all other repair needs. We can help.