Professional Heating & Air Blog: Archive for June, 2015

The Purpose of Refrigerant in Your AC System

Monday, June 29th, 2015

Many homeowners know that air conditioners run on refrigerant: chemicals that facilitate a heat exchange between the air inside your home and the air outside your home. The specific refrigerant depends on the exact model of air conditioner, and you need precise amounts in order to facilitate the process of cooling the air. Here in Hammond, LA, that makes your refrigerant vital to keeping your home cool and comfortable during our sultry Southern summers. It helps a great deal to fully understand the purpose of refrigerant in your AC system, and how that can be affected when it starts to run low.

Recirculated, Not Consumed

Unlike the gas in your car, refrigerant is not consumed by the air conditioner. In fact, it theoretically exists within a closed system, and will never leak at all. It first passes through a condenser array, where heat is pulled from it and a great deal of pressure applied. That shifts the refrigerant to a pressurized liquid state, where it enters the evaporator coils in a set amount. There, it shifts back into a gas, pulling heat from the air around the coils as a result. The cool air is blown into your home and the refrigerant returns to the condenser array.

Trouble Comes from Leaks

As we said, theoretically, the system is never supposed to leak. But leaks can occur for a number of different reasons, and when they do, the balance of the system is thrown off. The refrigerant can’t cool the air as effectively and your system has to work much harder to do its job: increasing the risk of more serious breakdowns in the future.

Luckily, the experts at A Professional Heating & Air Conditioning Services can seal any leak and recharge your refrigerant levels to their optimum state. Pick up the phone and call us today!

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Common Problems with Ducts

Monday, June 22nd, 2015

Your central air conditioner relies upon a series of ducts to do its job. They branch out from the centralized unit through unseen places in your home, like crawlspaces in the walls and your attic, and carry conditioned air out to various rooms through a series of vents. They’re designed to function without trouble, but like any other appliance, they sometimes run into problems. When they do, it pays to contact a seasoned professional to get them taken care of. Considering the heat of our summers here in Hammond, LA, common problems with ducts can end up costly you an uncommonly large amount of money in higher monthly bills if you aren’t careful.

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What Kinds of Indoor Air Cleaners Are Available?

Monday, June 15th, 2015

Here in Hammond, LA, the heat and humidity of our summers can lead to significant indoor air quality questions. High humidity breeds mold and bacteria, in addition to that clammy uncomfortable feeling that makes your body think it’s much hotter than it actually is. A good air conditioner can counteract some of this, but it can’t account for the proliferation of germs in your household and in any case it needs to work much harder to do its job when the indoor air quality is low. You can counteract this by upgrading your system with an air cleaner of some stripe, installed by a professional and working alongside your air condition. What kinds of indoor air cleaners are available? We’ve written down a few of the more common models.

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Common Signs of Air Conditioning Trouble

Monday, June 8th, 2015

When your air conditioner breaks down in Hammond, LA, you can feel it immediately. Our summers are too hot and humid to let such incidents pass, and unless you get a trained technician in there quickly, your household will be at the mercy of our stifling temperatures. Only a skilled professional should address an air conditioning repair issue – amateurs might make the problem worse and the presence of potentially toxic refrigerants may pose a safety risk as well – but you can help out by spotting the signs of air conditioning trouble as early as possible. Doing so may help you stop a big problem while it’s still small and save you a great deal of money as well as a day without an air conditioner. Generally speaking, anything out of the ordinary should be reported, but more specifically, look for these signs:

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Are Heat Pumps Right for My Home?

Monday, June 1st, 2015

We’re all used to traditional central air conditioning systems, and for the most part, they do a very good job. But they’re not the only type of system out there, and if you live in Hammond, LA, they might not even be the best system for you. Heat pumps, in particular, make an attractive alternative to traditional systems, and if you’re looking to consolidate heating and cooling into one set. Heat pumps work very well in our sultry southern climate, but are they right for your home? Here’s a quick primer to help you decide.

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