Professional Heating & Air Blog: Archive for the ‘Air Conditioning’ Category

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!

Tags: Air Conditioning, Air Conditioning Repair, Hammond
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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:

Tags: Air Conditioning, Air Conditioning Repair, Hammond
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Why Should I Worry About Short Cycling With My Air Conditioning?

Monday, May 25th, 2015

If you’ve had to deal with air conditioning repair, you may have heard the term “short cycling” before. It’s a condition whereby your unit turns off and on again very quickly, sometimes without adequately cooling the house and often with far more frequency than is proper. This is of especial concern as we gear up for summer here in Hammond, LA, because you’re going to need your air conditioning when the temperatures hit triple digits. Short cycling can be caused by anything from low refrigerant levels to a system that’s too powerful for the space it’s supposed to cool. But why should you worry about short cycling with your air conditioning?

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Zone Control Systems or Centralized Systems?

Monday, May 18th, 2015

Our summers come full of heat and humidity in Hammond, LA, and you need a reliable air conditioner if you want to survive the high temperatures in comfort and style. While most people think of air conditioners as centralized units blowing air throughout the home via a series of ducts, there are other options available. Zone control systems, which divide your home into separate sections via a series of vales and coils, make an attractive addition to a standard air conditioning system, and offer a number of benefits for those who choose to install them. It does, however, represent a significant up-front cost, and before you invest you need to know that such a system is right for you. Zone control systems or centralized systems? Here are a few factors to consider when making your decision.

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How Does My Air Conditioning System Work?

Monday, May 11th, 2015

Air conditioners are one of the unsung heroes of your household, delivering cool comfortable air for a very reasonable price. Summers in Hammond, LA, would be insufferable without them, and yet we rarely pay attention to them until they suffer a breakdown. Anytime there’s trouble with your AC, you should call in a trained professional immediately, but it may help to understand how the system functions on the most basic level. That can help you spot signs of trouble more readily and respond to trouble sooner rather than later. “How does my air conditioning system work?” you ask. We’ve provided a quick outline below.

Tags: Air Conditioning, Air Conditioning Repair, Hammond
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What’s the Difference between a Heat Pump and a Standard Air Conditioner?

Monday, May 4th, 2015

Summers don’t come any hotter than they do in Hammond, LA, where the Deep South brings both high temperatures and stifling humidity. Good air conditioning systems are an absolute necessity in such an environment, but you also need to ensure that your energy costs don’t run away with you in the process. Many local residents prefer to use a heat pump instead of a traditional air conditioner, since it is a strong money-saving alternative to home HVAC systems. But how does a heat pump work? More importantly, what’s the difference between a heat pump and a standard air conditioner? We’ve included a quick primer below.

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Are You Taking Full Advantage of Your Programmable Thermostat?

Monday, April 27th, 2015

In warmer weather, your bills can really take a turn, since the heat and humidity in our area leave us running the air conditioner for most of the day. Air conditioners contain many parts that require a lot of electricity to run, so in some homes, the AC is responsible for up to half of the energy bill. Using your thermostat wisely can help to cut down on costs and reduce unnecessary wear and tear on your AC system. Here are a few tips to help you cut back.

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Do You Need an Air Conditioning Maintenance Visit?

Monday, April 20th, 2015

If you plan to run your air conditioning system this season (and let’s face it; it is very difficult to get by without it) air conditioning maintenance is a must. Many homeowners decide not to schedule maintenance every year, and still others are not even aware of this vital service. But without it, your air conditioner may run into trouble at some point in the season, and you may notice that your energy bills get worse and worse.

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3 Things You Should Know about Air Conditioning Replacement

Monday, April 6th, 2015

Finding a new air conditioner can be a stressful experience, but a lot less so if you have the right technicians to work with you. A quality air conditioning technician will help you find the most efficient system for your money, and make sure that everything is secure and operating properly.

Sooner is better than later

If at all possible, replace your air conditioning system before it breaks down. Of course, it’s difficult to determine if your air conditioning system is on the verge of breaking down. But if you find yourself making frequent repairs for a unit that is over ten years old, early AC replacement may simply be more cost-effective. Sometimes, it is more expensive to remove a broken-down system than it is to replace a working one, especially if it’s early enough in the season that replacement is not urgent. Scheduling replacement early allows you time to choose an efficient system that will help you to save money later on.

A unit that is too big or too small may cause a lot of trouble

If your air conditioning system is not the correct size for the layout of your home, there are a number of problems you could encounter. An undersized system won’t get the job done, but it may run for a long time to try to condition the home, using up energy and failing sooner than its expected lifespan. And if it’s too large, an air conditioner may start and stop frequently, wearing down the components. But installer beware: the existing system needing replacement may not be the proper size, so the home should be reassessed before any installation.

Refrigerant must be measured out precisely upon installation

Adding refrigerant to an air conditioning system is not as simple as you might guess. You must have the right amount of refrigerant for the size of your unit, or else your home may not cool down quickly enough. What’s worse is that you may encounter compressor damage or a frozen coil, among other issues. Professionals can determine just how much refrigerant is necessary, and they have the proper certifications to handle it.

Professional installation is key to efficiency and proper performance. Call the professional technicians at A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning for air conditioning replacement in Hammond, LA.

Tags: Air Conditioning, Air Conditioning Installation, Hammond
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Why Your Air Conditioning Systems Has Ice on It

Friday, April 3rd, 2015

Air conditioners are a type of refrigeration system: using the action of a compressor to circulate refrigerant, they remove heat from one location to lower the temperature, and then exhaust the heat elsewhere. You may, at some point, notice ice developing along the inside of your air conditioner. Considering the chilled air coming from the system, this might seem like a normal side-effect of how an AC operates.

However, as we’ll explain below, the development of ice on an air conditioner isn’t something you want to happen. But please don’t try to solve the problem by scraping the ice off. This won’t work! Instead, call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning and we’ll help you with the necessary air conditioning repair in Hammond, LA that will restore your system. We are on call 24 hours a day for your convenience.

The Reasons Ice May Develop on Your Air Conditioner

Low refrigerant: If the refrigerant lines in your air conditioner develop a leak and permit refrigerant to escape, it will often cause the evaporator coils to ice up. The reason this occurs is that the lower amount of refrigerant in the coils can no longer absorb enough heat to warm itself above freezing. The coils will remain cold and cause water moisture along them to turn to ice. This will further slow heat absorption, causing more ice to grow… and eventually you’ll have a solid block of ice over the AC coils and a system that won’t work at all. Repair technicians will need to seal the refrigerant leaks and restore the proper refrigerant charge for the air conditioner to work again.
Dirt and grime along the coils: If contamination has entered the air conditioner’s indoor cabinet, it can cause the coils to become dirty. This will limit their ability to absorb heat through evaporation, and the coils will start to freeze water vapor along their length. You must have professionals detach the coils, defrost them, then clean them.
Clogged air filter: An air filter that is too congested with dust and debris to allow sufficient warm air to enter the AC cabinet will cause the evaporator coils to stay too cold. Make sure that you change the filter once a month during the summer season when the air conditioner runs to avoid this problem.

At the first sign of ice on your AC, call for repairs. Our technicians at A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning are ready around the clock to provide you with the professional air conditioning repair service in Hammond, LA that will find why the ice is appearing and fix it.

Tags: Air Conditioning Repair, Hammond
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