Keeping our homes at a comfortable temperature all year round is the single greatest energy expenditure of American households. Heating and cooling can cost a great deal, and around here, we spend more of the year using our air conditioning than our heat.
Purchasing an air conditioner and paying the electric bill to keep it running are costly enough! Repairs are an additional expense, and it can be hard to part with that money. Here’s the thing, though: getting your AC repairs done as soon as possible will actually save you money, and time as well. Here’s why.
Minor Issues Can Worsen Quickly
Perhaps all that’s going on is a noise. You haven’t heard this sound from your air conditioner, and you’re a little concerned about it. Maybe it’s a rattle, or a bubbling sound. Can you safely ignore it, or wait and see if it gets any better or worse? Definitely not! What you’re hearing might be a minor issue. But if you keep running your air conditioner—and you will, during a Louisiana summer—it will get worse.
That rattle could be a loose component that simply needs tightening. If you let it keep rattling, the loose screw or fan blade or whatever it is might fly off and strike other components, causing damage! The bubble is probably a refrigerant leak. The more it leaks, the less refrigerant you have, which forces your air conditioner to run more and more of the time, straining the compressor and causing a breakdown.
Compressor Failure Can’t Be Repaired
The compressor is the most critical component, the part that pressurizes the refrigerant so it will flow throughout the system of coils. It cannot be repaired if it has a total breakdown. It can potentially be replaced if it fails, but it’s so costly that it’s generally not worth replacing the compressor of an older AC unit. If you allow an issue to continue until the compressor fails, you’re probably going to need a new air conditioner.
Struggling Air Conditioners Use More Energy
Most repair needs that air conditioners face will cause the system to use more energy. For example, if the system is short cycling, shutting down too soon after it starts and then turning on again right away, that startup is the most energy-intensive thing your air conditioner does. It should only be doing it a few times an hour. If it’s doing it eight or ten or twelve times, your electric bill will skyrocket.
Between the risk of a small repair turning into a much more extensive and costly one, the risk of causing so much compressor damage that you need to replace your air conditioner, and the very real likelihood of increasing electric bills, you can see why we say it’s always better to get those repairs done promptly! And avoiding emergency repairs or system breakdowns means avoiding inconvenience and wasted time as well.
As soon as you think you might need air conditioner repair in Mandeville, LA, make an appointment.
When you need it done right, contact Professional Heating & Air.