It’s now officially spring, and no matter what cold spells we may encounter in the coming weeks, the move toward warmer weather has started. This is an excellent time of the year to consider options for replacing an old air conditioning system. If your current AC is over 15 years old or has started to show signs of a decline in efficiency, reliability, and/or cooling output, it’s smart to have it retired and replaced with a new unit before the summer heat arrives.
ServiceMax Blog: Archive for the ‘Air Conditioning’ Category
Air Conditioner Shopping Help: SEER vs. EER
Monday, March 27th, 2017March The Unpredictable: Handling Its Temperature Swings
Monday, March 13th, 2017
There are many proverbs about the strange weather that occurs in March. You may have heard that March “comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb.” Or perhaps you’ve heard it “comes in like a lamb and leaves like a lion.” That’s the nature of the weather during this month that straddles winter and spring: it’s difficult to predict exactly which way the temperature will go—especially in a place like Chicago. (And no, groundhogs are not an effective way of predicting weather patterns in late winter.)
The important lesson to learn about March weather uncertainty is to make sure that your home comfort system is ready for any extreme. A cold snap, an early arrival of spring heat, or both—see that your heating and cooling system are prepped!
Why a Dirty Outdoor AC Coil Is a Problem
Monday, August 29th, 2016We’ve recently written about some of the more common issues that an air conditioner may face as the end of summer approaches. All the stress of the previous months of outdoor heat can add up to a malfunctioning cooling system—even if the system received professional maintenance. We’re going to take a closer look at one of these late-summer problems in this post: the dirty outdoor condenser coil.
Tips for Keeping Your AC Healthy Through the End of Summer
Monday, August 22nd, 2016Air conditioning systems perform the most work during the tail end of summer. Temperatures are still high during August, often hotter than they were in July, and the air conditioner already has a large amount of stress accumulated from steady work since May. As the end of summer approaches, we recommend that you takes steps to help your home’s air conditioner continue to work at its best and avoid malfunctions—even breakdowns.
Worried Your AC Won’t Make It to the End of Summer? Here’s What You Can Do
Monday, August 8th, 2016It’s August, which means the end of summer is still more than a month away and your air conditioner has already undergone a great deal of stress. If you have concerns that your AC system might break down before the cool weather arrives in fall, there are a number steps you can take that will help. Some are simple, others more complex. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Fixing a Hard-Starting Compressor in an Air Conditioner
Monday, August 1st, 2016The hardest-working part of your air conditioning system is the compressor. You’re probably familiar with the sound it makes—it’s the whirring noise that you hear each time the AC starts the cooling cycle—and it’s essential for providing the comfortable environment in your home during hot days. The compressor is a pump that places refrigerant under pressure to turn it into a hot gas so it will circulate through the system, moving heat from the inside to the outside. Basically, if you don’t have a working compressor, you don’t have an air conditioner.
Hot Weather and Its Effect on Your Air Conditioning System
Monday, July 18th, 2016When the temperatures climb in mid-summer, air conditioners take on an extra workload to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures. You know that the longer you run your air conditioner, the higher your electric bill. But are there other effects that hot weather has on your AC? Let’s take a more detailed look at Hot Weather vs. Air Conditioners.
Did You Know? Some Interesting Facts about Air Conditioning History
Monday, July 11th, 2016Residential air conditioning is so common now that it’s easy to take it for granted, or think that there isn’t anything interesting about the unit the keeps your home comfortable during the summer days and nights. However, the electro-mechanical air conditioner has been around for more than a hundred and ten years now, and it’s racked up some interesting stories during that time. Below we’ve listed a few of the more intriguing pieces of AC history and the ways that it changed the country.
Is There a “Hot Room” in Your House? It Could Be an AC Problem
Monday, July 4th, 2016Proper air conditioning for a home is about more than having a cooling system that blows out a sufficient quantity of cold air. That conditioned air must receive even distribution throughout the house via the ventilation system. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a house where some rooms are comfortable, while others are uncomfortably hot.
Air Conditioning Tips for When You Hold a Party
Monday, June 20th, 2016The air conditioning systems installed for homes are designed to handle the comfort needs of a small number of people. If the AC in your house received a proper professional installation, it will be matched to the comfort requirements of your family so that it can perform efficiently for energy savings throughout the summer.