AC Houston

If your air conditioner is not functioning properly or not at all, there a few things that you can do to troubleshoot and see if it is something simple that you can fix yourself before calling your trusted HVAC contractor and scheduling an appointment.

First thing first, check and make sure that a breaker did not trip or a fuse was blown.  Once you have checked that and it checks out ok, check your thermostat.  Make sure that you have it turned on and that it is set to cool.  If these are good, then check and make sure that there is a fully charged.  The last couple things that you can check if these check out are if your air filter needs to be changed or cleaned and if the drain where your evaporator coil is located is clogged.  If these all check out, the last step is making an appointment with your professional.

Everyone loves to try and save money wherever they can, and saving on your energy bill is right up there.  Your AC unit costs you almost half of your energy bill, but thankfully there is a way to cut back on this.  And it all revolves on how you manage and set up your thermostat.  

They say that even raising your thermostat up to around 78 degrees or higher when you leave the house and no one is home can help you save 6 to 8 percent on your energy bill.  Having a thermostat that you can program is very handy.  You are able to set it where it will automatically raise its temperature up to 78 degrees when everyone leaves for the day and then it lowers to the desired temperature that you wish about 30 minutes before anyone gets home.  If you do this, you will definitely see a drastic change in your energy bill.

When you see a HVAC contractor checking out the gauges, they are looking for the pressure or temperature.  When checking a refrigerant such as R-22, it needs to be at the temperature of 33 degrees, though we are unsure of the pressure, but if you check out the temperature and pressure chart it states that R-22 should have a pressure of 58.8 psi.

The chart itself is usually set up where the left hand side is temperature in both Fahrenheit and Celsius, and then on the right hand side it shows what the pressure levels should be for each refrigerant.  There are many different types of refrigerant depending on what kind of air conditioning system you are working on.

If your air conditioner stops working and your trusted HVAC contractor comes out and troubleshoots only to tell you that your compress is shot, you may want to seriously consider purchasing an entirely new system.  The cost to replace a compressor ranges between $2,000 all the way up to $3,000.  That can be over half the cost of a new, upgrade system that will end up being more efficient and a money saver.

You can find that the cost for the compressor itself can still be covered under your warranty, as long as you have stayed up to date with the annual preventative maintenance and it is not void.  But you will find that you yourself are still responsible for the labor to replace it, which can be $1,500 or more.  If this happens to you, sit down and consider your options with your spouse and trusted professional.  Figure out what the best decision is for you, and if needed, get a second opinion.