A house today will have a number of utilities in it to keep it running smoothly, from the sewer line to electrical components to the heating and air conditioning. A homeowner will be responsible for keeping track of all these utilities and their repair and maintenance needs, since faulty HVAC systems may be expensive and faulty to have in the home. If a homeowner realizes that their air conditioner or heater is damaged or clogged with dirt, they may contract local HVAC services to visit and repair or clean off any affected hardware. Air conditioning installation may even be done in a house that doesn’t yet have its own air conditioner (not all houses have them), and heating and new models of heating and air utilities may be highly efficient. What might go wrong with the heating and air conditioning in the house?
Common Problems With the Heating and Air Conditioning
These are common utilities found in American houses, but unfortunately so are their problems. Two in three American homes are an air conditioner, and many have heaters too. Such systems are installed as the house is built, and at first, they may operate flawlessly. Over time, however, problems may pop up.
One problem is sheer filth. It may sound mundane, but accumulating dirtiness will impair a heating and air conditioning system more thoroughly than a new homeowner may realize. For example, it’s a common problem for rats and squirrels to break into the house, and such animals will build nests in the air ducts, and those nests will block air flow. This forces the heater or cooler to work overtime to make up for that restricted air flow, and that will use up extra electricity. In other cases, the blower fans deep in the system may become coated with grime such as pollen, dust, and more, and this will weaken their air output. Such fans are critical for moving around cooled or warm air, and if they’re impaired, that harms the entire system. Here again, a weaker output means working overtime and using up extra electricity. An outdoor AC unit may become clogged with dust and pollen. Even the furnace may develop clogs that impede air flow.
Mechanical problems may strike, too. The blower fans may wear out or even burn out over time, such as if they are straining to operate through dirtiness. The heater may suffer from busted components from age, and the outdoor AC unit might also malfunction, lowering the amount of cooled air available. The air ducts may develop holes or rips, or entire sections may fall out. This causes a lot of warmed or cooled air to leak, interfering with climate control in a big way. Even the house itself may be a problem, since thin insulation in the walls or attic allow a lot of warm air to escape during winter or cool air to leak out during summer. If the windows and doors are drafty, they may leak a lot of air, and bare windows admit a lot of hot sunlight that may warm up a house and force the air conditioner to work overtime.
Heating and Cooling System Repair
The good news is that any and all of these problems may be fixed when professionals are called onto the scene. A concerned homeowner may look up and contact local HVAC repair companies, who may have their own websites that the homeowner may browse. Once hired, these professionals can clean or replace anything. They can remove animal nests from the air ducts, for example, and they can repair or replace any damaged air duct sections to prevent further air leaks. These professionals may also clean out or repair the outdoor AC unit, and they can also clean off, repair, or even replace the blower fans to restore full air movement in the system. Heater repair may also be done.
In some cases, repair crews may suggest removing the entire system and replacing it with a newer one. Very old HVAC systems weren’t built with modern electricity efficiency in mind, but newer ones are. This allows the homeowner to save money in the long run, and a newer system won’t break down as often as an older one will.
