Your System

Using your system:

The best way to use your air conditioning or heating system is to leave it on and forget about it. The consumer's worry is always about "how much is this costing me"? Well, this is a very complex question, but over the long run leaving your system on and allowing it to work is in your health's best interest, in your home's best interest and in your financial best interest. Let us explain:

Your air conditioning system is designed to operate based on certain assumptions and certain design criteria. One of those assumptions is that you allow it to work.

During the cooling season your thermostat should never be in the "off" position. You should always leave it on and never allow your home/environment to rise to extreme temperatures and humidity levels. If you normally keep your thermostat set to 72°F when you occupy the space then set it no more than 80°F when leaving for work or when you would be away for several hours. Do not turn it off on a 95°F day, come home and expect to be comfortable in an hour. If your system is sized correctly, then it would normally take a good 5 hours to get back to your comfort levels (depending on many factors). If this is your behavior with the system, then your equipment basically turns off, then turns on and works really hard (using a lot of electrical amperage ~ translation: $$$). This constant turning on and off is not good for the equipment; it shortens the life of the compressor as well as other components. If you allow your system to get rid of the heat and the humidity in your space the very first time, then instead of having the system work hard by getting your space from 90°F down to 72°F every day, your system will now only have to go from 80°F to 72°F. Over the long run this is the most efficient way to use your air conditioning system.

This is good for you because you do not have extremes of humidity and temperature in your environment. The human body prefers certain conditions in order to be comfortable and stay healthy. This is good for your home because there are certain components of the building that do not like these extremes either; like plaster and millwork. Changes in humidity levels and temperature cause walls, ceilings, and millwork to crack. Lastly, this is good for the equipment because it does not work on and off in extremes; it cycles itself accordingly.

If you are leaving your home for an extended period of time, like a week or so, then understandably you can turn off your system if you do not feel comfortable keeping it on. Just reverse the numbers for using your system as heating. The same logic applies.

Most important item as a user of your air conditioning/heating system is to clean and change your air filters. Think of it as an equivalent to motor oil in your car (every 3,000 miles for your car; every 30 days for your home).

What to check for if your Air Conditioning system is not working:

1. CIRCUIT BREAKERS

Check the circuit breaker to make sure the breaker has not tripped. The breaker would probably be a double pole 30, 40 or 50 amp breaker. Even though the breaker looks like it is on I would still flip it all the way to off and back on again just to make sure. Sometimes one leg of a double pole breaker will hold in the other leg and make the breaker appear to look like it is, "ON" when it has actually been tripped.

2. THERMOSTAT

Make sure your thermostat is turned down to a temperature that will allow the air conditioning system to come on. Sorry! Hope we did not insult your intelligence! We want to try to cover everything! We have been on several service calls when not having the thermostat turned down far enough was the only problem. If your thermostat has the little levers on it then it would not hurt to flip the little lever from "OFF" to "COOL". On several service calls we have seen all that it takes is a flip of this little lever on the thermostat. Sometimes the contacts in the thermostat do not make the connection and flipping the levers will reestablish the connection.

Turn your fan to the "ON" position. Did the fan come on? If the fan did not come on check the switch on the side of your furnace to make sure it has not been turned to "OFF". Make sure your filter access door and furnace door are secure. Many of the furnaces have a switch activated door for your safety. When the door is not completely on the furnace will not operation. This keeps the furnace from coming on when someone is servicing the blower or filter.

If you have no display on the thermostat, it may be as simple as replacing batteries (depending on your thermostat) in your thermostat. Most thermostats use AA batteries. You can simple open the front face of the thermostat and check if the batteries are good. If you thermostat does not use batteries it is not receiving any power. This may be caused by lack of power feeding the air handler or furnace or a safety switch that kills the 24V feeding the thermostat. If you feel that you cannot determine the cause of this then please call for service.

3. CONDENSER

If your outdoor unit is running listen to determine if the fan is the only thing running or is the compressor running too? The compressor usually has a lower frequency sound and is usually accompanied by a buzzing. If the outdoor unit is working properly you will almost always feel hot air on the discharge of the fan. This means that the system is removing heat from your home. If you feel that the compressor is not running then please call for service.

4. FILTER

If your system is running but not working well, it is probably your filter. Your filter needs to be cleaned or replaced once a month (depending on filter type) during the season. A clogged filter prevents the proper amount of air that can pass through you're a/c system; therefore perform inefficiently. Another situation caused by a dirty filter is evaporator freeze-up. If you find your system was freezing because of a dirty filter, after replacing or cleaning the filter you can speed up thawing the ice by turning the system off and turning the fan on. If you have a heat pump, switch the system to heat until the ice has melted. After the ice has melted, switch everything back to normal and switch to cool.

5. DRAINS

Most drains are gravity feed meaning as moisture is removed from the air, it collects in the condensation pan and removed, usually to the outside, by means of a gradual decline of piping. It is either piped to the outside, usually by the condenser, or to a drain inside the home. The majority of the problems with this type of drain system is an algae build up in the piping. Regular maintenance will prevent this in most cases. But on occasion, especially with older systems it will clog up and leak. If you can locate the drain opening, blowing air or carefully flushing it out with a garden hose should take care of the problem until regular service.

Other systems use condensation pumps. The drain from the unit is piped into the pump. From there it is piped to either the outside or an inside drain. As the water level in the pump fills, a float turns the pump on until it is below the float level. Be sure the pump is plugged in and turned on. If it is full and not running, you will need to call service.

With most systems installed today, they will have safety switches installed. This will shut the system down to prevent water damage. If you are not familiar with the location of the auxiliary drain pans or able to empty them then do not try. Call for service.