The need for HVAC repairs in Bath, PA, can be unexpected and inconvenient, but knowing what might go wrong can help you prepare for the worst. Here are the five most common HVAC repairs along with some things that you can do to avoid them.
1. Repairing HVAC Refrigerant Leaks
Your air conditioner works by compressing refrigerant gas outside of your house, cooling the compressed gas and then expanding it in a coil. The expanding gas gets very cold, cooling the air around the coil and then sending the cool air throughout your duct work in your house. Over time, the pressure can wear a hole in your refrigerant lines or damage them.
If your refrigerant line develops a hole, the gas will leak out, leaving you with an HVAC system that blows only warm air. You will need a trained HVAC technician to find and fix the leak and recharge your air conditioner with additional refrigerant.
2. Fixing Electrical Problems
Both your air conditioner compressor and the air handler have electronic controls that tell the components to turn on and off as the need arises. These circuits can wear out over time, especially if your air conditioner is too large for your house and constantly cycles on and off.
A trained contractor can fix your electrical problems, or the issues might be a sign that it’s time for a new air conditioning unit. Your technician will be able to advise you whether to fix the problem or go for the upgrade.
3. Unclogging HVAC Condensate Drain
When the warm air in your house meets the cold coil in your ducts, condensation forms on the coil. Your system collects this water in the drain pan and then sends it down a condensate pipe that ends outside of your home.
From time to time, a clog in the line can trap water inside the line which can back up into your drain pan. If not remedied, it can cause a mess around your air handler and musty smells throughout your house. While many people consider cleaning a clogged condensate line to be a DIY job, if you’re not comfortable clearing the clog with a shop vac or wet/dry vacuum, a professional technician can deal with this issue quickly.
4. Repairing or Replacing Broken Thermostats
Your thermostat tells your HVAC when your house needs more cool air; if it’s on the fritz, the entire system won’t work. Older thermostats are hard-wired to the air handler with low-voltage wires. Those wires can get brittle and break after years of use, rendering the thermostat ineffective.
If your thermostat wires break, you will either have to fix the connection or upgrade to a new thermostat. Many contemporary smart thermostats use Wi-Fi to communicate with the air handler, taking the old wires out of the equation. You will also get the added efficiency and lower energy bills that come with a modern thermostat.
Thermostats are either hard-wired or use batteries. If yours uses batteries, and if those batteries die, the thermostat will be out of commission. We recommend changing the batteries in your thermostat once a year.
5. Cleaning Dirty Coils or Ducts
Your air conditioner moves a lot of air each year, and particles from that air can stick to your coil and inside your ducts. Your air conditioner’s compressor also sits outside year-round and can gather dirt and debris. All this dirt can hinder the operation of your HVAC system, making it less efficient than it should be.
An annual maintenance visit from a trained HVAC technician can help you prevent dirty coils and compressors. During that visit, the technician will clean and lubricate all the important parts of your air conditioner. The technician will also inspect all the other parts, potentially preventing an expensive repair down the line.
A trained technician can also clean dirty ducts. For this job, the technician will use a special vacuum to scrub your ducts of dust and debris, allowing the system to move air freely without damaging the ducts.
If you have any of these problems, or if your air conditioner isn’t working like it should, call our team at Sullivan Oil & Propane. We have the experience and know-how to get your HVAC system in Bath, PA, back up and running in no time.
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