With so many questions out there and so many different and sometimes just crazy answers we have decided to add a knowledge base to our website. A place where anyone can come and get some good general knowledge! We hope that you enjoy it and hopefully it will save us all some time and money in the long run!
Common topics/ issues
Why is my AC Frozen?
My Unit will not do Anything
My Thermostat is blank
My unit is blowing out warm air, but it's set to cool
My unit is blowing out cold air, but it's set to warm
How much is a service call and what does it include?
Do you have a fuel surcharge?
How much does a new system cost?
What brand of system do you service?
What brand of system do you install?
What exactly is the meaning of hvac?
What makes your company any different than another?
Why is my AC Frozen?
My Unit will not do Anything
My Thermostat is blank
My unit is blowing out warm air, but it's set to cool
My unit is blowing out cold air, but it's set to warm
How much is a service call and what does it include?
Do you have a fuel surcharge?
How much does a new system cost?
What brand of system do you service?
What brand of system do you install?
What exactly is the meaning of hvac?
What makes your company any different than another?
Why is my AC Frozen?
This is a famous question that we get asked a lot during the summer time; however, it does also happen in the winter time. So here's what you need to know and what you can do. If it's summer time and your unit is frozen up, the first thing you should do is check your air filter. When your air filter gets dirty it doesn't allow enough air through the filter and across the indoor coil. Due to less airflow the coil gets to cold and the condensation on it starts freezing up. Once this freezing process starts it keeps getting faster since the ice is now also blocking your coil. Eventually the entire indoor coil will be a block of ice. If your air filter is dirty, then go ahead and change it. If you can see your coil and it's completely frozen up, turn your thermostat off and turn the fan to the on position. This will turn off the condenser (what makes the coil get cold) but turn the fan on, so air will keep blowing at the coil. If you can not see your coil, most people cannot, then put a hand over a vent, if the airflow from the vent is a lot less than normal then likely the coil has ice on it. In that case, do as stated above. Turn the thermostat to the off position and turn the fan to the ON position. Depending on how frozen your coil is it could take a couple hours for it to completely thaw out. If your system is located in an attic then simply just turn the system off. Deicing the coil always runs a little risk of the condensation line getting clogged with ice and if it happens to run over in the attic then there's the potential for sheetrock damage to occur. Once the coils are free of ice and the filter is replaced, go ahead and turn the system back on.
If it happens again, or if your filter was clean, then your issue is most likely a refrigerant issue. While there are several other items that can cause this the most common include having a dirty air filter or having low refrigerant. A few of the other items that can cause this are dirty coils, restricted duct work and blocked vents or returns. While we don't complain about going on service calls and the only issue being a dirty filter, most homeowners change their own filters and would likely rather keep their money than see us for such a simple service call as changing a filter. Those customers on our maintenance agreements never have to worry about dirty filters since we take care of their filters for them.
If it happens again, or if your filter was clean, then your issue is most likely a refrigerant issue. While there are several other items that can cause this the most common include having a dirty air filter or having low refrigerant. A few of the other items that can cause this are dirty coils, restricted duct work and blocked vents or returns. While we don't complain about going on service calls and the only issue being a dirty filter, most homeowners change their own filters and would likely rather keep their money than see us for such a simple service call as changing a filter. Those customers on our maintenance agreements never have to worry about dirty filters since we take care of their filters for them.
My Unit will not do Anything!
This is another common one that we get. If your hvac unit will not do anything at all, check the breakers first. Typically the breaker you are looking for will be labeled as AHU, air handler, furnace or heat. This issue happens year round, and even though you might be trying to cool your house those breakers mentioned still need to be on! Reasoning... The furnace, air handler, ahu, or heat breakers normally control the section of your system that contains the transformer which is responsible for providing the low voltage (24 VAC) power that controls your system.
If the breaker is not the issue then look closely at your thermostat, does your thermostat have a low battery indicator? If the thermostat has a low battery it will often times operate very sporadically and a system that will not do anything is definitely a sign of a dead battery.
If the breaker and battery are both good, then for most homeowners it's time to call someone else. Reasons for whats happening could be a bad thermostat in general, a damaged transformer, damaged thermostat wires, a blown low voltage fuse, the list is quite long. Although the list is long, diagnosing the issue will not take our techs long to do.
If the breaker is not the issue then look closely at your thermostat, does your thermostat have a low battery indicator? If the thermostat has a low battery it will often times operate very sporadically and a system that will not do anything is definitely a sign of a dead battery.
If the breaker and battery are both good, then for most homeowners it's time to call someone else. Reasons for whats happening could be a bad thermostat in general, a damaged transformer, damaged thermostat wires, a blown low voltage fuse, the list is quite long. Although the list is long, diagnosing the issue will not take our techs long to do.
My Thermostat is Blank
A blank thermostat is normally due to having dead batteries. Not all thermostats take batteries, so it could be an issue with your transformer, thermostat wiring or a tripped breaker. Check your breakers, then check for batteries and replace if needed. Anything beyond that would require a technician to check out.
A Special Note about Nest Thermostats
Everyone loves Nest Thermostats! They a sleek, slick, stylish and they suck. Actually they are good thermostats, the issue with Nest is that they widely and vigilantly advertise that the nest thermostat works with all systems even those which do not have a 'C' Common thermostat wire. When you read the manual there's a very small section that says you could have trouble if you do not have a "C" thermostat wire. If you have a nest thermostat and it's the middle of summer or winter and your system is running a lot, then it stops heating or cooling; take your nest thermostat down if you DO NOT have a 'C' wire then charge your nest. Typically there is port on the back of the nest for charging them. If you are thinking of replacing your system because it runs all the time, and you have a NEST; check to see if it's needs charged first. I know this seems crazy but every summer, normally in July when it's super hot, we get numerous calls where the only issue is the Nest battery is low. As I mentioned Nest is a great thermostat other than they are misleading about not needing a 'C' wire.