HVAC Repair
We understand how uncomfortable your home can be when your A/C breaks down. Your home should be a safe haven from the outside world, but when your comfort system isn’t working, the outside world is in your home. We can help you make your home a safe haven once again.
Before paying someone to come out and diagnose the problem, read below for some solutions to common problems you might be able to solve on your own.
Our Sound Comfort Club members get priority scheduling, which means they are placed at the front of the line when they need help with their A/C. Interested in joining the Sound Comfort Club?
Common A/C Issues you can solve at home
While are here to help any time you need assistance with your comfort system, we also understand the frustration of calling an A/C service company out to fix a problem that you could have fixed yourself in just a couple of minutes.
With that in mind, here are a few simple issues that you may have with your air conditioner that you can solve yourself. These solutions could save you both time and money by not having to call a service company out to your home.
Breakers are tripped or off
If the furnace in your home won’t turn on at all or the thermostat isn’t lighting up, the breaker that powers the furnace could be tripped or off.
If the fan is running inside but the air coming out is not blowing cool, that could be an indication that the breaker for the condenser outside has tripped.
Checking to see if the breaker has tripped is pretty simple, just go to the main breaker panel for your home and look for any breakers in the tripped position. You can tell if a breaker has tripped if it is loose in the middle position. The middle position is not on or off, but between the two.
disconnect plug at condenser is not plugged in properly
Again, this is a situation that is more common than you might think. If you have a newer home and someone was working outside near the condenser unit, it’s possible that they might have unplugged the disconnect for the unit. We’ve also seen a few cases of kids going around neighborhoods unplugging disconnects, so the A/C stops cooling the home.
An indication that the disconnect could be unplugged would be if the fan inside is blowing air, but it is not cold air. You can then check the condenser outside and if it’s not running, check the disconnect box. It could save you a lot of time a frustration.
The plug itself could either be removed from the box, or could be inserted upside down. Most have “on” and “off” printed on the plug or the base where the plug is inserted. You can tell it’s plugged in correctly when it says “on”.
dead batteries in thermostat
Some thermostats require batteries to power the thermostat, which tells the unit to turn on and off depending on how you have it set.
If the thermostat will not light up and is battery powered, try changing the batteries to see if you get a response.
schedule on the thermostat is changing the set temperature
This is a situation that is more common than you might think, especially on newer homes where the thermostat may have a preset schedule.
To check this, you could go to the settings on the thermostat itself to see how it is programmed. See if there is already a schedule set and what times the schedule is changing the thermostat set temperature. How to do this will vary depending on the thermostat you have but most digital thermostats have a schedule function.
Dirty air filters
If the air filters in your unit are quite dirty, they could actually be causing quite a few problems with your air conditioning system.
Sometimes, simply changing the filters can help you system breathe better, giving you better air flow and cooling capacity.
Keep in mind though, that if the filters are dirty enough that they are effecting performance, then the evaporator coils are more than likely dirty as well.
Setting the temperature on the thermostat too low
Many people think that the lower they set the temperature on their thermostat, the faster their home will cool down. Most A/C’s don’t work this way. If you set the thermostat too low, say lower than 68-69, then you run the risk of the evaporator coil freezing and no longer operating properly.
If this happens, simply turn the A/C off long enough that it ice that has built up will melt. In some cases this can take a couple hours. You can then turn the system back on and see how the system responds.
The Sound Comfort Club
Most people wait until their A/C breaks before they call someone out to service it. While this is the most obvious time to call an expert, this approach leads to higher repair bills, higher utility bills and lower comfort levels in their home.
Just like you have to take your car in to get the oil replaced or the brakes serviced, your A/C needs care and attention as well. During the hot summer days in Texas, your A/C system may be working up to 20 hours per day.
When you join the Sound Comfort Club, you are taking a more active approach to your comfort. Not only do you enjoy numerous benefits of membership, but your utility bills, repair costs and comfort levels will thank you for it.