Troubleshooting Your AC

Every homeowner experiences the anxiety of costly home repairs that can pop-up from time to time; and having concern over the health of your HVAC system is no exception. We’ve all experienced the “pit in your stomach” fear that arises when you think that the well being of your home’s air conditioning could be at risk. We all know how important it is for your air conditioning to run smoothly and efficiently. So what steps can you take at home to check your system when there seems to be a problem? The answer might be easier than you think. Before calling in the experts, take these simple steps to check your HVAC: 1. Make sure your house has power. This might seem like an easy step, but it is very necessary. Check your home to make sure there is power to the entire house and that no sections of the house are without power. This would include checking the circuit breaker (Also known as a fuse box) in your house for areas that need to be reset. 2. Check your air filters. The airflow to your AC unit is critical to the health of your entire system. Make sure you are changing your air filters regularly so ensure that there are no air restrictions. In some cases this can cause the system to malfunction. 3. Check the thermostat for batteries. If the thermostat display doesn’t light up, change the batteries. 4. Check the condensate pump and/or AC drain line. Many units have a water safety switch to stop them from working in the event of a water leak in your home. Checking for water in a pan under the unit could tell you the drain is clogged. Emptying the pan and flushing the drain line may alleviate your problem. 5. Check the switch on the indoor unit. Every day activities can turn the switch on your indoor unit to “off”. 6. Check the safety switch in the pan under the AC unit. Often times in attics it is easy to shuffle around boxes which bump into the unit or pan. The solution can be to check the switch but do not bypass the safety switch or else you could have a large water mess in your house. Take these easy steps the next time you fear that your AC unit is out of sorts to ensure that your unit is happy and healthy. If these steps do not solve your problem, call Spencer Air Conditioning & Heating at (972) 466-COOL (2665) to get your unit running at its best.