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Air Conditioning

Why does my system run but there is no cool air coming out?
On central air systems (split systems) there are at least 2 sets of breakers. The breaker for the indoor unit controls the system and the blower to circulate air for the system. The second breaker is for the outdoor unit, which provides the cooling component of the system. Check all the breakers by turning them off (wait 5 minutes) then turning them back on. Also check your air filters and replace if needed. If this does not solve the problem, there are many other factors that could be affecting the cooling that a technician should look over.

Heating

Why does my heat smell like smoke?
This could be caused by dust in the system. Dust is usually a problem when systems are started up for the first time in the heating season and the smell should go away in a minute or two. 1st Service does an annual cleaning and maintenance to all types of heater units that would help alleviate this problem.
This smell could also be caused by burnt wires or motor related problems and would require a service technician to look over.

Why does my furnace drip water?
A large portion of gas furnaces in our area are 90%+ type high efficiency gas furnaces. These are referred to as condensing gas furnaces because they take so much heat out of the flue gas that water is the by-product. There are certain provisions that have to be made to collect and drain the water. There also needs to be some way to insure the water does not freeze and clog the drain line. In some cases heat tape would be needed.

Heat Pumps
Why does my heat pump blow cold air?
There is a saying about heat pumps, don’t try and warm your cold damp feet on the register- you’ll end up with colder damp feet. The air from heat pumps is cooler than the air from say, gas systems. It is still heat; it still keeps your house warm, just not the same as other heat sources. Best advice is to not fret if it is keeping your house warm. That said, if the fan is running continuously even in milder times and the auxiliary heat is coming on regularly, you may have a problem with the heat pump outdoor unit. Many newer or higher efficiency systems have components to help with the initial cold air coming from heat pumps with they cycle on.
Heat pumps can be a good efficient source of heat when designed and installed properly. They are usually sized to match the cooling load and may not be able to keep up during lower temperature times. They have auxiliary heat to assist them during these times as well as in defrost, when the thermostat is turned up, and if the heat pump has a problem. Most thermostats have emergency heat settings to manually turn off the heat pump and use only the auxiliary heat. If you have a setback type thermostat you may want to set the thermostat to “hold” temp during very cold or very warm periods. It is best to leave non-programmable thermostats at one comfortable setting.

Why does my heat pump look like it just blew up?
This is a common complaint from customers who have seen the heat pump come out of defrost in the heating mode. This isn’t a problem, it is just steam. Some newer heat pumps have incorporated a delay to avoid this. You might have noticed at times the outdoor unit humming and the fan is not running. Again, the unit is defrosting. Heat pumps need to do this to get rid of any frost build-up. Some units do it on a timed cycle, 30, 60 & 90 minutes and can be preset by the installer/servicer.

Why is there water/ice around the bottom of my heat pump?
In the heating your outdoor unit will drip water, especially when it is defrosting itself. It is important to have your heat pump unit on legs of some sort to allow the unit to drain, get it above blowing dirt and sand and especially away from the weed whackers.



Noise and Airflow
Why are my vents/registers noisy?
Airflow is one of the most important functions of a forced air heating and cooling system. Undersized ductwork and oversized equipment may be the cause of this noise. Shutting off registers is also a source of noise. Most systems have balancing dampers in the ductwork for adjusting air flow. This is the better way to balance air. Shutting off registers is not recommended. It not only is noisy, it can affect the performance of the system. Most systems are designed to move a certain amount of air. So think of it as you would your own blood pressure and you will have a good analogy. Ductwork leaks can cause severe performance and efficiency problems. Ductwork sealing is a simple, easy way to get more from your system. Often we have recommended duct repairs, improvements, or replacement over equipment replacement.

Why are some rooms colder than others?
Much as we would like to we can’t always have even temperatures throughout the house without some kind of zoning controls. Even then, there will most likely be a difference in temperature. The heating/cooling load each room will vary with the amount of glass, shading, exposed walls, even things like computers and newer TV’s (plasma and LCD TV’s and TiVo like components), all add to the room’s heat load. Bonus rooms can be especially hard areas to control. Zone controls are one way but simple things like running the fan in “on” mode can balance these temperatures while the rooms are being used. Some thermostats have a circulation mode that will intermittently turn on the indoor blower balance and filter the air. As far as bonus rooms, you may want to consider using a Ductless Split type unit as a stand alone system or in addition to the central system.

 

Refrigerant
Does my equipment just need some Freon?
Funny, but is this a common complaint from customers. The refrigerant is in a sealed system and if low it can cause poor performance. If a system is low and it is not from the initial installation, the leak has to be found and repaired.
The refrigerant not only cools the home, it also cools the compressor, which is the heart of the system. If the refrigerant gets low enough, it can suck in impurities such as air and moisture. Moisture and air is to your refrigerant system as kryptonite was to Superman (lame, but you get the point). Sometimes a temporary charge may get you going, but an effort must be made to find the leak.
Our service trucks have an arsenal of equipment to find and repair these leaks.

R-22 and R-410A (Puron), what is this stuff?
As the Global warming issue became a worldwide issue the Powers That Be established new standards for the use of refrigerants. In the air conditioning area, R-22 was the predominant refrigerant used. This R-22 refrigerant is scheduled to be phased out of use. R-22 will be manufactured for equipment in use until 2020 and existing supplies can be used after 2020. So despite what you may hear, there will be adequate supplies of R-22 will be around for quite some time. In addition, just as there are many “drop-in” replacement refrigerants for the now phased out R-12 refrigerant (we carry 4 flavors), there will be inevitably viable replacements for R-22. We do have both R-22 and R-410A equipment and haven’t a preference of one over the other, except on existing systems where the piping would have to be re-used. R-410A is still over twice the cost of R-22, but that margin is narrowing over time.