At Hi-Tech Plumbing & Air, we understand that the complex systems in your home and business can be hard to wrap your head around. Without professional training, it can be hard to understand what your systems need to operate at peak efficiency. That’s why we have put together a handy FAQ to address some of the most common questions that home and business owners ask about their plumbing and cooling systems.
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If your air conditioner has completely shut down and won’t turn on again, call for a repair right away. If your air conditioner is exhibiting any sort of strange behavior, such as making a loud noise or emitting a weird smell, don’t delay in calling for service. In many cases, the sooner you have the problem looked at, the better. Waiting can often lead to things getting far worse and your issue becoming an even bigger and more expensive repair.
We repair everything that might go wrong with your air conditioner! From electrical faults to thermostat issues to motor and compressor problems, we get to the bottom of your problem and offer repairs that are effective, long-lasting, and affordable.
If you want to avoid a costly air conditioner repair bill, increasing reliability is key. We recommend having your air conditioner professionally maintained once a year, preferably in spring before the warm season really begins, in order to make sure availability is still fairly high and your system is ready for you when you need it.
There really isn’t a straightforward answer to this question—as long as your air conditioner is continuing to work well and isn’t burning through an excessive amount of energy, you might as well keep running it. However, air conditioners do wear out with age, but how long that takes varies from unit to unit. Likewise, a system may appear perfectly healthy one day and completely die the next with little to no warning whatsoever.
As a general rule of thumb, if your air conditioner is still within its expected lifespan, it is probably better to repair the problem. If your air conditioner is older than its expected lifespan and needs a major repair that would probably be money better spent on a replacement, then consider a full, outright replacement.
This might be the single most common question we receive, and unfortunately there really is no easy answer to it. Every new AC installation is so different from every other installation that there really isn’t any fast or simple way to get an answer without a comprehensive professional inspection and evaluation.
The costs begin with the retail price of your new system, but that price fluctuates wildly based on what features and capacity you want. From there, there will always be a labor cost for the installation, and that can also raise an installation project’s price if you need code violations corrected, any new infrastructure installed, and any ductwork services as a part of your replacement service.
In some cases, it may be possible to restore an air conditioner by replacing the key component that has failed. However, doing so is typically not advised. Air conditioners are only as efficient as their least-efficient component, and mixing a new compressor with an old evaporator will yield very little energy savings. Likewise, the two are not designed to work together, and that could cause extra strain on both pieces. As a general rule, we do not advise partial replacements.
This answer will vary depending on what it is you want to do. If you’re just trying to cool an office space or bedroom, then you probably won’t need a big one. If you’re trying to cool a large living area, you will need a large unit or even multiple units to work together. Because your situation is as unique as you are, we recommend talking to one of our AC installation pros for an assessment.
Ductless mini split systems generally have much lower installation requirements than a full central air conditioning system. Most of the time, all you really need is a nearby 120-volt electrical connection that can be tapped into and an exterior-facing wall that can be drilled through. For your electrical system, you will need at least 15 amps but a 20-amp circuit is often the better choice if available.
Your technician will need to put a hole in your exterior facing wall to allow power and refrigerant lines to travel out to your outdoor compressor unit. This hole will be sealed to prevent energy loss and pest intrusion, and in most cases, this hole is no bigger than a tennis ball. Likewise, this hole can often be hidden by mounting your air conditioner’s indoor unit on the exterior facing wall.
A ductless mini-split air conditioner is a fully-functioning air conditioning system, only in a smaller package. Whereas your central air conditioner consists of two large units, a mini-split system contains everything from the compressor and evaporator into two small boxes, usually no more than a couple of cubic feet in size. They’re sort of like a window-mounted cooling system, only they split the indoor and outdoor sections apart and connect them with specialized refrigerant and electrical lines.
Ductless mini split air conditioning systems serve a variety of purposes. They can add additional cooling power to an area of your home that struggles to stay cool during certain hours of the day (or even throughout the day). They can provide cooling to an area of your home that was not constructed with cooling in mind, such as a garage, guesthouse, or workshop. They can even provide precise temperature control for new additions to your home such as new bedrooms or extended living spaces. Want to finish your attic? Add cooling with a ductless system!
However, modern ductless mini split systems go beyond just single-area use and can even be used to cool entire homes. For example, if you live in an older home that was not built with air conditioning in mind, then a ductless mini split can allow you to air condition your home without the cost and frustration of building air ducts.
Ductless air conditioners vary in price based on a number of factors. A single unit is substantially more affordable than a full-size central cooling system. However, keep in mind that they serve a different purpose. If you’re looking to cool your entire home with a ductless mini split air conditioner, then you will need to purchase and install multiple systems. With that being said, however, many contractors offer discounts to those who purchase and install multiple systems at the same time.
Also, combining installations where you connect multiple indoor units to the same outdoor unit can cut down on costs even further. When all is said and done, a whole-home ductless mini split setup can have a very comparable price tag to installing a new central cooling system. This is one of the reasons why ductless mini split air conditioners are becoming so competitive in the marketplace.
In short, we wouldn’t recommend cooling more than one room with a mini-split air conditioner. However, Modern mini-split systems are actually designed to work together to cool multiple zones through the use of several different systems.
Several systems can typically be connected to one compressor for optimal energy efficiency and space-saving, and adding these systems offers great temperature control and flexibility by only requiring you to use your cooling system in rooms you are actually using.
A single unit does not have the cooling capacity of a typical central AC system, but by combining several units together in unique, individual zones, your entire home can be more comfortable and cooler while you could save tremendously on your energy bills!
A mini-split system will last around the same amount of time a central cooling system will if you take good care of it: as long as 20 or 25 years. Because these systems are smaller, they are typically less prone to problems than their full-size central cooling counterparts. However, we do recommend maintaining your mini-splits with annual AC maintenance services. Doing so will improve longevity.
The simple answer: exactly like a central air conditioning system would. In fact, their operating principles are exactly the same: they use refrigerant to move heat from inside your home to the outdoor environment. However, because they are at a much smaller scale compared to a central cooling system, they cost less and fit into much smaller spaces. This also makes them much quieter and more energy-efficient too.
The short answer? It depends. Some systems are heat pumps that can reverse refrigerant flow and provide heating in colder months. However, these are more expensive systems. The majority of ductless AC systems are for cooling only. However, for homes and structures that already have an alternative heating system installed, such as a boiler and radiator system, this lack of a heating function isn’t a problem at all.
There are several possible answers to this question, so it’s best to call a professional and have them conduct a thorough inspection. However, hot air is typically a sign that your air conditioner isn’t cooling the refrigerant in your lines anymore. Either your compressor has given out, a leak has formed somewhere, or some other problem is preventing heat from leaving your system, and therefore your system can’t produce any cold air. We recommend booking a service right away.
This is ultimately a personal comfort decision. Some people need to keep their home cooler while others are more tolerant of a warmer internal temperature. However, ENERGY STAR recommends setting your thermostat to no colder than 68 degrees to maximize efficiency during the peak of summer season. During the peak hours of the day, you might even want to consider bumping that temperature up to 70 degrees or so to minimize energy consumption as well.
Systems that are better-kept will last longer while those that run many long hours with no maintenance will die far sooner. As a general rule of thumb, when your air conditioner reaches 20 years of age, you should start planning to replace it. However, air conditioners can last 25 or even 30 years when well-maintained (which is why we place such a huge importance on maintenance).
