Air Conditioning Maintanance?

Question

I think I need to have my a/c unit mainatananced. My 1500' house cost me $320 to cool last month (at 80 degrees).

I thought it had to be charged every couple of years. After talking to this guy he said it doesn't have to be charged unless theres a leak. He said they only get charged a once or twice in their life time.

I'm a new home owner and a woman - I don't want to be taken advantage of.
What do they NORMALLY do during a service? How much should it cost me? What should I expect?

The house was 5 yo when I bought it and I've been here about 2 years. So it's not terribly old... I have thick wooden blinds up but not curtains.

Answer 1

We have a yearly check of our a/c and heating units, usually in the spring. We have never had to have a charge. The repair person will check the pressure which will tell him/her if it needs more freon (old style)

You don't do a yearly recharge of the a/c on your car do you? We don't.

In NV, we have 1600 and our our last bil was 130 at 80 degrees. It may not just be the a/c unit. Do you have all the drapes or window coverings open when the sun is the hottest part of the day?

Older houses may not been well insulated. Call your local electric company and ask them for an energy evalulation. You may have to wait a week or two. Here it is free. Worth it. Because you can trust them and they will tell you how to save on your bills.

Answer 2

you recharge a unit only after you find and repair the leak.if there is no leak than you dont need freon. people think just adding freon will make the system work better.so they tell the contracter it needs freon! a dishonest contracter will hook up the charging hoses to a tank of freon and claim to be charging the unit .when in fact hes not doing any thing.and you dont know if any freon was ever used.so. next time he says [it needs freon] weight the cyncilder before and after the job.use a bathroom scale. good luck

Answer 3

Our numbers are similar. This has been a very humid summer.
There appears to be nothing wrong with your air conditioner.
I set mine at 78. I paid 210 last month. My air conditioner is over 20 years old but in good shape. I know there are more efficient ones now and when this one breaks I will get one.
only thing you can do to minimize the cost is to shade the house or windows from direct sun.

Answer 4

First...does any of the coppper lines look like ice is on them? It means you are low on charge. Second, with the unit running, grab the larger copper line...does it feel like a cold beer? It's okay...feel warm...low charge. Call an A/C company and ask for an estimate for a leak detection service. Also...MAKE SURE your air filter is CLEAN....Change every 30 days!! Good Luck

Answer 5

I have seen well installed systems that never lost gas, or not enough to drop below efficiency. Nothing can be hermetically sealed, so they all leak,and gain some moisture,which begins to weaken the system in several ways. Lub oil may have migrated into walls of the evap. that lessens heat absorbtion. Have technician acid test oil in system, pump down or collect the charge. vacuum pump for moister removal which lessens acid formation from oil break-down. Inform yourself with repair manual checked out at library,so you can go over it repeatedly until you understand. See what owners manual recomends. Often it's cheaper in the long run to upgade to newer unit in and out.

Answer 6

Find all your replaceable filters and write down the numbers and go to Lowes or Home Depot and get the replacement filters. Be observant to the arrows on filters and replace each one. A ac company is going to charge you 175.00 to replace 50.00 worth of filters. True ac hardly ever needs recharging. See about increasing insulation in attic.

Answer 7

merely how chilly is it outdoors? Is the AC unit certain on your condo or area of a wide complicated. no matter if it truly is for the entire progression it would want to no longer be on yet or perhaps as to instruct it on its merely the fan kicking in. no matter if it truly is constrained on your apt do you've your human being breaker field? if so see if the unit is even switched on, it's going to be a 220 volt breaker. no matter if it truly is off turn the breaker on and wait 24 hours formerly turning the AC itself on, that's to split the compressor oil from the refrigerant, no matter if it truly is on already try switching it off and turning it back on, also bypass outdoors to the condenser and be conscious if its uncovered and there is a swap there also.