With temperatures still soaring in recent weeks, it may be hard to imagine that the official end of summer is just a few short days away. Soon enough, the weather will be cooling and we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief as we turn off our air conditioners for the season and direct our attention to heating our homes instead.
But wait, not so fast!
Do you have any AC repair needs? Perhaps you heard a clanging coming from your air conditioner, or a hissing noise accompanied by low cooling power. These signs and more indicated that something is wrong with your cooling system—and the need for Denver HVAC services should never be ignored, no matter how close to the end of the season we may be. So, what problems should you look out for?
Loud and Unfamiliar Noises
How do you know if a sound coming from your air conditioner is abnormal? Well, if it’s been working fine all summer long and then all of the sudden you start hearing a clanging, banging or hissing, then it’s not typical and is something that should be checked out by a professional right away.
Banging or clanging usually means you have a loose component. It might be a fan belt, or it could even be a fan blade. The problem with neglecting this type of issue is that it will have a domino effect on the rest of your air conditioner. That is, it will start to affect other parts of your air conditioner that have to struggle too hard to compensate for the component that has failed.
Eventually, this will cause your air conditioner to break down, probably far sooner than it was meant to.
Hissing, or bubbling, is another noise you should pay close attention too. Either of these noises can be indicative of a refrigerant leak. “But wait, doesn’t refrigerant run out like gasoline does from a car, anyway?” No. If you’ve ever been told this then we are sorry to tell you that you were misinformed.
Upon installation, your cooling system was supplied with enough refrigerant to ideally last its entire lifespan. So if you are losing refrigerant, it means there is a leak and your air conditioner will begin to suffer dire consequences. In addition to the hissing or bubbling noise you’ll hear, you will probably also notice a drop in cooling power, as your system needs this vital fluid in order to operate.
Year-Round Issues
So, what if the problem with your air conditioner isn’t actually a problem with the physical system, but something related to it? We’re talking about your thermostat, or your ductwork. If either of these components are damaged, your air conditioner cannot adequately do its job.
Your thermostat may be miscalibrated, which can happen if it’s an older thermostat that probably needs to be upgraded, or if you have an electrical wiring issue. If the latter is the case, this repair need should definitely not be ignored!
Damaged ductwork can cause you to lose conditioned air into the unoccupied spaced that your air ducts are installed in. This means you’re paying for cooling (or heating) that is never actually reaching your living space or contributing to your comfort in any way.
These problems are year-round, since if you have a forced-air heater, they impact this system too. Therefore, waiting on AC repairs can mean you’ll be uncomfortable all winter long, too.
