DuAll Heating & Cooling Blog : Archive for September, 2013

Why Is My Air Conditioner Making a Weird Noise?

Monday, September 30th, 2013

The sound that an air conditioner makes during regular operation can provide soothing white noise: it’s a sound we are very accustomed to hearing during the summer and on into fall. But if a strange or unpleasant sound starts to interrupt your AC’s relaxing hum, it’s more than noise pollution. It might be a red flag that your system needs repairs. If an air conditioner making weird sounds is left without attention, it could lead to worse problems, causing a loss of cooling ability, increased energy bills, or even a complete breakdown.

Contact DuAll Heating & Cooling when you have concerns about your air conditioning in Naperville, IL. We’ll find out what is causing the strange sounds and get your AC the repairs it needs.

Here are some possible culprits for unexpected AC noises:

Compressor problems

If the sound you hear is a grinding noise, then the compressor that sends refrigerant through the air conditioner might be struggling. This can happen because of overwork or damaged wiring. You won’t get any cooling from your AC if the compressor fails; it will need to be fixed or replaced. The grinding noise may point to other problems—such as a refrigerant leak—so get professional help analyzing the problem.

Failing capacitor

The start capacitor sends the voltage to the motors that gets them running when the air conditioner turns on, and the run capacitor keeps them working. If you hear clicking or odd humming noises from your AC, one of the capacitors may be failing. Because of the risk of a high voltage shock, do not attempt to tamper with capacitors yourself.

Trouble with the blower motor

If something goes awry with the blower motor, you’ll hear a noise similar to what you would hear from a bad car engine. The fan belt may have developed cracks or come loose and started rubbing against other components. If left unrepaired, this will cause further damage to the AC’s interior. Even if you have experience fixing car fan belts, blower motors in air conditioners are another matter and will require assistance.

It’s crucial to act on troublesome noises from your air conditioner as soon as possible. Because of the many different causes that might lie behind the weird sounds, it will take HVAC experts to correctly diagnose and repair the problem. Don’t hesitate to call DuAll Heating & Cooling when strange noises—or anything else unusual—starts to affect your air conditioning in Naperville, IL.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off on Why Is My Air Conditioner Making a Weird Noise?

Are Dirty Coils an Easy Air Conditioning Repair?

Wednesday, September 18th, 2013

For almost any machine to operate as effectively as possible, it should be kept clean and maintained on a regular basis. Dirt interferes with mechanical operation, making a device inefficient and possibly leading to breaks and a complete shut down. Your air conditioner is no different from other machines in this way: if the unit becomes contaminated with too much dust and other debris, it will reduce the amount of cool air it provides you, cost more to run, and eventually require expensive repairs. Dirt blocking the AC’s coils is especially troublesome if it is neglected.

DuAll Heating & Cooling wants you to be comfortable in your home with an AC that does the best job it can. When you require air conditioning repair in Plainfield, IL, call on our reputable services for assistance.

The two sets of coils in your air conditioner, located in the indoor and outdoor units, are vital for the heat exchange that gives you cooled air. If either becomes too dirty, they can’t do the job of absorbing heat or releasing it.

Fixing dirty coils is not an easy repair job. You can’t just pry open the unit and use a damp cloth to wipe them down. To get a thorough cleaning requires removing the coils and then reinstalling them—and that means dealing with the refrigerant flowing through them. You should leave this to an HVAC professional, who will cut the refrigerant lines, take out the contaminated coil for cleaning, then reinstall it afterwards and recharge any refrigerant lost during the process.

Fortunately, dirty coils are easy to prevent. Make sure you keep a clean filter in your air conditioner so it will effectively trap dust and other particles. You should change the filter once a month during seasons when the AC operates regularly. Every three months is sufficient at other times. Scheduling regular maintenance with an HVAC company will help spot possible dust build-ups before they become serious, such as breaks in the ductwork.

If you experience troubles with your AC because of dirty coils, call on experts to handle the job. One of your first choices should be DuAll Heating & Cooling, where we take pride in our professionalism and quality work. For air conditioning repair in Plainfield, IL, turn to our highly-trained technicians.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off on Are Dirty Coils an Easy Air Conditioning Repair?

Why Is My Air Conditioning System Iced Up?

Monday, September 9th, 2013

You expect cold air to blow from the vents of your air conditioning system, so if the coils on the indoor unit of your AC start to ice up, you may imagine it’s something as simple as having the temperature turned down so low that it is freezing up your system. But a working air conditioner should be able to handle its lowest temperature setting without difficulty. Icing on the indoor unit is a sign of serious malfunction with your AC that needs immediate attention. For reliable Naperville air conditioning repair, contact DuAll Heating & Cooling to get your repairs started.

A common cause for icing on your AC unit is a problem in the thermostat. It may not be telling the air conditioning to stop cooling when it should. Modern thermostats are complex electronic devices, and need professional service to get them working correctly.

Another reason that the evaporator coils might ice over is one you probably haven’t thought of: a low refrigerant charge. The refrigerant running through your AC is fixed and does not get used up during evaporation and condensing. Losing refrigerant from a leak will likely cause the evaporator coils to freeze because they can no longer absorb enough heat. Not only will the leak need to be sealed, but an HVAC professional will have to recharge the refrigerant.

If the air inside your home is not properly reaching the coils to warm up the cold refrigerant moving through it, icing could also occur. The most common reasons for reduced air flow is a dirty or clogged filter, but the problem may be more complex, such as issues with your ductwork.

You need to stop your evaporator coils from freezing as soon as possible. If you let the problem continue, you could have a large block of ice preventing the coils from working effectively and making it difficult for your AC to do its job. You’ll need HVAC experts to diagnose the problem and find a solution, whether fixing a coolant leak, replacing the thermostat, or repairing problems with ducts and filters.

When you need to get your iced up air conditioner fixed—or any other problems you may have with your AC — DuAll Heating & Cooling is ready to give you the high quality service you deserve. With 12 years of experience in Naperville air conditioning repair, we can make sure that ice stays out of your AC system.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off on Why Is My Air Conditioning System Iced Up?

Why We Celebrate Labor Day

Monday, September 2nd, 2013

We hope our present and future customers had a pleasant Labor Day this September. We know how hard you work to ensure that you and your loved ones have a good life, and we feel the same way about the work that we do throughout the year. Home comfort is our business, so you can rely on our technicians to take care of any issues that you may have. To many of us, Labor Day means BBQ, the start of the football season, and spending quality time with our friends and family. But there is much more to this holiday, and we wanted to share its true purpose with you.

Like many US holidays, the origins of Labor Day are somewhat disputed. While many cite Peter J. McGuire’s (of the American Federation of Labor) suggestion of a demonstration and picnic as the inaugural Monday, others cite Matthew Maguire, then secretary of the Central Labor Union of New York. In the wake of the massive and violent Pullman Strike of 1894, which pitted George Pullman and US Marshals and Military against workers of the Pullman Palace Car Company outside Chicago. Designated as a federal holiday by Congress and President Grover Cleveland in 1894, a mere six days after the strike ended, Labor Day has since become a way of recognizing the contribution that hard working Americans have made to this country.

We wish you all the best, and hopefully you took the time to relax, eat some good food, and take a load off.

Continue Reading

Tags:
Posted in Happy Holidays | Comments Off on Why We Celebrate Labor Day