Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Central Air Conditioner

1. What pressures do the high and low side run at on central air conditioners?

properly, that relies upon on the ambient temperature.

The unit has a 2 ton skill. finally, the cost might remember on the dimensions of the line set. It makes use of R22.

in case you propose on working in this unit, you will need some somewhat expert kit & kit. Please be recommended that we value greater on provider calls the place the owner of a house tried to repair it and F'ed it up. (edit) ok then, notwithstanding it variety of feels unusual that the a/c guy desires to come back returned to do a 'top off' (?

). -if thats all he's going to do then particular, you would be screwing your self. person-friendly horse experience dictates that if it desires refrigerant, it went someplace.

which ability there's a leak. The leak could desire to be got here upon and caught. base line

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2.

My central air conditioner died at the start of triple digit temperatures. Should I repair or replace?

You will save money replacing the unit.

You currently have about a 8-9 SEER rated system. The least you can purchase today is a 13 SEER. I have a customer who replaced his system this winter with a 14 SEER Payne system.

He called today from Dallas Texas to tell me his power bill was $180 a month cheaper after we upgrade his system and added r-8 flex duct. It cost him $5200.00 to do the job, but in 28 months his system will have saved him enough money to pay for its self.

Plus he has 10 years warranty on the equipment and 5 years warranty on our labor. And 15 years of life in the equipment, which equals a total savings of $27,360. over the next 15 years.

Be sure to get the R-410A refrigerant

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3. My central air conditioner runs almost constantly just to keep the house at 71 degrees. Do I need freon?

First, also the simple/cheap thing to do. When was the last time you changed your air filters? Your supposed to every 3 months, be honest?

So go ahead and change them, believe me they need it. Then if that doesn't work, go look outside around your unit. Does it have bushes closely around it so it can't operate correctly?

If so, cut them away from the unit. Is the outside of the coils dirty? Wash it off with the water hose.

If all these items fell, you needed to do them anyway, call the air guy to check your coolant level and make any needed repairs. Have him check for pin hole leaks as well. I had that happen one time.

Hope this info helps!.

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4.

my central air conditioner "freezes up" near the unit outside my home. What is the cause and what is the cure?

2 effortless products reason AC to freeze.

Too little airflow and too little coolant. think about dirt previous only the dirty filters that desires to be bumped off. decreased airflow means that the chilly fringe of the coils keeps getting less warm and fewer warm until eventually it freezes.

often, the nice and comfy temperature air might want to hit the coils, cooling the air and warming the coils. once the unit starts to ice, that makes airflow drop even more effective. once you've replaced the filters and wiped clean the unit as perfect you may without unfavorable the coils, then you really want professional help.

Too little coolant can decrease the rigidity interior the evaporator center, which finally ends up in icing. This calls for pro help. both way, it truly is time to call in a professional earlier you harm the unit with ice.

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5. Anyone know how I remove copper from an air conditioner?

I did this several years ago and it is a lot of work, Your best bet is to take it to a recycle place and let them do it.

BUT if you want to try it, Take the complete unit apart, Take all the screws out of the cabinet, Take the fan motor out and take the blade off and then Drill out the rivets holding on the alum blades. Take a Sawz-all and cut out the compressor, (Drain Oil) It has to be treated as waste oil. Take and cut out the Condenser coil and make two cuts on either side of the steel shell that holds the coil together.

Now you will have several piles of stuff,, 1 Copper only, 2 Copper and Alum, 3 Steel. No telling what you will get. Steel will be the cheapest with Copper being the highest.

Good luck

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6. can you run the central air conditioning unit only with solar and if so how many panels would be needed.

How many watts is your central air conditioner?

I'm betting about 5000W. How many hours would it run, let's say 12? 5000W x 12 hours 60,000 watt hours (wh) a day, or 60 kwh (kilo watt hours) needed.

Depending on where you are, you probably get no more than 6 sun hours a day (during air conditioning season). Sun hours is different from hours of sun, it's the equivalent hours at a standard test condition that the panels are rated at. 60,000 wh / 6 sun hours 10,000 watts (10kW) of panels needed.

That's not figuring in losses or inefficiencies, it's probably closer to 13kW. Installed costs are running about $7 a watt, so you're looking at about $90,000. There are rebates and tax incentives available.

I may be way off on your load, you'd need to find out how many watts and for how many hours the A/C is on. Then you can do the math yourself.

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7.

When do you turn on your Central or Window Air Conditioner?

I have to use it when it is humid because I have health problems. So if it is humid and colder outside then in, I have to turn it on.

Also if no air is blowing in ( a SW wind) I have to feel cool air but the pollen is horrible this year. That's another reason I have it on. If you have an intermittent control, which is usually found under the cover of a window AC, set it and it will go on and off when you set your thermostat to a certain temp to your liking.

For central air, set you thermostat to your liking and it won't come on until the temps in your home go above that number. Most people set it between 70-75 degrees. It depends how you like it.

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8. Wattage for small central air?

Like the previous poster recounted, the Kill-A-Watt device is high-quality.

I've one on my laptop proper now. Besides that, there is fairly no option to tell what is going to cost more, unless we all knew exactly what home equipment you were making use of, and exactly how long you were making use of them. Mainly, you need to be concerned with the things you utilize essentially the most.

Summer is upon us, so appear into how probably you use the AC. In the iciness time, display the heater utilization. Each of these matters are relatively able of using big amounts of electrical energy.

The fridge is going to make use of quite a lot of electricity, much more so than a television or computer, however you almost always wont be ready to do so much about that except you change the fridge

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9. how big of an air conditioner do i need for central air in 1100 square feet?

All these answers are the old way for sizing an house with the new changes in Energy Laws and eff.

a sizing chart and ENERGY AUDIT need to be performed to ensure new unit will work properly. U have to many HVAC Contractors that will put the same size back in and not take the time to do this it may cost u some monry but in the long run it's worth it trust me. If u don't do this then you;ll be just another dissatisfied cust.

with a brand new system.And this answer can be backed up by visiting your states energy program or calling local energy company and I'M a HVAC/Plum in trade 11 years so TRUST ME ON THIS AND GOODLUCK

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10. what's wrong with my (central) air conditioner?

Everyone who answered is most likely correct. A dirty condenser will deliver warmer air. But, you should be careful to turn the power OFF at the disconnect to the condenser before you clean it the right way.

Turn the disconnect box to OFF or pull the breaker OUT.You don't want the fan to come on while you are cleaning ! Unscrew the top with the fan and motor attached to it.

Lift it up and turn it aside without pulling on the wires. Remove all the leaves and dirt by hand. Use a hose with a nozzle at medium pressure and back wash the fins inside to outside for about 20 minutes.

You'll get wet and muddy. Replace the top, power back on and turn on ac. The supply air should be colder right away.

If not, you'll need to call someone. Good luck.

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11.

Can my centrail air conditioner cause my throat to swell?

The air conditioner sucks in air from outside so if there is something you are allergic to yes, it can cause allergies. It also dries the air, and the dry air can cause your mucus membranes (such as the skin in the throat) to dry out and then get little rips and tears in them, making them susceptible to bacteria and irritants.

If you take a benedryl or over the counter sinus med and it helps, then that means there's allergies involved. If they don't help, try drinking lots of water and warm beverages to 1) hydrate your body and 2) wash any bacteria that may be in your throat down. You can also try a humidifier.

I have never found filters to be of any use. I have both problems.

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12.

what are the symptoms of a bad circuit board for a gas central air unit?

Well on the older systems the gas would come on and heat up a Flexible bi metal which would rotate around and make contact with the fan switch and cause the warmed air to come out of the vents. These newer systems have a flame sensor which determines ignition and in turn switches the fan motor on when the heat chamber is properly warmed.

If the blower is automatically coming on and blowing cold air with no ignition then That board is probably fried. Yes the ac can work perfect and has nothing to do with the gas heat portion.My guess is one of those large black relays on the board has fried contacts on it, look for burned or grayish areas around the 2 main relays on the board

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13.

Why does the central air conditioner coil and fins in my furnace leak water to the floor?

Could be the condesate drain pan is cracked, or if it's an older unit, the metal drain pan is rusted through. The latter usually happens where the coil makes contact with the pan.

The dissimilar metals react & rust out the pan. I've seen this many times. Sometimes you can get a replacement pan, but usually you're forced to replace the entire evaporator coil which has the pan integrated onto it.

The upside is that the new style pans are plastic, so they'll never rust. Access the coil & pour water in the pan & observe where it goes. If you see it running down through the pan & not the drain, time to call a licensed pro, as the refrigerant must be removed from the system to replace the coil, definately not a DIY project!

Hope this was helpful, good luck!

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14. about central air conditioners and air conditioners?

Hi, Central air conditioners distribute cool air throughout a house or building by means of ducts that channel the air from the cooling coils to each room. There are also ducts to return the air to be cooled again. These units are divided into two major parts: 1) An evaporator inside the house that cools the air, and 2) A compressor outside the house that extracts the heat from the coolant and returns it inside again.

Air conditioners are usually installed in windows. The front part, the part inside the house, contains the evaporator ( the cooling part). A blower blows the cooled air out into the room that the window is in.

The compressor is in the back part of the unit that extends outside the window and exhausts the heat from the condenser coils to the outside air. Hope this helps. FE