What to Know About Air Conditioning Repair

If you live in a consistently hot climate or even if you live in a moderate one but just can’t stand to bear the summer heat, making sure the cooling system in your home works consistently is a major priority, and understanding what makes them work is equally important when you need to determine if a fix or replacement is necessary.

Air conditioning repair is a dreaded prospect for two reasons: one being the fact that there are typically significant costs involved, and the other being simply that your cooling system is broken or underperforming, meaning you likely aren’t comfortable in your own home.

Like with any other repairs needed to your home, automobile or other major component of your life, it can also be stressful to determine what repairs are needed and what aren’t, and whether companies hired to diagnose the problem and recommend the solution are being straightforward, honest and cost-effective in their recommendations.

Air conditioning repair is like any other major fix in that it involves a highly complex system with a number of significant components that are all needed to ensure the unit works properly. Because of this, there are many different parts at work and many different areas where trouble can occur, both small and large, minor and major.

Understanding how cooling systems work is key to determining what is necessary when it comes to air conditioning repair. If you are able to recognize and diagnose troubles on your own, it makes it much easier to determine what is necessary and what isn’t when it comes time to hire a repair man.

The main power to any AC unit is the compressor, which in a centralized setup is located outdoors. This circulates the cool breeze through the ductwork in your house and serves as the main force behind the entire system.

The condenser is also outside with the compressor and is basically a series of pipes or tubes that contain refrigerant. This piece extracts heat from the refrigerant and converts it to liquid form while pushing the heat outside.

The evaporator coil is inside the home and is connected to the tubes of the condenser. It is also filled with refrigerant and removes heat and moisture as it converts this refrigerant into gas form.

The fan outside of the air conditioner pulls the breeze through the condenser into the handling unit inside. The handler contains a fan that moves the cool breeze through the ducts and into the rooms of the home. From there, installed filters allow this breeze to pass through them while catching dust and other harmful particles to keep them from entering the living space.

Between these major components and several smaller yet just as important components, there are many things that can break or wear over time and make air conditioning repair necessary. Understanding the process as a whole and breaking it down into the various components allows you to recognize various symptoms of what might be wrong and therefore know what is necessary when it is time to begin air conditioning repair.