Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing Blog: Archive for the ‘Air Conditioning’ Category

Are There Repairs for My AC I Can Do If It Breaks Down?

Monday, June 29th, 2020
thermostat-at-55

We understand that a suddenly non-working air conditioning system in your home during a hot summer day can bring on panic. We’re expecting extreme heat this summer, and central air conditioners are vital for getting through many sweltering days. If you have to confront a cooling system that isn’t cooling, you might be ready to try anything to get it working again.

Usually, the best way to restore your cooling is to call for professional air conditioning repair in Potomac, MD from our experts. If you want to know what repairs you can do yourself, the answer is that there aren’t any. A “repair” means getting out the tools, opening the AC cabinets, and trying to fix whatever is wrong. Unless you are an HVAC professional with the proper training and equipment, you won’t be able to repair the AC on your own. In fact, you may make the situation worse and even void the warranty.

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Important Reminder About Your Air Conditioner’s Filter

Monday, June 1st, 2020
man-with-air-filter

Have you already scheduled routine maintenance for your air conditioner? If not, now is the time to do it—because spring is almost officially over and the serious heat will be settling in. You want your home’s cooling system to be ready to go and in the best possible shape to handle steady days of work.

Most maintenance tasks need professionals to perform. That’s why you have our experts available to do the job. But there’s one maintenance task you have to do yourself through the rest of the cooling season, and that is to routinely change the air filter. We’ve talked about the air filter before, but it’s worth reminding people because regularly swapping it for a new one is both easy and essential for an AC to work its best and avoid numerous problems.

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Understanding What AC Efficiency Ratings Really Mean

Monday, May 18th, 2020
frustrated-man-at-computer

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you have plans to purchase a new central air conditioning system before the summer heat arrives. A good plan, especially if your current AC has shown signs its useful days are done and an AC repair in Frederick, MD won’t keep it running effectively.

But you came to this post seeking answers to a specific question you have about buying a new air conditioning system: “What do these efficiency numbers all mean?” For example, “What is SEER? Is higher or lower better? Is SEER 15 ‘good’? And what’s this EER thing? Please help, I can’t sleep at night!”

No problem—that’s what we’re here for. When it comes to making the actual selection and installation of a new air conditioning system, you’ll need our professional technicians on the job. For the moment, we can give you a basic rundown on SEER and EER and what to look for.

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The Essential AC Service—Annual Spring Maintenance

Monday, April 20th, 2020
air-conditioning-repair

What’s the essential service for an air conditioning system? The easy answer is installation, since you can’t have any service for an air conditioner that you don’t have! But if we instead narrow the answer to services for your current air conditioner, then we think the answer is spring maintenance. This is as essential for your air conditioner as regular check-ups with a doctor are for your health or routine tune-ups are for the longevity of your vehicle.

We offer Frederick, MD air conditioning services through our maintenance plan, the Tuckers USA Club. The Club is about more than maintenance, since it also provides members with service guarantees and priority service appointments. But regular maintenance tune-ups and inspections for heating and air conditioning systems are the core of the program, and where customers see the biggest benefits.

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Late Season AC Breakdown Warnings!

Monday, October 7th, 2019
ancient-ac

The weather can be odd in October, so it’s wise to be ready for anything, including spikes in the heat. This means your home may need air conditioning services in Gaithersburg, MD before the true cold weather sets in. It’s wise to be alert for warning signs your air conditioner is running into problems. Just because the AC is soon going to go into winter hibernation doesn’t mean you can let problems slide. Any cooling system malfunction needs a fast response to diagnose and repair it. Otherwise, the problem may worsen, cause a rise in utility bills, and shorten the overall system life.

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How Much Power Can an Air Conditioner Have?

Monday, September 23rd, 2019
cold-air

Last month we wrote about how an air conditioning system can be too powerful, or oversized, for a home. An air conditioner that provides excessive tons of cooling for a home will start to short-cycle, turning itself off too early and turning back on soon after. This wastes power and causes the AC to age rapidly toward an early replacement and too many needs for AC repair in Frederick, MD in the meantime.

But whenever people hear about an oversized air conditioning system, a few start to think, “But how powerful an AC can I get? Isn’t there some sort of AC that can ‘super-cool’ my house for the hottest days?”

This is a separate issue from proper air conditioning sizing. Air conditioning systems have limits on how much they can change the temperature inside a home and have these limits for good reason.

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Yes, An Air Conditioning System Can Be Too Powerful

Monday, August 26th, 2019

During an air conditioning system installation, one of the vital steps our HVAC professionals take is to size the new AC. This doesn’t have anything to do with the physical space the unit takes up. It’s about the cooling capacity of the new system. It’s important for an air conditioner to have the right cooling capacity (i.e. “size”) to match the cooling requirements of the house. It must be neither undersized or oversized.

It’s simple to understand why an undersized air conditioner is bad news. An AC that doesn’t have enough cooling capacity to keep up with the comfort needs of a house will run constantly and still not be able to provide sufficient comfort.

It’s tougher to understand how an air conditioner can be too powerful. After all, why not err on the side of too much cooling? The house may need the extra power in an emergency, and at other times the AC can be turned down.

The truth is that an air conditioner that’s too powerful causes as many problems as one that’s underpowered.

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Is Your Home’s Second Floor Too Hot?

Monday, August 12th, 2019

Heat naturally rises, which is something anyone who lives in a two-story house understands. When there’s no air conditioner running, the upper floor of a house will feel hotter than the lower parts of the house.

A central HVAC system sends cooled air throughout a house to the rooms through vents so the cooling is evenly distributed. At least, it should be evenly distributed. But this isn’t always the case. If you’ve noticed that the upper floor of your home is much hotter than normal when the air conditioning is running, it points toward a number of possible problems—but fortunately, they all have solutions if you work with a professional Frederick, MD air conditioning contractor like Tuckers.

Below are some of the reasons for the overheated second floor and what can be done to fix them.

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Electrical AC Issues: A Closer Look at Capacitors and Contactors

Monday, July 29th, 2019

Whenever we talk about why “do-it-yourself” isn’t an option when it comes to air conditioning repair, we mention just how complicated the modern AC is. It’s not only an intricate refrigerant-based system that requires special licensing to handle, it’s also a complex electrical device with motors, wires, a control board, and numerous other electrical intricacies. This is why an HVAC repair technician must have years of training and pass special licensing tests.

Today we’re going to take a look at two important parts of the electrical system inside an AC: the capacitors and the contactors. These are temporary parts that eventually wear down to the point that they’ll need a professional to replace them. If you schedule annual maintenance for your air conditioning system, technicians will catch early on when these parts need to be replaced. But even with this level of care, you may have an air conditioning system that suddenly won’t work because of failed capacitors or contactors.

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Is It Too Late in Summer to Get a New Air Conditioner?

Monday, July 15th, 2019

July is when the peak heat of summer arrives. But that doesn’t mean everything immediately cools down in August and September. This means it’s certainly not too late to have a new air conditioning system installation in Frederick, MD to replace an AC that isn’t handling the heat.

In fact, it’s never too late at any time of the year to have a new AC. Many people choose to have new air conditioning installation in the fall, when it’s easy to schedule the service and they don’t need to worry about going without cooling for a few hours. And if an old air conditioning system is dying, then the right time to have a new one installed is now. The only time when it’s “too late” is when you wait, since it puts you at a higher risk of getting trapped with a completely busted AC.

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