Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Air Conditioning Replacement’

Why Does My AC Smell Like Unwashed Socks?

Monday, July 25th, 2022
girl-oinching-her-nose

No, nobody has secretly been stuffing unwashed socks into your ventilation system (unless you know something we don’t). This unpleasant odor coming from the vents when the air conditioner turns on is a common problem known, appropriately, as “dirty sock syndrome.” You want to have it fixed, not just to eliminate the sour odor from wafting around your house, but because it indicates a problem with the air conditioning system that will impair its performance and cost you more to run it.

Follow us below as we look more into dirty sock syndrome.

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Was This the Final Summer for Your AC? Some of the Signs

Monday, September 6th, 2021
air-conditioner-with-dirty-coils

Saying goodbye to an old air conditioning system shouldn’t be difficult. No one forms sentimental attachments to HVAC appliances. An air conditioner is designed to do a vital job for a home—keeping it comfortable during the heat—and when it can no longer do that job effectively or without raising utility prices extremely high, then replacing is a straightforward solution. 

And yet, people still find it difficult to make the final choice to replace an air conditioner that’s on the decline. We understand: the job costs money and takes planning, and maybe the current AC isn’t that bad. It’s easy to procrastinate on this type of home service. 

We’re here to help you make the right choice for your AC at the end of the summer. You don’t want to delay getting a new air conditioner during the fall (a convenient time for the service) if your current cooling system has sent out signals this was its last summer of effective and efficient use. Below are some of those signals:

The AC is 15 or more years old

The raw age of your air conditioning system is a strong indicator of how much longer you can expect it to continue to work. Few central ACs can last much longer than 15 years—it’s the point when the strain on the system’s components catches up with it and repairs and maintenance make much less of a difference. We strongly recommend replacing an air conditioner this old. 

Rising summer electric bills

In the last one or two years of an air conditioning system’s service life, it will start to see a drop in its energy efficiency. This means you’ll see a rise in your electrical costs each summer that’s unconnected to electricity prices and how much you use the AC. This decline will only get worse and you’ll throw money away each time the air conditioner comes on. 

Dropping cooling capacity

The cooling capacity of an air conditioner is how much cooling it can create. When an AC is accurately sized for a house, it will have the right cooling capacity to lower indoor temperatures to a comfortable level without wasting energy. When this cooling capacity starts to drop and you notice your house no longer gets as cool as it used to (unless you keep lowering the thermostat), it’s time for a new AC. 

Excessive and expensive repairs

Needing to repair an AC each year is too often. And twice a year is a big warning that a replacement is the better choice. Also watch out for high costs of repairs: any single repair quote that’s more than half the cost of a new AC is not worth it. 

If you need help making the choice, you have a great resource available: us! We offer air conditioning service in North Potomac, MD and provide honest opinions on repairs and replacements. 

At Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing, we pledge to exceed expectations at every turn. Schedule AC service if you think you need a new cooling system.

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A Wheezing AC: Why Its Airflow Is Low

Monday, August 23rd, 2021
room-vent

Think of the ventilation system in your house like it’s a set of lungs. It’s not a clean comparison, but it has enough similarities for us to make a point. You want the air to flow through the ventilation system with as few obstructions as possible: air from inside the house flows through the return vents, passes through a filter, then moves through the AC to receive cooling, and then branches out along the supply vents to reach the room. If this airflow drops, it means the ventilation system is “wheezing”—something is keeping the flow through the ducts, filter, or AC from moving cleanly.

When you have a wheezing AC, it can mean several problems: a drop in cooling, a rise in bills, undue strain on components. You may need to call us for AC repair in Frederick, MD to solve the problem, although sometimes a simple explanation can account for the trouble. Below we’ll look at reasons for a decline in airflow in your AC.

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How Many Years Can My Air Conditioner Last?

Monday, June 28th, 2021
ancient-ac

Nobody wants to get caught with a failed air conditioning system during the summer. When it does happen, you hope that proper repairs can get the system going again—and often this is the case. When you’re looking for repairs for your air conditioning in Bethesda, MD, the team at Tuckers is ready to help.

But some AC failures may be permanent. If an air conditioner is too aged, a breakdown may signal that the best fix is to retire the AC. We want to help you avoid getting blindsided with an AC replacement by talking about how long you can expect your cooling system to last. Knowing when your air conditioning system is in its final years will help you arrange for a replacement at a convenient time.

Average AC Life Expectancy

Most manufacturers list the service life expectancy of central air conditioning systems as 10 to 15 years. You may have heard contractors say that an AC needs to be replaced every 10 years, but this isn’t necessarily true. Air conditioners reaching 15 years without experiencing severe drops in efficiency or performance are common when the system has regular maintenance. And that brings us to an important topic… 

What Can Affect AC Life Expectancy

There are several other factors that can change how long an air conditioner lasts. The biggest is the lack of regular maintenance. We talk about routine professional HVAC maintenance often on our site, but that’s because we know that it’s a vital service that saves our customers money and helps them protect their home comfort. 

Here’s an important fact to keep in mind: the majority of repairs the average central air conditioner needs are due to lack of maintenance. Now consider those repairs are also contributing to a decline in the general health of the AC, and you’ll see why neglecting maintenance can also cause an air conditioner to fail years early. Without maintenance, an air conditioning system’s lifespan can be cut in half. So instead of enjoying an AC for 10 to 15 years, you’ll only have it for 5 to 8 years. That’s a lot of lost years of potential cooling!

Another factor that can cause a rapid decline for an AC is ignoring repair needs for too long. We always urge our customers to be proactive when it comes to getting an air conditioner problem repaired: at the earliest sign something is wrong with your AC (loud noises, a drop in cooling capacity, a rise in humidity, uneven cooling, skyrocketing electric bills, tripped circuit breakers), call our technicians to investigate the problem and fix it. If a malfunction is allowed to continue, it will place stress on other components and age the system rapidly. If you end up with a burnt-out compressor, that usually means you need to replace the entire system.

Let Tuckers help you keep your AC running for as many years as possible with our repair and maintenance service. We’re also here when you’re ready to have a new system installed. 

Call Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing when you need AC service. We pledge to exceed expectations at every turn.

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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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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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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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Should I Replace My Air Conditioner Before Summer?

Monday, February 12th, 2018

air-conditioning-replacementWe have just a few more weeks before the weather really starts to heat up. With that in mind, now is the time to make sure that your home is ready for air conditioning season. If your current air conditioner isn’t up to the task of keeping your home cool throughout the next few months, it’s a good idea to replace it with one you can rely on. Have a look at the following signs that you should replace your air conditioner before summer gets underway.

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Replace Your Air Conditioner if These Things Apply to It

Wednesday, June 7th, 2017

air-conditioning-technicianIn the middle of the hottest season of the year, one of the most obnoxious things that can happen is to have your air conditioner break down on you. Sometimes, that can be avoided with prompt repairs and annual preventive maintenance. Not always, though. There comes a point where your air conditioner just doesn’t have enough left to keep you cool through another summer. If your system can’t keep you cool through another summer, it’s a good idea to replace it now. Have a look at some of the following signs that your air conditioner needs replacing.

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