Refrigerant is the substance that actually absorbs heat from the air inside your home and carries it outside to be released. It’s sealed in a closed loop and isn’t supposed to run low the way a car’s oil does, so if a system is short on it, there’s a leak
A capacitor is a small, cylindrical part in the outdoor unit that gives the compressor and fan motor the jolt of power they need to start spinning. It’s inexpensive and easy to overlook, but it’s also one of the most common reasons an AC suddenly won’t start at all, especially
It seems like the obvious move: nobody’s home, so why run the AC? In most of the country, that logic holds up fine. In Pinellas County, shutting the system off completely while you’re away for more than a day or two can end up costing more than it saves, and
The box a filter comes in usually says 90 days. That number was written for a system that runs a few hours a day for part of the year, not one that runs close to around the clock for most of it. In Pinellas County, a 90 day filter often
The peak heat of summer is starting to ease, and it’s tempting to assume the AC can coast for a few months now that it isn’t running flat out every afternoon. In most of the country that’s a reasonable call. In Pinellas County it isn’t, because the system barely gets
The thermostat reads 74 and the system is clearly working, but the house still feels sticky, the sheets feel damp, and everything from doorknobs to countertops seems to hold a film of moisture. Cooling a home and dehumidifying it are two different jobs, and in Florida’s climate a system can
The thermostat says 72 and most of the house feels right, but one bedroom or the room over the garage never quite gets there. It’s one of the most common complaints we hear, and it’s rarely a sign the whole system is failing. Usually it means the air isn’t reaching
Every AC eventually forces the same question: is this worth fixing, or is it time for a new system? Get it wrong in one direction and you spend money extending the life of a unit that was going to fail again in a few months anyway. Get it wrong in
A breaker that trips once might be a fluke. A breaker that trips every time your AC kicks on, or trips again a few minutes after you reset it, is your electrical panel telling you something is wrong with the system pulling more current than it should. It’s tempting to
August is the hardest month of the year on a Florida air conditioner, and it’s normal for a system to run longer during the peak of summer heat. But there’s a difference between “running more than usual” and “never shutting off while the bill climbs every month.” If your system
