Summers in Olympia, WA are milder than other parts of the country, but our humidity often makes up for it, and an air conditioner is the best defense against those periodic heat waves. Leaking refrigerant ranks among the most common problems an AC system can experience, and something any prudent homeowner should attend to quickly before the temperatures spike. Refrigerant is the gas that makes air conditioning possible. When it leaks, it slows down the efficiency of your AC unit and can cause more serious problems if left untreated. Here are 3 signs of refrigerant leaks:
Sunset Air Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Air Conditioning’
3 Signs of Refrigerant Leaks
Monday, May 4th, 2015How Zone Control Can Improve Your Air Conditioning System
Monday, April 27th, 2015The days are beginning to heat up, and before long you’ll be running your air conditioning system on an almost daily basis. Centralized air conditioning is a great way to keep the entire house cool throughout the summer months. As effective as centralized air conditioning is, though, it’s not perfect. A centralized air conditioner is often controlled by a single thermostat, which makes it less efficient at regulating temperature across rooms that warm up at different rates. It also wastes a lot of energy on rooms that are unoccupied, and thus not in need of air conditioning. Fortunately, there’s a way to solve these problems: zone control.
3 Signs that Your Air Conditioner Needs Replacing
Monday, April 20th, 2015Summer is almost here, and your air conditioner is going to start seeing a lot more use than it has in the past few months. The last thing you want is for your air conditioner to give out right in the middle of a hot summer day. Proper repairs and maintenance can prevent that from happening for a time, but there will come a point where your system just won’t be able to make it through another summer. When that happens, you’re going to want to replace it before it has the chance to break down on you. With that in mind, here are 3 signs that your air conditioner needs replacing.
7 Benefits of a Programmable Thermostat
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014
7 Benefits of a Programmable Thermostat
One of the biggest causes of poor energy efficiency in an HVAC system is leaving the heating or air conditioning on when no one is in the house. If you find that you are constantly leaving the heating or cooling on in your house, chances are you could benefit from changing to a programmable thermostat. Here is a list of 7 ways a programmable thermostat can help your HVAC system.
- You can schedule the heating or cooling to only turn on while you are gone. This makes a huge difference in your utility bills at the end of the month.
- Programmable thermostats do not contain toxic chemicals such as mercury. Most outdated thermostats use mercury inside the unit. It’s important to keep this in mind when disposing of it.
- You won’t ever forget to turn off you heating or cooling system.
- You don’t have to enter a cold home after a long day. The thermostat can be used to heat the room just before your arrival.
- You can also adjust your thermostat to turn on just before you wake up in the morning.
- You can set the temperatures to be different on different days of the week.
- A programmable thermostat is a year round advantage. You can use all the same features to control heating AND cooling using only one unit.
Sunset Air wishes you a safe and warm winter. For more information on programmable thermostats, contact us by calling (360) 456-4956
The Benefits of Switching to a Ductless System
Tuesday, November 25th, 2014
The Benefit of Switching to a Ductless Heating and Cooling System Increased comfort:
Ductless heating and cooling systems are extremely efficient at distributing heat evenly throughout your living space. One indoor unit is enough to regulate the temperatures in a large space. Ductless systems are suitable for any open floor plan and are easy to control. With a duct system the air has more distance to travel before entering the room it will be heating or cooling. Duct systems can waste an average of 40% of your heating and cooling energy.
Monthly savings:
Ductless systems can replace the primary heat source in all electrically heated homes. Ductless systems heat homes for a fraction of the cost of a baseboard, electric furnaces, or wall and ceiling heaters.
Heating and cooling all in one unit:
This allows you to control your comfort no matter what season it is. With a ductless system, the heating and cooling is all done from one unit making it a great choice for controlling the temperature of your home all year round. No more external air conditioners and the maintenance that comes with them.
Easy, low-cost installation:
Ductless systems do not require costly and complicated ductwork. This allows you to set aside your worries of duct cleaning and expensive maintenance. A ductless installation can usually be completed within a couple of days.
Breathe cleaner, healthier air:
With a ductless system you can say goodbye to dirt, dust, germs, mildew, and odor causing gases. A ductless system will continuously be circulating fresh air into your living space, making it a prime choice for people who suffer from allergies.
Incentive opportunities:
Many local utility companies such as Puget Sound Energy offer cash incentives up to $1,500 for changing to a ductless system. This can make it a whole lot easier on your pockets when making the transition.
Alternatives to Central Air Conditioning
Friday, July 11th, 2014When it is time to purchase an air conditioning system, central AC is the only way to go, right? Not necessarily! Even though central AC units may be what you usually find at your friends’ and neighbors’ homes, there are, in fact, some alternatives to central air conditioning that you might consider for your new air conditioning installation this summer.
Ductless Mini Split Systems
Ductless mini split systems are a useful alternative for many homes in which ductwork installation is difficult. In this case, a ductless system can distribute air with the use of an outdoor condenser unit (similar to those used in central air conditioning systems) as well as indoor air handlers installed in different areas of the house. Each air handler has its own thermostat so you can vary the temperature in different areas or rooms of the home.
Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are similar to central air conditioning systems, but, like ductless mini split systems, they can provide both heating and cooling. Heat pumps pull heat from the air in your home and move it outside in order to provide cool air. During the heating season, this process reverses and the heat pump pulls heat from the outside air to pump it indoors. Because they rely on the air outdoors to provide heating and cooling, heat pumps usually work best in mild climates and may not be right for every home.
Geothermal Air Conditioning Systems
A geothermal system works much like a heat pump, but the heat pulled from your home during the cooling season is released into the earth rather than into the air. In heating mode, the system absorbs heat from the ground and moves it into your home. To accomplish this, a system of coils and a refrigerant line are buried in your yard. While the cost of installation is generally higher than with other air conditioning options, a geothermal system is a great investment because it requires less maintenance, has a longer lifespan, and is better for the environment than other central air conditioning options.
To discuss your air conditioning options with an AC expert, call Sunset Air today!
What are the Benefits to Early A/C Maintenance?
Wednesday, April 30th, 2014Here in Olympia, WA, air conditioning systems are being dusted off in anticipation of another warm summer. That means you may want to think about scheduling a maintenance session to clean off the dirt, recharge the refrigerant and check the system carefully for signs of any larger problems. You should make such a session a regular part of your air conditioner’s life, but the sooner you schedule it, the better. What are the benefits to early A/C maintenance? The bottom line is there’s only one: money back in your pocket.
A maintenance session improves the overall efficiency of your unit: removing dirt that causes friction, recharging refrigerant to make the air cooler, and securing any loose or rattling components. The longer you delay a session, the more you’ll lose in efficiency, which translates to higher monthly energy bills and lost money. A quick approach ensures that your system is ready to go when the first hot day hits, and that it won’t use any more energy than it has to.
Furthermore, in the event that repairs are necessary, catching it early gives you the maximum amount of flexibility to cover it. More time before heating season starts means that you can set up a bigger repair session at a time that’s convenient to you, in between all of the other things going on in your busy life. Contrast that to an unexpected breakdown later in the summer — the sort of thing a maintenance session could have caught — forcing you to drop everything and schedule repairs before the lack of air conditioning turns your home into an oven. The more you delay, the less flexibility you have and the greater the chances of an unexpected breakdown at the worst possible time.
If you know what the benefits are to early A/C maintenance, and you’d like to take advantage of them, the Olympia air conditioning experts at Sunset Air are standing by. We have the skills and experience to do the job right and we won’t rest until you are 100% satisfied with your work. Pick up the phone and give us a call today. You’ll be glad you did!
Electrical Problems with Your Air Conditioning
Thursday, August 29th, 2013While there are several different types of popular heating fuel, electricity is the only option when it comes to air conditioning. As such, your air conditioning system can develop a number of common electrical issues. Sunset Air is proud to provide our customers with quality air conditioning repair services in Puyallup, WA and we wanted to assemble a short list of some of the most common that we see. Call us today if you need any service for your AC and our experts will be able to help.
Puyallup, WA Air Conditioning Repair FAQ: Electrical Issues
Below are a few of the most common electrical repairs that we see for air conditioning systems. Call us today if you’re experiencing any of them.
- Capacitors – A capacitor is like a booster for electric motors. Your air conditioning system uses several important motors: two fan motors and a compressor motor. Each of these has a capacitor attached to it that provides it with a boost of energy at start up and while it runs. If the capacitors stop working then your air conditioning system won’t work. If you aren’t getting any cooling or if you don’t hear your AC’s fan motor running it could be that the capacitors are bad.
- Air conditioning won’t turn on – Obviously, if your air conditioner won’t turn on then you have a very big electrical problem. It could be one of the control panels that switches on the motors at start-up. One common problem that is often overlooked is the thermostats. If your thermostat wiring is bad or if they aren’t calibrated properly it could keep the AC from starting up.
- Air conditioning constantly runs – This is another common problem that homeowners face. If you notice that your AC won’t shut off it likely has something to do with one of the electrical components. There are numerous control boards that interface with your thermostats to turn the system on and off. If the AC keeps running, there could be something wrong with one of the panels or with the thermostats themselves. Sometimes it happens that the thermostats are installed in a space that gets a lot of sunlight which causes them to detect a much higher temperature.
When you need air conditioning repair services, call the Puyallup air conditioning specialists at Sunset Air. We can handle any issue that you might be having and we can work on any type of system that you might have.
How Dust Negatively Impacts Your Air Conditioning System
Wednesday, August 21st, 2013Is your air conditioning system no longer as effective as it once was? Have your energy costs steadily gone up over the years? There are numerous signs that you may have an excessive buildup of dust or other debris in your air conditioner. When such debris builds up on your AC’s sensitive system components, it causes performance and efficiency problems. Moreover, it may actually shorten the life of your cooling system. Make sure that you keep your system as clean as possible year-round to ensure sufficient cooling performance. Let the Olympia air conditioning repair experts at Sunset Air take care of your AC. We provide routine maintenance in addition to our repair services that can keep your system on-track before it breaks down or needs to be fixed. Call us today.
Here are a few ways that dust as well as other debris can negatively impact your AC:
- Dirty coils. You have two types of coils in an AC: the outdoor condenser and the indoor evaporator. Both of these coils need to be kept clean at all times. Your outdoor coil dissipates the thermal energy of the gaseous refrigerant exacerbated by the compressor into the outside air, but it cannot perform this function if the coils themselves are covered in debris. This could lead warm (rather than than cold) air coming through the ducts in addition to higher energy costs and wear and tear as your system attempts to make up for the lost efficiency.
- Blower motor fault. In a central air conditioner, the blower motor has the vital role of pulling in air through your return ductwork, cooling it, and then returning it to your home through the supply ductwork. But excessive debris can get inside the motor’s parts and dry out bearings, in addition to other sensitive components. When this occurs, your system may make a loud grinding sound, and you may need to replace the entire motor if you’re not careful.
- Dust in the ductwork. Another consideration is dust in the ductwork itself. This not only ensures that any airborne air picks up the dust and circulates it throughout your home, but it may also reduce energy efficiency and performance in certain severe cases.
Call Sunset Air today for all of your air conditioning repair needs in Olympia. We can handle any job, big or small.
How a Bad Capacitor Can Affect Your Air Conditioning System
Tuesday, July 30th, 2013Does your air conditioning system suffer from intermittent start up? Does it fail to start up at all? As you know all too well, your air conditioning runs on electrical energy and it needs a steady supply in order to operate effectively and efficiently. During the heat and humidity of an Olympia, WA summer, you need to have an air conditioner that works well day-in and day-out no matter what the weather brings. And that kind of reliability requires that all of the components work well together. One of the most important, but overlooked, components is the capacitor. In today’s post, we’d like to focus on what this part is and how it can affect your air conditioning system when it doesn’t work properly. If that’s the case, call Sunset Air for professional air conditioning repair service in Olympia, WA. We are here to help.
A capacitor is a small box that functions a bit like a car battery. Air conditioners require a lot of electricity to operate and much of that initial surge is required in order to fire up the various components to initiate the refrigerant cycle. This requires more initial electricity that your circuit breaker panel allows for, which is why a capacitor is installed. It gives the system an extra boost during start up, and then it recharges and awaits the next start up. However, if something goes wrong with your capacitor, then it can create problems with your AC. If your AC won’t start up, then there are a couple things you should do before calling for professional repair. First, check to make sure that the thermostat is calling for cooling. Then check it again (you’d be surprised!). If that doesn’t work, then make sure that the circuit breaker panel has not merely tripped. A bad capacitor can also cause intermittent start up, which can be especially frustrating.
Both of these problems can also be caused by electrical failure or by thermostat fault, so it’s important to make sure that you get your system diagnosed by a professional. Call Sunset Air today for comprehensive air conditioning repair services in Olympia, WA.
