Touchstone Heating & Air Inc. Blog: Archive for the ‘Air Conditioning’ Category

How to Tell if You Need Air Conditioning Repair Service

Monday, May 6th, 2013

Short of total breakdown or hot air blowing through your ductwork, it can be difficult to tell when you need professional Gainesville, FL air conditioning repair service. But with a little vigilance and know-how, you’ll be able to spot some of the more common AC problems that can occur during the cooling season. It’s critical that when you catch a problem, you call a technician to take care of it. Allowing problems to fester can lead to increased damage and energy inefficiency. In this post, we’d like to explain some of these common problems that tell you that professional air conditioning repair service is necessary. Call Touchstone Heating & Air today!

  • Inadequate cooling: This is a common problem with a great variety of possible causes. Often, it’s a number of problems in combination. Inadequate cooling can come down to airflow, mechanical deficiency, or even low refrigerant. Your AC was “charged” during installation, which means that it has just the right amount of refrigerant circulating through the compressor and coils to effectively and efficiently remove heat from your home and send cooled air into your home. However, if you have even a microscopic leak in one of your coils or in the copper lineset, then it can lead to inadequate cooling, as well as other problems.
  • Frozen evaporator coil: This is often due to an airflow issue. If you have a clogged air filter in your air handler, then much of the cool air will be trapped at the evaporator coil and this causes it to freeze over. Once this occurs, it usually tends only to worsen and may eventually lead to system shutoff.
  • Dirty condenser coil: Your condenser coil is responsible for dissipating the thermal energy of your home into the outside air, once it has been heightened by the compressor. Because of the location of your condenser coil, however, it is subject to encroaching vegetation and the accumulation of dust and debris. Dirty coils lead to energy inefficiency and premature system failure.

We hope this brief guide helps. Call Touchstone Heating & Air for comprehensive Gainesville, FL air conditioning repair services! 

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Winner of the Oldest AC in LC Contest

Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

Congratulations to Leonard Fishell, winner of Touchstone Heating and Air, Inc.’s “Oldest AC in LC” contest! Leonard won a brand new energy efficient AC unit. Call or contact us today for more information about high-efficiency AC systems.

Touchstone - contest winner

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Air Conditioning Guide: Why Use a Ductless System for a Home Addition

Monday, April 29th, 2013

Renovating your home is a great way to improve its value, to provide additional room for a new family member, or simply give you a little more space. Whatever your reason for putting an addition onto your Jacksonville, FL home, if it will be an occupied space, then it will need some type of heating and cooling solution. However, merely extending your existing system may not be cost-effective, nor even possible, considering the type of space you need for ductwork. If you need a new type of solution for your home addition, consider a ductless mini split air conditioning and heating system. In this post, we’d like to explain its advantage over a conventional system, especially for a home addition. For comprehensive air conditioning in Jacksonville, FL, call Touchstone Heating and Air today!

  • No ducts: As you and your contractor go through the design of your new home addition, you may have already thought about where the ducts will go. Now, because this is likely not another full-sized home, the efficient use of space is critical to achieving a good balance of cost-effectiveness and home improvement. A ductless mini split system avoids the use of ducts and that can save you lots of space in your new home addition.
  • Energy efficiency: You need your new addition to as energy efficient as possible. Perhaps you’re already thinking of ways in which the new section of your home can be more efficient than your existing home. Because of its lack of ducts and the compact design of its indoor air handlers, a ductless mini split system has energy efficiency ratings that far exceed those of conventional split systems.
  • Flexible connections: A standard central air requires its outdoor unit to be just outside the house, typically within a few feet of its hard copper lineset connection to the indoor unit. Because it puts together the refrigerant, electrical and drainages lines into a compact bundle, the ductless mini split outdoor unit can be located some distance away from the addition where the indoor air handlers are installed, so long as there is a place for drainage. This versatility may help to give you options when it comes to thinking about your home addition.

For more information about how a ductless mini split system might be the right type of system for your new home addition, call the Jacksonville, FL air conditioning pros at Touchstone Heating & Air today!

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Improving the Energy Efficiency of Your Air Conditioner

Monday, April 22nd, 2013

Homeowners throughout the Gainesville, FL area are thinking about energy efficiency as we enter the cooling season. Because the cost of operating your air conditioning is a major portion of your home budget, you’re probably always looking for ways to improve the energy efficiency of your AC. There are many approaches to reducing energy consumption, and in this post, we’d like to share just a handful. While we can’t control the cost of energy, we can control how we use it and how much of it we use. For more information about energy efficiency and your air conditioning system, call the Gainesville, FL AC experts at Touchstone Heating & Air today!

  • Install a programmable thermostat: If you’re still using a manual thermostat to cool your home, then you may be interested to know about digital programmable thermostats. Not only is the digital display easier to read and adjust, but the programmability can cut down your energy usage significantly. You can program it to automatically turn down your AC when you normally leave for work, and automatically turn the AC back up an hour before you get home, so that you can walk into a cool, crisp living space. Such programmability allows you to balance your home comfort with energy efficiency.
  • Install a zone control system: If you have a forced-air distribution system that uses the ductwork in your home, then you may have often wondered why you have to cool your downstairs kitchen in order to sleep comfortably. A zone control system uses electronically controlled dampers within your existing ductwork to control the flow of cool air, and to break your home into zones, each of which may be individually controlled. You can save energy and defuse any family arguments about home temperature with a single upgrade.
  • Regularly replace the air filter: Your air filter is designed to prevent the harmful accumulation of dust and debris on the components of your system. But when it becomes dirty or clogged, then it can have an adverse effect on airflow, thus making your AC work harder and increasing its energy needs.

These are just a few ways you can improve the energy efficiency of your home during the cooling season. For more information about how you can improve the efficiency of your air conditioning system in Gainesville, FL, call the experts at Touchstone Heating & Air today!

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Best AC Tip – When to Schedule Air Conditioning Repair

Monday, April 15th, 2013

With a professional installation and routine maintenance your air conditioner can work very reliably. No mechanical system can ever be completely problem free, though. When you do run into operational problems with your air conditioner, call the Lake City, FL air conditioning experts at Touchstone Heating & Air. Our air conditioning repair technicians have the training, skills and expertise to ensure that your comfort experiences as little disruption as possible. In order to get your AC repaired as quickly as possible, it is necessary that you understand some of the basic air conditioning warning signs.

If you notice a sudden spike in the cost associated with operating your air conditioner you most likely have a problem requiring professional air conditioning repair. Unless your home cooling habits fluctuate a lot there is some issue leading to this decrease in efficiency. The air conditioning repair experts on our team can determine exactly what the problem is and will resolve the issue quickly and effectively. The less time your air conditioner is forced to operate in a compromised condition the less likely it is that any serious damage will be incurred.

Also take not of any general decline in the performance of your air conditioner. Uneven cooling and the development of any warm spots throughout your home is a sure sign that something is amiss. As with any air conditioning problem, there are a number of possible causes for this problem. Your air ducts may be damaged or improperly installed, or there may be a problem with the fan in the unit. Whatever the issue is, only a qualified professional can repair it in order to provide you with the high quality air conditioning performance you deserve.

It is also important that you do not mistake any warning signs as being too minor to contact a professional air conditioning repair technician about. Even strange sounds or smells coming from your air conditioner may indicate a more serious problem in development. Your air conditioning technician will discover the root of these seemingly minor issues.

The important thing to remember is that the faster any air conditioning repair work is completed, the better off your system is likely to be. Call your Lake City, FL air conditioning repair company the moment you suspect a problem with your system. Call Touchstone Heating & Air.

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Common Air Conditioning Problems

Monday, April 8th, 2013

When you purchase a high-quality air conditioning system from a trusted manufacturer and have a professional handle your installation you should enjoy a great performance from that AC. Even the best air conditioners experience problems eventually, though. When you need to hire a Gainesville, FL air conditioning repair professional, call the experts at Touchstone Heating & Air. We’ll make sure that your air conditioner is fixed properly and that you can cool your home with confidence. It is necessary that a professional handles your AC repair needs, but you should know a bit about some common air conditioning problems.

Pretty much all problems that you may experience with your air conditioner will have multiple possible causes. That is why it is so important that you contact a professional air conditioning repair technician immediately. Only a pro will be able to determine the exact cause of the problem. One common air conditioning issue we see a lot, for instance, is uneven cooling throughout your home. This may be due to the fact that your air conditioner is improperly sized. It may also be the result of damaged or poorly installed air ducts. We can inspect the system, pinpoint the source of the problem and make any necessary repairs.

Many homeowners also have trouble maintaining temperatures in their home. Again, there are many different causes of this problem. You system may be too small, though if a good load calculation was performed prior to installation then this should not be a problem. Your air conditioner may be low on refrigerant, or it may even be the result of a faulty thermostat. Whatever the issue is, the Gainesville, FL  air conditioning repair professionals at Touchstone Heating & Air can help.

Even problems that seem minor or unimportant, such as strange sounds during the operation of your air conditioner, should be addressed by a professional. They are often early warning signs of a more serious problem. The sooner any issues with your air conditioner are resolved, the better. Forcing your AC to operate in compromised condition puts unnecessary stress on the system. This can lead to inefficient performance or damage to your air conditioner. Schedule air conditioning repair service in Gainesville, FL with Touchstone Heating & Air today.

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