Cape Coral, Florida AC Guide
Year-round weather in Cape Coral is hot and humid. Even in the coldest months, daytime average highs are in the upper 70s and nights are in the upper 50s. By the time you reach the peak of summer, its daytime average highs in the 90s and lows in the upper 70s.
Add in the average rain which can be upwards of 7.41 (July) to 9.81 (June), so humidity levels are high during much of the year. It’s a leading reason that homeowners need to have an air conditioning system that’s working well. When was the last time you scheduled a comprehensive AC system evaluation?
Steps in an AC Repair
What happens during AC repairs in Cape Coral? Typically, one of the most common repairs is one you can do yourself. If you find your central AC is not blowing enough cold air, check the filter. Remove it and hold it up to the light. If you can see through it, it’s not too dirty. If you can’t, replace the air filter and see if that fixes the problem.
If that still didn’t fix the problem, it’s time to contact us for a professional for an evaluation of your AC system. A professional technician is going to look at the system and diagnose the issues keeping it from working correctly. The components that are inspected include these:
Thermostat
Before an AC unit even knows to turn on, you have to have a properly working thermostat. The setting listed on your thermostat is what the central AC system uses to know when to turn it on and off. If the thermostat isn’t level, is dirty, or has a failure, there’s no way for your AC to know what the temperatures of the rooms within the home are. It may start running constantly, straining the motors and compressor, or not at all, making your home far warmer than you want.
Fuses, Capacitors, and Breakers
Electricity is an essential component in an AC system. They keep the compressors and motors from overheating and needing costly repairs. The cost to replace a fuse, capacitor, or breaker is much less than the cost to replace an entire motor or compressor.
If a breaker keeps tripping, it’s important to determine why. Breakers often trip when too much power is being drawn and there’s a short. That short must be discovered and corrected, which can mean checking all of the wiring.
Compressor and Contacts
The compressor’s role in air conditioning is to push the system’s coolant to cool the inside of the home and absorb the warmer air inside the home and bring it back outside. This process keeps your home cool. When the compressor breaks down, your home doesn’t cool down. Loose wiring can be all that’s stopping your compressor from working correctly, but there are other issues.
If the coolant system is over (too much) or undercharged (too little), it can cause equipment failures and problems with the system overheating. If the coolant is undercharged, it can be a sign of a system leak, and that has to be addressed. The contacts on the compressor can’t be pitted or worn out or the electricity doesn’t travel to the right components to get the system up and running.
Evaporator and Condenser Coils
Condenser coils are on the outside of your home in the exterior portion of your central AC unit. Over time, layers of materials like pollen, dust, and dirt build up on the coils and make it harder to release the hot air from within the home. They need to be cleaned with a hose each year and checked by an AC expert if the hose hasn’t helped remove the grime.
The part of the central AC unit that’s inside your home has evaporator coils. Those coils release the cool air into the ducts and have fans blow the cool air throughout your home. If the coils inside the home start to rust, they should be replaced.
Drain Pans and Lines
Dirt, dust, and pet hair can all create clogs in drainage lines. If this happens, drain pans will overfill. Have the lines checked and cleaned regularly by a professional AC repair technician.
Many components of an AC system wear over time and need replacements or repairs. The average lifespan of a Cape Coral central AC system is about 10 years, so an older system may need to be replaced instead. A professional evaluation will include making a call if it’s worth repairing, including how much it will cost and how long that repair may last, versus the cost of a new system.
Ducts
Ducts are also important to how your AC cools your home. If the ducts are leaking, you’re losing cool air within the walls, attic, or crawlspace, and that can drive up energy costs. Moving around cool, humid air also poses the issue of mold and mildew. Holes or cracks in ducts can lead to rodents getting in. All of this poses a health risk.
If there are odors coming from your ducts, you could need to have the ducts sanitized and restored. You might want to add UV lights to help kill germs and bacteria in the air within your home. When you hire a company for AC repairs in Cape Coral, ask if the ductwork is also inspected for leaks, insulation issues, or other common problems. If it’s not part of an evaluation, you should find out if you can make it part of an inspection.
All Year offers comprehensive, complimentary AC evaluations that look at three key components to diagnose issues and find potential problems that will drive up bills and make your AC system work harder or ineffectively. Our three-point evaluation looks at your AC unit as a whole, checks the air handler, and inspects the ductwork. After this free evaluation, you’re not obligated to arrange repairs or system replacements with us.
Save Money on Your New AC System
What if you need a new central AC system or have an older home without a working system? Can a company that offers Cape Coral AC repair also help with an energy-efficient AC system? All Year does installations and even offers a ten-year extended labor warranty to help keep repair costs to a minimum. There’s no limit on the number of repairs, so you’ll have minimal out-of-pocket repair costs for the full ten years.
Cape Coral residents enjoy substantial savings on new central air systems. Two of the options come from Florida Power & Light Company. Qualifying customers can get a $150 rebate on a new energy-efficient AC system and $220 on ceiling insulation. Refer your friends to All Year and you get $50 for each friend who completes an install, making it easy to save money that way too.
All Year professional AC technicians have assessed and repaired systems for more than 300,000 customers and installed more than 150,000 new AC systems. It’s our goal to ensure your home is cool and comfortable while keeping your bills as low as possible. Stop paying excessive energy bills. Let us work with you to ensure your system is in top working order by calling our Cape Coral AC repair technicians to request service.
