Miami AC Repair Summer Tips

Summer is quickly approaching. Weather across the U.S. has been less than predictable with some unexpected extremes. It may not seem like summer yet with cooler temperatures and rain, but summer’s coming and the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting warmer temperatures than normal and less rain.

Are you prepared for the chance that Miami’s summer weather might be much hotter than usual? Is your central AC system ready to handle whatever the summer brings? 

Even a new system faces unexpected breakdowns. What can you do to ensure your system’s working as efficiently as possible, and that any unexpected issues that do arise are handled quickly? Here are our top Miami AC summer tips.

Get Your System Cleaned and Inspected

Before the hottest days of summer arrive, schedule a cleaning and comprehensive AC system evaluation. During this cleaning and inspection, your system’s air filter is changed, ducts are checked for possible issues, and the AC is tested to ensure it’s working properly to cool your home. 

An evaluation should test your system to make sure that it’s properly charged and sized correctly to cool your home. A system that is too large or too small may run too much or turn on and off, which increases your energy use and creates excessive wear on the different components. 

Have Your System’s Ducts Inspected and Attended To

Your ducts need to be inspected for damage from animals like mice, rats, squirrels, and raccoons that find their way into your attic. It should also be checked for cracks and holes and that the insulation is intact. If there are issues, it’s best to have them repaired before you start losing cool air or returned air to wall spaces or the hotter attic space. Duct sealing takes care of weak joints, holes, and leaks in your ducts. 

When you seal ducts, you boost efficiency and your personal comfort. Plus, it keeps disease-carrying rodents out of your ductwork. During a duct sealing appointment, technicians identify where the air is escaping and use duct sealant to fill the gaps, holes, and cracks. Connections are tightened, and insulation is reinstalled to prevent cool air from warming up as it moves from the indoor AC components to the rooms around your home.

Cleaning your ducts is important from time to time as it removes hair, dander, and dust that enter your ducts. You might want to talk to your AC technician about the benefits of UV light installation to help kill germs and bacteria that are in the indoor air circulating your home.

You may learn that your ducts have mold or mildew contamination during an inspection. If you do, you may notice your home smells musty. Duct restoration is a process where the inside of your ducts are coated with an anti-bacterial, mold-resistant agent that gets rid of mold and mildew spores while boosting air flow. Duct sanitization also helps rid ducts of allergens and microbes.

Address Unusual Noises ASAP

You’ve started to hear a squeal, clunk, bang, or shriek from your central air conditioning that’s never happened before. While you might decide to wait and see if it gets worse, you’re asking for trouble. That noise could be a sign that your system is about to stop working. Suddenly, you’ll be stuck in the hottest days of the season waiting on repairs. 

If you address unusual noises as soon as they appear, you can save money. Catching a problem in the early stages can prevent damage to other components. Plus, it’s going to take a lot less time to tighten a screw than to replace fan blades that get bent if the screws fall out and allow the blade to loosen.

Look at Your Home’s Design

A central AC system does what it can to cool your home, but there are things you can do to help it out. At the hottest time of day, when the sun is high in the sky, what windows get the most sun exposure? Install honeycomb or room-darkening, insulating blinds to keep the sun from heating that room. Consider adding a retractable awning outside of that window or patio door area to keep the sun from reaching that window or door.

Plant trees in areas that will create shade. It can take trees several years to grow tall enough to cast shade, so aim for trees that grow quickly. American sycamore, Lombardy poplar, and silver maple trees grow upwards of five feet per year, so they’re all good choices.

As you do plant shade trees, make sure you’re considerate of underground pipes and septic systems. If you’re on a septic system, you cannot plant trees near the septic tank, pipes leading to the leach field, or over the leach field. Doing so will wreck your system.

Improve Your Attic Insulation

Attic insulation is important. Summer’s sun will heat your roofing materials, and that heat transfers to the trusses and beams in your attic. That warms the air inside the attic, which can impact how efficient your AC system is. 

Install attic insulation to prevent this heat transfer. Florida requirements are to have ceiling insulation of R-30 or better and insulation in raised floors and framed walls of R-13 or better. If you’re not sure you have that level of insulation, it’s time to talk to an insulation expert to address poor insulation. Tax incentives can help recover some of the cost.

Listen to the Experts

In Florida, it’s unlikely to have a central AC system lasting more than 20 years, and that’s if it’s been well maintained. In general, expect to get 10 to 15 years from your Miami AC system. If your system is that old, it’s likely time to invest in a new AC system. An expert AC technician will advise you if your system is old and inefficient. 

You may not enjoy the idea of purchasing a new system, but it’s better than ending up with a system that’s not working on the hottest day of the year. Have a new AC installed before summer arrives and you’ll save money and frustration.

Before you panic over the cost of a new air conditioning system, remember that FPL offers an instant rebate of $150 when you partner with one of FPL’s qualified AC contractors. Plus, the federal government offers a tax credit of up to $600 for a qualifying cooling system. You’ll end up saving money on your new installation, and you save money on your monthly energy bills.

Invest in an Extended Warranty

All Year Cooling can help you avoid unexpected repair bills. Ask us about our 10-year extended labor warranty. For $1,497, Miami AC owners get ten years of protection that lowers their out-of-pocket AC repair expenses. There’s no limit on how many repairs you can request, and it works out to less than $100 a year, which is an amazing bargain.

Reach out to us with questions on AC repairs, the extended labor warranty, or how to finance a new AC system if yours is old and on its last legs. Ask us about federal tax and FPL incentives to help you save money on a new, more efficient AC system.  All Year Cooling helps you stay cool and comfortable all summer.