Troubleshooting Your AC System

When the weather final warms up here in Connecticut and we need an instant way to cool down we, of course, automatically turn to our air conditioning. Whether your home uses a central air conditioning system or relies on a mini-slit (otherwise known as ductless) unit you will undoubtedly be running your air conditioning for a majority of the hot summer months.

As anyone in the tri-state area knows, you definitely don’t want to suddenly find yourself with air conditioning issues on a hot and humid day. However, if you do find yourself coming head to head with an AC unit that doesn’t seem to be doing its job, there are some ways you can troubleshoot.

Home Cooling Checklist

Annual routine air conditioning maintenance on your home’s system is important. This type of service helps your AC run more efficiently for a longer period of time and avoids major issues that end up costing an exorbitant amount of money. In addition to professional maintenance, here are some things you can do to troubleshoot your AC and keep it working at peak performance level:

• Clean the ductwork, vents and outdoor condenser unit. Make sure all vents are dust free, all ductwork and condenser units are clean and that items such as furniture, curtains or rugs aren’t blocking your vent’s openings, as this will keep cool air from flowing through your home.
• Swap out the air filter. It’s best to put a new filter in your AC at the beginning of the summer season and then check it every 30 days if you’re using your AC everyday.
• Check the AC’s ability to turn on and off. When it reaches warmer temperatures, turn your AC on to make sure it powers on and off correctly. In case it doesn’t, look for tripped circuit breakers, check to see that all power switches are turned to ‘on’, set the temperature on the thermostat to at least 5 degrees below the room’s temperature and make sure the thermostat is programmed to the “cool” setting in air conditioning mode.
• Look for refrigerant leaks. If you feel warm air flowing out of your ac unit’s vents or if you see frost on the condenser unit, chances are your refrigerant is leaking.

Jennings Oil & Propane is here for members of the Connecticut community when it comes to installing a new air conditioning system in your home and for routine maintenance and repair services. Our professionals are ready and able to assist you in picking out a system that fits the needs of your unique home and family. Our trained professionals will order all the equipment you need, work diligently to get all installations and maintenance done in a timely fashion and will even remove your old AC system when necessary.

We are also happy to offer financing support through a local Connecticut initiative called Energize ConnecticutSM (also called EnergizeCT).

If you are in Danbury, New Milford, Southbury, Newtown, Ridgefield, Kent and nearby areas in Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven Counties contact us today about our air conditioning services.