Staying Cool in Summer Heat

Written by Semper Fi on April 21, 2022. Posted in Air Conditioner Troubleshooting, Air Conditioner Tune-Up, Blog, Featured. No Comments on Staying Cool in Summer Heat

Staying Cool in Summer Heat Improves Your Work Output and General Health

The first day of spring is just around the corner. In the Valley of the Sun that means higher temperatures are on the way. Our few months of milder temperatures are ending, and it is time to get ready for the heat. It’s time to make sure that your air conditioner is properly tuned up and ready to keep you cool through the long hot days of summer.

If your air conditioner is not keeping your home and remote workspace comfortable, your body and mind are likely not performing at peak output.

Peak Personal Performance

If you’re working from a home office, you are aware that your endurance and productivity is greater if the room temperature is in your comfort zone. A comfortable temperature not only supports good health, it makes you more efficient. A properly functioning air conditioner will keep your home comfortable, help your mind to think better and more clearly, and make your body function longer without fatigue. Whether it is remote working or doing daily home chores, you are more productive when you do your work without breaking a sweat.

There is widespread agreement among experts that a comfortable environment is important for healthy sleep. Our bodies cool down at night, and if it is too hot, we have trouble sleeping. After a night of poor sleep, we wake up tired and groggy. We move slower and have a stronger reaction to stressful situations. The ideal sleep temperature is considered to be around 65 degrees. For half of the year, the average night-time temperature in central Arizona is above 65 degrees and in the heat of summer it can easily be 15 to 25 degrees above the ideal sleep temperature.

The importance of your air conditioner to your overall health is not limited to the hot days of summer. Poor sleep conditions are bad for your health whenever they occur.

Timely Upkeep is Needed

Air conditioners are complex mechanical systems with many moving parts that need regular service to keep them in top operating condition and prevent future breakdowns. An air conditioning system that is kept in top condition will operate more efficiently, saving on utility costs. While all air conditioners have a limited lifespan, regular service will lengthen the life of a system and delay the need for replacement.

Much like the human body, an air conditioner that is not working properly should get quick attention. Small, easy-to-fix mechanical problems tend to grow into expensive breakdowns if not repaired quickly. The best way to extend the life and operating efficiency of an air conditioner is to get it serviced at least once a year. Don’t let a broken air conditioner just limp along in the early months of spring. When it gets even hotter and you really need it to work properly, the damage may be greater, the repair costs may be higher, and the availability of available HVAC technicians may be scarce.

Early spring is a good time to schedule an air conditioner tune-up. Contact Semper Fi Heating & Cooling for an air conditioner tune-up to improve your health and that of your air conditioning system.

Having Furnace Issues?

Written by Semper Fi on January 13, 2022. Posted in Air Conditioner Troubleshooting, Air Conditioner Tune-Up, Blog, Featured, Uncategorized. No Comments on Having Furnace Issues?

Furnace Repair and Maintenance

With proper furnace maintenance and occasional tune-ups, furnaces usually have a long and dependable life. And while things can go wrong, most can be fixed.

By the time a furnace needs to be replaced, high-efficiency improvements have been made in newer systems, and reduced utility costs will at least partially offset the cost of a new furnace. There are several signs that a furnace needs repair.

Pilot Light Issues

The pilot light should burn with a blue flame. If the flame is yellow or orange, there may be a carbon monoxide problem. Turn off your furnace and call a service technician. Carbon monoxide in your home can cause serious health issues, so don’t delay in getting the problem repaired. If the pilot light flame is burning blue but flickering, that could be a different problem. Most likely, the gas supply line is partially clogged and needs to be cleaned.

Heat Exchanger Problems

The heat exchanger is the part of a furnace that separates the air that a furnace circulates throughout a home from the hazardous gases in the air that have been heated in the combustion assembly. The air you breathe moves through tubes that pass through the combustion chamber. The harmful gases get exhausted from the chimney or vent, and the clean, heated air circulates around the home.

The most common problem with the heat exchanger is that after repeated expanding and contracting from heating and cooling, metal fatigue causes cracks or holes in the tubes. That allows the dangerous gases to mix with the warm air that circulates in the home. A service technician can check your furnace for a cracked heat exchanger.

Thermostat Problems

If the thermostat display is blank, check the batteries. If replacing batteries does not solve the problem, check the breaker box. If the breaker is not thrown, it may be time for a thermostat replacement. If the furnace is running continuously and not shutting off, try setting it to auto and then try it at different temperature settings. If it still runs continuously, the thermostat may need to be replaced.

Limit Switch

The limit switch senses the temperature of the furnace and turns the furnace off and on during the normal heating cycle. It is usually very dependable, but occasionally it fails and will prevent the furnace and blower to turn off or on. The limit switch also has a high temperature limit that will shut off the heating burners and leave the blower working so that the heat exchanger does not overheat. Replacing the limit switch is a relatively inexpensive operation.

Cacophony of Rackets

Different noises indicate different types of problems with your furnace, and most of them need attention. A squealing noise is likely to be caused by a fan belt problem. There is an electric motor in a furnace that uses a fan belt to turn a fan that blows warm air through ductwork and into your home. If the belt is worn and damaged, it may slip and make a squealing noise. Turn off your furnace and have the belt replaced. A scraping sound is probably the result of worn bearings somewhere in the power assembly. Turn off your furnace and get the problem fixed to avoid additional damage.

Do you hear bangs and clangs in your ductwork when your furnace starts up and the warm air starts blowing? That is the result of cold ductwork expanding from the heat, not an operational problem that will cause damage. You may want to make sure the ducts and joints are adequately attached and secured.

Little or No Warm Air

If the amount of warm air is reduced, check to see if the air filter is dirty or clogged. Change the filter often. If clean air cannot get in the cold air vents and through the filter, warm air will not come out. If the full heating flame is burning and no warm air is moving through the ducts, there is a circulation fan problem. The cause is most likely a worn-out or broken fan belt. The motor and fan itself have other moving parts that can fail.

Some furnace problems are more urgent than others. Some problems are dangerous to the health of homeowners, and others need attention to avoid additional harm. All furnace problems need attention to keep your home comfortable and safe.

Call the professional service technicians at Semper Fi if you have furnace problems!

Click here or call (480) 616-3636

What Should You Expect to Be Included with an AC Tune-Up

Written by Semper Fi on September 13, 2021. Posted in Air Conditioner Tune-Up, Blog, Featured. No Comments on What Should You Expect to Be Included with an AC Tune-Up

Regular tune-ups are an important component to keeping your air conditioner running properly and efficiently. A system that is properly maintained will have fewer problems, it will be more efficient which will reduce your utility bill, it will have fewer breakdowns that require additional service, and it will last longer before needing to be replaced. Additionally, during an AC tune-up, your service technician will review the results of the overall condition of your HVAC system and make recommendations for preventative repairs to ensure your system does not break down during triple-digit outdoor temperatures. An untimely summer breakdown could leave your days or weeks without air conditioning during the brutal Phoenix Summer heat due to local HVAC companies being backlogged on their service schedule

Most HVAC companies offer AC tune-ups, but not all tune-ups cover the same checkpoints. At Semper Fi Heating and Cooling, we set out to become an industry leader in what we include in AC tune-ups.

Included in our list of services:

Check refrigerant pressure. If refrigerant is low, the air conditioner will need to run longer to get your home to the desired temperature.
Measure refrigerant level. If the refrigerant level is low, there may be a refrigerant leak that can lead to bigger problems.
Lubricate all moving parts. Moving parts wear out; keeping them well lubed will increase the lifespan of your air conditioner.
Lubricate motors. The outside unit contains a fan motor and compressor motor; inside in the air handler there is a motor in the air circulator.
Check evaporator coils. Without the coils, no cooling occurs.
Clean condenser coils.
Confirm AC starting capabilities.
Test safety controls.
Examine thermostat controls and calibration. If your air conditioner is not cooling to the level you set the thermostat, the problem could be as simple as recalibrating the thermostat.
Measure for proper air flow. The air flow from all registers in all rooms should be nearly uniform.
Test the temperature difference of supply and return air. The difference between the temperatures of air going into the intake ducts and the air coming out of the registers is the amount of cooling being provided. If air is not cooled enough, the system will need to run longer to get to the desired temperature.
Monitor cooling cycle. At what temperature does the air conditioner start and how long does it take to reach the desired temperature and turn off? If the running cycle is long and the time it is not running is short, there may be other problems.
Clean and adjust blower components. The blower should be clean so it is not blowing dust through the ducts.
Measure total power consumption. Power usage above rated levels is an indication that other problems may exist.
Measure compressor amp draw. A compressor drawing more amperage than rated is an early indication of possible compressor motor problems.
Measure condenser motor amps.
Inspect contact points.
Tighten electrical connections. Connections need to be tight.
Clean relays.
Inspect electrical disconnect box.
Inspect equipment conditions and clearances.
Install clean filters. It is important that filters are not so dirty that they are restricting air flow.
Vacuum exterior drain line.
Flush exterior drain line. Drain lines get clogged, causing the water that should be draining to seep out in the wrong places, and a little thing like a drain line not flowing can cause several big problems.
Clean and vacuum drain pan.
Rinse drain pan. A clean and rinsed drain pan helps prevent mold from growing and getting into circulating air.
Measure humidity level.
Install anti-algae tablets.
Spray coils with disinfectant to help reduce the risk of viruses spreading into circulating air.
Spray disinfectant into ductwork.

Beyond these tune-up checklist items, we also carefully look over your system for any other problems. Annual tune-ups will save you money by maximizing the performance and efficiency of your AC. Dirty coils and blower wheels reduce air flow and cause motors to work harder, which causes loss of efficiency and a shorter lifespan of your equipment.

Call Semper Fi Heating and Cooling for a tune-up to increase your AC life expectancy and prevent unexpected breakdowns requiring costly repairs.