Its mid-July at the Jersey Shore and the temperature will roam around 90°F for the near future. As you might expect, air conditioning companies like Rostron Premium Home Services are getting bombarded with emergency service requests. The most common messages we receive are, “My AC is not working,” “My AC is not cooling properly,” “The AC can’t reach my thermostat setting,” “My house is not cooling down,” and, “My house is too hot”.
Let’s break it down…
My AC Is Not Working…
When a customer calls and says my AC is not working at all, we escalate it to an emergency repair. If your AC unit won’t turn on or is blowing warm air, there is obviously a problem that needs diagnosis.
Of course, an AC not working at all can be caused by any one of dozens of issues. It could be as simple as a blown fuse (which the service technician would investigate why the fuse blew). It could be something as serious as a refrigerant leak or compressor failure. Or any one of a hundred issues between a minor issue and a major one.
The technicians at Rostron Premium Home Services wouldn’t know the cause of the failure until they tested everything in person. Although the day is coming when every AC unit is equipped with self-diagnostic tools, we’re still not quite there yet.
Several AC manufacturers are building equipment with onboard diagnostics & even monitoring plans. However, we have yet to see one that’s ‘nailed it’ – especially at a reasonable price.
My AC Can’t Reach My Thermostat Setting…
While a Rostron Premium Home Services service technician will still need to diagnose, sometimes the AC is the problem, sometimes it’s not.
You would think an air conditioner not reaching its thermostat setting is always because the AC is not working, right? Let’s review a few scenarios and you’ll see why a house that’s not cooling down isn’t always a broken AC. First, let’s start with scenarios where the reason you’re not achieving your thermostat setting is the AC not working.
Failing Fan Motor, Run Cap, Start Cap, or Other Electronic Component…
A ‘failing’ part is different than a ‘failed” part (and why routine AC maintenance is necessary – to spot ‘failing’ parts). Let’s use a failing condenser fan motor as an example. A condenser fan motor doesn’t always just ‘die’. When it does the service call message from our customer changes to, “AC not working”. However, when it’s ‘failing’, the customer often notices the AC is not reaching the thermostat setting but says, “the AC is still working”.
In the failing fan motor example, typically what is happening is the fan motor is overheating & shutting down intermittently. Once it cools down, it starts running again until it overheats again. This can happen repeatedly for hours, days, weeks, and even months. What’s happening in this scenario is the AC stops working, starts working, stops working, starts working. Hence, the reason the house is not cooling down to the temperature setting, even though the AC ‘appears’ to be working.
Rostron Premium Home Services TIP: We regularly get calls to cancel a service request because, “the AC is working again”. 99% of the time we get a call back within days with the message, “the AC is not working again”. Don’t cancel your appointment! The cost of a service call is worth knowing for sure, as they say, better safe than sorry. Using the failing fan motor example above, the compressor is at risk of severe damage if left unchecked. That service call could be the difference between less than one hundred dollars and thousands of dollars. Don’t forget, if you are a member with Rostron Premium Home Services, the $99 diagnostic fee will go towards the cost of repairs!
The Air Conditioner Can’t Keep Up During the Summer.
Some of the AC service calls Rostron Premium Home Services technicians will go to this week won’t be caused by the AC not working. The air conditioning equipment itself will all be running up to the manufacturer’s specifications. Here are a few scenarios where the thermostat setting can’t be achieved, and the home is not cooling down at no fault of the AC unit itself…
Load Calculation Design Temperature:
An AC unit should be sized based on something called a load calculation. A load calculation takes many variables into account beyond just the size of the space (square footage) being cooled. Some of these variables include, insulation R-Values, window & door U values, orientation of the home, and many more. Even the types of blinds you have, number of occupants, and roof type & color, are factored into the calculation.
All those factors are calculated to determine the air conditioner size needed for a specific “design temperature”. Depending on where at the Jersey Shore you live the design temperature will vary slightly. Note, every town in the world has a different design temperature and is mostly determined by historical temperature & humidity data.
Thermostat Setting
Rostron Premium Home Services TIP: You may not be saving energy at all by setting your thermostat up to high during the day. In fact, you may be using more energy than if you had only raised your thermostat setting 2-3°. Your AC unit must work harder, longer, and often when usage rates are the highest to bring the temperature down. This is especially true during period of high temperatures like the Jersey Shore is experiencing.
Duct Work
A common issue in Jersey Shore homes is poor duct design & installation, and/or leaky ductwork. The ductwork is one of the most important elements of the air conditioning ‘system’. It’s not uncommon to find a home is not cooling down to the thermostat setting due to ductwork related problems. Installation matters!!
AC Not Working? AC Not Cooling Down Your House? – Just Call Rostron Premium Home Services!
If you live anywhere within a 25-mile radius of our main office in Wall, NJ we service your neighborhood! We can help you with any of your home comfort needs from fixing an AC to installing a brand new system. Don’t forget, we offer Electric & Plumbing services too! Call us today to schedule an appointment! 732-223-8221
