{"id":1410,"date":"2017-04-03T11:00:21","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T15:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/?p=1410"},"modified":"2017-03-28T10:35:04","modified_gmt":"2017-03-28T14:35:04","slug":"test-ac-see-if-it-needs-fixing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/air-conditioning-service\/test-ac-see-if-it-needs-fixing\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to Test Your AC (And See if It Needs Fixing)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1411\" src=\"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/wall-clock-300x256.jpg\" alt=\"wall-clock\" width=\"300\" height=\"256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/wall-clock-300x256.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/wall-clock.jpg 704w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>In our last two blog posts, we looked over the <a href=\"\/blog\/air-conditioning-service\/benefits-air-conditioning-maintenance\/\" target=\"_blank\">benefits of spring maintenance for an air conditioner<\/a> and <a href=\"\/blog\/air-conditioning-service\/air-conditioning-maintenance-march\/\" target=\"_blank\">why it\u2019s important to schedule it this time of year<\/a>. As important as professional maintenance is, however, you still need to do testing of your own before the summer heat arrives. You don\u2019t want to be surprised when you turn on your air conditioner for the first time during the year and find that it\u2019s failed. Yes, even with regular maintenance, this can happen. We recommend you take your air conditioner for a test run during the spring to catch any lingering troubles early on.<\/p>\n<p>Pick a day with cool or warm outdoor temperatures when you won\u2019t mind having the air conditioner running for an hour or so, but when you don\u2019t actually need it for comfort. Turn it on, and then take some time to watch for faults, small and large, that indicate you should contact our HVAC technicians for <a href=\"\/residential-hvac\/air-conditioning\" target=\"_blank\">air conditioning repair in Eugene, OR<\/a> or elsewhere in the state. Below are some behaviors to watch for that are warnings about malfunctions or a system that\u2019s aging rapidly.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>Short-Cycling<\/h3>\n<p><em>Short-cycling<\/em> refers to a type of air conditioning system behavior that\u2019s incredibly damaging\u2014but also easy to ignore if it isn\u2019t yet affecting cooling. Short-cycling is when the AC\u2019s compressor turns on and off rapidly over a short period of time. This means the air conditioner isn\u2019t completing its cooling cycle. There are different reasons this might occur\u2014a malfunctioning thermostat, leaks in ducts, an improperly sized AC, stress on the compressor\u2014but all add up to enormous strain on the components that can lead to an early system breakdown. You\u2019ll need HVAC experts to analyze the system and find out what needs to be fixed.<\/p>\n<h3>Low Airflow from Vents<\/h3>\n<p>As you tour your home while the AC is running, check each of the room vents to feel the airflow from them. If the airflow from one or more vents feels sluggish, something is probably wrong, either in the vents or with the AC\u2019s air handler.<\/p>\n<h3>Hot Spots in Rooms<\/h3>\n<p>The reason we recommend making this test during a cool or moderately warm day, rather than a cold day, is so you can feel temperature differences in rooms that are receiving less cooling than they should. Hot spots (<em>warm<\/em> spots this time of year) are indications the AC is starting to lose its cooling abilities. Check first to see that room vents are open and unobstructed. Then consult with professionals.<\/p>\n<h3>Weird Noises<\/h3>\n<p>You don\u2019t want to hear unexpected sounds coming from the indoor AC cabinet or the outdoor unit. Grinding, shrieking, and other mechanical sounds often means motors are wearing down and need repairs before they need replacements. Clanging and rattling noises might be loose parts. And a hissing sound points toward a dangerous loss of refrigerant through leaks. Let HVAC professionals track down the problem and have it fixed.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, if you haven\u2019t done so yet, please <a href=\"\/service\/air-conditioning-repair\" target=\"_blank\">arrange for air conditioning maintenance<\/a> with our HVAC professionals. This will give you time to <a href=\"\/contact\/schedule-service\" target=\"_blank\">schedule any repairs<\/a> you may require.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Comfort Flow Heating provides all of Oregon with superb heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We recommend you take your air conditioner for a test run during the spring to catch any lingering troubles early on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[124,116,89],"class_list":["post-1410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-air-conditioning-service","tag-air-conditioning-maintenance","tag-air-conditioning-repair","tag-eugene"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1410"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1412,"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1410\/revisions\/1412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}