The A/C Guy of Tampa Bay Inc. Blog: Archive for October, 2021

Your Heat Pump Needs Maintenance in Fall as Well as Spring

Monday, October 18th, 2021
fall-checklist

A Florida winter isn’t as intimidating a prospect as, say, a Wisconsin winter. We experience mild cool weather and rain, and the occasional days when people need jackets. Our climate is one of the reasons that heat pumps are such popular options for local home comfort: a heat pump operates as a powerful air conditioning system during much of the year, but it can also manage heating without much trouble when the outdoor temperatures aren’t too low. A heat pump is a great all-seasons comfort system for Florida.

If you use a heat pump for your house, we have an important reminder: schedule maintenance for the heat pump this fall. People often forget to have this done because they assume a heat pump only needs maintenance once a year in spring. After all, air conditioning systems only need maintenance in spring. But even though heat pumps resemble air conditioners in how they run, they have different maintenance requirements.

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Why Might an AC Lose Refrigerant?

Monday, October 4th, 2021
air-conditioner-evaporator-coil

Refrigerant is a chemical blend that can easily shift between liquid and gaseous states. This makes it ideal for air conditioning systems: as the refrigerant moves through the air conditioner, it evaporates indoors to absorb heat and then condenses outdoors to release heat. During this process, the refrigerant never dissipates—the same amount of refrigerant should stay in the AC for the entire life of the cooling system.

But … leaks can happen. An air conditioner won’t lose refrigerant over time (this is a common misconception) unless it has leaks along its refrigerant lines or at connection points. To prevent the AC from failing due to low refrigerant, experts must locate the leaks, seal them, and then put back in the amount of refrigerant that was lost. 

If you’re curious about how these leaks start and if you can do anything to prevent them, follow us below for more information.

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