When an air conditioner won’t work properly, people often assume what they know to be common air conditioning problems. They may ask us, “Does it just need more refrigerant?” Or, “Is the thermostat broken?” We should let you know, before we move on, that while refrigerant leaks are common, simply refilling the refrigerant is rarely a solution. You must seal the leaks, too.
Otherwise, the thermostat is rarely the problem when the air conditioner completely struggles to run as intended, and we must look to components inside the system. We may have to do a bit of detective work to determine what went wrong, and often we find it’s the same culprit: the air filter.
In Tampa, we don’t get a lot of use out of our heaters. For most of the year, the “heat” setting on the thermostat remains untouched, and our heating systems get a long rest. So when we do find ourselves in need of heating, it’s a big surprise if the unit won’t seem to kick on.
Winter is coming, and that doesn’t mean much when you live in the Tampa area. You can expect cooler weather, sure, but there are unpredictable moments when you may still want to use your air conditioner. Still, it gets a nice break during this season, which helps you to save energy—especially if you’ve got an older air conditioner that no longer runs efficiently.
We all know how draining the effects of high humidity can be. If you live in Florida, you deal with it all the time. You’re thankful to have a central air conditioning system to come home to on a hot, humid day. But is this really the solution your home deserves?
The perfect 
Did you know that the first air conditioner built in 1902 was actually designed to dehumidify? The fact that it could cool the air was only a secondary consideration, as Willis Carrier simply needed a system that could help with humidity problems at a printing company.
When an 
Leaks around the home are often a big deal. If you notice a roof leak in the middle of a rainstorm, you might go running to the neighbor’s house to borrow a tarp and frantically search through the phone book for an available roofer. When a leak springs from a pipe, you put down buckets and call a plumber as soon as you can. These leaks can do a lot of damage, no question, but it’s easy to catch them early on.
Some of us are lucky enough to rarely suffer the effects of seasonal or indoor allergies. The rest of us have to find ways to deal with them, such as with daily allergy medication or a strict house-cleaning routine. But no matter which category you fall into, indoor air quality may be a major risk to your health, whether you know it or not.
If you’re not sure how often you need to change the air filter in your home—and you’re not even sure why it’s so important—you’re not alone. To be honest, most of the people we talk to about the air filters that serve their air conditioning systems (and heaters) are misinformed about many aspects of their purpose and how to maintain them.