Heating, Air Conditioning & Home Electrical Repairs, Replacement and Maintenance
Services in Columbia SC

The last thing you want to face is having an A/C unit fail during the heat of summer. The good news is that preventative servicing and maintenance can significantly reduce the risk of your A/C breaking when you need it most. What’s more, keeping your unit clean and well-maintained will help your A/C run more efficiently, keeping your home cooler in summer while saving you money on your energy bills. The question is, how often do you schedule servicing? That depends mostly on what type of unit you have, as well as how well it is performing. To account for all possibilities, we recommend the following.

1) For dedicated air conditioning units, schedule a cleaning, service and maintenance call at least once per year, even if you notice no problems — preferably in the spring before you begin operating it for the summer months.

2) For units like heat pumps that operate in both summer and winter, we recommend routine service, cleaning and maintenance at least twice per year. Logically, these visits would occur in spring before you turn on the A/C, and in fall before you turn on the heat.

3) You should schedule a service call anytime you notice an inconsistency in how your A/C unit is performing — for example, if it’s making loud rattling noises, if it’s not cooling as efficiently it should, if the compressor turns on more frequently than it should, if you notice any unusual odors in the cooled air, or if you notice a spike in your energy bills. Even if it’s not your scheduled maintenance time, you could save hundreds or thousands of dollars in repairs or replacement by calling us at the first sign of trouble. AAA Heating & Air makes it easy to keep your A/C unit in prime condition by offering a variety of service and maintenance contracts. To learn more, contact our team of experts today.

When it comes to HVAC repairs and installations, not all technicians are created equal. Many of them are great at what they do, but a few aren’t as skilled as they should be to work on such an important piece of equipment. There is a distinct difference between HVAC technicians who are certified and those who are not.

HVAC technicians who have been certified by the North American Technician Excellence (NATE) organization have been properly trained and tested. They have passed a certification exam that covers both installation and service of HVAC systems, leaving little doubt that they know they’re doing. More importantly, NATE-certified technicians must retake the exam every five years to remain certified. This ensures that they keep their skills sharp and don’t rest on their laurels, while also staying up to date on the latest techniques and advancements within the industry. You don’t become a NATE-certified technician if you don’t take your job seriously. Going through the certification exams, staying certified, and keeping up with the latest technology and innovations within the industry is not easy.

If you find a certified HVAC technician, you know that they care about doing a good job whether they’re installing a new system or performing repairs on an existing system. It’s also important to know that the passing rate to get certified is somewhere in the area of 50%, so NATE is not giving certification to just any HVAC technician. If you don’t have your HVAC system installed or repaired by a certified technician, you run a huge risk.

If errors are made during the installation process, even minor ones, it can impact the performance and efficiency of your HVAC system. This will lead to an increase in your energy bill and cost you a lot of more in the long run. Poorly installed systems are also prone to breaking down compared to systems installed by certified technicians. As a result, the system may need more frequent repairs and need to be replaced sooner than expected. To ensure your HVAC system is installed properly and runs as efficiently as possible, make sure you choose a NATE-certified technician who will get the job done right.

We could all stand to save some money on our energy bills, but how? It’s not as difficult as you might think. With a few tweaks and a little sacrifice, you can lower your energy bills and save money in the process. Here are a few tips on how to do just that.

• Clean your vents. Make sure your vents are open, as they could be closed without you realizing it. Vents also require proper filters to prevent dirt and dust from building up. If your vents are open and clean, it takes less energy to heat and cool your home, saving you money.
• Find air leaks in your home. Small cracks and openings around doors and windows may not seem like a big deal, but those tiny air leaks can cause your heating and cooling systems to work that much harder, increasing how much you spend on energy. Sealing up these areas and making them airtight should shave a few dollars off your next energy bill
• Invest in energy efficient appliances. Spending a little more to buy Energy Star appliances that are more energy efficient will help reduce the amount of energy your refrigerators, washing machines, and dishwashers use.
• (Insulate your attic. A lot of the money you spend to heat and cool your home can go right out the window in places like attics, crawl spaces, and basement walls. By properly insulating these areas of your house, it can help reduce how much energy you use to heat and cool your home
• Be smart about sunlight. If you open up the shades and let sunlight in during the winter months, your furnace won’t have to work so hard to heat up your house, and you won’t have to pay so much. The opposite is true in the summer—direct sunlight into your home can cause your air conditioner to work extra hard. This is when you want to close the shades to keep out the sun.

Getting the air ducts professionally cleaned by a professional is an important part of indoor air quality maintenance and an important part of overall home safety. The build-up of dust, dirt, and other particles in your HVAC system can cause a number of serious problems for both you and your family.

Firstly, having your air ducts professionally cleaned reduces the amount of allergens and irritants that are circulating through your home’s air by removing built-up debris from within your air vents. This greatly improves indoor air quality which can help people with allergies or asthma breathe easier indoors. It also helps reduce the risk of getting sick from airborne contaminants like mold spores, pet dander, bacteria, or viruses escaping from other parts of your house into the living space where people may be exposed to them more readily

Professionally cleaning out the dust from inside your ductwork is also essential in terms of keeping energy costs down as much dust buildup over time will make it increasingly difficult for conditioned (air-conditioned or heated) airflow to reach all areas in need thus resulting in increased energy consumption due to inefficient climate control systems throughout each floor level within a residence or business building structure requiring additional motor run time along with resultant higher electric bills

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, or HVAC systems, typically last from 15 to 25 years. This is the total lifetime of the entire system, but individual components, or different types, may last longer than others. Several types of systems are listed below along with their respective estimated life spans.

Cast-iron boilers, which heat water that circulates in narrow pipes in the floor, or in a radiator, can last 35 years, but these systems are very expensive – as those renovating old homes have found. Electric boilers (rather than gas or oil-fired) last about 15 years. The furnace portion of a gas- or oil-fired HVAC system can be expected to last the longest. This is because a furnace is basically a burner unit – much like the one in your gas oven– and a blower fan. If the burner is regularly cleaned and lubricated, and the flame adjusted, it can last as long as 25 years. The air conditioning portion of a HVAC system can last 7 to 15 years, with proper maintenance.

Heat pumps come in three variations, the geothermal (ground-source) heat pumps, air-source heat pumps, and water-source heat pumps. In general, heat pumps last from 15 to 20 years, depending on the amount of maintenance provided, their location (in the very cold northern states like Minnesota or North Dakota), and the type of unit. Thermostats are part of an HVAC system, and the old analog thermostats typically last 35 years. Newer, digital thermostats, or “smart” thermostats haven’t been in common usage long enough to predict their lifetime.

When air ducts are not cleaned, home air quality can deteriorate over time as dust, debris, mold spores, bacteria, pet fur and dander – even rodent hair and droppings, or insect casings – are sucked, or fall, into heat and cold air registers. Mold growing in vents can even lead to serious health issues like Legionnaires’ disease or hypersensitivity pneumonitis. People with immune-compromised systems or those with chronic lung conditions like COPD (chronic, obstructive, pulmonary disease) could get even more serious lung infections.

This is even more relevant if you bought your house from someone else rather than building new. There is simply no way to know what kinds of materials found their way into your home’s heat and return-air vents before you moved in. Nor is there any way to ensure that previous owners were careful not to let dirt and/or water enter the ducting system.

Beyond having periodic maintenance and safety checks of your HVAC system, you might want to consider scheduling a full HVAC audit. What’s the difference? A maintenance check focuses on making sure your unit works properly; an HVAC audit digs deeper to make sure your unit also works safely and at maximum efficiency.

So what happens in an HVAC audit? In a nutshell, your HVAC technician will conduct a thorough part-by-part evaluation of your entire system to look for parts that need to be replaced and places where efficiency could be improved. The technician will begin by looking at the system from the standpoint of safety and efficiency. What parts need to be cleaned, repaired or replaced? Are moving parts clean and properly lubricated? If there are fail-safes built into the system, are these cutoffs working properly? Do you need additional safety mechanisms? What about air quality and emissions — is the HVAC system blowing clean air? What about the ducts — do these need to be cleaned? Is the unit heating and/or cooling properly, so that the building’s occupants are comfortable both in summer and winter? Are any rooms suffering from reduced airflow, and how can the airflow be improved? Is the HVAC unit itself sufficient for the heating/cooling needs of the building? How old is the unit, and is it approaching the end of its life expectancy? In answering these questions, the technician will identify parts of the system that need to be cleaned, repaired or replaced to ensure maximum efficiency and safety.

That’s not all that happens in an audit. Once the safety and operations aspects are covered, the technician will evaluate the system for energy output and efficiency to see what can be done to improve performance while minimizing waste. Is the HVAC unit having to work harder than it should to keep the rooms cool or warm? If so, what is causing it to work harder? What steps can be taken to reduce energy consumption and lower utility bills? Would better blower fans, better ventilation or a “smart” thermostat help save energy? The technician will gather data and produce a comprehensive report that tells you how well your HVAC system is functioning, identifying areas where efficiency can be improved, as well as any critical repairs that are needed. Fixing these problems will help your HVAC system run for years to come at optimum output and efficiency while lowering energy bills.

During the summer months, and even sometimes during the spring and fall, we rely on our air conditioner on an almost daily basis to keep us cool. But if your A/C unit isn’t blowing cold air, things can get really uncomfortable for you really fast. Hopefully, this never happens to you on a scorching hot day. If it does, here are a few reasons why it may be happening, including a few you can take care of yourself.

1. The outside unit is dirty. The outside part of your air conditioning system is vital to the cooling process. However, it can’t do its job of receiving and dissipating hot air properly if it’s covered with dirt and debris. If your outside unit is covered with leaves, twigs, weeds, and other objects, your A/C will struggle to cool the inside of your home. To clean the outside unit, clear all the debris away and then spray the outside unit with a hose while on a low setting.
2. Your air filter is dirty. Your air filter helps to remove dirt and debris so cool, clean air can be dispensed by your A/C unit. But if you don’t replace the filter regularly, the air flow can be restricted and you won’t feel the comforting blow of cool air. Checking your air filter and replacing it should be the first thing you investigate when your A/C starts blowing warm air.
3. Your refrigerant level is low. Refrigerant is the liquid that absorbs hot air so that your A/C can blow out cool air. If you’re low or completely out of it, the air in your home just keeps getting recycled without being cooled. Being low on refrigerant usually signals a leak, which will require a professional HVAC specialist to fix it.
4. Your fan motor is broken. If the condenser fan motor is broken, it means that your outside unit can’t do anything with the hot air and your A/C unit won’t be able to cool your home. Take a peek at the fan on your outdoor condenser, if it’s not working properly or appears to be a little sluggish, you may need an HVAC specialist to investigate the problem or else your air conditioner won’t be able to blow cool air.
5. Your compressor is malfunctioning. The compressor is the most important part of your air conditioning unit. It helps to circulate refrigerant between the inside unit and the outside unit. If the compressor isn’t able to do that properly, there’s no way for you to get cool air blowing into your home. This is potentially a serious problem and one that will require a visit from an HVAC specialist.