First Choice Heating & Cooling Blog: Archive for the ‘Air Conditioning’ Category

What to Expect During Air Conditioner Installation

Monday, May 22nd, 2023
Smiling technician speaking with a homeowner while performing a cooling replacement service.

It’s old, broken, or inefficient as can be—whatever the reason is, your old air conditioner has to do, and a new one is getting installed soon enough. But you weren’t there the last time an AC was installed in this home, so what do you do now? What do you expect when installation day rolls around?

What does a cooling replacement installation typically involve?

  • Removal of old system: Technicians disconnect and haul off your existing unit and tidy the area.
  • New wiring and lines: Faulty or outdated connectors are replaced to ensure safe, reliable operation.
  • Installation of the new AC unit: Indoor and outdoor components are assembled and integrated properly.
  • System integrity testing: Leak checks and connection diagnostics help avoid refrigerant or pressure issues.
  • Final performance test: Technicians confirm proper airflow, venting, and temperature output before cleanup.

Getting AC installation in Brighton isn’t as daunting as you might think. Here’s a basic outline of what you can expect so you know what’s coming. Hopefully there will be no surprises along the way.

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How to Know If Your AC Condenser Is Running Into Trouble

Monday, April 10th, 2023
air-conditioner-techs-working-on-AC-cabinet

Your air conditioner has a lot of working parts, and chief among them is the condenser. If you’re not sure what it does, let us explain it to you. Your condenser removes heat from your home by working with other components in your air conditioner.

As you can imagine, when your AC condenser in Fenton gives out, it’s a pretty big deal. Let’s help you identify the warning signs before that happens in the first place.

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The Impact of Dirty Air Filters on Your Air Conditioner

Monday, March 27th, 2023
technician-inspecting-air-conditioner-filter

Your air conditioner is a forced air system. The air it pulls in helps pull heat from your home, while the output releases cool air, and the cycle continues until your home reaches the desired temperature. Sounds great, but it’s easy to put a wrench in the gears, so to speak.

Your heating and cooling system completely depends on that air intake. Without sufficient air coming in, well, there’s a few problems that can happen. Let’s talk about those.

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Can You Fix a Freon Leak in an Air Conditioner?

Monday, March 13th, 2023
AC technician inspecting outdoor units with a clipboard for AC repair assessment.

Your air conditioner doesn’t quite feel the same as it used to. It’s running for longer and your house isn’t getting cool as quickly. What  gives?

It could be a number of things, but one major problem could be a freon leak. Freon is the brand name for a chemical blend that’s used as a refrigerant in the lines of your AC. In fact, low refrigerant levels are one of the common reasons AC isn’t cold that homeowners encounter during the summer months.

But can you fix a freon leak in an air conditioner, or does it spell certain doom for your home cooling system? Let’s talk about that.

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Why Your AC Won’t Shut Off

Monday, August 15th, 2022

air-conditioner-plastic-grillWhen it’s hot, you want your air conditioning system to run for as long as necessary to get your house cool. There is such a thing as too long, however! Air conditioners are designed to run in cycles where the compressor comes on for 15–20 minutes and then cycles down until the thermostat registers the need for more cooling. If you start to notice that your AC never seems to cycle down or the fan runs continuously, you may need to have air conditioning repair in Brighton, MI

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Signs Your AC’s Compressor May Be in Trouble

Monday, August 1st, 2022
Close-up of an air conditioner unit with exposed components for AC compressor replacement.

The second half of summer often places major strain on home air conditioning systems. The heat increases and forces more work from an AC that’s already done plenty of it. Routine maintenance in spring goes a long way to helping an air conditioner make it through this time of the year, but maintenance isn’t magic. We recommend you pay attention to strange behavior from your AC at the end of summer and call us for air conditioning repair in Burton, MI when anything crops up. Spring is ideal for getting your AC tuned up, so problems like compressor strain are less likely later in the season.

For example, a part of your AC that can encounter problems from wear and tear at the end of the season is the compressor. This is the most vital part of an air conditioning system because if it fails, it’s often more cost-effective to replace the entire AC rather than just the compressor. If you catch compressor issues in time, our technicians may be able to rescue it with less expensive repairs. Issues like refrigerant loss can damage compressors quickly if left unresolved.

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Is a Zone Control System a Good Choice for Your House?

Monday, July 18th, 2022

inside-air-ductWhen it comes to central heating systems and central air conditioners in Fenton, MI, we’re the local HVAC team you can trust. One special service we offer to improve HVAC systems is adding zone controls. A zone control system allows a homeowner to set the heating and cooling system so it only sends conditioned air to certain rooms and not others. We can install zone controls as part of a new HVAC system, and we can also retrofit older HVAC systems to make use of them.

Zone controls provide a number of great advantages to improve comfort, convenience, and energy use in a house. Not all homes will get the same benefit from zone controls, however. In this post, we’ll help you see if zone controls are a good option for your home.

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The Sounds of an AC in Good Shape

Monday, July 4th, 2022

woman-listeningIn previous blogs, we’ve listed several ways you can detect if your air conditioner is in trouble and needs rapid repair service from our professionals. Odds sounds coming from the AC are one the most common warning signs of trouble. 

But this brings up a good question: what sounds should you hear coming from your air conditioner when it’s running well? You probably don’t think about it that much because an air conditioner working as it’s supposed to will often fade into the background of your mind. To help you better understand when your AC needs repairs, we’ll look at what your AC sounds like when it doesn’t need repairs.

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How Much Electricity Does Your AC Use?

Monday, June 6th, 2022

piles-of-moneySummer is a time when people see a rise in their electric bills. There are several reasons for increased electrical use after the lull of spring, but the biggest source is air conditioning systems. When you start to run the AC in your home for the first month of summer heat, you know you can expect to see a rise on your next electric bill.

There are ways you can keep this under check. We recommend always having air conditioning maintenance done in spring to stop the AC from declining in energy efficiency. As soon as you notice anything wrong with your cooling system, call us for AC repair in Burton, MI—not just to prevent the system from breaking down, but to keep the malfunction from draining energy. Maintain a steady setting of 78°F on the thermostat during the day when people are home.

But no matter what conservation steps you take, you’ll still see an increase in electrical use because of how much electricity the AC consumes to run. And how much is that…?

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How Dirty Coils Affect Your Air Conditioning

Monday, May 9th, 2022

ac-coilsWe’ve already written our seasonal blog to remind our customers about the importance of scheduling regular air conditioning maintenance with our technicians. But an extra reminder never hurts, and in this case we want to talk about one of the essential jobs we do during maintenance and why it’s so important—cleaning the refrigerant coils of an AC.

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