Myth 1: Find your air conditioner technician through Craigslist.
The internet has provided us with a variety of choices to go to get an air conditioning service technician, but proceed with caution because not all are comparable. While the Better Business Bureau shows you information on whether a company is accredited determined by their company history and practices, other sites are open to anyone who wants to post an ad. Case in point, Craigslist will let anyone post an ad providing their services, not requiring them to verify whether or not they’re truly qualified, licensed and bonded, or have the actual training and experience.
If you decide on a company or individual without having the ability to confirm their qualifications and capability, it might end up costing you more ultimately. If the tech doesn’t have the qualifications to properly service your specific air conditioner, you could end up needing a different, more experienced company to fix their mistakes and it could end up costing you multiple Trip Charges.
Myth 2: Choosing a small business is better.
Hiring small businesses can be great for some odd jobs – it’s great for the local business, good for the economy, and probably even good for your wallet. But be careful: small companies or one-person operations could let you down. If something bad happens, they may simply disappear and not be around to rectify the situation, or they might not have the manpower to get to you quickly, which is bad news if your air conditioner breaks down in the extreme temperatures of summer.
Spending a little bit more for a larger, more trusted and reliable company can come with perks that help provide you with more peace of mind, including a one-year satisfaction guarantee, excellent workmanship, a large certified team of technicians who give you service 24/7/365, and the assurance that they’ll be a call away in the future if you ever need them again.
Myth 3: It’s okay to use any type of refrigerant in your air conditioner.
With the government ending the production of R-22, many homeowners are noticing the cost of refilling their AC system’s refrigerant going up. It may seem like an easy fix to just replace your R-22 with a different and cheaper refrigerant, but if an air conditioner service technician advises you to do that, you may want to get a second opinion.
Manufacturers detail the exact refrigerant the equipment is produced for, and prior to 2010, it was commonly R-22. Regardless of the extreme reduction of the production of R-22, those air conditioners are still designed for it, and replacing R-22 with a different refrigerant may not only cause damage to your air conditioner, it could invalidate your warranty. A voided warranty might cost you hundreds or thousands more in future parts due to likely damage.
Myth 4: You don’t need annual A/C system maintenance.
A lot of people who don’t currently have trouble with their air conditioner may believe they don’t truly need yearly maintenance. It works just fine, so why spend the money on a tune-up, right? Except for the fact that an annual AC tune- up is priced around $79 while repairs will run you around $500. Additionally, most manufacturers require yearly maintenance to maintain your warranty, so foregoing your routine tune-up could cause you to lose your warranty, meaning a huge payout if your AC decides to die on the hottest day of the season.
Myth 5: Finding out about the business isn’t valuable.
It’s important to make sure you do your homework before choosing an AC service contractor, especially if you feel a particular company is pushing you. As we mentioned in Myth #1, some domains don’t need a contractor to be qualified to market their services. It’s important to know what you’re getting into so you don’t end up paying for the same service again.
Social media reviews, testimonials from friends, and an a good accreditation grade with the Better Business Bureau will all help you to understand the type of business you will be giving your business to and help you figure out if they are ideal for you. Yelp, Angie’s List, and Google+ are all wonderful review sites to start your search. And, don’t be scared to ask for past customer testimonials. You may have to invest your hard-earned money with your AC company, so invest a little time and research to ensure they are the best company for your home.
Myth 6: It costs you more to turn your thermostat higher while you’re out of your home.
Over time, it will increase your bills to leave the thermostat at a cooler temperature throughout the day than to increase it 10 degrees while you are away from your home. It usually will not need an exorbitant amount of extra energy to get your home comfortable once you arrive, depending on variables of the home.
A programmable thermostat allows for the temperature to be changed from a phone or tablet so you can just adjust the temperature back down before returning home, so your home is nice and comfy when you enter. This saves you energy throughout the day, as well as saving you money on your cooling bills.
Myth 7: Constantly running ceiling fans will help cool your home.
Fans help keep you cool, they don’t really reduce the temperature of the home solo. In fact, fans (similar to refrigerators) actually raise the temperature in your home. The motor that is making your fan operate produces heat, which can add heat to the air in your home. An efficient ceiling fan can help level the temperature of the room and may assist in cooling air by circulating, but if nobody is below the fan to feel the breeze, all it’s doing is wasting energy and money, especially if the AC is already on. So keep ceiling fans off when there is no one in the room and extra air circulation is unneeded.
Myth 8: Don’t worry about where the thermostat is installed.
Thermostats read the temperature surrounding it to choose whether it needs to start up the air conditioner to cool your home. Installing a thermostat in a bedroom will only help ensure that bedroom cools to the temperature that the thermostat is set on. Once the bedroom is cooled, the system will go off and the remaining floor or home may be much warmer. If the thermostat is put near a sunny window or an appliance, it may continuously think the temperature is much higher than the home really is and keep running your air conditioner, upping your utility bills.
Myth 9: Excessively lowering your thermostat will help it cool more quickly.
Lowering your air excessively may only make your AC operate longer, it won’t get cooler any faster. If your thermostat is set on 77, but you really want it to be 75, then set it on 75 and it will work until it gets to that temperature. Putting the thermostat on 73 won’t make it get to 75 any faster, and it will make your system run longer, wasting money and energy.
Myth 10: It’s acceptable to replace your air filter once a year.
Depending on the health conditions of the home’s occupants, and the kind of air filter you have for your air conditioning system, your air filter could need to be replaced as often as every month. Not changing the air filter often enough not only causes your AC to work harder and reduce efficiency, it could also aggravate respiratory ailments like common allergy symptoms.
Call Falso Service Experts today for more information about your AC or to set-up your no-charge in-home consultation.