Air Conditioning Repair: Keep your Cool

Air conditioning repair is, at times, a necessity in certain areas of the country. Much like a furnace on the fritz in colder climates, air conditioning repair becomes serious business during hot southern summers. A unit that is malfunctioning can not only make a living space uncomfortable, but end up costing a fair amount of money, as well.

For a couple of tips on what to consider with air conditioner repair, HomeAdvisor expert David Lupberger offers up some quick tips:

Home Air Conditioning Repairs
Like any other large appliance, there are a number of things that can go wrong with an air conditioner. Some of these ailments are more common than others, however, and a few can be easily fixed without calling in an air conditioning contractor.

When your house becomes too hot to handle, the first thing you should check is the thermostat. Older thermostats can be switched from "cool" to "off" by accident, simply by bumping into them. With digital thermostats, sometimes an old battery can cause problems. If lowering the thermostat doesn't cause the unit to turn on at all, you might be dealing with a tripped breaker or blown fuse. If you reset the breaker or replace the fuse and the problem occurs again, you should call an electrician. Sometimes an outdoor unit that has been running frequently can "freeze up." In this case, turning the air conditioner off for several hours to let it thaw might solve the problem. Air conditioning repair is not always as simple as these examples, however.

Air Conditioning Repair Contractors
While hiring an air conditioning contractor is not always the first step, at a certain point, it is often necessary. The inner workings of an air conditioning unit are complex, and when it comes time to fix electrical problems or regulate Freon levels, a trained air conditioning contractor is the only person qualified to do the job. Obviously, you don't want to hire a contractor if you don't have to, but over-reaching on your handyman skills can lead to bigger problems, larger headaches, and higher repair costs.

Air Conditioning Replacement
Units that seem to need constant attention, especially older units, are excellent candidates for replacement. If your air conditioner malfunctions a few times a year, replacing the whole thing might actually end up saving you money. New air conditioners are much more efficient than their predecessors. They cost less to run and cool a room faster, so they'll actually be on for shorter periods of time. Those who live in hot climates know all too well how high energy costs become during the summer months. A new unit will certainly be a significant initial investment, but the money saved on energy bills combined with the value a new system adds to your property could well be worth it:

• Zoning and Split-Systems: While geothermal may be the future of home heating and cooling, split-system and zoning schemes are already here and offering new levels of energy-efficiency for general air conditioning purposes.

• Evaporative Cooling: In dry climates, you take advantage of low humidity levels to deliver extremely energy-efficient air conditioning through a process called evaporative cooling, or "swamp coolers." Unfortunately, the process is less effective for average or high humidity climates.

• Window Mounted Air Conditioners: For those who live in cooler areas, an entire central air system might not be economically practical. Window units are an excellent way to keep one or two rooms in the house icy cold, without having to foot the bill for central air. For about $200, you can easily find a window unit that will efficiently cool a room of over 800 square feet!