For many people, their home’s HVAC is one of their most essential systems. After all, it ensures you’ve got proper airflow, heat in the winter, and cooling in the summer. This means that, whenever your HVAC breaks down, it’s almost guaranteed to make a mess of things and completely upend your daily life.
Luckily, in most cases, an HVAC system doesn’t just stop working overnight. In fact, it’s likely to show signs of necessary repair for days, or even weeks. That’s why you should learn to recognize these warning signs before the issue becomes harder and costlier to fix.
Lack Of Cool Air
The most basic sign that your HVAC isn’t working is that, well, it’s not working. If your air conditioner is struggling keeping up with your thermostat settings and running constantly, it may be a sign that something is wrong with your system. There are a lot of issues that can cause this from low refrigerant, dirty filters, dirty coils, to failing start components.
Regardless of which, you should definitely have a professional check out your entire HVAC if you notice the thermostat not satisfying at all or not until late at night.
Insufficient Air Flow
It’s not just about the temperature of the air that’s making its way through your vents – it’s also about the airflow. If the airflow is noticeably weaker for no apparent reason, that’s another sign that something is not right with the system.
Also, if you notice that some of your rooms or home areas are getting enough cool air and others aren’t, your ductwork is the most likely culprit. Even in the cleanest home, debris, dust, and dirt can accumulate in the ductwork over time. And this doesn’t just lower your AC’s airflow – it also creates an imminent health risk to everyone inside.
That’s why you should hire professionals to clean your AC ducts regularly – your airflow will be restored, and you’ll be certain that the entire HVAC system is in proper condition. That’s especially important when the coldest and warmest months approach.
Thermostat Issues
The problems with your HVAC don’t always come from your air conditioning unit – sometimes, the thermostat is where the issues are. And uneven temperatures between different house areas may also point to this problem. Plus, if you notice that your HVAC is supposedly on 70, but you’re certain that the temperature feels off by at least 10 degrees – having someone check the thermostat is a good idea.
Excess Moisture
If there’s any leakage in any part of your HVAC system, you’ll soon have excess moisture. And that’s not only an indication of serious problems, but it’s also a health hazard in and of itself.
But why does it happen?
Your air conditioner naturally removes humidity from the air in your home while it is cooling and this water must be removed from the home down a drain line. This drain line over time can become restricted from biological growth, rust from the equipment, or even critters. When the drain line becomes restricted like this, it can back up the water into your home causing damage and areas for potential mold and bacteria growth. An improperly draining line should be cleared immediately and flushed to clean out.
Weird Sounds
As a homeowner, you’re probably familiar with your HVAC system’s sounds when it’s working properly. So, any grinding, grating, or squealing noises coming from the AC are probably a sign that something’s wrong. Don’t ignore them, no matter how annoying dealing with AC repairs may seem – if you don’t service your HVAC on time, it will eventually break down completely, and you’ll be stuck with a much higher repair bill.
What do these different sounds mean? There are a lot of moving parts in an HVAC system and over time they wear out, these noises mean something in the system could be about to fail and needs to be serviced by a professional immediately.
Pungent Odors
We’ve covered sights and sounds – so it’s only logical we move on to smells! If you notice a foul or pungent odor spreading from your HVAC vents, you could be dealing with a dirty filter, or a dirty drain pan that needs cleaning. Other weird smells brought into the home can be from broken duct work allowing crawlspace air into your home or animals that have damaged the ducts allowing them to enter the ducts leaving behind excrement. Your air should be clean and smell good when the systems operating.
Extremely High Energy Bills
Finally, it’s important to remember that your HVAC system is your household’s #1 electricity consumer. And if you notice that your energy bills have skyrocketed without any apparent explanation, you may need to check your AC.
When the system is low on refrigerant or another kind of malfunction that results in the AC not working at 100% efficiency, the system is forced to use a lot more energy to maintain the temperature levels you’ve set. And that means spending a lot more on electricity without knowing about it before the next bill comes along.