Tag: hvac

How Does A Central Heating and Cooling System Work?

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central heating and cooling

Your central heating and cooling system is a vital part of your home. It keeps the indoor temperature to your liking and, while doing so, consumes more energy than any other appliance. Because of how necessary it is to have proper heating and cooling, it’s important to learn about how the system works—and the pros at Weeks Service Company are here to provide some insight!

How Does Central Cooling Work?

The most common central cooling system you will come across is one that is made up of two units. The outdoor unit consists of the compressor and condenser coil. Indoors, you have the evaporator coil located in the air handling unit. A cooling agent called refrigerant loops through these coils, frequently changing from liquid to gas and vice versa.

The air conditioner sucks warm air from inside your home and blows it over the evaporator coil. The liquid refrigerant inside the evaporator coil absorbs heat from the air and transforms into gas. The air, now cool, enters back into your home through vents with the help of fans. The gaseous refrigerant makes its way to the outdoor unit where the compressor pressurizes the gas and pushes it to the condenser. The condenser liquefies the refrigerant once more.  As a result, heat is radiated and dissipated with the help of fans.

How Does Central Heating Work?

There are two main types of central heating systems. Forced-air systems and gravity systems—we will focus on the forced-air system, because it is the most common one.

A forced-air central heating system can be powered by gas or electricity. Usually, a heat exchanger is heated with the help of a gas burner or electrical components. Cold indoor air blows over the heat exchanger to be heated, with the help of air handler fans. Then, warm air blows through the ducts, while any combustion products are released out of the building through a flue pipe.

Maintain Your Central Heating and Cooling System with Weeks Service Company

Now that you know more about your HVAC system, you can take better care of it. A good rule of thumb for your outdoor condenser is to keep up with routine maintenance and change the air filter regularly. For more thorough maintenance, get in touch with a pro from Weeks Service Company. Call us today at 346-595-7575 or fill out a service request form online!

 

Why is My Air Conditioner Leaking Water?

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With the Houston heat and humidity increasing rapidly, the last thing you want to deal with is an air conditioner that is causing problems. We understand you would much rather be thinking about relaxing and making the most of what is left of summer.

But life happens and your AC might be showing signs of malfunctioning, like leaking water. This problem can be difficult to diagnose, especially if you’re new to HVAC maintenance. Luckily, the pros at Weeks Service Company know a thing or two about your AC system and can answer the age-old question: Why is my air conditioner leaking water?

1. Damaged Drain Pan

The drain pan is usually located underneath the indoor air handling unit. The indoor handling unit includes the evaporator coil, which is an important component of your AC system. During the process of air conditioning, warm indoor air blows over the evaporator coil that includes a cooling agent called refrigerant. The refrigerant in the coil absorbs the heat from the warm air which causes condensation or moisture to collect on the coil and drip into the drain pan.

This is our long-winded way of saying that the drain pan is important. It collects excess moisture but if the pan is damaged, old or cracked, condensate might be leaking through. If your drain pan has minor cracks, you can use epoxy glue to repair them. However, it’s better to simply replace the pan!

2. Dirty Air Filter

We cannot stress how important it is to consistently replace or clean your AC’s air filter. A clean air filter improves air flow as well as your indoor air quality. A clogged, dirty filter can reduce the efficiency of your AC and cause other problems such as a frozen evaporator coil.

When air is absorbed and blown past a dirty filter, it might carry the dirt and debris with it onto the coil. Over time, the dirt collecting on the evaporator coil can hinder the coil’s ability to absorb heat, causing it to freeze. The ice on the coil can melt and the moisture can leak excessively. To avoid this, be sure to replace your air filter 1-3 months depending on the climate you live in!

3. Clogged Condensate Line

If there isn’t an issue with your air filter or drain pan, you might want to check the condensate line. The condensate line is an important part of your AC system. When your AC absorbs warm air from your home, it also absorbs humidity. The excess humidity removed from your home eventually condenses and is drained out through the condensate line.

If your AC is leaking water, there is a chance that your condensate line (which is located near your outdoor condenser) is clogged by debris, algae or fungi. When the condensate line is clogged, excess moisture can’t move away from your HVAC system. Instead, it gets backed up into your home. You can try to remove the clog yourself by using a wet-dry vacuum ¼ inch smaller than the pipe opening.

Need A Professional? Contact Weeks Service Company!

No matter what the cause, a leaking and malfunctioning air conditioner isn’t fun, especially in this hot weather. If you think your AC is giving you any problems, just give Weeks Service Company a shout! Our team of knowledgeable technicians will be able to solve any problems your home has, so you can be a relaxed homeowner this summer. Call us today at 346-595-7575 or schedule a service online!

HVAC System – Why a Spring Tune-Up is Helpful?

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spring tune up

It’s always a good idea to have your HVAC system go through a routine tune-up, but it’s especially helpful when the seasons change. In spring, when pollen is at an all-time high and it’s wreaking havoc on all of our allergies, having an air system in tip-top shape is crucial.

But did you know there are plenty of other benefits that a spring tune-up can provide? They go beyond simply cleaning the air, and the advantages of having a properly serviced HVAC system can last for months to come if you take care of it. Here are just a few of those benefits, as explained by the experts at Weeks Service Company!

It Cleans the Air

As we mentioned earlier, the spring brings a lot of unwanted pollutants and allergens into contact with your air circulation. It makes it harder to breathe, and the air that you do breathe could be contaminated with things that pose health risks. Puffy eyes, sneezing and other allergy-related complications can spring up without a moment’s notice if your HVAC system isn’t prepared to screen these things out.

That’s one of the things a spring tune-up handles. Your technician will calibrate the many small moving parts in your system to make sure it can handle the changing air quality, and they’ll make the necessary adjustments to ensure you won’t have any issues moving forward.

It Catches Potentially Problematic Issues 

One of the things that can potentially derail an HVAC system’s performance is a problem arising from previously undiagnosed complications. Since the system itself is made of a high number of small interconnected parts, it’s easy for these minuscule components to break down without you even knowing.

But a professionally trained technician won’t let these problems escape their watchful eye. When they’ve had lots of experience and are armed with a wealth of knowledge — like the ones at Weeks Service Company — you can rest easy knowing they’ll identify any problems well before they grow and become more serious.

Your Efficiency Bumps Up

On top of these benefits, you’ll also likely see an increase in your HVAC system’s performance when you get a spring tune-up. The same technician that can solve machinery-related issues will also be able to calibrate your system to ensure optimal performance. If your HVAC system has been struggling to reach the right temperature or hasn’t been able to get rid of pollutants as quickly as you’d hoped, a spring tune-up will fix that in no time.

And as an added bonus, when your system receives a tune-up, the spike in performance can also result in lower energy bills!

Weeks Service Company: Your League City, TX HVAC Experts

When your HVAC system is on the fritz, you need a reliable technician you can trust — one that won’t nickel and dime you or skip out on parts of the process just to cut down on the job. With Weeks Service Company, that’s never a worry. Our mission is to provide our neighbors with the reliable service they can count on for years to come, and we’d love to help you out.

Give us a call at 346-595-7575 for more information today!

Adjust Cooling System for Spring

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adjusting your cooling system for spring

It’s about that time of year again. Spring is just around the corner, and that means you’ve got a lot of spring-related tasks to check off on your list. Other than a spring cleaning around the home, what could be more important than making sure your HVAC unit is ready for the changing seasons?

The answer, to put it simply, is not much. The (official) switch from winter to spring can wreak havoc on your heating and cooling system. If you’re not prepared, you could damage your HVAC unit, or at least see a spike in energy bills as your efficiency decreases. Make sure that doesn’t happen and prepare your cooling system for spring with these tips from Weeks Service Company!

Clean the Debris Around Your Outdoor Unit

The condenser, which probably sits outside on a concrete slab next to your home, is an integral part of the cooling system. To operate effectively, that outdoor unit needs to be clear of debris and free of obstruction.

Take some time to clear anything that might get stuck or clog the condenser, like branches, rocks or random pieces of debris. It won’t take long, and it’ll actually provide quite a nice effect on your cooling system’s performance.

Inspect Your Refrigerant Lines

Periodically, you should take a quick look at the refrigerant lines behind your condenser. Feel them see if they’re cold – as they should be – and to check for any potential leaks. Leaky refrigerant is a serious problem, as your cooling system has to work overtime to work effectively.

And if you ignore it for too long, then you could be forced to pay for a refrigerant charge, which is costly and could be even more expensive depending on the type of refrigerant your unit uses. It’s better to catch these things ahead of time to implement a much less costly solution rather than a full-scale replacement!

Change Your Air Filter

We harp on this a lot, and it seems like one of our most common suggestions is to replace your air filter on time. But there’s a reason we mention it so often – it’s important! When your air filter is fresh, your cooling system can operate efficiently and effectively. When it’s not, though, your energy bill will slowly increase the longer you neglect the dirty air filter.

You should change your filter every 30 days — potentially a little sooner or later depending on what filter you have.

Schedule Maintenance

The best way to ensure your cooling system is ready for spring is to let a professional look at it. An expert’s eye will catch smaller, seemingly insignificant problems you might not think much of. They’ll recommend effective strategies to help your cooling system operate more efficiently.

 

Get in touch with the cooling experts at Weeks Service Company to find out how we can get your cooling system back in tip-top shape for the upcoming spring season. Give us a call at 346-595-7575 for more information!

HVAC Routine Maintenance Reasons

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Routine maintenance may seem like a chore. Your HVAC unit is running perfectly fine, so what’s the point in paying to have someone come tell you that everything looks good? As it turns out, there are quite a few benefits – it isn’t just something that service providers came up with to squeeze an extra buck out of you.

To help drive home the importance of having regular HVAC maintenance on your unit, the heating and cooling experts at Weeks Service Company have a list of 4 reasons why routine maintenance on your HVAC unit is well worth whatever you pay for it!

Your Home Feels Better

One of the main benefits of routine maintenance is that it gives your technician a chance to calibrate your unit. Over time, as the heating and cooling cycles on and off, parts and connections lose their effectiveness. When a trained eye looks at the components lying in your HVAC unit, they’ll make the small adjustments necessary to raise your unit’s efficiency back to normal.

That lets your air system take it a bit easier and still heat and cool your home properly. A regularly scheduled maintenance session from a technician you trust will keep you and your family comfortable year-round.

Energy Bills Take a Dip

As we noted above, routine maintenance keeps your HVAC unit from working too hard. When it doesn’t have to overcompensate to make up for a lack of efficiency, then the energy it expends is well within normal levels. Over time, you’ll be pleased to see your energy bills steadily decrease!

Problems Get Caught Early

Although paying money for an inspection isn’t something you may be thrilled about, the idea of paying for an expensive repair is probably even less exciting. But that’s what can happen when you neglect routine maintenance!

As your unit pumps air through your home day after day, it’ll eventually wear down and need repairs or need to have smaller parts replaced. When a technician inspects it regularly, they’ll conduct a thorough check to see if they notice anything that could be a warning sign. By catching these smaller problems early, you’ll avoid the potential of a catastrophic repair that blindsides you.

You Get a Chance to Ask Questions

To top it all off, when a technician visits your home, you’ll have the opportunity to present any questions you may have about your home’s air system or HVAC unit right then and there. Although you can technically pick up the phone and call them whenever you want, there’s something about having a face-to-face discussion with someone you trust that makes you feel more comfortable.

 

These 4 reasons for routine HVAC maintenance certainly don’t cover the entire list of benefits. There are plenty more that we haven’t touched on, but we don’t want to take up an entire day.

However, you can give Weeks Service Company a call at 346-595-7575, and we’d be glad to go over the other reasons why this is something we recommend for all our League City and Houston neighbors!

How Does Refrigerant Turn Into Cool Air?

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Unless you like to spend your free time researching the schematics of HVAC units, you probably don’t put a ton of thought into how your air conditioner generates the cool air into your home. And why would you? You just flip the switch on your thermostat, hear the machine kick on, and boom — it’s cold inside.

But it’s helpful to understand what’s going on, so you’ll be able to identify when something has gone wrong. The key to the whole cooling process lies with something called refrigerant, and the cooling experts at Weeks Service Company are going to walk you through the way this substance helps cool your home!

It Isn’t “Creating” Cold Air

Believe it or not, when you feel the cool air blow across your skin while you’re sitting in your living room, that cold temperature wasn’t created by the air conditioner. Instead, your unit has just taken all the *warm* air that was already indoors and gotten rid of the warm-ness.

The way it works is like this: your air system takes in air from the outdoors and sends it through the cooling cycle in your air conditioner. The refrigerant already in your system moves between a liquid and gas state depending on whether it’s being compressed or expanded, and it absorbs or releases warm air based on which cycle it’s going through.

The refrigerant isn’t ever lost, either. The same amount is in there regardless of what’s happening to it – or at least, it shouldn’t ever get lost. If that happens, your unit isn’t working like it’s supposed to. You should schedule an inspection from a technician you trust!

Refrigerant Can Do It All

Without this crucial substance, your air would just be the same temperature that it is outside. But thanks to the refrigerant, you’re able to enjoy cool air year-round. To recap refrigerant snakes through the evaporator and condenser coils in your home’s air-conditioning system, continually changing states between liquid and gas as it absorbs and releases moisture from the air.

For a significant amount of HVAC units, the refrigerant being used is likely Freon. But because of a government-issued ordinance, Freon is going to be totally discontinued for HVAC system usage by 2020.

If your unit uses Freon, it’s important to keep an eye on the health and integrity of it. If a leak springs and the Freon escapes, then a recharge might not be in your best interest. After 2020, you won’t be able to simply add more Freon to your unit, so keep that in mind.

It may be cheaper to replace your Freon with more of the same. However, that may end up costing you more down the line after it’s been completely phased out.

Weeks Service Company: Here for League City’s AC Needs

In the market for a new air conditioner? Stressed out about replacing your coolant? Just give us a call! Weeks Service Company can walk you through the best strategy for you and your unit, and we’ll provide all the resources and information you need to make the best decision for you and your family.

Call us at
Birmingham – 346-595-7575 to speak to one of our friendly team members today!

 

Should I Clean My Ducts?

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Plenty of home-improvement projects fall by the wayside as we follow the routine of the week. While there are a couple that demand our attention, it’s usually because our home will fall into disarray if we don’t fix them immediately. Cleaning your ducts is not one of them. Sometimes this job goes unnoticed for years before a homeowner discovers something horrifically wrong with the air and decides to do something about it.

Cleaning your ducts is a comprehensive, foolproof way to ensure your family breathes clean, healthy air. It freshens your home and can even produce benefits you might not realize were possible. Here are a few reasons cleaning your ducts is beneficial – all from the friendly folks at Weeks Service Company!

It Reduces Pollutants and Increases IAQ

Since ducts are more or less out of sight, it can be hard to tell when they need work. It’s only when your home suddenly resembles a dust tornado that we realize something needs fixing. However, this doesn’t happen all at once. The factors that create these situations build up over time.

That’s where duct-cleaning comes in. Performing this job will eliminate the pollutants that reside in your ducts, which improves your home’s indoor air quality.

You’ll notice significantly cleaner air – and that especially goes for anyone in your family that may suffer from allergies.

It Also Eliminates Mold

Just like how airborne pollutants take up residence in your ducts, mold can do the same. If your ducts haven’t been cleaned in a while, then moisture collects up there and becomes a fertile breeding ground for mold-producing spores.

But by cleaning your ducts, you get rid of that unwanted moisture. In addition to getting rid of the existing mold, a technician can also help you eliminate the things that led to mold growing in the first place.

It Optimizes Your HVAC System

Cleaning your ducts also has benefits that extend beyond clearing your air – although that’s a terrific thing by itself. When you schedule someone to perform this job for you, you’ll also probably notice a notable improvement in your home’s heating cycle.

When your ducts are cleaned, your furnace is able to funnel hot air through your home more efficiently. There are fewer obstructions in its way, which means it won’t have to work nearly as hard to heat your home. So, your home heats itself easier and you don’t have to pay as much in energy bills? Sounds like a win-win.

Duct Cleaning from Weeks Service Company

Most experts recommend you have your ducts cleaned every 3 to 5 years. That ensures that you’ll keep your home’s air quality at a decent level and your air will circulate without any stressful hiccups.

If it’s about time to have yours cleaned, Weeks Service Company has you covered. With more than 40 years of experience, our team will be able to perform any job quickly and efficiently – and we’ll do it right the first time.

Give us a call at 346-595-7575 to see how we can get your ducts squeaky-clean in no time!

Why Do Air Conditioners Ice Over?

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There aren’t many things that instill as much frustration and aggravation as finding out your outdoor HVAC unit has iced over. And, yes, even though we’re in the winter and temperatures have dropped, it’s still possible for your condenser to freeze. To get it fixed, all you’ll need to do is give us a call – but that doesn’t explain why it happened.

As it turns out, there are a couple of primary reasons why your condenser could ice over. Just follow along with this quick explainer from the pros at Weeks Service Company! We’ll do our best to help explain why this might happen, so that you know how to better avoid it in the future.

There’s Bad Airflow

A lack of airflow accounts for a vast majority of AC freeze-ups. However, there isn’t one catch-all explanation for why that happens. That said, there are a handful that can usually explain it. Each one is equally possible, although you can usually eliminate a few of them just by checking something quickly.

  • Blocked/Closed Vents: When the exhaust openings are closed or obstructed, airflow gets backed up, which means your AC can’t get rid of cold air. Voila, frozen unit.
  • Old Air Filter: You should be changing out your air filter every 30 days or so, but if you forget then you could easily encounter this aggravating issue. The results are similar to what happens when you block your vents.
  • Clogged Evaporator Coil: This coil is what expunges the old air from your circulation. When it gets clogged, the air that normally gets expelled has nowhere to go, and it freezes your AC over.

Refrigerant Problem

Refrigerant, or more specifically, freon, is the chemical that runs through your AC system. It’s responsible for cooling and heating the air, and when it leaks, the whole system grinds to a halt. You’ll notice a lack of properly heated or cooled air, and more often than not you’ll see a frozen AC unit.

The only way to fix this is by repairing the leak – adding more refrigerant won’t help. Another potential issue comes from improperly charged refrigerant, which will manifest itself in the same way that a leak would.

Other Potential Causes

Although restricted airflow and refrigerant problems account for the majority of AC freeze-overs, there are a couple of other potential causes. If you’ve run your AC when it’s cold outside, your unit could freak out since it won’t be able to handle the abundance of cold. A malfunctioning blower fan can lead to a frozen unit, and a loose or broken component in the unit itself can do the same thing.

Weeks Service Company: Your AC Experts

No matter what the cause, a frozen outdoor unit isn’t fun. It makes your day-to-day life more difficult, and it makes you want to pull your hair out. Whenever you think you may have this problem on your hands, just give us a shout!

Weeks Service Company’s team of knowledgeable technicians can handle whatever your home throws at you, and we’ll do it right the first time.

Give us a call at 346-595-7575 for more information