FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1.   HOW OFTEN SHOULD I CHANGE MY FILTERS?

AIR CONDITIONING FILTERS SHOULD BE CHANGED IN NORMAL

CIRCUMSTANCES EVERY 30 DAYS WHILE THE AIR CONDITIONER IS IN USE; BUT IF YOU HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF DOGS OR CATS IN THE

HOME OR ARE DOING CONSTRUCTION WORK SUCH AS SANDING THEN

MORE OFTEN.

 2.   WHAT IS A SEER RATING?

THE SEER (SEASONAL ENERGY EFFICIENCTY RATIO) RATING IS THE

STANDARD MEASUREMENT OF AIR CONDITIONING EFFICIENCY

ESTABLISHED BY THE U.S DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.

THE HIGHER THE SEER RATING MEANS THE LOWER YOUR ELECTRIC

BILLS.

3.    HOW OFTEN SHOULD I RECHARGE MY AIR CONDITIONER WITH NEW FREON?

A PROPERLY FUNCTIONING AIR CONDITIONER DOES NOT CONSUME FREON; UNDER IDEAL CONDITIONS; IT WOULD NEVER NEED CHANGING OR FILLING.

A LEVEL OF FREON INDICATES A LEAK WHICH SHOULD BE REPAIRED

BEFORE ADDING MORE.

4.    HOW OFTEN SHOULD I HAVE MY AIR CONDITIONER LOOKED AT BY A PROFESSIONAL?

UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES ….. ONCE A YEAR; AS LONG AS YOU

ARE CHANGING THE FILTER EVERY 30 DAYS. (THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR AIR CONDITIONER) IS TO KEEP THE

FILTER CLEAN).

5.    WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN R-22 FREON AND R-410A FREON?

R-22 IS THE COMMON NAME FOR HYDRO-CHLOROFLUOROCARBON (HCFC)

R-22 HAS BEEN USED AS A REFRIGERANT BY HVAC MANUFACTURERS FOR

OVER 40 YEARS, BUT STUDIES IN THE PAST DECADE HAVE SHOWN THAT

HCFC”S CONTAIN CHLORINE, AN OZONE DEPLETING AGENT. FOR THIS

REASON THE UNITED STATES CLEAN AIR ACT HAS SET A TARGET DATE

OF JANUARY 1, 2010 ON WHICH HVAC MANUFACTURERS MUST CEASE THE

PRODUCTION OF PRODUCTS THAT USE R-22

R-410A IS THE COMMON NAME FOR AN HYDRO-FLUROCARBON (HFC) THAT

IS BEING USED AS A REFRIGERANT IN THE HVAC INDUSTRY. R-410A IS A

MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY THAN R-22

6.    IS THERE ANY ADVANTAGE TO SETTING MY THERMOSTAT FAN TO “ON” SO FAN RUNS CONSTANTLY?

YES, THERE ARE COUPLE

1. YOU GET CONSTANT FILTERING OF THE AIR IN YOUR HOME

2. BECAUSE THE AIR IS MOVING, YOU HAVE A MORE EVEN

TEMPERATURE THROUGHT YOUR HOME.

 

7. SHOULD I HAVE MY DUCT WORK PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED?

THIS DEPENDS ON WHAT TYPE OF DUCTWORK YOU HAVE IN YOUR HOME.

IF YOUR HOME HAS METAL DUCTWORK (WHICH IN MOST CASES HAS NOT

BEEN USED IN AT LEAST THE LAST 15 YEARS) THEN YOU CAN HAVE

YOUR DUCTWORK PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED.

BUT; IF YOU HAVE FIBERBOARD OR FIBERGLASS DUCTWORK; THEN YOU

SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER NEVER HAVING THIS PROCEEDURE DONE.

BECAUSE WHEN THEY RUN THAT LARGE BRUSH THRU YOUR DUCTWORK;

THEY ARE DISTURBING THE FINISH ON THE FIBERGLASS AND YOU COULD

HAVE FIBERGLASS PARTICLES BLOWING THROUGHOUT YOUR HOME. OR

YOU COULD HAVE TO END UP REPLACING YOUR DUCTWORK (ESPENSIVE)

IF YOU KEEP YOUR FILTERS CLEAN YOUR SHOULD NEVER HAVE ANY

PROBLEM WITH DIRTY DUCTWORK.

8. HOW LONG SHOULD MY AIR CONDITIONER LAST?MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE PLAY A KEY ROLE IN THE LIFECYCLE ON AN

AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM. IF ALL RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE AND

SERVICE ACTIONS ARE TAKEN, IT IS BELIEVED THAT UNDER NORMAL

CIRCUMSTANCES AN AIR CONDITIONER SHOULD LAST APPX 10 YEARS.

BUT;  IF  YOU  LIVE  NEAR  THE  OCEAN;  THE  SALT  IN THE  AIR  WILL 

DECREASE  THE  LIFE  OF  YOUR  A/C   UNIT