Air Conditioning In Jacksonville NC this Summer!

Summer time is almost upon us and with it comes vacations, fun in the sun/pool, as well as the dreaded electric bills and potential need for AC repairs. It's never fun to come home from work and find your home at 89 degrees and it's certainly not fun to call for repair, because we all know that means money. We're going to discuss a few things you can do yourself as well as some preventative measures you can take to save money and heartaches.

The first and probably most important thing to do right now and keep doing is change the air filter(s). You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you the number calls we respond to in a summer where the only issue was the filter had not been changed in a while. This can cause a system to not keep up with the demand, a system to freeze over, and even compressor failure. It's the easiest way to protect yourself from unnecessary and costly repairs, but often times it's gets overlooked. It's out of sight and out of mind so I get it. I've been to homes where the filter hasn't been changed in over a year and people are amazed at the reduction in their electric bill as well as the increased performance of their HVAC system after replacing a dirty filter. While we are on the topic of filters I always like to mention that a good filter should be pleated and have a MERV rating of 7 or 8 for most applications. I don't recommend using an allergenic MERV 11 or higher filter until you have consulted a professional and had the ductwork tested to ensure it's adequate for that application. Likewise, don't buy a none pleated filter that you can see through, if you can see through it, it's likely not filtering the air properly to protect the equipment.

The second thing any homeowner can do to save some money is look at the coil of the outdoor unit (this coil should easily be visible without removal of any panels). If you see any physical debris or soiling of the coil, this will reduce airflow over that coil and a light gentle rinsing with a water hose can work wonders. DON'T USE A PRESSURE WASHER AND ANY PRESSURE AT ALL. This can damage the coil and cost you much more than you ever imagined. Just regular water hose pressure without a nozzle of any kind, and rinse the coil off. That coil rejects the heat from the home and the compressor so keeping it clean and free of obstruction facilitates reduced energy consumption as well as keeping the performance of your HVAC system at it's peak. With that being said, be mindful when cutting grass, not letting grass clippings being blown into that coil, this can cause your electric bill to be increased greatly as can any physical obstruction of that coil. That coil needs to have free flowing air all around it.

If you have a split system, meaning that an air handler is either in the attic or crawl space, there's going to be a drain line (white 3/4 inch PVC typically) that is ran to the outside of the home and generally speaking it will be close to the outdoor unit. Using a wet/dry shop vacuum to clear this can save you hundreds of dollars in service/repair fees. Hook a shop vac up to the end of this line, turn it on, and let it run for a minute. This will help to clear any debris in the drain line. Clogged drain lines is one of the most common service calls that we see and have the potential to cause property damage if not maintained. Sad part is, just like a filter, it's one of the easiest things to prevent and any homeowner can do this without risking damage to the equipment.

As far as homeowner tips, that's all I've got. Next we're going to discuss how to save money via a contractor.

In the heat of summer, HVAC contractors are inundated with calls to point of scheduling service repairs several days out and depending on the demand, that can become a week or more wait time. You don't want to be one of the people waiting for a repair several days, especially if it could have been easily avoided. My recommendation is to call and schedule either routing maintenance or at least a one time tune up before the busy season. Any technician should be able to catch the simple and most common failures on a tune up visit. We can't predict everything, but things like failing capacitors, clogged drains, dirty coils, burned/pitted relays, failing motors, refrigerant undercharge... is just an example of the common and easily rectified items that cause homeowners to have an AC system not working in the summer. Every company I know of offers some sort of discount for repairs completed during a maintenance visit, so if you have a developing issue, you can save yourself the downtime as well as some money by getting in front of the problem now.

Maintenance is especially important if you have a system more than 7 years old, but if you have a system more than 15 years old, you could be getting ready for a real surprise this year. HVAC equipment isn't built like it used to be and most systems produced in the last 25 years rarely make it past 15 years of age without needing costly repairs often leading to the equipment needing to be changed out. Since 2021 the cost of new equipment has gone up much more than I have ever witnessed in my career, to the point of almost doubling since 2016. Every year we typically see about a 4% or so increase, not much considering in 2016 I remember installing equipment for $4500.00. Now, a typical price for a change out of a basic system (not much quality to speak of) starts at $9k depending on brand and installing company. In 2021 the average change out of the same equipment we are talking about went up to $6700. It was a sharp increase from previous years partially fueled by the pandemic and loss of manufacturing we saw at the time. In the last 4 years we have seen 2 major industry wide changes that fueled more drastic cost increase. The US government changed the minimum efficiency rating system in 2022, forcing manufacturer's to produce more efficient equipment, thus in a single year and practically overnight we saw a 10% increase in the cost of production. By the end of 2022 the average change out price for basic equipment in our area went to $7800. Following that we didn't stray far outside the standard yearly increase of 4% until 2025. The EPA decided that the status quo refrigerant (R410A) could no longer be used and forced manufacturer's to switch to more environmentally friendly refrigerants like R32 and R454B. This industry wide change was accompanied by an overnight increase between 8% and 12%. The range was due to which refrigerant the manufacturer's chose to go with. Leading us to the common minimum price now of $9k for new equipment.

I will say this, don't let the price scare you into waiting, if you need a new system. Unlike other markets, I've never seen pricing go down in heating and air. It will continue to go up. I personally hope and think it will be at least a year before we see another increase, but it certainly won't be going down. Staying in front of these issues and having good maintenance can help prolong impending doom, and save you some cash along the way so you can enjoy that summer vacation.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read, thank you for letting us be apart of the community as a trusted contractor.