Things That Can Complicate An Air Conditioner Installation | Mansfield, TX
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Are you making the move to whole-house AC and heating? Or are you having your older AC unit replaced so you can get a break on repair costs and energy consumption with a nice, new, more efficient unit? Great decision, in either case, making your home a comfortable place to live even in the heat of summer is always a good idea, and doing it up right is even better. At Minuteman Heating and Air, we love showing our Mansfield, TX customers and others in the area how to operate the new unit and set it just the way they like it. As you prepare to get the new air conditioner installation going, are there issues you should be aware of? Our team is great at giving our customers all the information they need to make excellent choices and have a smooth installation, including these important considerations that homeowners encounter when getting a new unit.
Use a Currently Stable Mounting Location
Your new mounting location or existing spot for a replacement needs to be on stable ground, located conveniently to your home and the evaporator unit inside. These days, extreme weather can cause soil to shift and land to become unstable, so it’s important to verify that the air conditioner installation will be in a currently stable location.
Consider the AC Unit’s Capacity
Over-capacity and under-capacity air conditioner units both have their problems. Over-capacity can cause excessive drying of the indoor air and bursts of cold air, while under capacity can insufficiently dehumidify and cycle too often to meet the home’s temperature needs. A unit with a multi-speed compressor offers advantages to address these issues, as it can run as a lower-capacity unit or crank up the cooling when needed.
Making Sure Your Power Source Is Sufficient
If you adjust the capacity of the unit, or if your current electrical wiring is on the border of what’s needed by your unit, it will be necessary to update the air conditioner circuits to meet your new power needs. If you’re installing a new unit, your professional air conditioner installation team should calculate power needs based on the peak power drawn when motors and compressors start. If you have a home backup generator, make sure the capacity of the generator is sufficient to power your new or replacement unit in addition to the rest of your home’s load if you’re using it as a whole-house power alternative.
Piping Between the Condenser and the Evaporator
Make sure that the copper pipes carrying coolant between the condenser and evaporator are in good shape, to ensure that your replacement unit will operate correctly. Check the insulation on the pipes as well.
Protect Your New Unit Against Nesting by Insects and Animals, and Watch Out for Bees on the Old One
If you’re removing an existing unit, you may encounter animal nests inside or insect nests, including stinging insects. When performing a new air conditioner installation, take measures to prevent new residents inside the unit, since the metal cover sometimes becomes displaced or has sufficient room for smaller creatures to enter and explore. They can cause damage as they chew on items inside the unit.
Are You Performing a Complete Replacement or New Air Conditioner Installation? What About Options?
There are a number of great additions to your air handling unit that distributes cooled air, including humidity management equipment, HEPA air filtration to supplement your unit’s standard air filter, and UV light to neutralize pathogens in the air. If you’re having a new unit installed or updating and replacing internal components such as the evaporator or ductwork, it’s a great time to add these to your air conditioner installation project.
Ducts
An important way to save energy with your new air conditioner installation or replacement is to divide your duct system into zones, areas where you’re likely to want to control the temperature independently from other areas. These typically include areas like the living room, bedrooms, and family room. Each area gets a separate fan, thermostat, and branch of the ductwork so that you can cool your bedrooms only just before bedtime, and let the living room rise in temperature until early evening, when it gets full AC, while your family room only gets cooled on weekends when people are gathering. Heating can be handled similarly, and you’ll not only see your energy bills drop when you’re heating and cooling only certain areas of the home at a time, but you’ll also put less wear and tear on your air conditioner since it will not have to work as hard to keep individual areas cool as it did for the whole house.
Thermostat Issues
A basic thermostat keeps your system seeking the same temperature, day and night. That’s probably not what you want, and timer-based units can adjust the temperature setting automatically for times that you’re sleeping or away from home. Intelligent thermostats adapt to your schedule even more, and thermostats designed to work with a smart home system can control your home’s temperature while considering factors like the amount of sunshine that day, or even open and close automatic blinds to manage solar heat entering your home. Of course, if you decide to go with duct zones, you’ll have a thermostat for each zone.
Expert Air Conditioner Installation from Minuteman Heating and Air in Mansfield, TX
Our air conditioner installation team can inspect your existing AC mounting location at your Mansfield, TX home or identify a new one if you’re enjoying central air conditioning for the first time in your home, then install the right air conditioner unit for your home and configure it to meet your family’s needs. We provide expert consultations to ensure that you’ll get the most out of your unit, plus skilled installation now and maintenance over the years so you’ll have years of reliable service. Give us at Minuteman Heating & Air a call and get ready for powerful cooling in your home this summer.