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Questions About Air Conditioners Homeowners Ask
Hi there. Welcome to Hot to Cold Mechanical’s YouTube channel. I’m Trevor, and I’m here with the owner of Hot to Cold Mechanical. This is Amin, and he is the guy who does all the installations, the sales and marketing. He, right now, he’s the man who founded the company. And how long have you been in business for? Three and a half years now.
Three and a half years. Perfect. So today we’re gonna be talking about the big questions about air conditioners that homeowners always ask in Edmonton. Okay. Now, I always like to start off these videos with my clients with a quote. So this one’s from James Cameron, and he says, if you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s successes. I really like that. I like shooting for the moon and, and seeing what, where we land after that. I’m not sure about yourself. Well, that’s a good idea.
Absolutely. Now I’ve got a quick fun fact for you guys about air conditioners. So, when air conditioning technology became more prevalent in the early 19 hundreds, movie theater owners invested in AC systems in order to fill the seeds during the stickiest and hottest days of the year. The very smart marketing, it’s all about getting the right people in the right places. So, Amin, I’m just gonna jump right into question number one here. How much, this is a question that homeowners have all the time. Of course.
How much does a new air conditioning system cost?
The average cost for a new air air conditioning system is gonna average probably about $4,000. It’s dependent on the size of the system. I’d probably say the most common point being, well, what I’ve seen this year with all the increase after covid is gonna be about 42 50. Okay.
With copper going up so bad and so forth And so on. Yeah. So that’s in Edmonton. And you know, I’m not sure when you’re gonna be watching this video, but it’s in 2022, so because of the, the supply chain and cost and whatnot. So around 42 50 for your average size House, what’s an average size For me? Nice. Okay. Now here’s a question that I know a lot of people have is why does my air conditioning unit make so much noise?
There could be multiple reasons why you, you’re gonna be making noise. Now, a lot of times fans might start to get a little loose and a lot of times it could be just basic. Your hail guards are getting a little bit loose. Okay. But the fact that with vibration over time, it may pick up, but then again, parts start to get weak too. You’ll find also that your compressor might start to make noise. Okay? Okay. Because it’s getting a little loose in there and not holding that compression perfect perfectly.
But when you got that much noise, you’ll probably find failure first. When it’s noise, it’s usually something simple just rattling something that’s just, you know, cut a loose somewhere Someplace. Okay. So the best thing to do would be to call a refrigeration mechanic like yourself to come out and take a look
At that. Most likely. Yeah. Not something that you should delve into. Try and fixing yourself. So I know there’s a lot of handyman out there. Don’t try and do it yourself. You probably end up making a bigger, bigger mess. Nuts. That’s not a good idea, not a good idea. Let’s not do that. Okay. So now here’s a big question. Why has my air conditioning system just stopped working all of a sudden?
Well, a lot of times air conditioning stopped for multiple reasons. A lot of times it could be just through high pressure and or low pressure. Okay. Okay. Depending on how your gases are being held, how that air’s being transferred, there’s a lot to do with the reasons being, but then you can have part failures that cause that. Okay. Okay. It could be actually the fan on the condenser itself that is not spinning anymore and or your furnace inside is not pushing at the proper pressure. Okay. But those are the most common reasons why. Okay. Well that’s good to know.
So there, there are reasons why and, and is it mostly fixable?
It’s usually fixable and you can usually find the problem as to why that’s occurring. Okay something is definitely not keeping that at a perfect flow. Okay. Okay. And or something has just, it could be simply, simply the fact that like a compressor has just gone dead too. Right?
Something Just failed. Yeah. Something just failed. But most common could be just mostly improper operation. Okay, great. Now, well this is a big one and it’s very tough to answer, but what does it usually cost to operate an air conditioning system?
Well, that’s a very interesting question because the simple fact that you find that nowadays with the electrical charges that they’ve increased here in Alberta and so forth and so on, electricity is going to increase. Okay. But when it comes to the what you see in the 30 below weather in winter, it’s pretty much what you’re gonna see in the summer. Okay. Okay.
If, because you’re gonna eliminating the use of the gas in your furnace and only using the electricity. So the bills aren’t gonna really change much more than what you see when you’re doing your furnaces at its full output when you’re air conditioning is at its full Output. Right.
So basically if you, if you’re used to paying your, your gas bills, which are ridiculous in the wintertime it’s gonna be around the same amount for the, the ac. That’s, that’s fair.That’s pretty much it. Oh, well That’s all right. Once you’ve eliminated one and you just swallow a little more of the other,There you go. It’s gonna work. So just, just be be used to paying, you’re gonna be paying for it no matter what season. So the next question I have, Amin, is:
What do I have to do to ensure that my AC system was installed properly?
Well, elo, it was installed properly if it’s operating properly. Okay. Okay. If you’re finding that the air coming out of those vents is nice and cold and it’s not running forever Okay. And it’s working technically very well, just as much as you see your heat turn on and turn off, you’re seeing your AC turn on and turn off as well, then you know that everything’s been put in properly.
If there’s ever been problems like the fact that your AC just doesn’t seem to wanna shut off, it’s running full-time, it could be lacking gas. It could be the fact that a lot of times you’ll find when there’s a, a line set put in and you’re only limited to about 25 feet with what they’ve given you on that condenser for the amount of refrigerant that they can can offer in that system, a lot of people may not top it up all the time Okay. And give you the extra refrigerant needed to be sure they’ve made it all the way back to that furnace.
I see, I See. And a lot of times people do slack off on That. I see. So could be not enough refrigerant or other issues And or other major issues or say basic issues. That could be also the fact being that you would see, you know, something could be, if it’s brand new though, it’s not really a thing to see, but if the fact is there is something that is right outta the factory improperly operating.
Right. So investing to do in that instance is call the company that installed it and have them give it a once over Yeah. Make sure that it’s done right. Right. If everything’s dusted properly to begin with and Sure. It’s running before they leave. Yeah. It should be fine. Cool. Alright, Amin, so let’s say the scenario is you had a technician come out cuz there’s a problem with your air conditioning system and they say it’s out of gas. What does that mean and how did the gas disappear?
Well, when they say it’s out of gas, it’s probably the fact that they’ve heard that before. Mm. And they know that they’ve got a leak. Okay. But charging recharging a system that’s leaking is technically illegal. Okay. Okay. And you cannot be doing that. Right. Okay. Because you cannot be allowing these fons to be technically emerging into the, into the atmosphere. Right. Without, and or even maybe into your own house and in your own breath. Okay. If it’s leaking internally. Right. Okay. In, in the furnace space. Now the fact is most people know I’m outta gas when it’s coming to the point being where they have heard it before. Mm-Hmm.
And they know that’s a regular problem and they’ve seen it in the past, otherwise no one would have a clue as to what out of gas would be. Right. Okay. That’s how you know, someone’s got leak and has had it for a while. Yeah. So if you got a leak and you, and you’ve had to get it filled over and over again, that’s a problem that needs to be addressed.
You definitely have to repair it before you refill it. Yeah. A Hundred percent. You would not want to be adding gas again. I mean the next question we have from homeowners who are, you know, curious about their air conditioning system and they’ve got problems. This big question is:
why is my air conditioner running? But it’s not blowing any cold air.
Well, let’s just that if the air conditioner’s running, a lot of times you may see the fan spinning, but the compressor’s not moving. Oh, okay. Okay. A lot of times the compressors can fail. Okay. And yet you still feel the air coming, but it’s only up to that compressor to move the gas and keep the gas going. I see. Okay. People, lot of people think it’s running when they only see the fans spinning. I see.
But the fact being that also they could be outta gas when they’ve got either the compressor not pushing that gas or if they’re out of gas. Okay. That is a perfect point being that there is definitely something wrong with the refrigerant flow to get that cold of gas over the furnace.
Okay. So another instance where you should call the professional to come in and do an assessment to make sure that you know, everything is okay with the system or if not provide a repair or a service. For sure. Okay. The next question we’ve got on our list here is, ooh, this is a bad one. What is that hissing sound downstairs by my furnace.
Well a lot of people wonder what that hissing sound is and I think that’s well, is there something leaking and I even had people come up to me saying, my my furnace is leaking. I can hear it. And I’m like, you’ve gotta get a giggle out of it because it’s not that you’re leaking, you’re actually getting just the sound of the gas traveling into the furnace. Mm-Hmm.
Okay. When A furnace is is running with that ac, your evaporator coil that sits on top of the furnace is sitting there with the ability to be taking that gas in, but it’s on a valve called the thermal expansion valve that lets it in only on pressure relief. As soon as it’s got enough pressure to fall, it lets more in. Okay. But you’ll hear those little sounds that come in, you can hear the gas moving through the piping. Okay. Okay. And those little hissing sounds that are new to you are definitely all it is.
Okay. So it’s maybe not, it’s not leaking at all. It’s just one of those normal Sounds. No, definitely. It’s just to get used, it’s most likely just something to get used to hearing by the furnace when the ACS running. Yeah. Best thing, don’t hang out by the furnace when it’s running. Go upstairs and enjoy. Right. Well, Yeah, it bothers you that much. All right, so my next question we have here, Ooh, this is a good one.
Why is my breaker tripping all the time?
I guarantee you if your breaker’s tripping, it’s either your fan motor that’s seized and or your compressor. Okay. This is definitely got the problem because those are the high voltage components Okay. That are taking the use of it. Now, that trip and that breaker are only most commonly gonna be from the compressor. Mm-Hmm. The compressor is the one that usually will always have the most voltage mm-hmm. To take, to have the capability of taking that full load amperage and tripping it. Mm-Hmm. So most commonly being is you definitely have a problem outside that has gotten to the point where it needs a replacement.
I see. So that is a, a problem. So you could have a possible issue with your compressor, not a good thing. I’m sure there’s possible scenarios where you can fix that or is that a scenario where you’d put in a, a capacitor or would you, you know, get a, an electrician look at that breaker? What would you do?
What I would probably do in that situation is go back, take a look and see where that amp draw is coming from. If you’re gonna be seeing that the compressor itself is just sitting there humming, you know it’s seized. Mm Okay, gotcha. The motor as well. If it’s not, if the fan’s not spinning and the motor’s just there sitting there and just absorbing all that electricity and humming away, then you know clearly that either one of ’em is dead. Mm-Hmm. And that’s gonna trip the compressor gear. Yeah. They’ll trip the the, the compressor, sorry, you should say or the fan are gonna trip that breaker.
Yeah. And that’s what you want to happen. Cuz otherwise you’re gonna catch the thing on fire and it’s Just, you don’t want it getting too hot that’s just don’t Want it getting too hot. That’s why They’re there. It’ll melt down. So that’s for sure you don’t put a bigger breaker in there. This is not gonna help you . Okay. The next question here is oh, this is a, a good one. So why is it not cooling the bedrooms upstairs, like the main floor area? This is a big one. It’s kind of a pet peeve of mine with air, air conditioning systems.
Well, it’s always been a pet peeve for most people because of the simple fact that they don’t understand that in the wintertime you’ll always find that your top floors are beautiful. Okay. And as you go downstairs, you’re gonna be feeling that, you know, those temperatures are not as much, but the fact that when you have a bi-level home, you’re gonna find also that you have to understand how warm air rises and cold air falls. Okay. Cold air for that furnace, the push to the top is not easy. Okay.
It takes a lot of work for that fan to try to take that cold air all the way to your top floor. So that’s why I’ve always told people what you have to do definitely is take those vents in the basement and close them all off, seal ’em all up tight because the basement does not need that cold air as you can see even in the wintertime and 30 below.
Okay. That you’re still cooler down there. Yeah. Okay. When the furnace is running at full pressure. So it’s the fact that once you’ve closed those, you will definitely see the pressure has now been transferred to the two top floors. Okay. Your main and your bilevel floor second is gonna be helpful that way. Now if you find that that’s top floor in the bedrooms where you’re sleeping at night and you’re gonna need that cooling the most. Yeah.
That’s when I would tell people definitely that you wanna definitely take those vents on the main floor Okay. And just close ’em maybe about halfway on every space and try that first and see if you can ha now accept that flow to take it to the top because when, if you have any excess air, that cold air is only gonna fall back down to the, to the main floor anyway. Right. And it all balances up in the end.
Hmm. Okay. Cool. Some neat tips from Amin at hot to cold mechanical. We have another question about air conditioning systems.
So what do I have to do in the wintertime when I’m not using my ac
Well, when you’re not using your ac the first thing you wanna be sure of is that you’re, if some thermostats have auto Okay. Which is a lot of mistake people make, I have to admit I see. They put it on auto and they forget about it. Okay. You may find that that thermostat’s turning that AC on Yeah. When you hit in that old temperature at 22, let’s say that you had Okay.
And or if any other temperature that is not applicable in the winter right now, what you’ll want to do to be sure that no one ever accidentally turns it on or your thermostat doesn’t miss think something that you had set Okay.
Is to always go downstairs and hit the breaker for the AC for the winter and shut it right off.
Turn it Right off. There is always a, a disconnect on the wall outside, but you don’t go near that disconnect. Don’t go touch that disconnect at all. That’s only for our service serviceability capabilities of not having to run down to the basement to shut it off and come back up to turn it on when we’re servicing those systems. Yeah.
That disconnect can be left alone and always locked up best if you have kids because of the simple fact that if anybody pulls that out, they can stick their fingers in there and hit that 240 volts. Okay. That’s why it’s always safer and better just to stick with the breaker and lock up your disconnect until we need it.
Gotcha. Okay. There we go. So guys, that is all we’ve got for this video today. Thank you so much Amin for sharing your knowledge with us. That’s not a problem. And if you guys are in the Edmonton area and you need any type of refrigeration or furnace at work Amin has all the skills that you would require for any of those things. Furnace, air conditioning, mini-split systems dock work any refrigeration for commercial buildings and so forth. He knows how to do all of that stuff.
Oh, we’ve built I built 30 story towers, so your home is not a big deal. , there you go. So just give him a call. I’m gonna put the, the, the number on the screen here. Contact Amin at Hot to Cold Mechanical. Thanks for joining us and we’ll see you on the next video. Thank You.