HVAC Questions and Answers
So, you have questions about HVAC systems and how they apply to the comfort of your home. At Infinity Air Solutions we take great satisfaction in helping our customers understand as much as possible about their home’s HVAC unit.
We get a lot of questions about various units and the issues people face every day, so we decided to answer some of those questions here in our blog! A lot of the calls we take about the services we provide and any questions you may have can still be answered over the phone but in the meantime, keep reading to see if we answer a question you may have here.
Q: What Does HVAC Stand For?
Most homeowners only refer to the system that heats and cools their home as simply the “air conditioner,” however, the system as a whole is called an HVAC system or unit. “HVAC” is a short abbreviation for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. This abbreviation, to professionals in our field, refers to the whole heating and cooling system.
Q: How Often Should I Replace My Air Filter?
As a general rule, you should be checking your air filters monthly. If your filter can be taken out and cleaned, then we recommend cleaning it monthly, or whenever there is a large amount of buildup present. On the other hand, if your air filter isn’t reusable, you can still take it out and replace it with a new one.
Replace air filters either once a month or once every two months depending on the amount of buildup you can see on the filter. If you don’t feel like going to the store, no worries! Try stocking up on two to three filters each trip so that you can reduce the number of store runs you have to make to buy a new one.
Q: What is a Programmable Thermostat?
A programmable thermostat is an upgraded version of a traditional thermostat that allows you to control how much energy you use for heating and cooling your home. You can use it to program different temperature settings during different times throughout the day. With a programmable thermostat, you have complete control over your home’s temperature whether you’re home or not!
As an example, during the winter months, when you’re away from home, you can come home to a warm house by simply setting your thermostat to raise the temperature around the time you expect to be home.
Q: How Do I Know if My Air Conditioner Needs to Be Repaired?
Problems with your air conditioning unit can sometimes be easy to recognize. When you begin to notice these signs, your air conditioning system may need a little attention from a professional HVAC technician:
Blowing out warm air.
Musty odors coming from vents.
Banging, clanking, or other loud noises you never heard before.
A spike in your utility bill.
Your house takes longer than normal to cool down.
Your air conditioner may not be the only part of your HVAC system that we need to inspect.
Q: How Do I Know if My Furnace Needs to be Repaired?
You won’t know that your furnace needs a little TLC until winter rolls around and you suddenly notice signs. In rare cases, problems with furnaces aren’t as noticeable as problems with air conditioners. But here are some signs you can keep an eye out for:
Cold spots in different rooms.
Loud banging noises.
A burning smell for long periods of time.
Heat distributed poorly throughout the house.
Although we can‘t answer every question we’ve gotten in this blog, this is a great starting point! If we missed any of your most important questions about some of our most commonly asked questions, we suggest calling a professional HVAC company.