[ASK] 2) My new air conditioner seems to run all day long and it still doesn't cool my house down enough. What's the problem?

[ASK] 3) My new air conditioner seems to only run for short periods of time and then shuts off. Is this normal?

[ASK] 4) Our energy bill has skyrocketed - what's going on?

[ASK] 5) I've noticed a moldy smell - what is it?

[ASK] 6) If I replace my old air conditioner with a new one, will it lower my energy bill?

[ASK] 7) How much will it cost to install a new air conditioner?

[ASK] 8) Can I make payments?

[ASK] 9) Is it going to be hard on my energy bill to run a new air conditioner?

[ASK] 10) What size of air conditioner do I need for my house?

[ASK] 11) Do I need a permit?

[ASK] 12) Is there a difference in brand names?

[ASK] 13) After I have a new air conditioner installed will it require any maintenance?

A: This is a common problem with two story homes that were built without zone controls (separate thermostats for upstairs and downstairs). The best way to solve the problem is to adapt a new zone control system to the home. Short of doing that one thing that you can do to help but not solve the problem is to run the blower continuously. This helps to mix the upstairs air and downstairs air and brings the temperature closer to being even.

The electrical usage of the blower is a factor and can run as high as $50 or more per month if you let it run 24 hours per day. It's best to run it only during problem times. Closing down all of the downstairs registers in order to force more cool air upstairs is usually not advisable since this restriction may cause the evaporator coil to ice up.

A: There are several possible reasons. Among them are a lack of airflow due to an undersized, broken, or otherwise restricted duct system. But if the air conditioner was recently installed and never has worked properly the chances are that it's too small to handle the heat load of your house. Unfortunately many air conditioning companies today cut out the necessary first step of running proper heat load calculations on the home prior to sizing the equipment. If you have purchased a unit which is too small to handle the load the only thing to do is replace it with the proper size unit.

A: It sounds like the air conditioner is oversized. Again, the first step in installing a new air conditioner is to run proper heat calculations on the home to determine the proper size. An oversized unit will cycle on and off frequently, wasting electricity and causing wear and tear on the machine itself. The other problem is that it never runs long enough to dehumidify the air inside the house. This causes an uncomfortable feeling in the house. It seems cold and clammy like when you are in a cave.

A: Probably. The new air conditioners are not that expensive to run. They come with Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratings (SEER) of 10 as a minimum and go as high as 16. The older machines had ratings down around 6 or even lower. As an example, an average 1500 square foot home with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, in Sonoma County, using a 3 ton, 12 SEER system may have annual cooling costs of around $125 (Based on .10 per KWH, 25,000 sensible BTUH, 600 hours run time, 12 SEER.) If your energy bill has skyrocketed there probably is a problem somewhere in the system. Upon installation a new air conditioner must be tested and have the refrigerant charge accurately adjusted. These are not preset by the factory as every job site has different conditions. A study by researchers at Texas A? University found that a refrigerant undercharge of 23% results in a 52% efficiency loss. North Carolina Alternative Energy Corp. found that 90% of the units they tested exhibited some sort of energy wasting problem, 50% had an improper refrigerant charge and 40% had inadequate airflow. Proper installation of the air conditioner and testing of the system as a whole is crucial to performance and energy savings.

A: An air conditioning system produces water at the evaporator coil and has a drain line for this water. Improper installations can lead to water leaks, which in turn result in mold growth and unpleasant odors.

A: Yes and in a big way. If you have an old machine built in the 70's it was probably rated around 6 SEER when it was new and now is running something like 3 or 4 SEER. Replace it with a new 12 SEER unit and cut your cooling energy bill by 67% or more! The indoor coil must also be replaced at the same time in order to get the advertised SEER rating of the new unit and the rest of the system must be in proper working order.

A: It is impossible to quote a price without first checking conditions at the job site. We simply cannot determine what the price will be without this first step. Price will be influenced by the size, SEER rating, and location of the new unit as well as whether or not the existing furnace, electrical panel, and ducts are suitable for air conditioning or if they must be replaced. We don't charge anything to come out to your house and give you a written proposal, customized especially for your situation, showing you your prices and your various choices. In almost all cases the proposal is written up for you on the spot with no waiting to receive it in the mail.

A: Yes. We accept credit cards and we offer several financing plans so that you can make small monthly payments rather than paying it all at once.

A: No. See the answer to the above question #5.

A: Air conditioners are rated in "tons" of cooling capacity. This phrase comes from the days when ice was used for cooling. One ton of air conditioning is equal to the amount of cooling you would get from one ton of ice melting in your home in one hour. One ton of cooling is also equal to 12,000 BTUH (British thermal units per hour) and this 12,000 BTUH is further broken down into sensible BTUH (heat which can be sensed with the aid of a thermometer) and latent BTUH ("hidden heat" which cannot be sensed with the aid of a thermometer.) This has to do with how much moisture removal is accomplished by the air conditioning system and gets fairly complex.

Contrary to popular belief, proper sizing is not done based on the square footage of the home, such as one ton of ac for every 500 square feet. Such rough rule of thumb guesses do not allow for important variables. The proper size can only be determined from the results of a heat load calculation on your home. The calculation takes into account the area of exposed walls, the glass area and whether it's single or dual pane, the insulation levels in floors, walls, and ceilings, any exterior or interior shading, the requested indoor temperature, and the volume of the house in cubic feet. We use a method of calculation called "manual J" which was developed by Air Conditioning Contractors of America and approved for this use.

Proper size is critical to your comfort and savings on your energy bill. Oversized units cost more to operate and short cycle so much that your house may become humid and uncomfortable. Undersized units run all day long and still don't cool the house. Make sure you get the right size.

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A: Yes. Whether you live in the city or the county a permit is a legal requirement. The issuance of a permit usually involves making a sketch of the property showing the location of the air conditioner, then taking this to the building department along with a completed application, and paying the fees. The permit usually is issued the same day. When the job is done an inspector from the city or county where you live will come by to inspect the job and sign off the permit. Some companies illegally do these jobs without a permit and when they get caught the homeowner gets the fine. At Adams Heating and Cooling we take care of getting the permit, making the drawings, and scheduling the inspection for you.

A: Yes. There are major differences. We use only Trane air conditioners because they use all aluminum condenser coils (other brands use copper tubing with aluminum fins and the SEER rating of these type of units degrade rapidly after installation), they build their own compressors which have an extremely low failure rate, at last count less that one half of one percent came back to the factory with a problem and half of those were misdiagnosed, and this manufacturer provides a steel louvered cabinet around the entire unit to protect the condenser coils where other manufacturers leave the coils exposed to damage.

A: Yes. We suggest that if you have a combination heating and cooling system you have us come out and do a tune up on the system every six months. Keeping the system clean is the name of the game. As the coils and blower wheels begin to get dirty the efficiency of the system plummets, your energy bill climbs, and your comfort level drops. Regular tune ups also extend equipment life and help to prevent mechanical break downs.