{"id":1934,"date":"2022-06-13T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.touchstoneheatingonline.com\/blog\/?p=1934"},"modified":"2022-06-13T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T15:00:00","slug":"how-an-amateur-ac-installation-can-go-terribly-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.touchstoneheatingonline.com\/?p=1934","title":{"rendered":"How an Amateur AC Installation Can Go Terribly Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Two<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When we tell customers to rely on licensed professionals for their air conditioning services, it\u2019s not just because we want the job. Of course, we want homeowners who need AC help to hire us, but we also know how poorly amateur work can go. This is especially true when it comes to installing a new air conditioner. Amateurs will make big promises of doing the job at a low cost, but you\u2019ll end up paying a high price for their inferior, hasty work. Letting non-professionals install an air conditioner can go wrong in several ways\u2026 If you\u2019re looking to keep your cooling system efficient and affordable, consider the importance of professional service discussed in this guide on high cooling costs due to duct issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Incorrect sizing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is the biggest risk you take when you hand over an AC installation to an amateur. Sizing<\/em> an air conditioner means determining how powerful the system is, and it needs to be precise. This is not a place for \u201cguesstimates,\u201d which is what most non-pros do. An AC that\u2019s too small for a home obviously won\u2019t do the job, but most of the time amateurs will put in a system that\u2019s too powerful because they a) think that will work fine, and b) can charge more for the unit. An oversized air conditioner is just as bad as an undersized one because it will waste power as it starts to short-cycle, rapidly turning on and off again over a short time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you work with us for an AC installation in Newberry, FL<\/a>, we\u2019ll take the time to perform a proper load calculation for your house. This calculation will tell us exactly how powerful (in cooling tons) your new AC must be for comfort and energy savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too little\/too much refrigerant<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A technician must have special licensing to handle refrigerant\u2014something amateurs rarely possess. The reason this is important (aside from the proper use of environmentally toxic substances) is that a licensed technician will know the right charge of refrigerant to put into the AC upon installation. The refrigerant charge must be at a specific factory-set amount or else the air conditioner won\u2019t run correctly. An undercharged or overcharged AC will provide subpar cooling, higher energy bills, and its compressor will soon burn out. To maintain your AC\u2019s efficiency and longevity, regular maintenance is key, as highlighted in this article about the importance of AC maintenance in late summer<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poor condenser placement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Placing the condenser unit outside the house is one of the most labor-intensive parts of an AC installation. The condenser must have a foot of clearance on all sides for the exhaust of heat and sit on a level concrete slab. Amateurs frequently place the condenser too near to the side of the house or try to make it look more appealing by hiding it behind bushes and plants. They may also do a bad job with the concrete slab, causing the AC to start to tilt as the slab sinks, which can ruin the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bad Ductwork Connections<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the rush to get a job done as fast as possible, amateurs often skimp on properly connecting the ductwork to the new AC unit. This will lead to an air conditioner with air leaks that wastes power, makes noises, and doesn\u2019t cool correctly.\u00a0Staying ahead of issues like these is possible with regular tune-ups and inspections, as suggested in this post about spring AC tune-ups<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can count on our team to have your AC installation done right the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call Touchstone Heating and Air 24\/7 for exceptional customer service!<\/strong><\/a> Serving the communities of North Central Florida since 1998.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Letting non-professionals install an air conditioner can go wrong in several ways\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[99,15],"class_list":["post-1934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-air-conditioning-service","tag-air-conditioning-system-installation","tag-newberry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstoneheatingonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstoneheatingonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstoneheatingonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstoneheatingonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstoneheatingonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstoneheatingonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1934\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstoneheatingonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstoneheatingonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstoneheatingonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}