It’s storm season in Florida, and thankfully we’re going to escape the damage from Hurricane Michael. But this is a good warning to everybody about how important it is to be prepared for the change in the weather. And that change in the weather means—well, it’s still going to be warm most of the time. This is Tampa Bay, after all.
Although we recommend you have heating maintenance done during the fall in case of cooler weather periods, we want to make sure you pay attention to your central air conditioning in Clearwater, FL, because you’ll still need to rely on it during the coming months.
We have some tips to help you keep from paying too much through the fall on home cooling.
Fall is a good time to make plans for the future of your air conditioning system. When the most intense heat of the summer season eases up, you won’t need the AC running on a regular basis. This makes it easier to schedule a big job like replacing the system—or putting in an entirely new kind of cooling system.
The end of the summer can bring with it the worst heat of the whole season. Here in Tampa Bay, we can expect to have hot weather strike any time of the year, including winter. This makes air conditioning systems essential parts of our homes—and it also makes keeping them in good repair a vital part of living in our climate.
If you’ve heard any word about heat pumps—beyond the basics of how they work—it may be a warning they don’t work ideally in all climates, causing them to struggle with energy efficiency in extreme weather conditions. This often holds back homeowners from choosing a heat pump for a new HVAC installation when they’re ready to change out their old AC and furnace.
This is a question homeowners often have about their air conditioning systems. They know that refrigerant (aka “Freon,” which is a brand name) is an important part of how an air conditioner runs. Without refrigerant, there’s no way for an AC system to cool down a house. But what happens if the refrigerant runs out? And when will it start to run out?
Florida is known for its hot summers. Make that hot and humid summers. It’s one thing to have a hot day. It’s quite another when the humidity level is high. An 80°F day can feel like it’s 10° hotter—or maybe it is 10° hotter?
If you’ve noticed the indoor coils for your air conditioning system have ice or frost on them, you’re right to be concerned. Often, homeowners ignore the appearance of ice on parts of an AC because they imagine that it’s part of the normal cooling cycle.
How do you provide cooling for your Florida home? We know you must be using some type of AC, because our summer weather is too hot and humid to get through in comfort otherwise. But if your answer is that you use window AC units placed in different rooms around the house, then we think you need to know about ductless mini split systems. You don’t need to have ducts added to your home to enjoy powerful cooling around the house: ductless is a great way to have superior cooling at an affordable price and without disruptive construction. 
When the hot Florida weather really settles in, you can expect steady work from your home’s air conditioner. If you’ve already had HVAC professionals inspect and tune it up, you can expect it to work with few problems over the season. However, you shouldn’t let indications that something might be wrong slip past you just because you were diligent about maintenance. Problems can afflict even the best cared-for air conditioning system, and the sooner you hop on getting the system repaired, the better off you—and the AC—will be.
