9 May 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – As the warm spring air starts to stick around, people are starting to crank up the air conditioning. But going a few months without the air running could mean some repairs on your HVAC.
Kaw Valley Heating and Cooling is now entering its busiest time of the year. While that’s good for business, it also means it’s time for homeowners to keep an extra eye on their AC units.
“May to June we’re busy primarily because most people are just engaging their systems,” David Lemon said, owner of Kaw Valley Heating and Cooling. “They’re just starting to turn them on, find out that they’re not working or not working properly, not cooling and that’s when a lot of people find that there is an issue.”
While some fixes to your cooling system are inevitable, other issues can be preventable.
“As a homeowner maintenance is a big thing,” Lemon said. “So, on the outside unit, the condenser, keeping it clean, washing it out, that’s a big key element. If that system can’t breathe it’s going to overheat.”
“Luckily I had an easy call today [Monday],” Service Technician Bradley Busby said. “It was just a capacitor and all that does is it’s kind of a booster for the compressor and the fan outdoor, so it just gives it a jumpstart whenever it starts up and kicks itself out of the circuit.”
While Monday was an easy fix for Busby, he knows with the summer heat coming, more fixes are to come.
“Luckily it hasn’t been too bad yet,” Busby said. “We’re just now getting into the heat. And so I’ve only had a few days of constant calls, but last year during the summer we start at seven and I’ve had days that go into 10, 11 p.m.”
Lemon adds if you have an animal it’s important to clean out your filter even more. That’s because their hair will get into the unit and cause it to work harder, thus upping your bill.