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Operation &
Maintenance:
The
air-conditioning system installed in
your home will provide you with many
years of comfort if given proper
care and maintenance.
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Manufacturer
Directions |
The
air-conditioning system installed in
your home will provide you with many
years of comfort if given proper
care and maintenance. |
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Annual
Inspection |
Good
maintenance of the cooling system
can save energy dollars as well as
prolong the life of the cooling
system itself. Carefully read and
follow the manufacturer’s literature
on use and care. The guidelines here
only include general information. |
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Furnished
Homes |
To keep your
cooling system operating at maximum
efficiency, you should have it
checked and serviced by a
professional serviceman at least
twice a year.
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Thermostat |
The cooling
system design was planned with a
furnished home in mind. If you move
in during the warmer part of the
year and have not yet acquired all
of your window coverings and
furnishings, the home may seem
warmer to you than you would expect. |
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Thermostats
are calibrated to within plus or
minus 5 degrees. |
Please
review the thermostat manual for
proper operation instructions. The
cooling system will come on
automatically when the temperature
at the thermostat registers above
the setting you have selected.
Setting the thermostat to a lower
temperature will not cool the home
faster and the best performance will
be realized when the thermostat is
left at one setting around the
clock. Fan switch left in the On
position. |
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Filter |
Remember to
change or clean the filters every 60
days. If you do not clean or replace
your filters your furnace cannot
breathe and it will become too hot
and shut down. Although it takes
less than one minute to change the
filter, this is one of the most
frequently overlooked details of
normal furnace care. |
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Vents |
For maximum
comfort and efficient energy use, do
not place furniture and draperies
over registers and cold air returns.
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Trial Run |
Have a trial
run early in the spring to test the
cooling system. If service is
needed, it is much more convenient
to discover it prior to the cooling
season. Caution: do not
operate your air conditioner if the
outside temperature has not been at
least 60 degrees for 24 hours.
Damage may result. |
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Adjust Vents |
You will find
it advantageous to adjust the vents
to direct airflow as desired.
Partially closing vents in
unoccupied areas will allow more air
to flow to other areas
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Temperature
Variations |
Normal
temperatures can vary from floor to
floor and room to room (depending on
the style of the home). Variations
between inside temperatures and the
thermostat setting can be as much as
6 degrees or more.
The furnace blower will typically
run non-stop during severe hot
spells. |
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Ductwork Noise |
Some popping
or pinging sounds are the natural
result of ductwork heating and
cooling. |
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Recommendations for optimum
performance
These
recommendations become most
important when outside temperatures
reach into the mid-90’s and above.
Taking these steps will “help” the
system provide maximum comfort
during these extreme temperature
periods.
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· Be sure
that the “fan” switch is in the “on”
position. This will run the blower
continuously, circulating the air
throughout the home and helping to
even out temperatures. The added
electrical costs are relatively
small and it’s actually better for
the equipment to run continuously
rather than start and stop. HVAC
companies recommend running the fan
in the “on” position year round.
· Keep blinds closed over windows in
the hottest part of the day. The
largest amount of heat gain or loss
in any home is through the windows.
· Turn the lights off in areas not
being used. If you’ve ever touched a
light bulb while it’s on, then you
would know how much heat is
generated by an incandescent bulb. A
typical fixture with two to four
bulbs will add an amazing amount of
heat to the air.
· Be sure to use
exhaust fans while cooking,
showering, running the clothes
dryer, etc. to remove the heat
produced by those activities. Of
course it will help the most if
these activities can be performed
during the cooler parts of the day.
· Leave interior doors open as much
as possible. A closed door inhibits
air movement in and out of the room
and will cause the temperature in
that room to be higher than the rest
of the house.
· Anticipate
temperatures rising with the number
of people in the home. Maybe lower
the set point of the thermostat
prior to guests arriving in
anticipation of the increased need.
· During the hottest weeks of the
year set the thermostat lower than
normal in the morning in order to
get a “head start” on the demand
later in the day. |
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Manual
adjustment of the damper in the
garage (if present) and of the
registers in the home may be
necessary to fine-tune the
temperatures in the home. Typically,
the rooms farthest away from the
furnace will be most difficult to
condition so the registers in closer
rooms can sometimes be closed
partially to redirect the air.
Registers can be closed completely
in rooms that are not used as much
or that are naturally cooler. |
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Troubleshooting |
If the air
conditioner is blowing warm air or
not air at all: · Check that
the thermostat is set to “cool” and
that it’s set to a temperature below
the current temperature in the home.
· Make sure that the breaker marked
“A/C” is turned on.
· There is
also a power disconnect outside at
the a/c unit itself. Make sure it is
turned on.
· The furnace may also
have an on/off power switch in the
garage. This switch looks like a
regular light switch and is located
on or next to the furnace. The
switch simply overrides all furnace
commands and manually shuts off the
power.
· Check and clean the
filters
Check for ice
around refrigeration lines at the
outside a/c unit and the furnace in
the garage.
If there
is ice or frost at the air
conditioner or indoor coil:
•This is most
commonly caused by low airflow, so
first, check and clean the filters.
· Also check that all the registers
in the home and any dampers located
in the garage are open so airflow is
not restricted.
· Turn the system
switch on the thermostat to “off”
and the Fan switch to “on”. This
will cause the ice to melt and may
result in some minor puddling around
the furnace in the garage. This is
not typically harmful, although it
should be cleaned up as quickly as
possible.
Once the ice is
gone and all restrictions in airflow
have been addressed, return the
system switch to “cool”. If the
problem continues, turn the system
switch to “off”, the fan switch to
“on”, and follow the instructions
for a warranty request.
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Limited
Warranty:
Engineering |
To fully
and efficiently utilize your cooling
system, you must understand that it
is a total, whole-house system. The
cooling system involves everything
inside your home, including, for
example, drapes and window
coverings. The cooling system should
be able to maintain a temperature of
78 degrees (measured 5 feet above
the center of the floor at the
T-stat). In the case of excessive
outdoor temperatures (95 degrees or
above), a 17-degree difference will
be difficult to maintain. The
Homeowner is responsible for minor
adjustments such as balancing
dampers and registers. All rooms
will may vary in temperature by as
much as 6 degrees. This is
acceptable. |
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Furnace Sounds |
Expansion
and contraction of metal ductwork
will typically result in some
ticking or popping sounds. It is not
possible to eliminate these sounds. |
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Registers |
Register
covers are removable and adjustable.
The homeowner is responsible for
adjusting the dampers in these
covers to regulate the airflow
within the home. In particular,
attention is drawn to the fact that
rooms farther away from the furnace
will need to have vents opened more
than rooms closer to the furnace. |
