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Residential
San Angelo, Grape Creek, Wall and the towns around them. Cooling that has to survive four months of afternoons, and heating that has to survive one bad week.
What to book, and when
- March and April
The cooling check. Condenser coil cleaned before the season loads it, refrigerant behaviour measured, drains cleared, electrical connections checked. Booked now it is a service visit; booked in July it is an emergency.
- May
Duct and airflow work, while an attic is still survivable to work in. Sealing, repairs and airflow measured room by room.
- June to September
Breakdowns, mostly. We keep capacitors, contactors, float switches and common motors on the van, because the difference between a same-day fix and a two-day wait is usually a part in a box.
- October and November
The heating check. Burners, heat exchanger, flue, gas pressure, safeties and airflow. Nothing has run since March and this is when you find that out cheaply.
- December to February
Freeze readiness and the quiet season — the right time to plan and price a replacement without a deadline attached to it.
The five calls
- It is not coolingCapacitor, contactor, a tripped safety, a coil packed with dust, or a float switch that has done its job. Bring the thermostat reading and whether the outdoor unit is running.
- One room is unbearable after lunchAlmost always west glass plus not enough air reaching the room. The sun path makes the case better than we can in a paragraph.
- The bill climbedA dirty coil, a stuck damper, or duct losses in an attic. All three are measurable and none needs new equipment.
- Water at the air handlerA blocked condensate line or a secondary pan doing the primary's work. Worth dealing with before a ceiling gets involved.
- No heat on the first cold nightFilter, flame sensor, pressure switch or ignition. Cheap parts, and exactly what the October check is for.
Two calls that go elsewhere first
- A carbon monoxide alarm soundingEverybody out of the house, then call 911 or the gas utility from outside. Not us first, and do not go back in to open windows.
- A smell of gasThe same. Leave the appliance alone, get out, ring from outside.
Once it has been made safe we will come and find out what caused it. Everything else goes in the diary.
Sized from the house, quoted with the ducts
A lot of the systems here were oversized when they went in, and copying that capacity into a replacement buys you the same short cycles and the same clammy rooms. We size from a load calculation instead.
And the duct work goes in the quote. If the ducts cannot carry what the new equipment makes, the new equipment performs like the old one — which is a conversation to have before the money moves, not after.