Maintaining your heating and cooling system keeps your home secure
Heating and air conditioning should definitely be a priority item when it comes to home maintenance and upkeep in Atlanta. Heating and air conditioning issues are just as critical as any other safety-related maintenance problem. There are some health and safety concerns with air conditioning, but when it comes to safety concerns, it’s heating repair that comes to mind first. True Blue Heat and Air is one of the authority sites on this topic.
When it comes to heating and air conditioning, it’s important to remember that both systems have certain features in common. The motors that drive the compressors and air handling fans are typically very powerful, but with continued usage and damage from events such as lightning strikes, they may become vulnerable to electrical shorting. The insulation on the windings inside the motor can deteriorate, causing the windings to short to each other, or the windings can short to the motor’s casing.
The motor would almost certainly overheat in the first situation. The motor might have a manual reset button, but if it is used and the motor still overheats, it is possible that an internal short has occurred. When the winding of a motor shorts to the motor’s case, the machinery becomes electrified, which is extremely dangerous. In both cases, the heating and air conditioning have built-in safety features that you can never try to disable. The device would most likely not turn on, or it will cause the equipment’s electrical breaker to trip. In any case, a trained heating and air conditioning technician should be able to quickly diagnose the problem and safely fix it.
Heaters that run on natural gas or propane have their own collection of risks. A chemical has been added to the gas to give it a distinct odour. There could be a leak in the gas piping to your heating equipment, or it could not be igniting properly due to a failure, if you ever smell the distinctive pungent scent of gas. If you detect a strong gas odour, leave the area immediately and contact the gas company. However, even a slight odour may signal a problem that necessitates heating repair.
Carbon monoxide (CO) gas is a less visible threat. CO is generated when a gas is not fully burned, and it can be released into your home through faulty equipment. Before turning on your heater for the first time, you can have your gas heating system inspected by a trained service technician once a year to ensure there are no issues. CO detectors should also be mounted if your home uses gas-fueled heat to protect you from this unseen risk.
