Author: Brett

If you go to turn on your air conditioner and your ears are immediately assaulted by rattles, buzzing sounds, or a screeching or squeaking sound, it makes it hard to enjoy a cool, comfortable home. While some noises are nothing to worry about and can be easily fixed, others are a sign that there’s something seriously wrong. To determine if it’s something you can troubleshoot on your own or you need to schedule air conditioner repair in Garner, we’re breaking down the common noises air conditioners make and what they could mean.

Your Air Conditioner Is Buzzing

A buzzing sound is one of the more common sounds you’ll hear from your HVAC unit, mainly because it could mean so many different things. If you hear a loud hum or buzz, try these troubleshooting tips:

• Look for debris such as leaves or sticks in the outdoor unit.
• See if the outdoor unit is uneven on the ground.
• Change the air filter
• Check the copper lines that run from the outside unit to indoors and see if they are rubbing on something.
• If your AC isn’t blowing cool air and it’s buzzing, it may be frozen up. Turn your unit off for a bit as your air conditioner may be frozen up. If this continues to happen, you may have a leak in refrigerant, and you should call a repair tech.

Other issues that may require calling for air conditioner repair service are:

• The outdoor fan motor or the blades may be loose or off balance.
• The blower may be about to fail.
• An interior part may have come loose.
• The compressor is malfunctioning.

A buzzing sound is one of the trickiest issues to diagnose yourself because it could be something minor, like changing the air filter, or it could be a sign of a major issue.

Humming Sounds

A low hum is a bit different than the loud buzz caused by the issues listed above. Low humming sounds are often a sign of electrical wiring or voltage concerns and should be addressed right away.

Banging Sounds from the Outdoor Unit

If there’s a loud clank or banging sound, that’s most likely your AC compressor – the part of your unit that circulates the coolant to cool the air. Wear and tear can cause parts like a connecting rod or crankshaft, to come loose rattle or bang against the inside of the metal shell. If this happens, you’ll probably need to have your compressor replaced because an AC repair technician can’t access the inside of it without damaging the outer casing.

Otherwise, the other cause of the banging or clanking sound is that the blower or outdoor fan is off balance and the fan blades are banging into other parts. Again, this needs to be addressed immediately or further damage can happen.

High-Pitched Squeaks and Squeals From Your Air Conditioner

If you hear a loud squealing or squeaking sound, first determine where the noise is coming from. If it’s coming from outdoor, it’s generally either the motor in the compressor or a malfunctioning fan motor. If the noise is from the inside unit, the blower fan that pulls in warm air and pushes out cooled air may be failing.

For older units that have fan belts, the squeaking or squealing sound may be caused by the belt wearing out. Not matter what the issue is, an experienced AC repair company will need to be called to your home to fix the problem.

Your AC is Whistling or Screaming

A loud, high-pitched whistling or even a screaming sound needs to be addressed immediately. First, shut off the air conditioner immediately, then call for emergency HVAC repairs. The most likely causes for such a sound are a refrigerant leak or high pressure within the compressor. Both of these are dangerous and need addressing.

Contact Us for AC Repairs in Garner

If your air conditioner is making sounds and you don’t know what the problem is, we can help. Our experienced team of air conditioner repair techs can be at your home, diagnosing the issue fast and providing you with a reliable repair that has your home cool, comfortable, and quiet. Want to avoid problems to begin with – talk to us about our HVAC maintenance program. Give us a call at 919-772-2759 or fill out our contact form below to schedule service or get a free estimate!

When you’re at work, school, or otherwise gone for several hours during the day, you may try and reduce energy costs by shutting off your heat. With eight hours of “rest,” you should see a pretty impressive reduction in your energy bills, right? Not necessarily! Our heating repair company in Garner is exploring how you can improve energy efficiency in your home, minimize wear and tear on your system, and keep your home comfortable when you get home.

Adjust the Thermostat 7 to 10 Degrees

If you’re going to be gone for several hours, instead of turning the system completely off, the U.S. Department of Energy recommends turning your heat down by seven to 10 degrees. They also suggest doing this at night, using blankets to make up the difference in temperature. So, if you keep your heat set on 68, you’ll want to lower it to 58 to 61 degrees, and doing so will make an impressive dent in your heating bill.

Also, this same recommendation applies in hot summer months – if you keep your AC set on 72, raise the temperature to 80 degrees while you’re gone and lower the temp to your preferred setting when you come back.

Why do this rather than shut off the system completely? Some people believe that by turning the system off and allowing the temperature in your home to drop or raise by 15 degrees or more will require your HVAC or furnace to work harder when you come home. While, this is technically true, it isn’t enough to cause your system to wear out faster – it just may take longer to restore your preferred temperature. However, studies show that reducing or raising the thermostat the recommended amount saves as much energy as turning it off completely.

Turning Off Your Heat Can Lead to Expensive Damage

Turning your heat or your air conditioning off may not damage your system, but you may experience “collateral damage.” For example, if your house gets cold during the day and the temperatures are low outside, your pipes may freeze and burst. In summer months, the air conditioner acts as a dehumidifier, reducing moisture in your home – eliminating that for long periods during the day increases moisture in your home, putting you at greater risk for damaged wood flooring and even mold or mildew.

Consider a Smart Thermostat

One of the best ways to manage your thermostat and ensure you’re saving money when you’re gone and still coming home to a comfortable home is with a smart thermostat. You can connect it to your smartphone which allows you to update the temperature from wherever you are. Before you leave work, you can turn your heat up or lower the air conditioning, so by the time you get home, you’re home is the perfect temperature – no need to shiver or sweat while you wait for your house to get comfortable because you couldn’t change the thermostat until you walked through the door! This is also ideal if you forget to change the temperature until you’re halfway to work, and you want something a bit more user-friendly than a standard programmable thermostat. Plus, it does allow you to turn your air conditioner off during a thunderstorm as lightning can damage your HVAC unit.

Contact Us for Heating Repair and Installation in Garner

If you want to update your heating system to a more energy-efficient unit, or you simply need help installing a smart thermostat, we can help! Give us a call at 919-772-2759 or fill out our contact form below to schedule service or get a free estimate!

Living in North Carolina, thunderstorms are a pretty regular occurrence from April through October, but especially in the summer. The temperature skyrockets into the 90s, it’s incredibly muggy, and those two factors lead to thunderstorms forming. We get a deluge for a short period of time, and then 20 minutes after the storm has passed, it’s hotter and more humid than it was before it rained!

Summer storms are generally quick, so it’s no big deal to leave your air conditioner running during a thunderstorm, right? Well…not exactly. Our AC repair company in Garner is going to walk through when and why you should switch off your air conditioner when the weather turns bad.

Turn Off Your AC During a Thunderstorm

If you notice the sky is getting dark or you hear thunder, it’s a good idea to go ahead and shut off the system until the storm passes. Even though it’s not likely that your house will be struck by lightning (in fact, it’s less than a 1 percent chance!), a strike could literally destroy your air conditioner.

We’re not exaggerating either – one lightning bolt can contain more than one billion volts of electricity and exceed 20,000 degrees Celsius – that’s hotter than the sun! If this hits your home, a surge protector can’t defend against that, so if your air conditioner is on during a storm, the electrical circuits within the system will most likely be severely damaged. If this happens, most likely, you’re looking at having to have the unit replaced because repairing these damaged circuits is often impossible.

If you are often away from home or at work during storms, it may be a good idea to invest in a smart thermostat that lets you turn the system off using your smartphone!

Staying Cool During a Storm

We know you don’t want your home to get hot and stuffy during a storm, and turning off the system can be a hassle. However, a brief period of discomfort is generally much better than having to replace your air conditioner, and as soon as lightning has passed, you can turn your system back on. During the storm itself, the air temperature drops considerably, so consider opening the windows and placing a box fan to pull cooled air from outdoors inside until the storm passes.

Running the Air Conditioner During Heavy Rain

If it’s unsafe to run the AC during a thunderstorm, what about a torrential rain? It’s actually perfectly fine to keep your system going during heavy rain for the most part. However, you should check to make sure the area around the outdoor unit isn’t prone to flooding or standing water. If the unit does get flooded due to standing water, turn it off immediately at your house’s electrical panel and have it inspected by an air conditioner repair service before turning it back on.

Contact Our AC Repair Company in Garner

Whether your air conditioner was damaged in a storm or you simply want to have seasonal maintenance performed to make sure your system is ready to take on the summer months, we can help! Contact our AC repair company today at 919-772-2759 or fill out the contact form below to schedule service!

We are excited to announce the launch of the new, totally redesigned Bowman Mechanical Services website! Our old website was outdated and needed a major overhaul, so we partnered with TheeDigital, knowing they specialize in HVAC web design and HVAC digital marketing. We asked them to create a website that not only represents our brand and dedication to providing excellent service to the Raleigh area, but also offers a simplified, enjoyable browsing experience for our customers. Pair that with an easy-to-use content management system for our company, and we are thrilled with the result! We hope you are, too!

Our new website is built on WordPress, a content management platform that lets us easily update and edit our website so we can bring you the latest industry news, HVAC maintenance tips, and special offers for our heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services.

An Enjoyable Customer Experience

Our main goal for the new Bowman Mechanical Services site is to provide you with an enjoyable experience. We envisioned a clean, modern web design that makes it easy for you to find what you’re looking for, whether you need emergency AC repair, want to schedule routine maintenance, or read our customer reviews and learn more about our Raleigh HVAC company.

We know you may be visiting us from a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, which is why we’re thrilled to feature responsive web design technology. Now, you can read more about our services, check out images, and read the HVAC blog on any size screen or device, including smartphones and tablets.

Easy Updates for Accurate, Up-to-Date Info

Not only is the design and browsing experience convenient and intuitive for you, but the back end side is easy to use for our team, too. Instead of having to bring a developer just for simple updates, we can do it all ourselves. Our team loves having the opportunity to post open job positions, new customer reviews, new photos and videos, and blog updates with you.

Before our site was ready to launch, we hadn’t used a content management system like WordPress before. Fortunately, TheeDigital provided comprehensive training so we could get the most out of our site. Now, we can manage different operations all in one place, which gives us more time to dedicate to customers like you.

Search Engine Optimization

The digital marketing team at TheeDigital leveraged WordPress’s features that make SEO for HVAC companies a snap. SEO, or search engine optimization, basically means our website is easy to find when our customers look for us or search out HVAC repair in Raleigh on Google and other search engines. Because our website now offers fast load times, a mobile-friendly design, and a more organized layout, in addition to strategic keyword usage, optimized images, and relevant content, we are much more visible in search engine results. The influx of organic traffic gives us the opportunity to help more customers and provide more heating and air solutions to businesses and residences around Raleigh.

Customized Plugins

WordPress offers near-endless customization options for our website through plugins, including appointment schedulers and bill pay portals for your convenience and marketing and email integration to streamline our processes. TheeDigital worked with us to determine our exact needs, what features would benefit our customers, and what would help us reach more people and integrated these plugins right into our web design.

Advanced Photo Options and Galleries

We know a picture is worth a thousand words, now we have a stunning photo gallery to highlight better show our new heating and air conditioning systems and even before-and-after shots of systems we’ve repaired or maintained. From customer-submitted photos to behind-the-scenes shots, you’ll get to see beautiful photos throughout our website!

In addition to the photo gallery, there’s also a new team member gallery where you can meet our experienced technicians, read our bios, and link to our social profiles so you can connect with everyone here at Bowman Mechanical Services.

An Onsite Blog to Share Information

We know that excellent customer services doesn’t just start when our technician is at your home or business. The best customer services starts as soon as you visit our website, and our blog is a part of that. Our informative articles help you get the most out of your heating and air conditioning system, learn more about quality comfort services, and learn relevant HVAC information. Check it frequently so you can stay up-to-date!

An Integrated Contact Form

The online contact form is a time-saving tool that makes it easy for you to request information, ask about our services, and even give feedback without having to track down our customer service email or phone number. We are fans of the contact form because it lets us get back to you faster, letting us provide you with better service.

Appointment Scheduling Tool

We know you don’t always have time to call our office during business hours to schedule your appointment, and now, you don’t have to. On our contact form, you can put in your service need, such as maintenance, quote, or service, your preferred method of contact, and your preferred appointment availability, and we’ll get back to you fast to finalize your appointment time.

We are proud of our new Bowman Mechanical Services website, and we hope you like it, too! When we decided to take the leap and update our HVAC company’s website, we discovered TheeDigital through Google. After meeting with the team, we felt confident that they understood our goals – reflecting our dedication to excellent customer service and expert heating and air conditioning service, improving communication with you, and reaching a broad audience in and out of Raleigh.  They were not only able to help us realize our goals, they created a website that perfectly represents our brand and values.

Be sure to browse around and read more about our services, check out our blog, and meet the team. If you are interested in finding out more about custom web design for HVAC companies or internet marketing, visit our friends at TheeDigital.com.