Dehumidistat Setting and Your AC System

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Returning for the Winter or From Vacation? Check Your Dehumidistat!

If you are just returning from an extended vacation or from spending the summer months up North, remember to check your dehumidistat when you return to your home in Florida. If you forget to set it to the ON position when you return, your AC system will not run properly.  After turning your dehumidistat to the ON position, make sure your thermostat settings are also set correctly.

If you have set your dehumidistat to the ON position and still find that your air conditioner will not kick on, try the seven DIY AC tips before calling for service and save yourself the cost of an air conditioning service call!

If your air conditioner stops working or suddenly is not performing well, your first thought may be to get a maintenance specialist over as soon as possible to fix the problem. However, there are a few steps you can take to avoid a service call and you may be able to fix the situation yourself.

Assess your situation before making that call. If you heard a loud noise, screeching or a banging noise, this is something that you will not be able to fix. However, if your system just stopped working, you may find that your AC problem is a simple fix that you can manage yourself in minutes, even without mechanical knowledge. 

It never hurts to check your air conditioner before you call for service. Even if you do not discover an easy DIY solution, you will be gathering more information that could help your technician get your AC working faster.

The Most Obvious - The Power Supply
It may seem obvious, but there are more ways this can go wrong than you think. You know it right away when your power goes off in the evening because your lights will all shut off. However, AC issues often happen during daylight hours, so a widespread outage may not be readily apparent. 

Check your breakers.  The breaker in your panel box can sometimes flip to the off position, simply push it back to the on position. If you find that it has not been flipped, you may want to push it to the off position and then back on again just to be sure it is correctly set. You have another breaker by the outside compressor. It is usually located in a small metal box, you either flip a switch like you would with a breaker in your panel box, or twist the knob located in the metal box to turn the breaker back on. 

Do you have an FP&L On-Call device installed on your AC equipment? If so, FP&L may have turned off your AC for a brief period. You must sign up for this program, it is not something that FP&L automatically does. If you have the FP&L On Call box, check if the light is red. If it is, your power should return shortly. Once that light turns green on the On Call box, your AC, and other appliances you may have opted to include on the FP&L On Call program will turn on again.
 

The Thermostat
 

The thermostat is often the culprit behind a seemingly broken AC. To check it:

• Replace the batteries, especially if the screen does not even come on, or seems faint. Fresh batteries may get your AC working almost instantly. Once you replace the batteries, give the thermostat a few minutes to cycle on.
• Go through the thermostat’s settings to ensure it is not set to “heat,” or even “off.” For the AC to kick on, make sure your thermostat setting is in the “cool” position. 

Dehumidistat Settings

If you have a dehumidistat installed on your AC system and you have been away for the summer or extended vacation, remember to set the dehumidistat to the ON position when you first get home. If you leave it set at a percentage, the thermostat will be working off the humidity setting for your home, instead of the temperature setting.
 

The Vents
Sometimes, the AC seems to be running, but your house is not cooling down. When this occurs, there are many potential causes, but it may just mean that your vents are blocked. 

Walk into each room and check whether the vents are visible. If there is anything (such as boxes, dust, or laundry) in the way, clear a space to allow adequate airflow. You should also check to make sure the vents are in the “open” position. Vents can sometimes be closed when you have had construction going on in your home and are easily forgotten.

The Air Filter
A dirty, clogged filter will not usually be the kind of thing that is a complete make-or-break for an AC, but it can reduce its cooling efficiency. Some air conditioners are designed to turn off if they cannot get adequate air flow. Others will keep running, but much of the cool air will not make it to the rooms of your home.

Air filters typically need to be changed every one to three months, but this will vary based on the filter type and your indoor air quality. If your filter looks dirty or it has been more than a month since you changed it, try putting a fresh filter in to see if that helps boost your AC’s cooling power.
 

The Condenser Unit

The condenser is the part of the system that most people refer to as the air conditioner. 

Unfortunately, all those “vents” (which serve to protect its sensitive coils) can get blocked, and the lack of airflow may inhibit or shut down your AC. So, check around your condenser, clear away any debris, and move or trim back any plants growing up against it. Afterward, your AC may work fine again.

Drain Line Clogged

One of the most common causes of your AC to stop running. Remember that in between regular maintenance by Four Seasons Air Conditioning, you should be pouring a solution of bleach and water through your drain at the T located by your air handler. This keeps the algae and other growth to a minimum, especially during summer when our AC systems run 24/7. 

If your drain line backs up, most systems are equipped with a Float Switch. This switch will automatically shut off your system if the water backs up and will shut your system down. This is a good thing! You would not want backed up water running out of your air handler pan, onto your floor or ceiling. You can use a wet/dry vac to suction water out of the pipe from both ends and run the bleach and water solution through the drain to help reduce the algae build up that cause the back up.

For more information on dehumidistat settings, AC Repair, air conditioner installation or Emergency AC Repair call Four Seasons Air Conditioning, Inc. serving Venice, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and Southwest Florida for over 36 years. 941-548-4216