Air conditioning installation in Bethany

Most households start thinking about installation for one of three reasons. The old central air has had a major failure late in its life. The house has never had cooling, and the upstairs bedrooms are hard to sleep in by July. Or a renovation or addition has changed how the house is used. None of these needs a decision made on a hot afternoon.

If an existing system has just stopped, it is worth finding out why before replacing it. Many faults can be repaired, and an air conditioner repair visit will tell you whether the unit has more summers in it. Our guide on when the air conditioner stops covers what is safe to check and when a repair is worth making. If replacement does make sense, that same diagnosis tells us what the new system needs to do better.

Central air uses the furnace's ducts and blower to move cool air through the house. In homes with forced-air heating and a reasonable duct system, it is usually the simplest route: a cooling coil sits on top of the furnace, an outdoor unit sits beside the house, and two refrigerant lines join them.

Ductless systems, often called mini-splits, use one outdoor unit and one or more slim indoor heads mounted high on a wall. They suit houses heated by hot-water radiators or baseboards, additions with no ductwork, and older homes where the ducts are too small or too awkward to carry cool air upstairs. Many ductless units also heat, which is worth a calm look if you are weighing your options; see heat pumps.

Before recommending either, the technician looks at the ducts, the furnace, the electrical panel and where an outdoor unit could sensibly sit.

The houses on Glengarry Road and Davis Street date from the late nineteenth century and were first heated with wood or coal stoves. Forced-air or hot-water systems were added later, so ducts are often squeezed into tight spaces and some rooms never get an even share of air. Cool air is harder to push upstairs through small ducts than warm air, so in these homes ductless heads in the bedrooms, or central air on the main floor with one or two heads above, is often the comfortable answer.

Buildings on the Highway 7A main street were rebuilt after the 1911 fire and usually began with coal-fired gravity furnaces that were later converted. Old wrap on pipes or ducts in these basements may contain asbestos. If we see it, we point it out and leave it undisturbed; it should be tested before anyone works near it, and that can be planned without fuss. Some of these buildings are designated heritage properties, so an outdoor unit or a new hole through a visible wall may need to be checked with the municipality first.

Homes in Woodland Hills, Rustlewood Avenue and Country Place, built from the late 1990s onward, usually have high-efficiency furnaces and ducts that suit central air well. Here the main questions are matching the coil to the furnace blower and finding a good route for the condensate drain.

Size matters more than most people expect. An air conditioner that is too large cools the air quickly but shuts off before it has taken out much humidity, so the house feels cold and clammy. One that is too small runs all afternoon and still leaves the top floor warm. The technician looks at the house itself: its size, insulation and windows, the rooms that take the afternoon sun, and how the ducts are laid out, rather than copying the label on the old unit.

You then get the options explained in plain terms: central or ductless, how many indoor heads, whether a unit that also heats makes sense, and what each choice means for comfort and running costs. Rebate programs change from year to year, so we check what is current when you are deciding rather than promising one in advance.

Refrigeration and air conditioning is a compulsory trade in Ontario. Work is performed by 313A refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics. Before anything starts, you will already have seen and approved a written price.

For central air, the coil is fitted to the furnace, the outdoor unit is set on a level pad, the refrigerant lines and a dedicated electrical circuit are run, and the condensate line is routed to a drain. For ductless, the indoor heads are mounted, the lines pass through a small hole in the wall and are covered neatly outside. In both cases the system is pressure-tested, evacuated, charged and run until it is cooling properly.

Before leaving, the technician shows you the thermostat or remote, where the filter is and how to clean it, and what the manufacturer's warranty asks of you, such as registering the unit and keeping up regular maintenance.

Snow is part of planning a summer system here. The Environment Canada normals for Peterborough A, the nearest climate station, record 151.2 cm of snow a year, with extreme depths of up to 71 cm. An outdoor unit is best set on a raised pad or bracket, out from under roof edges that drip or shed snow, and well away from the furnace's side-wall intake and exhaust pipes, so neither blocks the other and clearing the vents after a storm stays easy.

A yearly check keeps the coil clean and the drain clear; see furnace and AC maintenance. When you are ready, tell us about your house through the quote form and we will arrange a visit to look at it.