If it's a pretty hot or cold day outside and you decide you'd like to run your central HVAC system to heat or cool the house down, you may go to do this only to find it doesn't seem to be working as well as you had expected. Now, you have to try to figure out what could be wrong with your unit, while you also phone a repair company and make an appointment for an HVAC tech to come out to help you take care of the issue. Here are some of the things you can check into for yourself, which you wait for the tech to get out to your home.

Check the fuse box – Anytime you have an appliance not working properly, it never hurts to check the fuse box first and make sure a fuse isn't blown. Sometimes, a certain part of a system can be connected to a fuse which has blown, and this can cause it not to work correctly. If you see any of the fuses are blown, then you want to pop them back into the correct position, turning them back on. Now, go check your unit to see if it is going to work. If it is still not cooling the place down correctly, then you can move down to the next suggestion.

Check the registers – Even though central air conditioners are designed with registers that you can physically turn on and off by pushing their vents in different directions, they are not really intended to be closed. In fact, closing off one or two of the registers while leaving the rest open can cause an imbalance in the entire system that can lead to other issues down the line. So, go through all the rooms and verify that all of the registers are opened, so the cooled down air is able to enter each room freely. If registers are closed, open them and see what happens.

Listen to the system – Go around the house and listen for any different sounds. You may hear whistles or buzzing that can indicate you may have a leak somewhere in the ducting. Show this to the tech when they get there. Also, go out to the compressor and make sure it is free of debris and that it is in the shade and not making any strange sounds. Clanking, squeaking, and thudding can all indicate issues like wearing belts, loose or broken parts, or other issues that will need repairing.

For more information, contact your local home heating services.