Frequently Asked
Questions

The answer is yes. Here are some simple checks you can perform before going to the expense of a service call:

• Check the disconnect switches (indoor and outdoor if you have a split system). Make sure the circuit breakers are ON and that no fuses have blown.
• Check for sufficient airflow. Make sure your air filters are clean and that the supply-air and return-air grilles are open and unobstructed.
• Check the settings on your thermostat. If you want cooling, set the temperature selector below room temperature and the SYSTEM switch to COOL or AUTO.
• If you want heat, set the temperature selector above room temperature and the system switch to HEAT or AUTO. The fan switch should be set to AUTO.

Three main factors to consider are:

1. Life Expectancy of Current System

When you're frustrated with an equipment break-down, it can be tempting to find the least expensive "quick fix" to get on with your life in relative comfort. That "quick fix" may be the least expensive now, but it may not give you the most value — or cost you the least in the long run.

Paying for repairs to an old or inefficient system often simply prolongs the inevitable. It's almost like putting a bandage on a serious injury. An older system that breaks down once is likely to break down again… and again. That means more emergency service calls or, worse yet, the risk of damage to your home or to other components of your cooling system.

2. Operating Cost

There's also an ongoing cost factor to consider. Restoring your old system will only bring it back to its current level of energy efficiency. After you've recovered from the repair bills and the frustration of system breakdowns, you still won't save on your energy bills.

Even six-year-old heat pumps and air conditioners are considered grossly inefficient by today's energy-efficiency standards. You could save up to 60% on your energy bills with new high-efficiency HVAC equipment — which is why installing a new cooling system can actually pay for itself in energy savings within a relatively short time.

3. Looking at the Big Picture

When one component of your system breaks down unexpectedly, it's easy to focus only on repairing or replacing that one part. But each part of your system works with the others to boost efficiency and reliability, so it helps to keep the big picture in mind.

Replacing your old air conditioner with a new higher-efficiency model but leaving an outdated thermostat or leaky ductwork in place, for example, won't let you enjoy all the efficiency advantages the new system has to offer. Plus, you can often save on installation costs when several components — such as the condenser and the air handler — are replaced at the same time.

Parts and labor costs continue to go up. One service call to replace a minor part can easily cost $100.00 or more.

No! Along with extended warranties designed for new systems, Pilar Services offers extended warranties for existing systems one (1) year and older.

Labor and parts for products that fail under normal wear. It does not cover normal maintenance.

Yes. The extended warranties offered do not cover maintenance or damage due to external causes.

At the time of purchase. This is a one-time charge for the life of the coverage. There are no hidden costs.

More often than the national advice suggests. Cooling season here runs most of the year, so equipment accumulates far more run hours than the same unit would in a temperate state, and the maintenance interval should reflect run hours rather than the calendar. Twice a year is a reasonable baseline for residential equipment — once before the heavy cooling months and once after. Commercial and refrigeration equipment usually needs a scheduled programme rather than occasional visits, which is what a maintenance contract covers. Filters are the exception: they need checking far more frequently than that, and a blocked filter is behind a large share of the "no cooling" calls we take.

Almost always an oversizing or run-time problem. Air conditioning removes humidity only while it is actually running, and it does that work on the evaporator coil over a sustained cycle. A system with more capacity than the building needs hits the thermostat set point quickly, shuts off, and repeats — short cycles that satisfy temperature without ever running long enough to dehumidify. The result is a space that reads cool on the thermostat and feels clammy, sometimes with condensation on vents or musty odours. This is why sizing is done with a load calculation rather than by matching whatever tonnage is currently installed, and why "bigger" is not a safe default in a humid climate.

Yes, and noticeably. Salt-laden air corrodes the aluminium fins and copper tubing of an outdoor condenser coil, and units within a few miles of the water routinely fail earlier than identical units placed inland. It is worth specifying coated coils and corrosion-resistant hardware on any beachside installation, keeping the condenser rinsed with fresh water, and not siting it in the most exposed position available if there is a sheltered alternative. On a replacement near the coast the corrosion package is usually the highest-value option on the quote.

Generally yes. A mechanical permit is normally required for an equipment change-out, it is pulled with the local building department, and the work is inspected before it closes out. Florida also requires the work to be carried out by a licensed contractor. In Miami-Dade and Broward there is an extra layer: both counties sit in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone under the Florida Building Code — the only two that do — and equipment there generally needs a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance or a Florida Product Approval covering HVHZ use, with specified fastening. Unpermitted work tends to resurface at the worst moment: at resale, at insurance renewal, or after a storm. We handle permitting as part of the job.

Not on its own. The federal phase-down is stepping high-GWP refrigerants down over time, and newer equipment ships with lower-GWP alternatives, but a system that is working properly does not need replacing because of it. What it does change is the arithmetic on an ageing system: as supply of service refrigerant for older equipment tightens, the cost of a significant leak repair or a recharge on a fifteen-year-old unit rises, which shifts the repair-versus-replace line earlier than it used to sit. If you are weighing a large repair on old equipment, that belongs in the calculation alongside the life-expectancy and operating-cost factors above.

Shut the system off at the thermostat and at the breaker before the storm arrives. The risk is not really wind on the cabinet — condensers are secured to code, and in the HVHZ counties to a stricter standard — it is electrical. Power loss followed by a surge on restoration is what damages compressors and control boards, and a unit that is switched off at the breaker is not exposed to it. Clear loose items from around the outdoor unit so nothing becomes a projectile, but do not wrap or box in a running unit. After the storm, if the condenser has been submerged in flood water, do not switch it back on — have it inspected first, because water intrusion in the electrical components is both a failure risk and a safety risk.

They are the current efficiency ratings, and they replaced the older SEER and EER figures. The tests behind them use a higher external static pressure, which is closer to what equipment actually sees once it is connected to real ductwork, so the numbers are not directly comparable with the older ones — a given SEER2 figure represents slightly better real-world performance than the same number under the old test. When comparing quotes, make sure you are comparing like with like, and remember that in this climate the rated efficiency of the box matters less than whether it is correctly sized and whether the duct system is sealed. A high-efficiency unit fed by leaking ducts will not deliver its rating.