Installing A Central Air Conditioner Where There Was None Before: What To Expect

When you finally get fed up with the heat and decide to install a central air conditioner, there are several steps to the process before you can fire up the air conditioner. Your HVAC technician will begin by installing all of the necessary electrical wiring. The steps that follow are not nearly as difficult as installing all of the electrical wiring.

Installing the Condenser Unit Outside

Your technican will have to find a suitable place just outside your home and near the foundation where he or she can install the condenser unit. Quite often, the unit needs to be on a flat, level surface, so a concrete slab is commonly used as the stabilized platform for the condenser. Then the loose wiring from inside the house runs outside and into the condenser where it will signal the air conditioner to begin cooling hot air and returning the refrigerated air to the furnace and ventilation system.

From Electrical Wiring to Furnace Connections

Before you are ready to fire up your air conditioner for the first time, your HVAC technician will need to connect all of that new wiring to your furnace, your air condenser outside, and your thermostat. The thermostat, when you turn on your cold air settings, signals the air conditioner to begin cooling air. It triggers the blower in your furnace to begin blowing and circulating the cold air into the ventilation system. The technician has to electrically connect all of these components together, and then connect them to the fuse box. Usually, the air conditioner is wired into a module inside the furnace and the module is connected as a whole to the thermostat in your home.

Creating and Installing the Condensation Drain Hose

When all of the electrical work is complete and the condenser box is adequately installed on a cement block outside, then your air conditioner will need a condensation drain hose. If your home is built on a slab foundation (i.e., no basement), then the drainage hose empties into a drain field. If you have a foundation with a basement, then the drainage hose often re-enters your house at the foundation level, travels the length between the furnace and the condenser outside, and then uses gravity to empty into a sewer drain in your basement floor.

Without the condensation drain, excess water would cause the air conditioner to freeze up and malfunction. It would also create unhealthy environmental conditions that would encourage the growth of mold and mildew because the condensation could collect on or near the furnace in your basement or crawlspace. To avoid water damage and eliminate excess humidity in the air in your home, make sure the HVAC technician installs a condensation drainage hose before he or she leaves and declares the job complete. To find out more, speak with a business like HomeSmart From Xcel Energy.