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Get to Know Your Air Conditioner

Have you ever wondered how an air conditioner works? Well, you’re not the only one. In this video, we’ll tell you the 11 things you need to know about the inner workings of your A/C. Whether you’re a new homeowner or you’ve been in your home for years, the more you understand, the better. We’ve broken your air conditioning system down into 3 main parts: the outdoor unit (also know as the condensing unit), the indoor unit, and the living space. We’ll begin by talking about the outside unit.

Even though styles differ between brands and models, most systems will look and operate in basically the same ways to cool your home. This is not meant to be a comprehensive technical guide including intricate components of your air conditioning system but rather an easy-to-understand video for the average homeowner.

This blog post teaches you about how your air conditioner works. For information about air conditioner maintenance that you can do, click here.

COMPONENTS - OUTDOOR UNIT
  • FAN
  • CONDENSER COILS
  • COMPRESSOR
  • REFRIGERANT
COMPONENTS - INDOOR UNIT
  • BLOWER MOTOR
  • EVAPORATOR COILS
  • CIRCUIT BOARD
  • FILTER (Your filter might be on the side or on the top, inspect your furnace/air conditioning unit to locate it.)
COMPONENTS - LIVING SPACE
  • THERMOSTAT
  • SUPPLY VENTS
  • RETURN AIR VENTS

So how do air conditioners work? There are many moving parts and pieces--even more than than we will address here--but we'll cover the basic parts for you. And each one of these elements need to be working together in order to get cool air for your home.

The process all starts when the temperature in the room rises. The thermostat sends a signal to the circuit board calling for cold air. The circuit board then turns on the blower motor in the house while turning the compressor and fan on outside.

The compressor acts like a pump, sending the refrigerant back and forth from the outside condenser coil to the evaporator coil inside. As it flows back and forth, back and forth, it helps to remove warm, moist air from inside the house.

Meanwhile, air is circulating through the house. The hot air in the room is drawn through the return air vents and blown across the evaporator coils. The next step is important: at this point, cold refrigerant is being pumped through lots of little tubes woven through the evaporator coils...remember, that’s the compressor outside. As hot air from the house is blown across the evaporator coils, the heat and moisture are removed and what you’re left with is cold air.

The cold air is blown through the ductwork that runs throughout the house and comes out the supply vents. The air warms up and is drawn back in through the return air vents and the process repeats itself again, until the room is cool enough that the thermostat sends a signal to stop--at least until the room heats up again. And that’s how an air conditioner works.

Now these 11 components are designed to work together. If even one of them stops working, you could experience a variety of problems that would result in a loss of cold air. And nobody wants that in the middle of the summer! To avoid unexpected breakdowns, there is some simple maintenance you can do, on your own, to help keep your air conditioner running as smooth as possible all summer long. 

If you ever find yourself with an air conditioner that isn’t working, be careful of how much you attempt on your own. It’s easy to get in over your head and do more damage than good. There are a lot of moving parts and pieces and it’s always good to have a certified, experienced HVAC technician come out and take a look at your system. He’ll have all the proper tools and experience to be able to diagnose and fix the problem right the first time.

If you'd like information about air conditioner maintenance that you can do, click here.

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Logo for Any Hour Electric, Plumbing, Heating & Air featuring a smiling technician with crossed arms, a stopwatch, and a bold, professional tone.

Any Hour Services

1374 West 130 South, Orem, UT 84058

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The prices you are quoted come out of our pricing guide. We have looked at the most common tasks we are asked to perform and figured out the average time to perform the task, the cost of the materials, and the cost associated with running a drain business that is able to stand behind that work.

To calculate the cost of your drain project, your plumber will determine the tasks needed. Each task has a price associated with it, which your plumber will add together to arrive at your total. This method allows us to identify and rule out unnecessary tasks, prioritizing fairness and transparency (while saving you money).

Our pricing method is not influenced by the neighborhood someone lives in but is designed to be fair and transparent. When we designed our pricing guide, we asked ourselves, “What does it take to perform this task?” NOT, “How much can we get a person to pay?” This commitment to honest, clear pricing reflects our respect for our clients.

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When you charge by the hour, you can only give a price after the job is finished. We don’t want you to have to wait until the end of the job to find out how much it costs.

We believe there are too many variables that make “charging by the hour” more of a win for the company than for the homeowner. There are the things that a homeowner has no control over but ends up paying the price for anyway: if a technician has to leave the job to get a part, if technicians work more slowly, if the job takes longer than expected, etc. With “charging by the hour,” there’s no accountability on the plumbing company to have their trucks stocked better, train their technicians better, or run their business more efficiently.

Our commitment to a fair and transparent pricing model is unwavering. We believe in doing right by everyone involved: the homeowner, the technician, and the company. This is not just a business decision, but a moral one, ensuring that everyone is treated with the fairness and respect they deserve.

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The staff answering our phones and scheduling appointments are not technicians. They do not understand how the plumbing in your home works or how to price the work you need help with.

Our process involves a comprehensive on-site assessment by our technicians to ensure no crucial details are missed. This thorough approach that looks at all variables is how we can provide you with a price that remains unchanged from the start to the completion of the work: the price we give you before the begins is what the cost will be after the work is performed. Here at Any Hour Services, we believe in honest pricing.

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Requesting a quote is simple. Contact Any Hour Services, and we will assess your needs, providing a transparent estimate for the repairs.

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Yes, you can request a quote online, and our team at Any Hour Services strives to respond promptly to all inquiries.

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It costs $269 to inspect your sewer main line with our sewer camera equipment. If you’d like to see what the inside of your sewer line looks like, our sewer supervisors have high-definition cameras to show you a live video of the inside your sewer main line.

Residential, owner occupied special:
$29 drain clear / rooter service. Unclog any drain, including the sewer mainline, as long as it has an easily accessible cleanout.

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It costs $269 to inspect your sewer main line with our sewer camera equipment. Below you will find a couple internet specials to help you save. If you’d like to see what the inside of your sewer line looks like, our sewer supervisors have hi definition cameras to show you a live video of the inside your sewer main line.

Residential Special:
$149 live camera inspection. High-definition camera is set down your drain so you can inspect the condition of your sewer mainline. Need an easily accessible clean-out.

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If you are looking to replace your sewer main line, one of our sewer supervisors will come to your home and inspect your sewer main line with a high-definition camera and show you what options are available. The visit doesn’t cost you anything, so call us if you have questions about replacing your sewer main line.

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Yes, in addition to our coupons, we offer senior discounts and military discounts. You can receive 5% off or any special promotions we may be running, whichever is greater. You can ask your drain technician to show you your savings.

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No, as long as you live in our service area, our drain technicians can come to your home and help. We service homes from North Ogden, South to Nephi. West from the Tooele/Grantsville area, east to the Park City Heber area.

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No, our drain technicians don’t quote a price until they have seen your drain issue. Once they quote a price, it doesn’t change, no matter how long it takes. At any time you want to add more tasks, your drain technician will let you know how much it would cost to perform the extra work.

When it comes to our drain clearing specials, if we can not clear your clogged drain, you don’t pay us.

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You can pay for the the drain work we perform with cash, check, or any major credit card. We collect, in full, upon completion of the project. If you would like to make monthly payments, we do have many financing options available through 3rd party finance companies, OAC. Your drain technician can talk to you about your options.

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Pricing FAQ

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Our pricing is fair and transparent. It’s based on a fixed-price guide that considers the time, materials, and costs of running a reliable home services business. We don’t charge by the hour or inflate prices based on your neighborhood. We ask ourselves, “What does it take to get the job done?,” not “How much can we charge?”

Before we price your plumbing job, our licensed plumber will perform an in-home assessment to evaluate the tasks required. We only charge for what’s necessary—no fluff, no extra costs. This allows us to pinpoint areas where we can save you money without sacrificing quality.

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Hourly rates can be unpredictable, leaving you unsure of the final cost until the job is done. We believe in upfront, fixed pricing based on the work itself—not guesswork. You won’t pay for delays or mistakes, and we hold ourselves accountable to ensure there are no surprises.

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We prefer to price based on the job and not what other companies charge. Hourly rates can lead to unexpected costs for homeowners, making the final price unpredictable. By pricing the work itself, we make sure you’re only paying for what’s actually needed—keeping things fair and efficient.

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Water heater replacements vary. Often, older units require updates to meet safety standards. Common items missing from many water heaters are flexible gas lines, expansion tanks, earthquake straps, gas sediment trap, upgrade exhaust venting, etc.

For an accurate quote, one of our licensed plumbers will inspect your existing system and provide a FREE estimate.

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Our phone staff are not licensed plumbers, so they can’t quote prices that would be accurate to your project’s needs. A trained plumber needs to see the job firsthand to give you a clear, upfront price. Quotes over the phone are a guess, and we prefer transparency over uncertainty.

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Ballpark prices can be misleading. Until we see the job, we can’t quote your final estimate accurately. Other companies may give an estimate range, but that often leads to additional costs and surprises later. Instead, we focus on giving you a fair price once a licensed plumber can assess the job properly.

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We have a small dispatch fee to send our plumber to your home. Our plumbers will arrive in a truck stocked with thousands of parts. They’ll have everything they need to start your plumbing project while they’re at your home, unless the situation is unusual. They’ll perform a thorough evaluation of your plumbing system and explain what they’ll need to do to complete the work you called for. They’re not going to charge you by the hour, they will give you a total price, with options, before any of the work begins.

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There are several large plumbing projects that we are willing to show you what options are available and the visit doesn’t cost you anything; basement finishes, water heater install/replacements, water softener installs/replacement, repiping, tankless water heater install/replacement etc. This is not a complete list so call us if you have questions about your project.

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You will pay a little more to get a plumber to your home after hours but they do not charge more for the work you want them to perform. Our prices come directly from our pricing guide. We do not have a different set of plumbing prices for doing work in the evenings or on weekends. The price for the plumbing work you need done will be the same regardless of the time of day.

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No, our plumbers run calls on Saturdays and charge the same price as they would any other day of the week. We do not have a different set of plumbing prices for work performed on Saturdays. We are closed on Sundays.

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No, as long as you live in our service area, our plumbers can come to your home and help. We service homes from North Ogden, South to Nephi. West from the Tooele/Grantsville area, east to the Park City Heber area. Here is a full list of Utah Cities we service.

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No, our plumbers don’t quote a price until they have seen your plumbing project. Once they quote a price, it doesn’t change, no matter how long it takes. At any time, you want to add more tasks to your plumbing project, your plumber will let you know how much it would cost to perform the extra work.

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Yes, in addition to our coupons, we offer senior discounts and military discounts. You can receive 5% off or any special promotions we may be running, whichever is greater. You can ask your plumber to show you your savings.

Call Now

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You can pay for your plumbing service with cash, check, or any major credit card. We collect, in full, upon completion of the project. If you would like to make monthly payments, we do have many financing options available through 3rd party finance companies, OAC. Your plumber can talk to you about your options when they give you pricing options for the HVAC work you want completed.

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