Having owned an HVAC system for five years, I never experienced the strange sounds that were suddenly coming out of the heating and cooling unit.
I came home from work one evening to be greeted by loud banging.
At first, I was scared and even took a back step to rethink whether I wanted to get inside the house. I kept wondering if someone had broken into the house without my knowledge, so I checked the alarm system and all the windows and alternative entryways. I only opened the door when everything checked out, but I was still careful to get in. I walked in, past the entryway, and carefully matched to the kitchen to get a knife just in case. The closer I got to the kitchen, the louder the bang. Finally, it dawned on me that this could be a burglar since they would want to be quiet so as not to arouse any suspicion. Now that I was a bit calmer, I surveyed him around and walked towards the backdoor when I noticed that the sound was coming from the AC unit. For some reason, the banging sounds happened to be coming from the air conditioner. I called the HVAC technician, who advised me to switch the unit off, check for debris that could be lodged inside, and consider any hanging components. True to his assumption, this is precisely what was happening. I also got to learn the different AC noises that have different meanings. Homeowners need to understand what each of these sounds represents, especially when the sounds are persistent. Rattling, bubbling, dripping, and whistling sounds all have varied meanings and should not be ignored.