Question 1

Should I have my furnace and air conditioner serviced every year?

Accepted Answer

Keeping your system properly maintained will lower energy and repair costs, prevent breakdowns, and prolong the life of your equipment. Neglecting necessary maintenance ensures a steady decline in air conditioning performance while energy use steadily increases.

Question 2

How can I reduce my energy costs?

Accepted Answer

Cooling
Upgrade to a high-efficiency air conditioner - Swapping your old, inefficient air conditioning system for a highly efficient one can cut electricity bills by one-third. Consult one of our professional technicians to ensure your system is the right size for your home, and you aren't over- or under-cooling for your space needs.

Turn up the temperature — To save electricity during the summer, set the temperature above 75° as every degree below this will add an extra three to five percent to your energy bill.

Install ceiling fans — Change the direction of airflow on your ceiling fans. In the summer, the blades should operate in a counter-clockwise direction as a way of creating a nice, gentle wind.

Have annual maintenance performed — Having annual maintenance performed on your air conditioner by a licensed technician will help ensure it operates at its peak efficiency and catches any potential breakdowns before they occur.

Don't block vents in well-used rooms — Keep your supply and return air vents free of objects like blinds, carpets or furniture so your air conditioner can operate efficiently and there is even cool air distribution.

Heating
Upgrade to a high-efficiency furnace — New high-efficiency furnaces use up to 50% less fuel than an older system. It can save you up to 25 percent of your home heating costs in one year, and within a few years, you'll have recovered the initial cost of replacing/upgrading your furnace. Choosing a model with an energy-efficient motor can save 20 to 50 percent of the energy needed to continuously operate a fan motor. Let us show you the advantages of replacing your old furnace today.

Have annual maintenance performed — Having annual maintenance performed on your furnace by a licensed technician will help ensure it operates at its peak efficiency and catches any potential breakdowns before they occur.

Install a programmable thermostat — A programmable thermostat enables you to control your home's temperature when you're away or asleep. For every 1° you lower your thermostat for seven hours per day, you save one percent on your heating bill.

Don't block vents in well-used rooms — Keep your supply and return air vents free of objects like blinds, carpets or furniture so your furnace can operate efficiently and there is even heat distribution.

Install ceiling fans — Change the direction of airflow on your ceiling fans. In the winter, the blades should operate in a clockwise direction helping to push the warm air from the ceiling down into the room.

Question 3

How often should I change my air filter?

Accepted Answer

At the risk of telling you something you're tired of hearing, replace the air filter in your furnace regularly. Dirty air filters reduce the amount of air flowing through a system and make the furnace work harder to maintain the temperature. How often you change the filter depends on the type of filter you use, if you have pets, and the size of your equipment. Please give us a call and we can give you proper guidance.

Question 4

Will a bigger-sized system perform better?

Accepted Answer

No, you don't want your air conditioner to be too big. Air conditioners control the comfort level in your home by cooling the air and removing humidity. An oversized air conditioner will cool your home faster, but it will use more energy and will not remove humidity adequately.

A unit that is too big for your home will have short-run cycles. It may take only a short time to cool the air, but the unit shuts off before enough air blows across the indoor coil where moisture condenses into water and drains from your system. Too much moisture left in the air can lead to mold and mildew problems.

These short run cycles also mean your system starts and stops more often which uses more energy and causes a lot of wear and tear. An air conditioner operates more efficiently during long-run cycles.

The same holds with heating systems. An oversized furnace will warm the house quicker, but it uses more fuel and causes greater temperature swings in the home.

Question 5

What is the average life expectancy of equipment?

Accepted Answer

Most systems have a lifetime of 10 to 20 years. As your equipment gets older, its efficiency can decrease dramatically. You may notice that it gets noisier and needs repairs more often. When a unit begins to show its age, you have two choices. You can overhaul the system or replace it. Because heating and cooling technologies improve over time, a new system designed with newer, more energy-efficient equipment makes sense, especially if your system is 10 or more years old. We can estimate the cost of a new system as well as a payback schedule that will show you how newer technology will pay you back in lower energy usage.

Question 6

Can I just replace the outdoor unit with an older system to save money?

Accepted Answer

No. Replacing only the outdoor unit will lower the efficiency of the unit. You can lose up to 15% of the unit's efficiency! Even worse, your system may fail sooner than normal and most manufacturers' warranties will be voided. You should always replace the indoor cooling coil with the outdoor unit.

Question 7

Why should I purchase a service agreement?

Accepted Answer

Without warranty coverage, a breakdown can mean significant expenses in parts, labor, or both. However, with one of our service agreements, you avoid that unexpected significant expense. While no warranty can guard against every possible problem, we can explain the broad range of protection our service agreements afford.

Question 8

How can I reduce allergens and improve the air quality in my home?

Accepted Answer

With a high-efficiency air cleaner, you can remove up to 99% of the pollen and spores that find their way into the home. There is also a great reduction in household dust, dirt, smoke, and other air pollutants. Your indoor air will become cleaner and fresher while reducing the allergens and dust that circulate throughout the house. With a whole-house humidifier, you can relieve the irritating discomfort of dry indoor air. The humidifier reduces itchy skin, scratchy throats, static electricity, and damage to your furnishings and woodwork. Since humid air feels warmer than dry air, you do not have to set the thermostat as high to feel the comfort you want. A lower thermostat setting will reduce the costs of your energy bill.

Question 9

I am concerned about mold growth, what should I do?

Accepted Answer

Molds are part of the natural environment. Outdoors, and molds play a part in nature by breaking down dead organic matter such as fallen leaves and dead trees, but indoors, mold growth should be avoided. Molds reproduce using tiny spores; the spores are invisible to the naked eye and float through outdoor and indoor air. Mold may begin growing indoors when mold spores land on surfaces that are wet. There are many types of mold, and none of them will grow without water or moisture.

When humid air passes over chilled cooling coils, water condenses and drips through the coils into a collection pan, from which it continuously drains. Problems with these systems may occur when this water collects and becomes stagnant when it becomes blocked, either on the coils or in the drip pan. The pan will grow mold that can infect your home with dangerous mold spores very quickly. Problems also exist when the HVAC ducting contains microscopic mold spores that stay continually present and blow contaminants around the home or office often caused by mold in other parts of your home.

You can do 3 things to prevent mold growth in your system:

Preventative maintenance will ensure that the collection pan under the indoor coil stays clean and clog-free.

Install ultraviolet lights next to the cooling coils to kill any mold or bacteria growing on the coils or collection pan
.
Keep your ductwork clean and use a high-efficiency filtration system to keep your entire HVAC system clean.

Question 10

My system doesn't work well in a couple of rooms, what should I do?

Accepted Answer

This can occur for many reasons; uneven solar heat load through windows, an undersized system, an improperly balanced or clogged system, or a single system serving a two-story home with no zoning control. Each situation is different, usually requiring an onsite analysis with problem-specific recommendations. Please call to arrange for us to see your home.

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