Spring is officially under way.
Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, your favorite baseball team still has a shot at the pennant and you’ve finally shut your heat off until fall.
We’ve written multiple blog posts on the importance of energy efficient HVAC systems, but with Earth Day around the corner, we decided to take a broader approach.
In this week’s blog post, we’ll look at several ways you can reduce energy use at home. It’s not only good for the planet, it’s good for your budget.
We spend all winter wishing things would warm up.
But there’s warm, and then there’s too warm.
A hot day is one thing. Throw in some humidity and venturing outside can feel like you’re walking around with a wet towel over your face.
Let’s face it: no one is buying an air conditioning system at the height of summer unless they’re really in dire straits.
Either your old air conditioner is on its last legs, or you’ve decided you can’t deal with another August without central air.
And if you’re forced into this position, you should expect to pay more for your system, as air conditioning companies and their products will be in high demand.
So when is the best time to buy a new air conditioner?
You might think winter, but that’s not a great time either. Most air conditioning companies are also heating companies, and as such, they’re hard at work dealing with furnace installations and repairs, while consumers are hoping to get a good deal on a new system.
No, the best time to buy a new air conditioning system is now, in the spring. Or in the fall, if you’re OK with waiting and thinking your current AC can survive another summer.
In other words, it’s best to wait for the off-season. Consumers have more bargaining power and installers won’t be as busy.
If you’re getting ready to purchase a new air conditioning system, it’s a good idea – pardon the pun – not to go in cold when dealing with air conditioning companies.
Here are a few questions you should ask the installer:
1. What size system should I get?
Size is important in the HVAC world. Your heating or air conditioning system needs to fit the size of your home. Something that’s too big won’t run as often as it needs too, leaving your home feeling humid. And a too-small AC system will cycle on and off over and over until it hits the right temperature, which would lead to higher energy costs.
2. How long will it take to install?
Most air conditioning companies suggest setting aside at least a few days for installation. In addition to just making sure your new system is functioning properly, there are often electrical, plumbing or ductwork issues at play.
3. Should I get a new thermostat as well as a new air conditioner?
Even if you’ve installed a modern thermostat, you might want to get a new one that you’re sure works in tandem with your new air conditioning unit.
With a programmable thermostat, you’ll have the ability to set the temperature you want for specific times of day. (No reason to blast the AC if you and your loved ones will be out of the house all day). And new smart thermostats let you control the temperature of your home even when you’re not there.
4. Do I need maintenance even if it’s a brand new system?
You wouldn’t ask that question about a car. Even if you drove it off the lot brand new, you’d still get your first oil change after a few months to keep the car running smoothly.
Your AC system is no different. Regular air conditioning maintenance can mean the difference between a system that keeps you cool for more than a decade and one that you have to replace after a few years.
Are you looking to purchase a new air conditioning system while the off-season is still underway? Turn to All Seasons Comfort Control.
We’ve spent close to two decades helping Bucks County area homeowners keep their homes cool each summer. Get in touch today so we can find the right HVAC solution for you before summer comes.
Getting ready to do some spring cleaning? Fewer things can make you feel revitalized after a long, cold winter like clearing out your garage or sprucing up your siding.
And as you clean your home this spring, make sure your ductwork is on your to-do list. It’s a sure way to improve the air quality and make things safer for family members who suffer from allergies.
Your ducts are “the lungs of the home,” as Mark Zarzeczny of the National Air Duct Cleaners Association put it in a WebMD article last year. And when your ducts can “breathe” properly, so can you.
But when will you know it’s time to clean your ducts? In some cases, there will be obvious visual clues, such as dust or mold built up around your air vents.
If you can’t spot any immediate signs, look for these indicators:
- Your allergy symptoms – or those of a loved one – seem to flare up whenever your HVAC system turns on
- You clean your house on a regular basis, but things still seem dusty
- You’ve taken asthma medication, but your asthma isn’t under control
- You’ve lived in your home for more than 10 years but haven’t cleaned your ducts
What are the benefits of cleaning your ducts?
Cleaning your air ducts brings some immediate benefits:
- You’ll improve the quality of your home’s air by ridding the ducts of contaminants
- You’ll remove unpleasant odors from your home by clearing away things like mold, mildew and mice or rat droppings.
- You’ll clear away dust from the air and from the surfaces around your home.
- You’ll have a more efficient heating and cooling system in the end. Dust and other materials can clog your ducts and restrict air flow, which causes your HVAC system to work harder than it needs to. This increases your energy costs and reduces the life of your system.
What’s inside your ductwork?
Left uncleaned, your ductwork can become a breeding ground for allergens and pollutants. These materials can include:
- Pollen – Pollen gets into our homes through doors and windows, or on our clothes and shoes, then spreads through the house via the heating and cooling system.
- Pet dander – Another common allergen – affecting about 30 percent of us – pet dander can travel through your home using your ductwork.
- Mold and mildew – These common allergy triggers can form when you have too much moisture inside your heating and cooling system.
- Dust mites – Dust is a major issue when you suffer from allergies, and dust particles are easily spread throughout the home by dirty air ducts.
- Smog – Smog isn’t just an outdoor pollutant. It can easily creep into your home.
- VOCs – This abbreviation stands for “volatile organic compounds,” which are gases given off by common household items such as cleaning supplies.
Do you want to make sure your HVAC is performing at its best this spring? All Seasons Comfort Control can help.
Our experts can examine your heating and cooling system and make sure it’s ready to keep your family cool this summer (or warm this spring, in case we end up with a chilly April and May).
We can also install a whole-home air filtration system – to ensure you and your family can breathe comfortably. Contact us today and we’ll make sure this spring offers you a breath of fresh air.
Is there a room in your house that never feels comfortable?
Are you summer and winter energy bills unusually high?
Does it feel like there isn’t enough air coming out of your vents?
These are all signs that your home has leaky ductwork. And this isn’t something to take lightly. Your air ducts are a crucial part of your home, and if they’re badly sealed, you’re probably losing money and receiving insufficient heating and cooling.
Over the course of nearly 300 episodes, TV’s MythBusters have debunked all sorts of popular misconceptions, like what happens when you drop a penny off the Empire State Building.
(For the record: the penny wouldn’t build up enough speed to embed itself in the sidewalk or cause anyone harm and likely wouldn’t even reach the street.)
Today, we’ve decided to take a page from that show and investigate some of the myths that are common to the HVAC repair world.
We’re writing this post towards the end of January, on a day where the temperatures never got above 20 degrees.
The wind chill made us feel colder…and very grateful for our furnaces.
It’s also the type of day where the last thing you want to deal with is a heater repair issue. Here are a few of the most common heating service problems you might have to deal with this winter.
It’s a snowy day, and it feels like your heating system just isn’t doing its job. (Maybe it’s time to rethink your choice in home heating contractors.)
So you head to the garage to break out the space heater. Your warm, dependable, potentially dangerous space heater.
It’s true. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, space heaters cause roughly 25,000 house fires each year, typically because someone keeps their heater too close to bedding, curtains or furniture with upholstery.
You wake up one morning to an unusually cold bedroom.
You come home from work and find that it isn’t much warmer inside than it is outside.
You walk into your living room and realize it feels much hotter than any other part of your home.
Whatever the scenario, it all leads to the same conclusion: your heater isn’t working.
