Now that the fall season is well underway, the chill in the air reminds many homeowners that it’s time for their annual furnace maintenance appointment. If possible, you should have your home heating system tune-up before the colder winter weather is here to stay. This ensures that your HVAC equipment is up to the task of keeping you and your family warm in the months ahead. You can achieve maximum energy efficiency for your home or business by scheduling a preventative maintenance appointment every autumn.

Your Furnace or Boiler Needs a Comprehensive Tune-up

While it is important to change the air filter and keep the area around your furnace clean, these actions alone aren’t enough to improve efficiency. That requires professional preventative maintenance from Air Repair, Inc. Our home heating system tune-ups include all of the following:

• Calibration of your thermostat
• Cleaning of furnace ignition and burner assemblies, condensate drains and air filters
• Testing furnace starting capabilities and safety controls
• Checking combustion air and gas piping
• Monitoring flue levels
• Checking for damage and corrosion on the heat exchanger
• Ensuring correct air flow
• Measuring volts and amps and making sure all electrical wiring is tight
• Lubricating all moving parts
• Ensuring correct air flow and gas pressure

At the start of each preventative maintenance appointment, we check the carbon monoxide level of your furnace to make sure there are no safety issues. We encourage you to bring any concerns to our attention at the start of the appointment.

Why Preventative Maintenance is Important

Even though your heating system will have to be replaced eventually, you can add several years to its lifespan with annual preventative maintenance. When your furnace is operating efficiently, it improves comfort and decreases operating costs. This means that your heating bills will be lower, your family will be healthier and you won’t need to schedule repairs so often. Furnace tune-ups are a great way for our technicians to detect problems that could develop into expensive repairs later.

A common problem with furnaces that don’t receive routine maintenance is uneven distribution of heat throughout the home. When this happens, you aren’t as comfortable as you should be. Dirty furnaces also emit dust through air vents, which can be problematic for people with respiratory issues. Fortunately, these problems can be avoided with annual tune-ups. No matter what type of appointment you need to schedule, we encourage you to check our specials page for money-saving coupons first.

The appliances that homeowners in Belleair, FL, rely on for cooking and cleaning have become more efficient over the last decade, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), and that’s resulted in significant energy savings. Unfortunately, those savings have been offset by an increased use of electronics like computers, televisions and video game consoles.

More homes have central air conditioning than ever before too. In 1980, less than 25 percent of homes had central AC. Today, more than 60 percent of American homes are equipped with central cooling systems. You can save the most money on your electrical bills by concentrating on reductions in energy consumption of your home’s biggest energy spenders.

Banish Energy Vampires

The EIA reports that the average American home has 2.5 televisions. Around 35 percent of households have multiple computers and nearly 30 percent have at least four electronic devices that require recharging every day. Many home electronics continue to draw power when not in use. Any device with LED lights is using electricity whether it’s on or off. Plug energy vampires into power strips so that you can cut off power at the source by flicking off the switch. If you don’t wish to turn off your computer completely, set it to switch to hibernate mode when not in uses and save $75 or more on your annual electrical costs.

Money-Saving Tips for Air Conditioning Systems

According to the EIA, residential air conditioning in sunny Florida accounts for around 27 percent of household energy consumption, four times more than the national average. These money-saving tips can significantly lower your cooling costs:

• Schedule Preventive Air Conditioning Service. Professional AC tune-ups ensure that your cooling system operates at optimal energy efficiency. A study by the EPA found that well-maintained HVAC systems use up to 25 percent less energy than neglected systems. Your system will last longer and need fewer repairs when you enroll in a seasonal maintenance program.
• Air Seal Your Home. Any crack or gap that lets hot air into your home forces your AC to run longer. Address common sources of air filtration such as drafty windows and doors or gaps around utility entrances in exterior walls.
• Have Your Ductwork Pressure Tested. The EPA estimates that around 20 percent of the air that passes through ductwork is lost to leaks. A professional pressure test will indicate whether you can save money by sealing and insulating the ducts.

Know When to Upgrade

An outdated plasma television can account for as much as 10 percent of your home’s annual energy consumption. Replacing the set with an Energy Star qualified LED model can save you a bundle. The same applies to older refrigerators and air conditioners as well. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that replacing older cooling systems with high efficiency air conditioners can save consumers as much as 40 percent on household cooling costs.

At Air West Air Conditioning, we’re proud to offer products and services that help you save money on electricity, from tune-ups to innovative AC systems. To learn more money-saving tips or to schedule service, contact us today.

Why Should I Have My Air Ducts Cleaned

Cough, sniffle, sneeze – it might might not be a cold virus that’s giving you trouble. It could be your air ducts. The air ducts within your home are responsible for the delivery of the warmed or conditioned air produced by the heating and cooling system. Your home could contain several hundred linear feet of air ducts, and within those ducts, dust, pollen, dander, and other contaminants lurk, waiting to contaminate the air that you breathe. Professional air duct cleaning can eliminate these contaminants so that you can enjoy a better quality of life.

What’s Lurking Inside Air Ducts

All sorts of contaminants make their way into the air ducts of your home. Some of the most common particulates in the air ducts include:

• Dander from household pets.
• Pollen from indoor and outdoor plants.
• Dust and dust mites.
• Mold spores.
• Bacteria and viruses.
• The waste from insects and past or current rodent infestations.

How Air Duct Cleaning Affects Indoor Air Quality

Each time the air conditioner or heating system turns on, air is blown through the ducts. With each cycle of the system, some of the contaminants from the air ducts are picked up by the stream of moving air and blown into the living areas of your home. Professional duct cleaning services make use of powerful vacuums to extract the contaminants from the air ducts. After the ducts are professionally cleaned and sanitized, the indoor air quality of the home improves.

Benefits of Duct Cleaning

Even though you don’t see the inside of your home’s air ducts, there are many benefits to having them professionally cleaned. After your ducts are cleaned, you may notice:

• Increased energy efficiency of the heating and cooling system. The increased surface area and volume of the air ducts makes it easier for the heated or conditioned air to pass through the ducts and into the living spaces of the home.
• Greater level of indoor comfort. Clean, wide open ducts allows the home to be warmed or cooled more evenly.
• Lower incidence of allergies, respiratory illnesses, and asthma flare-ups.

To enjoy a healthier and more comfortable indoor environment, your Hilton Head, SC, home’s air ducts should be professionally cleaned every 3 to 5 years. If there are several furry pets in your home, or if there’s a smoker or someone with allergies, you might consider cleaning the air ducts every 2 to 3 years to remove the built up contaminants. To learn more about how air ducts are cleaned or about our current duct cleaning specials, call us at Air Repair Inc. any time.

Looking outside at the condenser unit or in your home at the evaporator unit of the air conditioner to see a puddle of water could be an alarming experience for any homeowner. If you have ever wondered why air conditioners leak water, our team at Air Repair Inc. has the answers you’ve been looking for. With this guidance, you can determine whether your Hilton Head, SC, air conditioner is behaving as it should be or if it needs an air conditioner maintenance or repair visit.

When Leaking Water from the AC is Normal

Some amount of leaking water coming from the air conditioner during certain circumstances is normal and might even be expected. These situations include:

• On days with high humidity
• Days when the temperature is very high and the air conditioner is cycling frequently
• A small amount of leaking water around the outdoor unit may result from normal system recycling of water

When Leaking Water Could Be a Problem

In some cases, leaking water from the air conditioner suggests a mechanical or some other type of a problem with the system. Keep your eyes open to these symptoms and circumstances when leaking water isn’t a normal occurrence.

• Leaking water that results from melting ice on the unit
• A large amount of leaking water
• Water pooling around the indoor unit

What To Do If Your AC Is Leaking Water

There are some AC troubleshooting steps that you can take before calling for HVAC service. These steps could save you time and money.

• Check the air filter. A dirty filter may cause the AC to overheat, resulting in ice buildup on the outdoor unit and a large pool of leaking water.
• Obstruction in the condensate line. This is the PVC pipe that connects to a drain inside your home. Algae growth, lint, and other debris can clog the pipe.
• Dirty coils on the outdoor unit may cause water leakage. Rinse off the coils with a garden hose.

If the air conditioner is still leaking water, it is best to call for a professional air conditioner maintenance and inspection of the system.

At the first sign of an air conditioner problem, it is of utmost importance to arrange for professional service. Prompt maintenance or repair can prevent a complete air conditioner breakdown. If you suspect the leaking water from the AC is an issue, we will troubleshoot it and fix it so you can quickly return to a comfortable home. For more information about our current service specials or to schedule a service call, contact us at Air Repair Inc. any time.

When it comes to taxes, any credit you can take means that less of your hard-earned money goes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It was a great disappointment to those of us in the HVAC industry to see the Federal Tax Credit 25C end on December 31, 2011. This credit provided tax relief to home and business owners who installed highly energy efficient heating and cooling equipment. However, President Obama reinstated the Federal Tax Credit 25C in January of 2013. The extension makes all qualified purchases in 2012 eligible for the credit. It also extends the deadline to claim the Federal Tax Credit 25C to December 31, 2013.