Browsing Archive: November, 2010
Posted by Edward Mack Cline on Friday, November 26, 2010,
The single most important thing you can do as the operator of a heating or air conditioning system is to change the filters every month. An air conditioner or heat pump needs to breathe! Your furnace or air handler is trying to distribute heating or cooling that you have bought and paid for already and you can help. There is no use in buying High Efficiency heating or cooling if you won't do your part. The useful life of a filter is about a month at my house, so I check the filter every time ...
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Posted by Edward Mack Cline on Friday, November 26, 2010,
Hiring someone to repair and maintain an Hvac system is as personal as choosing a friend almost. You'll need to trust this person to tell you "what's wrong and how much?" you should spend on a repair. You probably don't know too awful much about how the heating / cooling system works from a mechanical standpoint so, you're (in effect) trusting the repairman with your wallet.
When I look to have something fixed, I want to talk to the actual mechanic who will do the work first. Answering servic...
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Posted by Edward Mack Cline on Friday, November 26, 2010,
- A new, high efficiency, 13 SEER air conditioner uses about half the energy of a 15-year-old air conditioner. If your air conditioner is 10 years old or less, maintain it well and keep it. If it is between 10 to 15 years old, minor repairs and service are still acceptable. If the air conditioner is 10 to 15 years old or older and needs substantial repairs, your best alternative is to replace it with a new, high efficiency system.
- Turn air conditioners to the highest comfortable setting. We re...
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Posted by Edward Mack Cline on Friday, November 26, 2010,
What's a digital thermostat?
Digital thermostats are energy saving devices that are manually programmable to allow users to control temperature settings. They can be used with most heating and cooling devices.
How does a digital thermostat work?
A digital system can automatically store and repeat settings while still allowing for the option of manual override. These thermostats provide occupants with a more comfortable house temperature during waking and sleeping hours by automatically turning t...
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Posted by Edward Mack Cline on Friday, November 26, 2010,
This is a question that may cause me a lot of grief personally, I have every thought that someone who runs a duct cleaning service will get together with the "duct cleaners of America" and show up under my balcony with torches. So let me say that I live to learn and will research further anywhere you tell me to look, except in your sales literature of course. I think I'll pause for a cup of tea from that kettle on my stove (I am the writer and the photographer on this website). My observation...
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Posted by Edward Mack Cline on Friday, November 26, 2010,
Air filters come in many flavors. There is only one kind with the potential to damage your system, I'll get to that one in a minute. Lets start with the one that comes in the furnace or air conditioner. This variety of filter has a job, it's to protect the equipment from relatively large hunks of dirt that will invade the air circulation wheel and motor eventually insulating it with a coat of dust and pet hair. It's better than no filter and thats all that can honestly be said for it. If you ...
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Posted by Edward Mack Cline on Friday, November 26, 2010,
Whole house Humidifiers, Room Humidifiers,Vaporizers?
Heating and air conditioning service and repair should be more than just cleaning furnaces and adjusting Freon pressures.
It's important to get the get the heating or cooling equipment in order of course, but that's mostly about equipment life and keeping energy bills under control. Once the repairs are completed its time to take a look at home comfort. Let's take a look at humidifiers now, and later on air cleaners.
I hope you'll read on a ...
Posted by Edward Mack Cline on Wednesday, November 24, 2010,
Where should I set my thermostat?
Usually when the repair or service visit is just about complete, during the final testing of the system from the thermostat the home owner asks what the "right setting" for their thermostat is? The most usual answer is "wherever you are comfortable." or "Well, I set my thermostat at about...". and it seems to keep the house comfortable. There is a lot of truth in the first answer, and the second is very dependent on who is giving the advice. The better questi...
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