Great Advice About Hvac That Anyone Can Easily Follow
Dec 18th, 2013 by administrator
Great Advice About Hvac That Anyone Can Easily Follow
HVAC, or heating, ventilation and air conditioning, is how your home stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer. When properly installed and maintained, you and your family get to enjoy reasonable indoor temperatures all year long. Keep reading this article for advice on installation, upgrades, maintenance and repairs of your home HVAC system.
When a contractor gives you a list of references, be sure to make use of it. Call the people on the list and ask about the quality of the work, how closely they came to their quote and whether or not the work was completed according to the promised timeline.
Get any agreement with an HVAC contractor in writing. Some contractors try to skip over this step and charge customers a fortune. If you have a certain price and warranty in writing, they cannot go back and change this information. If they do, they could have a lawsuit on their hands.
Be sure to get every quote or estimate in written form. You have no recourse on a verbal agreement, so a written contract is a must. This will allow you to follow up if something goes wrong or you don’t get what you were promised, protecting you from shady contractors.
Make sure the equipment you are buying is ENERGY STAR compliant. It may seem a small thing, but it isn’t. Products that are ENERGY STAR compliant can save you a lot of money in energy costs over the year. It can be over $100 easily, sometimes a lot more, also, make sure to get air conditioner concrete pads for the installation, these provide a flat, stable surface for the unit to be installed on.
Do you hear a clicking sound when your fan is turning? This may mean that there is something in the way of the blades of the fan. If it gets so bad that the blade bends, you must replace it, just unbending it will leave the fan unbalanced and can cause further issues.
Whenever possible, try to shade the compressor unit outside. The air that’s in a place that is shaded is usually five to six degrees cooler than the surrounding air. Your air conditioning unit will be up to ten percent more efficient if it is properly shaded during the summer months.
If you want to pay for less power use, consider installing an HVAC-specific solar panel system. Such an installation harnesses the power of the sun directly for your heating and air conditioning. Don’t worry though; you can have a switch put in that automatically connects to the power grid the days there isn’t enough sun.
Consider an annual service agreement for technicians to regularly inspect your AC unit. Schedule brief inspections for the winter to make sure nothing is obviously wrong. The most important time for an inspection and service is just before it starts getting warm. You don’t want to discover an AC breakdown when you need it working most.
Test your duct work for leaks. This is a job your local utility provider may do for you inexpensively or even free of charge. You’ll see the test pays for itself once all leaks are fixed.
Do not close your vents. Keep air vents open and unblocked at all times. Many people believe that closing off a vent will save them money on cooling costs. This is not true. It can actually damage your HVAC system. Closing vents can cause your cooling coil to freeze and damage the compressor.
When water condenses on your air conditioner, it drips into a pan and drains out. This drain should be inspected on a regular basis. If algae forms in the drain line or if the drain line freezes, you could be in for some expensive repairs. The drip pan could overflow causing extensive damage to your ceilings.
If you can, find a way to create shade over your outdoor HVAC unit. This can actually save you money as shaded air being pulled in by the HVAC unit is typically 5 to 6 degrees cooler than air that’s heated by direct sunlight. It’s a smart solution to lowering those energy bills.
As stated in the introduction, it is your home’s HVAC system that lets you enjoy a consistent indoor temperature range all year long. Regardless of the season, your properly maintained home heating, ventilation and air conditioning means you rest comfortably inside. Use the advice from this article to make sure that your home stays the temperature you want.