Don't Get Hot!

During the summer, the heat can be very hard to live with, especially with all those summer holidays and get-togethers coming up. No one wants to have family over for the 4th and have their air system go down. How can we prevent this? Regular service and maintenance of the unit.

Source: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=heat_cool.pr_maintenance This list of maintenance tips is provided from energystar.gov, but if there is something that you are unsure of how to do, it is always a good idea to call your HVAC contractor. Your contractor can perform this maintenance more easily than you can, and they probably won't damage any system components. (While taking a garden hose to your outdoor unit CAN do a substantial amount of damage.) Your unit should be serviced about twice a year (one to get ready for summer, and one to get ready for winter) but you should still change your filters regularly.

Maintenance Checklist Maintain your equipment to prevent future problems and unwanted costs. Keep your cooling and heating system at peak performance by having a contractor do annual pre-season check-ups. Contractors get busy once summer and winter come, so it's best to check the cooling system in the spring and the heating system in the fall. To remember, you might plan the check-ups around the time changes in the spring and fall. A typical maintenance check-up should include the following. Check thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home and saves energy while you are away. Tighten all electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation of your system and reduce the life of major components. Lubricate all moving parts. Parts that lack lubrication cause friction in motors and increases the amount of electricity you use. Check and inspect the condensate drain in your central air conditioner, furnace and/or heat pump (when in cooling mode). A plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels. Check controls of the system to ensure proper and safe operation. Check the starting cycle of the equipment to assure the system starts, operates, and shuts off properly. Cooling Specific Clean evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils. Dirty coils reduce the system's ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer, increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment. Check your central air conditioner's refrigerant level and adjust if necessary. Too much or too little refrigerant will make your system less efficient increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment. Clean and adjust blower components to provide proper system airflow for greater comfort levels. Airflow problems can reduce your system's efficiency by up to 15 percent. Heating Specific Check all gas (or oil) connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and heat exchanger. Improperly operating gas (or oil) connections are a fire hazard and can contribute to health problems. A dirty burner or cracked heat exchanger causes improper burner operation. Either can cause the equipment to operate less safely and efficiently.

These suggestions should be followed with extreme caution and I can't mention enough: if you are even the littlest bit uncomfortable, CALL A contractor! Actions To Do Yourself Inspect, clean, or change air filters once a month in your central air conditioner, furnace, and/or heat pump. Your contractor can show you how to do this. A dirty filter can increase energy costs and damage your equipment, leading to early failure.

Virtual Thermostat

Do you have thermostat trouble?

I know, I know. Todays technology right? Just runs away. As soon as you buy a computer it's obsolete...and the same thing goes for cameras, mp3 players and virtually anything else with any type of computerized functions. Likewise, understanding a digital thermostat can be tricky. Well, what better way to gain understanding than to practice programming a thermostat on the internet? Wow. really. So, you go to this website: http://venstar.com/Thermostats/Simulators/Slimline_Residential_Launch.swf. It looks like this: So then, you can use your mouse to "press" (or click on) the various buttons. Very Easy. So, the red "arrow" on the left side, makes the temperature go up - making the room warmer. Right? 80 is warmer than 60. Makes sense. Conversely, the blue arrow pointing down (right below the red 'up' arrow) makes the temperature (the large number in the middle of the screen). Okay, when the "air" kicks on the green light goes on and when the heat goes on the red light goes on. That's how you know whether or not you are doing it right. On the left side of the screen in the top left corner there is a number (in degrees) and cool, below that a number and heat. These numbers are what the thermostat is set to and whether or not it is cooling or heating. Obviously, you don't want to heat during the summer (well, in California), so make sure that it is switched to cool. For advanced users, there is a "advanced function" section which explains all the other wonderful and technologically scary things the thermostat is able to do. This tool is also helpful in that a technician is able to "talk" a homeowner through the programming of the thermostat without having to be in the physical location of the homeowner.