How Long Do Heat Pumps Last? Heat Pump Repair Service Providers Answer

Posted on November 14, 2020 by HVAC

Heat Pump Repair Service

You must have heard the good things about heat pumps: they are easy to maintain, more efficient than furnaces, among many other things. The big question with most homeowners is, how long do heat pumps last?

According to heat pump repair service providers, the units’ durability depends on the type of heat pump, where you have installed it, and how often you maintain it. Despite all these factors, on average, the heat pump will last about 15 years.

What affects the heat pump lifespan?

One of the major factors that will determine how long the appliance will last is how well you maintain it. To give your heat pump a long life, you need to take good care of it. At least once a year, hire a technician to inspect it and fix the problematic areas.

Other things you should do to give your appliance a long life include:

Keep the coils clean: Dirty coils restrict airflow, causing the heat pump to stop working. At least once a year, hire a professional HVAC technician to clean the coils chemically.

Clean the fins on the outside of the condenser unit

Clean or replace the air filters regularly according to the manufacturer recommendations: When you go for a long time without giving attention to your air filters, they clog up and block airflow to the evaporator coil. You need to keep the air filters clean for an efficient and durable heat pump.

Keep the outdoor unit clear of plants: Experts recommend ensuring that the plants don’t grow within 18 inches of the outdoor unit.

Environmental factors can also affect the lifespan of the appliance. For example, if you live in snowy areas, ice can build up on the outdoor coil impeding the appliance’s ability to generate heat.

To minimize the effect the environment has on your appliance, get an appliance designed for that area. For example, if you live in cold areas, get a heat pump with an excellent defrost cycle.

Signs it’s time to replace your heat pump.

Even with the best care, when your heat pump passes the 10-year mark, you have to replace it. Common signs it’s time to replace your heat pump include:

Your energy bills keep rising

Like the furnace, the heat pump loses efficiency overtime and dirt, dust building on the coils, motors aging, and metal elements corroding cause the heat pump to consume more energy than it used to.

If your appliance is more than 10 years and your energy bills are going up every month, don’t bother hiring a repair professional to look into it. Simply replace the unit.

The heat pump isn’t as comfortable as it used to

Have you noticed your heat pump struggling to reach the set temperatures or having warm/stuffy spots? It might be time to replace your unit.

Another sign of decreased comfort is having high indoor humidity during summer. When operating at optimal performance, the heat pump should remove the moisture from the air. If your appliance is no longer doing it, it’s a sign you need to replace it.

You constantly need to replace the unit.

It’s normal for appliances to break down, and when it happens occasionally, you should get a repair professional and fix the problem.

Unfortunately, when your appliance is on its death bed, it breaks down more frequently that you have to have the technician’s contact details on speed dial.

When your appliance breaks down every other week, hiring a repair technician will be synonymous with pouring money down the drain. Instead of keeping hiring the technician, simply replace the unit.

Unusual noises are coming from the system.

Heat pumps are designed to run smoothly with little friction and internal resistance, so if your appliance is making weird noises, you have a problem you should address as soon as possible.

In most cases, the HVAC system’s noises come from faulty ductwork, dirty filters, worn out motors, loose vents, and many other factors. When the noises come for the first time, ask an experienced heating service repair Long Island professional to look into them, but if the problems keep coming about, it would be wise to replace the entire system.

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Oil Tank Replacement: Heating Oil Tank Installation Guide

Posted on November 6, 2020 by HVAC

oil replacement

Heating oil storage tanks have been around for decades, and when properly installed and maintained, they can provide years of safe fuel storage. If you live away from the electrical grid or you want a backup heating system, you should install the oil tank in your home.

To avoid spills and ensure you are on the right side of the law, you have to follow the right oil tank installation tips. To help you out, here are a heating oil tank installation guide to follow:

Don’t use a refurbished oil tank.

Although, a refurbished tank is cheap, you shouldn’t use it. Remember, any oil tank replacement was made for a reason. Either the tank was too old, or it could have been leaking. Re-using a tank is simply inviting problems, so don’t do it.

Get a brand new tank you are sure will stand the test of time. While it will be much more expensive, it will be worth it.

Trained installers should do the installations.

Regardless of the type of oil tank you are installing, ensure trained and experienced installers do the work.

Avoid installing the tank by yourself at all costs. This is because DIY installation has been shown to lead to increased chances of damage and high cleanup costs when spills happen.

DIY installations are also not covered by the warranty, leaving all the burden on your shoulders in the event of an accident.

Install the tank at a safe place, away from fire

It’s rare a new, properly installed tank will cause fire, but it’s always good to be safe than sorry. To be safe, ensure the oil tank is:

  • 1.8 meters away from non-fire rated eaves of the building and non-fire rated buildings such as garden sheds.
  • 750 millimeters away from any non-fire-rated boundaries such as a wooden fence.
  • 1.8 meters away from openings such as doors and windows in a fire-rated building such as a garage or brick-based house.
  • 600 millimeters from any foliage

If you wonder what a non-fire-rated means, it’s any material or item that hasn’t been tested or proven to reduce or inhibit the spread of fire.

If the area you are looking to install the heating oil tank doesn’t allow you to secure the tank under the recommended distances, place a protective barrier around the tank that will last for at least 30 minutes in the event of a fire.

Make it easy for deliveries.

Most homes require at least two oil deliveries a year based on their oil usage and oil tank capacity. Although most delivery companies will try to work with your location, do your part and make their work easy during installation.

Some homeowners install the tank inside the house, such that they have to be at home for the company to access the tank. Don’t do this.  Install the tank in an easily accessible area by the fuel delivery company, whether you are at home or not.

Have a strong foundation

If installing an above ground tank, ensure it has a strong foundation. The tank should be on a cement pad equal to or larger than the tank’s outside diameter. It also should be at least three inches thick.

The tank’s legs should be 12 inches high, made of steel, and should provide at least six inches of clearance between the top of the tank and pad.

If you live in snowy areas, you can put the tank on a pressure-treated wood platform on top of the pad to protect the tank from heavy snowfall. Once on the pad or platform, secure the tank with threaded floor flanges.

Conclusion

These are the tips to consider when installing your oil tank. To ensure the tank is in tip-top shape all the time, have it regularly inspected by a reputable and experienced OFTEC heating engineer. If you can’t find an engineer, get HVAC companies Long Island experienced with oil tank maintenance to do the work.

Remember, the buck doesn’t stop with the repair company. You also should play your role as a homeowner. Clear debris and regularly inspect the tank for cracks, bulges, oil spots, and other signs. This will help you identify problems when they are in their early stages and organize for a replacement if necessary.

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Furnace Repair Service: How Do You Know If Your Furnace Is Broken?

Posted on October 31, 2020 by HVAC

Furnace Repair Service

You should seek a furnace repair service when the furnace stops working. While this is an obvious sign it’s time to repair your appliance, sometimes the signs aren’t obvious, so you will hear new homeowners asking, how do you know if your furnace is broken?

Are you one of the people asking this? Here are signs your furnace is broken:

The carbon monoxide keeps going off.

Your carbon monoxide detector should never go off and you ignore it as it’s an indicator something is terribly wrong with your appliance. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that is extremely deadly.

When your detector goes off, it means there are high carbon monoxide levels in the air, which puts your life and that of other family members at great risk.

Your carbon monoxide detector can accidentally go off, but if it keeps going off, you have a problem in your hands that you should address immediately. In most cases, the detector will go off when there are leakages in your unit, so if it keeps going off, it means you constantly have leakages that are a sign of a broken or failing appliance.

Your house doesn’t get warm enough.

The furnace is supposed to keep your house warm. If you have turned on the furnace and set it, but it’s not heating the house as well as you expected, it’s a clear sign you have a problem that you should address as soon as possible.

The furnace will fail to heat the house properly if you have worn out parts or the blower isn’t working properly. The furnace also won’t heat the house properly if you have a belt that is about to break.

If you are confident in your DIY skills, open up the appliance, and check the genesis of the problem. Begin with the air filter. Is it clogged and dirty? If it is, clean it.

Next, check the vents. Can you see all of them? Also, check whether the vents are blocked. If they are, unclog them.

The blower occasionally blows cold air.

The blower is supposed to blow warm air, so if your blower is blowing cold air, you have a problem. When the blower is blowing cold air, it means heat is backing up into the system, so somewhere along the line, the warmth isn’t circulating properly enough.

When this happens, the system’s inner working overheats, and the system sends a blast of cold air to regulate things out.

When this happens once, it might not be an issue, but if it happens many times, the stress from the sudden temperature swings can weaken and even crack the furnace components.

If you notice cold air coming through the vents, call a professional to fix the appliance as your furnace is at the blink of breaking down.

You are experiencing banging noises.

Banging noises are a sign something is broken or loose. Sometimes you will even hear a belt slapping against the inner parts of the furnace. Any scratching, banging, rattling, or squealing sounds are a sign something is wrong, and you should pay attention to it and find out the cause before things worsen.

Your appliance is giving off unusual smells.

Even if you are using a gas furnace, it shouldn’t give off a smelly gas, so if your appliance does it, chances are you have a gas leak that you need to pay attention to.

Your energy bills are going up every day.

It’s common for your energy bills to go up during summer as you are using your furnace the most at this time, but you should be wary when you have a sudden, sharp rise in your energy bills.

If the change in energy consumption coincides with weaker heating, your furnace is broken or is at the brink of breaking.

Your appliance keeps breaking down.

How many times do you have to repair your furnace in a month? Most appliances will run without any problem for even a year, so if you have the phone number of your heating service repair Long Island professional on speed dial, you are in deep problem as it means your appliance keeps on breaking down.

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Heating Service Repair: How Do I Know If My Furnace Needs Cleaning

Posted on October 16, 2020 by HVAC

heating service repair

Furnace cleaning is one of the most basic practices you can do to keep your heating unit in top shape. Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t know when to clean it, so you will often hear them asking, how do I know if my furnace needs cleaning?

To help you out, here are signs it’s time to clean your furnace as given by heating service repair professionals:

You have excess dust in your building.

Have you noticed your house is much dustier than before? Chances are the dust is also rubbing off to your appliance. If your HVAC unit is dirty and you haven’t replaced your filters in a while, chances are your appliance hasn’t been removing debris and dust from the air, and it’s instead spreading them through the ducts to your entire building.

If you don’t clean the furnace early enough, the grimy buildup will cause your appliance to fail, leading to plenty of furnace problems.

The furnace frames are yellow.

In a properly functioning furnace, the flame should be blue. Sometimes the flame will burn orange or yellow when there is an incorrect mix of gas and oxygen, which is a sign of a dirty burner.

If you don’t get rid of this problem early enough, you risk having a carbon monoxide leak, which is dangerous.

The cool thing is you can fix this problem by cleaning your gas furnace. You can do the cleaning by yourself or hire a professional to help you out.

You can’t remember when you last cleaned your appliance.

To run optimally, your furnace needs cleaning, so if you can’t remember the last time you cleaned it, you have been neglecting it, which is dangerous. Don’t even inspect the appliance to confirm whether there is a lot of buildup dust. Go ahead and begin the cleaning.

Your energy bills are going up every day.

Your energy bills can go up for various reasons. If your furnace is pretty new, you haven’t added a new appliance, and your electricity bills are on the rise, take a look at your heating appliance. Is it dirty? Do the cleaning.

You can smell the dust.

Do you smell dust when you turn on your appliance? That’s a clear sign there is a lot of dust built up in your appliance, and you should get rid of it as soon as possible.

How do you clean the furnace?

To effectively clean the furnace, you need to follow a set of steps. These steps include:

Step 1: Shut down the system

You don’t want to get hurt when you are cleaning the system, so begin switching off the fuel and electrical supply. In most furnaces, shutting down the system involves a flick of a switch.

Step 2: Clean the combustion chamber

It’s in the combustion chamber where the fuel mixes with air and is ignited, generating heat. It’s also here where you will find water vapor, carbon soot, carbon dioxide, and other materials.

If you go for a long time without cleaning the chamber, soot can buildup causing the chamber to corrode. Cleaning the chamber is easy as all you need to do is scrape out the built-up carbon using a small wire brush.

You should then remove the loose material with an industrial shop. While at it, inspect the chamber for holes or corrosion before replacing the cover. If the chamber has holes or any other defects, fix them before replacing the cover.

Step 3: Take a look at the flue pipe

It’s common for the flue pipe to leak, which is dangerous as this exposes you or your family members to carbon monoxide. As you are cleaning the system, pay attention to the flue pipe, especially in the area where the pipe meets the furnace.

If there are holes or serious corrosion, fix it before you do anything.

Step 4: Change/replace the air filter.

Furnace cleaning is incomplete if you don’t clean or replace the air filter. If the filter is still in good shape, clean it using a vacuum cleaner, but if worn out or too dirty, you have to replace it. You can do the work yourself or let a furnace repair service Long Island provider do it.

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Furnace Service: 6 Signs You Need A New Furnace

Posted on October 10, 2020 by HVAC

Furnace Service

Behold, the heating season is here. Bye bye to walking bare-chested on the beach. Now, it’s time to cozy up with a blanket and crank up the furnace.

Talking of furnaces, if you had issues with yours the previous season, you must be wondering, should I get a new furnace?

According to furnace service providers, this depends on the working of your appliance. To help you out, here are signs you need a new furnace:

Your energy bills are going up, while the efficiency of the appliance is going down

An increase in your energy bills happens due to old age and your appliance working too hard to meet the demands of heating your house. As your heating costs keep going up, you might also notice your appliance getting less efficient at heating up your house.

If your appliance is more than 15 years and you have noticed its efficiency going down, it’s time to get a new unit.

Your furnace is showing visible cracks and other forms of damage

Cracked, leaky, or rusted furnaces are often beyond repair so the best course of action is to replace them. It’s recommended you ask a furnace technician to inspect your appliance before you begin using it. If you undertake the inspection and find out your appliance has symptoms that are beyond repair, simply replace the unit.

The appliance is struggling to heat your home

Is your appliance heating the house unevenly? Chances are its too old and as we mentioned above, if your appliance is more than a decade old, there is no point of repairing it. Simply replace it.

Tell tale signs your appliance is struggling to heat the house is some rooms being hotter than others. A struggling appliance will also start cycling on and off and even sometimes stop working altogether.

If you have had the appliance for a few years you can hire a repair professional to look into it but if it’s more than a decade old, it’s time to hit furnace stores and find a replacement.

The furnace is making weird noises

Even the most advanced furnaces aren’t dead silent but a malfunctioning appliance will make weird loud noises that are often a sign of trouble. If your appliance is making buzzing, rattling or banging noises, chances are the furnace is rusted or cracked.

Before you rush to get a new unit, ask a repair professional to inspect it and if the noise source can’t be fixed, it’s time to get a new appliance.

The burner flame is yellow instead of blue

Do you have a gas furnace? In a properly functioning appliance, the furnace will burn with a blue flame. When your unit is malfunctioning, it will have a yellow flame that is usually a sign your unit is producing carbon monoxide.

This means the fuel isn’t burning as cleanly as it should so the furnace is inefficient. Any other color other than blue means incomplete combustion and it’s not only a sign of an inefficient appliance, but it’s also a sign of danger as you can die due to carbon monoxide inhalation.

Other gases might also leak from the furnace triggering an explosion.

You have repaired the appliance too many times

Do you have the phone number of a furnace repair professional on speed dial? You must be spending a lot of money on repairs and it’s time to get a new unit.

What should you consider when getting a new furnace?

If you have ascertained it’s time to get a new unit, you should be cautious about the one you go for as no two furnaces are the same. One of the factors to consider is the size of your house. You don’t want a unit that is too big or too small for your home so take time to research and find one of the right size.

If not sure about the right unit to go for, ask a furnace repair service Long Island provider to help you out.

The other factor to pay attention to is the energy star rating of the appliance. Always aim to go for a unit with a high energy star rating. While this appliance will be expensive to buy, it will save you a lot of money in the long run as it will be more energy efficient.

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Mitsubishi AC Installation: How Do You Know If Your Car Ac Needs Recharged?

Posted on September 28, 2020 by HVAC

mitsubishi ac installation

Your car’s air conditioning system has a refrigerant (specialized gas) responsible for most of the cooling. The refrigerant compresses, cools off, then expands inside the evaporator inside the dash. As the refrigerant expands, it soaks up heat from the interior of the car then cool gas gets back under the hood to the compressor.

For the AC system to function optimally, it has to be pressurized. Over time, due to aging or wearing out, the pressurized systems develop leaks, and the refrigerant levels start going down to a point where the air conditioner is unable to produce cold air.

To restore your air conditioner into proper working condition, you have to recharge it with pressurized refrigerant.

Are you wondering how do you know if your car AC needs recharged? Air conditioners often show several signs that signify it’s time to recharge them. These signs, as given by Mitsubishi AC installation experts, include:

Refrigerant leaks

As air conditioners age, they encounter several problems such as mild accidents, stones getting into the loose joints, and the cooling radiator. Due to this, the refrigerant begins to leak, and if you don’t notice it early enough, your air conditioner might stop working.

If you notice ice forming on your compressor, the refrigerant is most likely low. During the inspection, if you see leaks around the compressor or at the joints, it’s a sign you have lower refrigerant levels.

Freon, the most popular refrigerant, resembles thin grease when in a liquid state. When looking out for it, search for a film around joints that might have a dirty brown color due to dirt and grime mixing with Freon.

If you find Freon on the ground under your car, you have a more serious problem that should be handled by a certified professional.

Failing AC clutch

The compressor pulley turns all the time, driven by a dedicated belt or serpentine belt. When you need to use the air conditioner, the clutch engages the pulley, causing the compressor to circulate Freon in the system and provide cooled air to the interior of the car.

When the Freon levels are low, the sensor activates, preventing the clutch from engaging. To fix the problem, you need to arrange how to repair the leak and add additional refrigerant. Never add refrigerant before fixing the appliance as the refrigerant will leak after a few days or weeks, and you go back to square one.

AC blowing warm air instead of cold

When the AC is on, cool air should be blowing from the vents to cool the interior. If hot air is blowing instead, you have a problem in your hands. Chances are the refrigerant is too low, leading to compressor failure. Tell-tale signs of low refrigerant levels are clicking sounds as the AC is working.

How to recharge your air conditioning

You should note that recharging your air conditioner is a temporary fix if you don’t first fix the underlying causes of the leak. To prevent your efforts from going to waste, first fix the cause of the low refrigerant levels. Once you are done, now proceed with recharging your air conditioner.

The beauty is that recharging the appliance is easy. Begin with gathering the necessary materials for the work, which include: AC dispenser, meat thermometer, refrigerant, gloves, and safety glasses.

You should then find the low side port, which will be the barb on the larger tube between the compressor and evaporator. After finding it, screw the dispenser hose and gauge to the refrigerant can. Next, start the car engine and turn the air conditioner on. The compressor clutch should be engaged and the front of the compressor spinning.

If the pressure is lower than 20 psi and the compressor isn’t engaged, dispense the refrigerant until the clutch engages. Continue dispensing the refrigerant while keeping an eye on the pressure. The ideal pressure is 45-55 psi.

If you bought a UV kit, inspect the system for minor leaks so you can make the necessary repairs. Doing this should fix the problem, but if you do everything and still the AC doesn’t work, chances are the air conditioner is passed its lifetime. It’s time to ask Mitsubishi air conditioner installation Woodbury experts to install a new unit.

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Should I Repair Or Replace My Air Conditioner? AC Repair Services Providers Advise

Posted on September 12, 2020 by HVAC

AC Repair Services

You are like a deer in headlights. Your air conditioner has been having issues, and after hiring an AC repair services provider, he advised you to either repair or replace the air conditioner. Where should you go? Should I repair or replace my air conditioner? You ask.

To help you make the right decision, here are 5 questions you should ask yourself:

How old is your air conditioner

According to the Department of energy, an air conditioner in the United States should have a lifespan of 15-20 years. If you live in warmer climates where you use the appliance almost daily, the life expectancy will be lower. If you have had your unit for a long time, don’t bother repairing it as you will be pouring money down the drain. Instead, replace it with a newer, modern version.

How much money have you spent on repairs?

It’s recommended you keep a record of the amount of money you pay an AC technician when you hire their services. If your appliance is more than 10 years and you have spent close to 50% the value of the unit, it’s time to start thinking about replacing it.

You also should consider the frequency you need to repair the unit. How many times do you call an emergency AC repair technician in a month? If you have the technicians number on speed dial, it would be cheaper to invest in a new system rather than continue wasting money on an old appliance.

How efficient is the air conditioner?

You can tell how efficient your appliance is by looking at the SEER rating. An appliance of a higher rating will be more efficient to run.

Since 2015, all of the air conditioners installed in the United States have an efficiency rating of at least 14 SEER with most of the modern appliances having efficiency ratings ranging from 14-25 SEER.

If your appliance has a low rating and keeps grinding to a halt, you should get a new one. AC technicians have shown that upgrading your 15-year-old 12-SEER unit to a 16 SEER will save you up to 25% of your heating costs per year.

The operating efficiency of air conditioners declines with age, so if you had bought a 12 SEER air conditioner, in 15 years, it would be operating like a 10-SEER appliance.

When getting a new unit, get one with a high SEER rating. Although, it will be expensive to purchase, it will save you a lot of money in the long run.

Do you take good care of your current appliance?

How well you maintain your appliance affects the amount of money you spend cooling the house, the comfort levels in the house, and the life expectancy of the appliance. If you take good care of your appliance, it tends to maintain its good shape for long, so you don’t have to replace it too often.

You can say you have been taking good care of your appliance if:

  • You have been replacing the air filters every 1-3 months.
  • You have been keeping the outdoor unit free of plant growth and debris.
  • You have been hiring a local HVAC company to inspect your appliance and tune it up.

If you haven’t been neglecting your appliance, the problems you are experiencing are a result of this, and you are better off simply getting a new air conditioner. When you get the new appliance, take good care of it, so it not only functions more efficiently, but it also lasts for a long time.

Is your air conditioner still running on Freon?

Freon is a refrigerant you will find in most old appliances. If your unit is still running on this refrigerant, you should get a new one as the refrigerant is quickly being phased out. So in the event, your appliance develops a refrigerant leak, you will have a problem finding Freon in the stores, and when you find it, you will have to pay a premium for it.

Getting a new air conditioner will keep your costs low, so you save money cooling your house

Air conditioner repair services Port Jefferson providers recommend you get an air conditioner running on Puron or R410A. This refrigerant is more environmentally friendly and easy to find in the event of a leak.

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Why Is My Air Conditioner So Loud? AC Repair Services Providers Answer

Posted on September 6, 2020 by HVAC

While it’s common for an air conditioner to have minor humming when running or shutting down, it shouldn’t be too noisy that it irritates you. A noisy air conditioner means it’s running inefficiently; hence you are losing a lot of energy and incurring huge utility bills. It’s normal for older appliances to vibrate a little louder than newer models, but they shouldn’t be deafening or making strange noises.

If your air conditioner is loud, you must be wondering, why is my air conditioner so loud, right? Here are some of the common reasons as given by AC repair services providers and what you can do about it:

Your air conditioner is too big for your home.

When you turn on the air conditioner, the air sounds loud and forceful in the ducts to the extent it becomes difficult to hear what others are saying in the same room. It’s also common to notice some whistling. When you hear these noises, your air conditioner is too large hence forcing more air through the ducts than the ducts can handle.

So whenever you turn on the air conditioner, you hear a huge chunk of air going through the ducts. In some cases, this problem is accompanied by other issues such as:

  • High levels of humidity in your home
  • AC turning on and off more frequently
  • Quick, short blasts of cold air
  • Hot and cold spots throughout your house

To bring the noise to a stop, you need to replace the air conditioner with a smaller, correctly sized appliance. Ensure the replacement is made by an experienced technician who will first undertake a heat-load calculation. This is an inspection that puts plenty of factors into consideration to determine the right size of air conditioner for your house. The contractor should consider the size of your house, insulation levels, number of windows, and plenty of other factors.

Your appliance is too old and worn out.

While older appliances tend to be a little bit louder, they aren’t supposed to roar that you can’t hear the television, so if yours is making that kind of noise, you have a problem, you should fix it. If your appliance has a SEER rating of less than 10, still uses R-22, and you are experiencing high energy bills, you are better off replacing the air conditioner with a more modern appliance.

If your unit is still quite new and the air conditioner expert has inspected it and confirmed that it still has a few years to live, there are several things you can do to reduce the noise. Some of the things you can do include:

Install a mounting pad: This is a rubber pad placed between the outdoor unit and concrete base to prevent noise brought about by vibrations.

Build a sound-blocking fence: You can build a fence around your outdoor unit, and you will deflect the noise away from your home. For best results, ensure the fence is at least 3 feet away and doesn’t interfere with the unit’s airflow.

Invest in a compressor blanket: You use the blanket to cover the noisy compressor, muffling the noise.

The ducts in your home are undersized or poorly designed.

Like when you have an oversized air conditioner, when your air ducts are undersized, you hear loud, rushing sound as air rushing in the ducts. It’s also common to have hissing, whistling noises from the vents.

The reason for the noises is because undersized ducts have too many sharp angles or bends meant to increase air velocity. Air at high velocity tends to be noisy. The vents can also get noisy when the duct design pushes too much air through them.

Your ducts will have a problem if they come with accompanying issues such as stuffy air, mold growth, and doors slamming by themselves.

If your home has a faulty duct design, ask an experienced and reputable air conditioner repair services Woodbury technician to inspect the duct system. This way, they will know whether your system needs a complete redesign or a quick repair. The contractor you hire has a significant influence on the life of the appliance so ensure you hire the right one. Don’t hire the cheapest as you will most likely receive poor services.

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HVAC Repair Companies: Guide On How To Tell If AC Is Broken

Posted on August 30, 2020 by HVAC

HVAC repair companies

If this is the first time using the air conditioner, it might be hard to tell when your appliance has a problem, so you are in shock when the unit abruptly stops working in the middle of a hot day.

If only you could tell your appliance had issues and fix them early enough. According to HVAC repair companies, it’s possible to tell when your appliance has problems. Here is a guide on how to tell if AC is broken:

The rooms aren’t getting cool as they used to

Have you noticed a change in the way your room is cooling? Your heating unit might be broken. If your unit is running, the thermostat is on, but the house isn’t getting cold, you have a reason to worry as your unit might be having worn out of missing mechanical parts.

Unless you have the skills, contact your HVAC contractor to inspect the appliance and identify the cause of the problem.

The appliance is making weird noises.

Is your appliance making grating, grinding, hissing, or any other weird noises? These sounds mean something is wrong. Since most air conditioners continue functioning despite the noises, many homeowners ignore them which is wrong.

Remember, if your air conditioner is functioning optimally, it should work silently. When you notice any sound, regardless of how minor it is, contact an AC technician to look into the issue and fix it.

The air conditioner can produce a myriad of noises depending on the problematic areas. One of the most common ones is the whistling sound that resembles a boiling kettle. When your appliance is making this noise, it means the refrigerant is leaking.

Is your unit making a buzzing sound? Your appliance has electrical disruptions. Your electrical wiring might be disturbed, or you are having a problem with your electrical circuits.

Your utility bills have gone up.

Have you noticed your utility bills have been going up over the last couple of months, and you haven’t installed a new unit? Your air conditioner is functioning inefficiently, or the electric company has raised its prices. Don’t sit back and hope things will get better.

Check with the electric company, and if the cost per unit consumed hasn’t gone up, ask a technician to look into your appliance.

The appliance is emitting unpleasant odors.

Sometimes the air conditioner will produce odors that mean trouble. AC experts report that these smells are usually due to dirty filters or burning wires. If you have gone for months without cleaning the filters, it’s time to show them some love.

Luckily, you don’t need to hire a professional to help you out. Unscrew them from their location and clean them. Consider replacing them if too dirty or worn out.

There is water leakage.

Due to poor maintenance or malfunctioning internal parts, the condenser unit will freeze, and as the water melts, it begins leaking. The leakages not only damage your appliance, but your property as well, so when you notice water leakages, you should move with haste and contact an expert to look into the problem and fix it.

Irregular temperatures

A properly functioning air conditioner should distribute temperatures evenly in the house. A defective air conditioner, on the other hand, will distribute the temperatures irregularly, so you have some areas colder than others.

This problem tends to come about due to accumulated dirt in the ducts, damage to the window units, and many others.

Don’t think this problem will go away. Contact an AC technician to inspect your appliance and determine the reason for the malfunctioning.

Before you panic, check the following.

It’s recommended you hire a professional AC expert to fix the AC problems, but don’t rush to it as your appliance might be having issues that you can easily fix on your own. Before you contact the AC repair services Stony Brook professional, check whether the power is on. Also, confirm whether the thermostat batteries have expired.

When is the last time you cleaned or replaced the air filters? If it’s long, replace them. Finally, check whether you applied different settings. If all these things check out and the appliance is showing signs of problems, let a professional know about it so they can visit your home and fix it.

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Are Expensive HVAC Filters Worth It? Air Conditioner Repair Services Providers Answer

Posted on August 14, 2020 by HVAC

Air Conditioner Repair Services

Your HVAC system dehumidifies air and cools it ensuring you are comfortable. Unfortunately, dust, pet hair, dander, and other contaminants can get caught in the same air harming the cooling system and triggering your allergies. To prevent this from happening, air conditioner repair services providers recommend you ensure you are using the right air filter.

With so many air filters going at different prices, many homeowners are confused about the right ones to go for. Are expensive HVAC filters worth it? You will hear most homeowners asking.

First things first

Before we answer this question, let us first understand the role of air filters. Air filters remove large amounts of contaminants from the air ensuring the air is fresh and healthy. Even the most basic air filters catch mildew, dust, and a plethora of other contaminants.

What do expensive air conditioners do?

Expensive air filters remove larger amounts of contaminants.

Regular air filters are made from spun fiberglass while expensive filters are made from paper, polyester, or cotton. This means the expensive air filters do a better job of cleaning the air as they hold onto airborne dust and dirt much better than fiberglass.

The expensive air filters also tend to have a larger surface area to filter particulate matter. This not only means the filters trap more particulates in the air, it also means you don’t need to keep on replacing them too often.

Instead of replacing them once a month like regular filters, you can get away with replacing them once every three months.

Are expensive HVAC filters worth it?

Now that we understand what air filters are and what the expensive ones can do, let us now answer the question, Are expensive HVAC filters worth it? This will depend on your needs.

If you suffer from allergies or you have pets in the house, it’s wise you go for the expensive air filters as they will do a better job of removing the contaminants. On the other hand, if you don’t have an issue with the current air quality, don’t waste your money on expensive filters.

The best way to tell the right type of air filters to go for is to know the MERV rating you need for your house. If you are new to this, MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value which is a scale meant to rate the air conditioning filters on their ability to trap air particulates.

Most of the regular air filters have a MERV value ranging from 1-13 while the expensive filters have a rating of 13+. Before you head to the stores, ensure you know the MERV rating you need to keep your house free of contaminants.

Tips to consider when buying the expensive air filters

If you have to buy the expensive filters, ensure you buy the right ones. Some of the tips to consider when buying the filters include:

Don’t buy washable filters: When shopping for the filters, you will come across many of them. Some of the popular ones you will meet are washable filters. The manufacturing companies pose them as high end and want to sell them at the highest prices possible but you shouldn’t fall for it.

While the washable filters can last for years, they come with plenty of issues such as lower MERV ratings, need for regular maintenance, and the risk of attracting mold that might be devastating if you suffer from allergies.

Pay attention to the MERV rating: As mentioned above, you need to be cautious of the MERV rating of the air filter you should buy. Although an air filter with a higher rating might seem attractive, it might not be compatible with your furnace and air conditioner.

Before you part with your money, check the manual and see the recommended MERV rating. When buying, don’t exceed the rating as doing so will create airflow issues that can raise your utility costs and decrease the life of the air conditioner. This is of major importance in older homes that weren’t designed to use thicker air filters.

After installing the filters, you should note your work isn’t done. You still need to hire AC repair services Woodbury providers to inspect the air conditioner and fix any issues that might be present.

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