The Importance of Having the Air Quality of Your HVAC System Checked

December 22, 2017

Now is the time to make sure your family isn’t breathing in allergens or other harmful toxins. During the winter months, it is important to have the indoor air quality of your home evaluated. There are many harmful pollutants that cannot be seen but could be making you and your family sick. Others have the potential to be life-threatening. Therefore, it is important to have your home’s air quality checked by having your HVAC system and ductwork inspected. If you or your family members are prone to allergies or asthma, this is even more important. If you have symptoms such as headaches or ongoing sinus issues, these may be signs that these harmful things are lurking in your home. The indoor air quality of your home has a lot to do with your overall health. Some allergens may only be annoying, but others can lead to serious, long-term health issues. Although there are a wide variety of toxins that you can be exposed to through your HVAC system, the most common include: Carbon Monoxide Carbon monoxide is a an odorless and colorless gas that is deadly in high concentrations. When fuel doesn’t burn completely this gas is created and it...

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When is the Best Time to Have My HVAC System Maintained?

December 15, 2017

Maintenance isn’t just about repairs, it’s also about making sure you’re not putting additional wear and tear on your system. As the cold weather approaches, many homeowners are glad to be able to shut the air conditioning down and get a break on their electric bills. But before you forget about the air conditioner until next year, you might want to consider having it maintained by a professional HVAC company. Prior to shutting it down, having someone perform maintenance service on it is important to ensure that when springtime rolls around it is ready and able to start up again. Why Maintenance is Important Obviously, if you have noticed signs that your HVAC system isn’t working properly, then it is time to call a St. Louis HVAC contractor to repair it. But maintenance isn’t just about repairs, it is also about making sure that you aren’t putting additional wear and tear on your equipment because it is dirty, has built-up debris or something isn’t working as efficiently as it should. If you don’t maintain your HVAC equipment, including your air conditioner and your furnace, then you are minimizing its life-cycle and aging it faster than it should be. The Best...

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How the Right Vent Covers Can Save on Energy Costs

December 10, 2017

The right vent covers can significantly reduce your home’s energy costs! There are all sorts of different vent covers in the HVAC industry. Vent covers work by isolating specific areas of your home and either increasing the flow to some areas or decreasing or eliminating it to others. Not many people give much thought to vent covers, but they should. They are an excellent way to regulate the flow of air from the HVAC system and can help significantly to cut down on your heating and cooling costs. How Your HVAC Vent System Works In every home, there are two types of supply and return vents. They work to keep the conditions in your home comfortable and tepid. The return vents regulate the air in your home back to your HVAC system and run continually to regulate the temperature of your home. A Cold Air Return Vent It is possible to have return vents in every room of your home, but in most cases, they are centrally located. Most St. Louis HVAC contractors recommend that every room has its own return vent to circulate air more effectively. Cold air returns help control the flow and the pressure of air circulation...

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Is it Really Important to Have Your HVAC Ductwork Cleaned?

December 6, 2017

When your heating and cooling equipment runs efficiently, you save energy. As the cold weather comes in and the windows are being locked up tight, many people are wondering whether it’s worth the cost to get their ductwork cleaned professionally, or if it is just hype. The truth is that air duct cleaning is essential – not just for your family’s health, but to reduce wear and tear on your HVAC system. If your ducts are riddled with allergens or dust and dirt, it is recirculating those things around your home and making you miserable. It is also making your furnace run overtime to push air through the compromised ducts. What’s in Your Ductwork? When the windows are closed, a large percentage of the air in your home is just continually being recirculated – which means that dust, dirt, and all the other environmental allergens are just going around and around, kicked up time and again. If you can’t open up your windows to let things air out, then all that dirt and debris is getting caught up in your ductwork. When the heater is working and hot air is being pushed through the ducts, it creates an atmosphere of...

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The Best Thermostats to Regulate Your HVAC System

November 29, 2017

Smart thermostats are the most innovative type and can save you as much as $200 per year. The newest thing in HVAC technology is zoned heating and cooling that runs off of thermostats that can be controlled with ease, sometimes even by your mobile device or smartphone. They don’t only offer convenience, these newly designed thermostats can use your home’s wifi system and allow you to make your spaces more comfortable and cut back on your monthly heating and cooling bill. A totally redesigned thermostat is a welcomed addition for many looking to cut monthly energy costs and wanting the ability to control their HVAC systems remotely to increase their home’s comfort level. There are many different types of thermostats that a homeowner can choose from. Deciding which one is right for you your home is based upon the size of your HVAC system and your budget. Mechanical Thermostats Mechanical thermostats are the traditional type that use bimetallic strips to detect and adjust the temperature of a room. They are typically found in older homes and apartments. Non-Programmable Thermostats Non-programmable thermostats require you to directly adjust the settings, but they typically have digital programming. As they are typically cheap, they don’t do...

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The Right Ductwork is Important for the Efficiency of an HVAC System

November 21, 2017

A lot of planning goes into renovating your home or building a new home from scratch. When it comes to HVAC, the way that your home system impacts not just with energy flow and eliminating cold or hot spots, but also your overall energy bills over time. Putting a lot of thought and planning into things like the size of your ductwork and your furnace might not seem like a big deal, but it is. Why Hire a Professional HVAC Contractor? The best way to determine the size of your ductwork and your overall HVAC system is to hire a professional St. Louis HVAC contractor who has a lot of experience and a good reputation. The HVAC contractor should be involved from the beginning stages of the drawings and building plans to ensure that all matters are taken care of, including insulation, window placement and how much heating and cooling each room will need according to the size of the room and the furnace output. Taking all things into account, an HVAC contractor will be able to determine the individual size of the ductwork leading to various rooms in the home and what size the furnace will need to be...

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Why Zoning is the Newest Trend for HVAC Contractors

November 17, 2017

Zoning systems are quiet and efficient, giving you more control over the comfort of your home. There used to be very few options when it came to heating and cooling your home or office. However, today HVAC zoning is the perfect way to maximize the heating and cooling in your home. It helps to cut back on energy usage and lower the average homeowner’s monthly HVAC costs. If installed correctly, zoning also helps to provide more targeted comfort in designated areas throughout your house, instead of having uneven temperatures or heating and cooling places when no one is occupying them. Benefits of a Zoning System It can be difficult to effectively and evenly heat a home from top to bottom. Zoning gives HVAC contractors the ability to break up the areas of the house to better eliminate cold spots and to schedule when to heat a room and when you don’t want it heated. The reason that it is called “zoned” heating is that you can divide a home up into several different living spaces, or zones, where the heating and cooling can be controlled independently. History of Zoning Systems When you use an entire zoned forced air system that...

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Is a Mini-Split System Right for Your Needs?

November 14, 2017

You may want to consider the advantages of a ductless, mini-split system before making your decision. If you have a heating or air conditioning system that needs to be upgraded, or you just want one that is more energy-efficient, then you might be considering a ductless, or mini-split, HVAC system. A ductless HVAC system is much easier to install, runs at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems and allows you to maintain better control over the different zones of your home. Although they were rare just a short decade ago, ductless HVAC systems have become one of the hottest trends in the HVAC world. Ductless Installation With mindsets changing about the eco-friendly nature of ductless systems, there is anticipated market growth that might help to bring the cost of buying and installing ductless HVAC systems down significantly. With the allure of more energy efficiency, which translates into lower monthly operating costs, many homebuilders might use their installation as a selling point for new construction and renovation projects. Many construction forecasters are seeing that ductless systems may be the newest trend over the next few years and may expand to more residential spaces. With more technological advances and the...

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Is Your AC Losing its Cool?

November 6, 2017

We know air conditioning is one of the most important concepts to your comfort and peace of mind. If your AC is not cooling properly, the reason could be as simple as dirty coils. Clean coils are extremely important for the proper functioning of an air conditioning system. Even if 1/100th of an inch of dust collects on the AC’s condenser coil, it loses 5% of its efficiency. Our St. Louis HVAC technicians explain how dirty coils could be causing your AC to under-perform. The Importance of Air Conditioning Coils There are two AC coils which are very important for the proper operation of the system. The evaporator coil is responsible for absorbing the heat and humidity from the space. The condenser coil releases the heat absorbed from the inner space, outside the building. The condenser coil is located in the outside unit and is exposed to the adverse weather, soot, dirt and other trash outside. Dust can easily accumulate on it. This can reduce its capacity to work properly. The Way in Which an Air Conditioner Works In order to understand how dirty coils reduce the cooling ability of the AC, it is advisable to know how an air...

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7 Benefits of a Ductless AC System – St. Louis Mini Split AC

October 29, 2017

If you are considering a ductless system for your office or commercial space, talk to our St. Louis HVAC experts now. Sometimes, the ductwork in a building ruins the aesthetic appeal. A ductless option is available for people who want to have an aesthetic HVAC system and an elegant and smart looking space. In this article, we will discuss the top benefits of installing a ductless air conditioning system in your commercial building. Free From Dust A ductless AC is beneficial for all commercial activities which can be hindered due to dust. For instance, a layer of dust can deter the customers and bring down the sales of a furniture store, a home decor business, or an art gallery. In this system, there are no ducts where the dust can accumulate and spread all over the place. Multiple Cooling Zones A ductless AC is an ideal choice for spaces that have many rooms that require different levels of heating and cooling. For instance, in a restaurant, the heating and cooling requirements are different for the kitchen where the chefs work with hot stoves and grills, where the customers sit and dine and where the food is stored. The zoned system...

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