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Wood Floors and Moisture Don’t Mix!

November 23rd, 2011

Many homeowners that are looking to add value and beauty to their home add wood floors to one or several rooms. This is a wise investment for many and could end up increasing the selling price of the home down the line. However, if you don’t keep these floors in good shape, it could have an opposite effect. Repairing wood floors is much more costly that simply protecting them from damage in the first place. Moisture and lack of moisture are a couple of your wood floors biggest enemies and unless you can maintain proper moisture levels in the home, you may find yourself spending more than you wanted just to maintain or repair this large investment.

Moisture Levels and the Changing Seasons:

  • Summer’s Moisture: The summer months in most areas of the states are plagued by extremely high humidity. This is the kind of moisture that can creep in between your floor boards and cause warping, discoloration, and rot. A fully functional central air conditioning system can remove this humidity from the home if used on a regular basis during the summer. You could also consider a whole house ventilation system coupled with a dehumidifier if you do not want to invest in central air conditioning. Either way you will be able to bring the humidity level down to a tolerable and safe level. » Read more: Wood Floors and Moisture Don’t Mix!

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Quality, Heating, Home Improvements, Home Repairs, Home Services

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“Do it Yourself” Air Conditioner Damage

August 10th, 2011

There is nothing wrong with doing home repair jobs on your own, but if you don’t know what you are doing, you could end up with a bigger problem that you had before. Many homeowners are finding out the hard way this summer that certain “do it yourself” air conditioner repairs should have been left to the pros. One of these repairs in particular involves the air conditioner’s coil and years of neglected maintenance.

Clogged Coils

Leaving the air conditioner without a proper cleaning for years and years will eventually lead to problems with the cooling in your home. Most homeowners notice that the air conditioner just isn’t quite keeping up with the heat, and will contact an HVAC company to investigate the issue. Lack of maintenance can cause many issues, but a common one is a dirty coil. The coil in your air conditioner’s condenser is responsible for removing heat from the air that will be circulated through your home. When this coil becomes laden with dirt and debris buildup, it can’t absorb heat from the air as easily and will therefore not allow the home to cool down as efficiently. » Read more: “Do it Yourself” Air Conditioner Damage

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Posted in Air Conditioning, HVAC Repair, Maintenace

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Suffering Without Central Air

August 3rd, 2011

I finally got a chance to talk to a new neighbor of mine. Since
they moved in a few months ago I’ve seen him take his garbage out a few times, but today I got a chance to meet and talk to him. My curiosity got the better of me and I asked him why their windows were always open. His reply floored me. They didn’t have central air conditioning. I asked what was keeping them from getting an air conditioner installed. He said it was because they had hot water heat and they didn’t have any duct work in their home. He then answered my next question before I could get it out and told me that they couldn’t get window air conditioners because of the size of their windows. My reply was: it doesn’t matter!

You Can Get Central Air Conditioning Too!

Most homes that don’t have preexisting duct work can get a central air conditioning system installed for a reasonable price. The procedure is just a matter of putting an air handler in the attic to circulate the cold air and running flexible ducts to each of the rooms. There is no major carpentry or drywall work involved at all. » Read more: Suffering Without Central Air

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Contractors, Information

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How Much Heat Gain Do You Have?

August 1st, 2011

Do you have a room that isn’t cooling as well as it should? Is there air coming from the vent? If you answered yes to these questions, chances are you have too much heat gain in that part of the home. Now the other two questions you should be asking yourself are: where is that heat gain coming from, and when did it start?

Time and Your Attic Insulation

Time is your attic insulation’s number one enemy! Over the years attic insulation has a tendency to settle and compact. This is a major factor of heat gain in older homes. As time rolls on and your insulation becomes denser (more compact), and the R-Value decreases. A decrease in R-value is a decrease in efficiency, and excess heat from the attic will seep into the rooms below.

The air flow from the vents in the effected room may not have changed over the years, but the amount of heat it has to over come may have. If you think your air flow has been diminishing with time, duct cleaning could be a solution, but chances are the problem is heat gain. » Read more: How Much Heat Gain Do You Have?

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Home Improvements, Insulation, Money Saving

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Heat Wave Problems: Overheating the Attic

July 25th, 2011

During the high 70 and mid 80 degree days, many of us can easily ignore temperature differences throughout the home. It isn’t until we get a week long string of 90 to 100 degree days that the temperature difference becomes terribly noticeable. Many people that have this problem notice a difference between the temperature on the main level of the home and the upstairs. Since the upstairs is where most of us sleep, a 95 degree bedroom can be very difficult to sleep in. Most automatically jump to the conclusion that the air conditioner is to blame, but we would challenge you to make one other check during this hot week before you call your HVAC technician.

Feel the Ceiling!

Feel the ceiling! Yes, it sounds crazy, but get out a ladder, if you have to, and touch the ceiling that makes a barrier between your upstairs rooms and the attic. How does it feel? Odds are its pretty warm, or maybe even hot! Poke your head up in your attic and we are sure that our suspicions will be confirmed. You attic is gathering loads of hot air during this heat wave, and you don’t have the insulation or the ventilation needed to keep it from seeping into the floors below. » Read more: Heat Wave Problems: Overheating the Attic

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Home Improvements, Home Services, Insulation

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Condensation Leaks

July 20th, 2011

Summer is characterized by two things: heat and humidity. Both are uncomfortable, but having a humid home is simply unbearable at times. Luckily, air conditioning systems are designed to remove both humidity and heat from the interior of your home. The system will condense the moisture in the air into water to be collected by a draining system. Once the moisture is gone, the air in the home will start to feel cooler. Without this capability, air conditioners would offer much less comfort, but if we do not take special care of this component of our air conditioning systems, we could find ourselves with a couple major problems on our hands.

Your Condensation Drain System

After the water vapor in the air is changed to liquid form, it travels to a condensation drain pan to be collected and then drained through the actual condensation drain located near the air conditioner on the inside of the home. You may also have a drain line or pipe that feeds directly to the drain. If any portion of this system becomes clogged, it will appear as though the air conditioner is leaking. » Read more: Condensation Leaks

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Quality, HVAC Repair, Maintenace

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What’s All this Talk about SEER Ratings?

July 18th, 2011

SEER ratings seem to be the deciding factor these days when it comes to replacing the air conditioning system, but few actually understand the concept of this energy efficiency rating system. So, I’ve been surfing the web to see what everyone was saying about SEER ratings, and I found that most people are talking a lot about the differences between a 10 SEER and 13 SEER air conditioners. What they don’t explain, at least to my satisfaction is what that means as far as how much you will save per year in the Chicagoland area.

Calculating Watts Per Hour

First off, a 10 SEER air conditioner gives you 10 BTU’s of cooling per watt hour of electricity. 13 SEER air conditioners would give you 13 BTU’s per watt hour. What does that mean? Basically, if you have a 3 ton air conditioner rated at 36,000BTU, it is assumed that at a 10 SEER this unit will use 3,600 watts in an hour. This would mean that a 13 SEER AC at 36,000 BTU would use about 2,770 watts in an hour. That would equal 830 watts of electricity you are saving per hour of run time. Its all a bit technical, but the difference between the watts use per hour between each unit determines how much you could save. » Read more: What’s All this Talk about SEER Ratings?

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Go Green, Money Saving

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Too Small to Keep Up

July 13th, 2011

Sizing an air conditioner for your home can be a tricky task if you do not know what you are doing. A mistake of choosing either too big or too small a unit can end in disaster, but more often than not, homeowners that try to buy a new air conditioner without the assistance of a trained professional purchase a unit that is too small for their home. Why is that? Well, a smaller system will typically be cheaper than a larger one. Everyone is looking for ways to cut costs these days, but the installation of a new air conditioning system is not an area you can afford to make drastic cuts. Doing so and making a mistake could cost you more in the end than hiring a professional and having a system properly sized.

Comfort

Air conditioners are designed to cool only a limited number of square feet. When a unit that is undersized for a space is installed, it encounters many problems. Since the unit is designed to cool a much smaller space, it will have to run for a longer period of time in order to meet the temperature set on the thermostat. The thermostat will not trigger the unit to shut off until this happens, so your unit could have cycles that are several hours long. In some cases, the home never gets to the desired temperature and rooms that are furthest away from the system receive little to no cool air. » Read more: Too Small to Keep Up

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Contractors, HVAC Repair

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Is Your Air Conditioner the Right Size?

July 11th, 2011

When it comes time to replace your air conditioner, make sure that you are purchasing the new system from a reputable company. Selling an air conditioner to a customer means big money for the business and as a result, some less scrupulous contractors like to take advantage of the customer’s ignorance of the HVAC industry. How do they do this? Well, one way they increase their profit is by selling customers a unit that is too big for their home. This may not seem like that big of a deal, but when you consider the problems that can be caused by oversized air conditioners, you may think twice about who you trust with your next air conditioner installation.

Years of Problems to Come!

Some illegitimate contractors will tell you anything to get you to purchase a more expensive unit. They will promise more cold air and lower energy bills, and before you know it, you have purchased a unit that is twice the size of the unit you need for your home. Once that unit is installed, the real problems begin. Not only did that contractor scam you out of hundreds of dollars, he also left you with years of problems to come! » Read more: Is Your Air Conditioner the Right Size?

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Consumer Protection, Contractors, Money Saving

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Is Your Cash Flying Out the Window?

July 5th, 2011

I just left a service call that left me totally amazed at the lack of attention some people pay to their electric bills. The homeowner in question had a nice home in a nice neighborhood. Everything seemed normal until I tested the current draw on his air conditioner. What I found was truly shocking! His air-conditioner was robbing him blind. What do I mean by that? I mean that the air conditioner was using almost double the electricity needed to cool his house!

Paying Double

The only question I had for this customer was, “How long have you been paying double on your electricity bills?” The homeowner was confused and honestly couldn’t tell me how long this had been going on for. He just attributed the change in cost to the rising cost of energy in this country, and paid off his bills without ever questioning the extra expense. This has got to be the best reason for tuning up your air-conditioning system. A well tuned system will save you money, but more importantly it can alert you to an electricity thief living in your own home. » Read more: Is Your Cash Flying Out the Window?

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Money Saving, Value

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