There are several things you can do to improve both situations. One is to keep the area around your outdoor equipment clean and clear of obstructions to air flow! The fan needs to be able to pull air thru the coils and exhaust it up and away to remove the built up heat (ref. How Does Your Air Conditioner Work?) in the refrigerant. Over time shrubs grow, leaves fall, debris collects and kids deposit toys on or around the unit. A few minutes to inspect the area may pay off handsomely. Another would be to make sure that nothing obstructs the free flow of the drain line and to ensure that water is actually coming out of the line. A causal check on a regular basis can help ward off big problems down the road. And pay attention to your thermostat to find the temperature that keeps you comfortable but doesn’t run you system more than needed. And, if you have a programmable thermostat, program it!

A little more involved, but still doable for most of us would be to look over your ductwork for any obvious damage, such as torn insulation, loose vents, or kinked flex lines. Workmen, animals or just time can cause problems that are generally easy to fix but can cost you lots of pain and money if left unattended. If you see anything that does not look right, a phone call or e-mail can get you an answer in short order!!

Stay Cool!!       

Time is very much a factor that affects your systems’ condition, not just amount of time it is actually in operation. Coils collect dirt, leaves collect in hard to reach places, motors get dirty, corrosion starts building on metal parts and filters need to be checked. All of these things and the many more unseen factors that can affect the efficiency of your investment can add to the operating cost in ways that might not be obvious to the untrained eye. If, for example, we have a hot (in other words normal) summer, the same fan that has been circulating the air from your furnace will be moving the cooling air provided by you air conditioner. If the blades of that fan have collected grime over the winter, it will have to work harder to do its job this summer, which may cost you money and add stress to your equipment. If you have a heat pump or straight AC, coolant levels need to be checked, coils cleaned, motors lubed, and general inspections performed that only a professional can do properly.

Compare it to the recommended maintenance schedule that comes with your car. The intervals are almost always given in miles and months, as in every 3 months or 3000 miles. Just as the passage of time affects us, it also affects the mechanical systems we depend on to keep us safe and comfortable.

Time is very much a factor that affects your systems’ condition, not just amount of time it is actually in operation. Coils collect dirt, leaves collect in hard to reach places, motors get dirty, corrosion starts building on metal parts and filters need to be checked. All of these things and the many more unseen factors that can affect the efficiency of your investment can add to the operating cost in ways that might not be obvious to the untrained eye. If, for example, we have a hot (in other words normal) summer, the same fan that has been circulating the air from your furnace will be moving the cooling air provided by you air conditioner. If the blades of that fan have collected grime over the winter, it will have to work harder to do its job this summer, which may cost you money and add stress to your equipment. If you have a heat pump or straight AC, coolant levels need to be checked, coils cleaned, motors lubed, and general inspections performed that only a professional can do properly.

Compare it to the recommended maintenance schedule that comes with your car. The intervals are almost always given in miles and months, as in every 3 months or 3000 miles. Just as the passage of time affects us, it also affects the mechanical systems we depend on to keep us safe and comfortable.

First is the ongoing unrest in the Middle East, which drives up the cost of the crude that is refined into heating oil. Second are the recent closing of several important heating oil refining facilities in the northeast and the anticipated closing of several more. Third are recent discoveries of what are reported to be large deposits of natural gas in the United States, which is the chief competing heating fuel. And fourth are environmental regulations that make relatively clean burning natural gas more attractive.

Finally, is the maintenance issue. Gas burns much cleaner than oil, and therefore tends to require less maintenance than oil-fired systems. When repairs to gas equipment are required, the cost tends to be lower and the inconvenience is minimized.

Therefore, it may be worth considering the switch to gas, even if your current oil equipment is still operating properly, but especially if repairs are needed or are likely to be needed in the near future! The payback could come quicker than you may think.  

Well, even though you would never know it by the weather we’ve been having, it is the Christmas season. We are all busy trying to get through all those things we feel we must do (shopping, decorating, baking, etc., etc., etc.). Sometimes we forget that these things are not supposed to be work, but rather things we and our families and friends enjoy! But, still, things can get hectic! It gets even worse if, in the middle of all you have going on, something around the house breaks, or your car starts giving you trouble, or someone gets sick, or whatever.

During these busy and often trying times, if anything comes up that we can assist you with, we are here to help you in the least intrusive way  possible. Don’t hesitate to call.

But let’s hope all goes smooth and everyone has a merry and stress free holiday!! 

                                                                    Seasons Greeting To All

Although heat pumps are very efficient and environmentally friendly, there are limitations. If the outside temperature falls below a certain point, the amount of heat pulled from the air can’t keep up with the heating requirements. At that point an electric heat strip kicks in as a supplement, with a corresponding drop in efficiency. In our area the advantages far out weigh the occasional need to use the back up heat!

Just remember, a heat pump is basically an air conditioner working backwards.

      The split system consists of two parts. Outside are the condensing unit (solely for AC) or the heat pump (which provides heat and AC), but look and function basically the same way. The outside section is connected with copper pipes to the inside portion where you find the evaporator coil for AC, (and heat in the case of a heat pump), the blower, that pushes the air thru the ductwork, and possibly an oil or gas fired furnace to provide heat.

      The package unit is situated outside of your house, usually adjacent to the crawl space, and contains the condenser coil, evaporator coil, the blower and the heater; all contained in one package, hence the name. The connection to the ductwork is usually directly thru the foundation, into the crawl space.   

      The choice of which type of system to use is usually made based on practical matters such as accessibility to space needed for ductwork, electrical requirements, drainage demands, and minimizing disruption to interior spaces. Package units are more prevalent in retrofits in houses that were not built with a central system.

    A coil is a series of pipes, (usually copper), looped in a back and forth pattern to create as much surface area as possible for the coolant to pass through. To increase the transfer of temperature, thin, closely spaced, aluminum plates are attached to the tubes, which help pull the heat or cold out of the pipes. A fan pulls air across the greatly increased surface area and maximizes the transfer. The evaporator coil is the most obvious part of the outside portion of your AC unit, while the condenser coil is not usually visible without removing a door on the inside air handler.

In the simplest terms, it is a switch. It turns the system on or off. A thermometer in the unit reads the temperature of the surrounding air, compares that to the thermostat setting, and reacts accordingly. Setting the thermostat at a very low number (in the case of air conditioning) does NOT make the unit provide colder air. It will simply run longer to achieve the desired setting! The same situation exists in the heating mode.

Why then does the unit not always come on when you raise the setting by one degree? To prevent the system from constantly turning on and off (which is hard on it and inefficient), it has what is called an anticipator, a device that creates a temperature range between turning off when the setting is satisfied, and then turning back on when the air temperature goes down, usually about two degrees. If you set the thermostat at 75, it will turn the heater off when the thermometer tells it that it has reached the desired temperature, but will not turn it back on until the air temp falls to 73.

Old thermostats were mechanical (springs & mercury switches), newer ones are electronic and often can be programmed to change the settings automatically to accommodate your schedule, but remember, IT IS STILL JUST AN ON/OFF SWITCH!!! 

     If you did suffer damage, immediate action is called for, especially if water is involved. Although ductwork “may” dry out, mold & mildew problems will most likely show up down the road and add to the problem! Insulation, heavy with water, tends to sag, and rip, and lose its efficiency and critters love the moist environment. You know the old saying, an ounce of prevention….!

      We will hopefully get back on track shortly, and continue to look at how systems work. Good luck to all!!!