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Steps You Can Try Before Calling An HVAC Repair person

Having someone from a professional company come to your home and repair something for you is never exactly something fun. You have to make time in your schedule for their visit, and make sure all goes smoothly, and sometimes they’re not there on time… the list of annoyances goes on and on. If your goal is to avoid calling an air conditioner repair in Denver, try these easy tricks to figuring out the issue on your own.

6 Things To Check Before You Call For An HVAC Repair

If you want to avoid the embarrassment of an HVAC repairman pointing out the easiest fix ever, and then charging you a limb for his obvious assessment, make sure you’re checking the obvious boxes first. Sometimes, the issue with your A/C unit is surprisingly simple and will take 2 minutes to solve once identified.

1. Check Your Power and Gas Connection

This one is a no-brainer. If something is wrong with the power or gas to your home, your HVAC unit isn’t going to work properly. Checking the circuit breaker, the gas meter, and power in other rooms of your house can let you know if this simple problem is the cause of your faulty A/C.

2. Check Your Air Filter

Regularly changed air filters will allow your unit to function properly, last longer, and break less. Unfortunately, the opposite is true for filters that are left for too long. You’ll have many issues if you don’t keep up with your air filter, so check this next, and replace if necessary and try again.

3. Check The Batteries

Is your thermostat working? If not, it may be an issue with that instead of the HVAC unit itself. Check the batteries and make sure your thermostat is on, and then you can mess with the settings on it to try and ensure that the A/C is broken or not.

4. Check The Drains & Pumps

Clogged drains or blockages in the pumps may have put your unit into a safety shut-down. You don’t want leaky HVAC pipes to ruin your home’s ceilings and floors, so if there is ever a threat of that, most systems are designed to automatically stop working until the clog is fixed.

5. Check The Safety & Power Switches

Piggybacking off of the clogged drains, if your unit is in safety mode, it may be because of an accidental switch flip. If bumped or nudged the wrong way, a power or safety switch may have flipped, which would temporarily suspend function of your HVAC unit. This is the easiest fix, because you literally just have to reset the switch in question!

6. Check The Windows & Doors

If it’s exceptionally hot outside and the A/C unit appears to be working fine, yet you’ve noticed no difference in the inside temperature, it could be an external issue. Is there a window open somewhere letting the hot air in? Maybe a cracked door, or a draft. Extremely hot temperatures may make cooling off your home more difficult, requiring a higher than normal setting on the thermostat.

Why Choose Tankless Water Heaters?

Everything in the modern world is moving at a rapid, progressive pace. There is newer, better versions of everything out there and it’s always changing, all of the time. Keeping up with the newest designs and models for things gets tricky, but at times, upgrading to a more efficient product can come with so many benefits!

One of those upgraded models is a tankless water heater. When compared to the traditional, conventional style that most recognize, it by far outshines its predecessor, and makes it an obvious decision to choose it.

Not convinced? That’s fine! Take a look at all these benefits a tankless water heater can provide compared to your old conventional one.

Some Of The Benefits

Anytime you have to make a fairly big, and costly, change in your home, it’s important to consider some of the pros and cons put thought into that decision. A tankless water heater is no different, which is why you need to see these benefits it can provide laid out simply.

Tankless water heaters in Denver aren’t something you want to stay sleeping on. It can be put as simply as three reasons why you need to choose these models. Take a look and decide for yourself!

1. On-Demand Heating

Instead of just heating up the water in your tank on a timed schedule throughout the day, a tankless heater works instantly the moment you actually need it. The mechanism kicks in whenever you run the hot water to heat up efficiently and quickly. It works better than trying to heat a tank of several dozen gallons of water, because it targets only what is being currently used.

2. Endless Hot Water For A Better Price

Since your water is getting, and staying, heated up every time you need it and have it running, you don’t need to worry about it turning cold… ever. It’s not sitting in a tank with hours between heating sessions, so it’s always hot and ready for you. Forget having to deal with a spike of cold water in the shower!

3. They Last Far Longer

Everything about tankless water heater is built to last, and they have quite a longer lifespan than a water heating tank. Many of the tankless versions come with warranties as well, and promise to live up to 25 years. With a conventional tank heater, you’re lucky to see more than 10 years out of the thing. You also will have less maintenance issues with a new, tankless water heater.

The Main Reason?

All three of the benefits that switching to tankless provides saves you money in the end. With on-demand heating, you aren’t paying for anything you don’t use. The prices are also cheaper as well, which helps for those long, steamy showers. Additionally, you won’t be needing a new one as fast, or shelling out tons of money for a repair or two along the road. Get a quote and an installation price to decide when you can make this transition from the outdated conventional tank to a brand-new, efficient tankless water heater.

Clear Your Air With A Home Air Filtration System

If you live in Dever, or even have visited there, you know how it can get. The AC in Denver is very important, and having a filtration system that you can keep up with can bring a lot of benefit to you and your home.

Still not convinced? Here are 5 of the best reasons why you need an air condition filter for your AC unit, and all the ways it will improve your lifestyle and environment.

1.  Less Allergens

Pet owners and asthmatics all suffer from the tragedy that is allergies. From pollen to pet dander and fur particles, there is plenty of things in the air that can mess you up pretty badly twice a year or more frequently. A filtration system on your AC will suck in the allergens and protect you from them by trapping them away from the breathable air.

There are some filters designed specifically for pet owners, or you can get a HEPA filter, which is designed to filter particles quicker and finer. It stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air, and it’s the cleanest air you can breathe.

2.  A Cleaner Home

Just like allergens, AC filters out dust and keeps it held in place with the use of magnetic strips to protect your lungs, home, and the filtration system itself. It won’t clog up your AC, land on your furniture, or be inhaled.

Changing your filters regularly will get you the best result for this. A system can hold onto so much dust before it becomes a problem, so if you have a particularly dusty home, you may need to check your filters more than cleaner homes.

3.  It’s Cost-Effective

A clean AC system and filter costs less money to run. You use more electricity, and therefore spend more cash, trying to power through a gunked up, clogged filter.

Up to 15% can be saved on your monthly utility bills if you keep your filters cleaned, and these systems cost far less in upkeep and bills than a unit without filtration. Your budget is safer with a clean filter, and your air is cleaner, so it’s a win/win for everyone.

4.  Easy Maintenance

With a professional AC company, they can install and maintain your system for you, without you needing to do anything. However, if you’re more of a do-it-yourself person, changing the filter on your system isn’t too difficult at all!

Plenty of tutorials are available, and your HVAC professional can talk you through it as well. Watching and learning how to change out filters and perform basic maintenance on your system can save you tons of money long term, too.

5.  Safer Environment

The big takeaway here is that filtration is simply better, but most importantly, safer for you. We all love to save some money and time, but the fact that filters clean your air and keep all the harmful particles out of your lungs, it’s hard to beat. Clearing your air with AC filters could be the difference for your home, lungs, wallet, and general health.

Sizing A Central AC System

Denver Air Conditioner

When shopping for a central AC unit for your home, one important factor that you might not have considered is unit size. The fact of the matter is that the size of your AC unit is of vital importance when it comes to ensuring that your home is properly cooled and your family is comfortable. Running an AC unit is expensive thanks to the cost of electricity today, so you don’t want to waste money running a unit that is bigger than it needs to be. On the other hand, if your unit is too small, it won’t have the power to cool your house adequately no matter how much you run it.

Here are some factors to keep in mind that will help you make a decision when purchasing an AC unit.

What Does “Size” Mean?

You might think you already know what the term “size” refers to in the HVAC world—and perhaps you do! But it’s an important detail to get right. When we talk about the size of an AC unit, we are not talking about its physical dimensions. You can’t tell by looking which AC unit is the biggest and which is the smallest. Rather, AC units are measured by their ability to produce cold air, marked in BTU (British Thermal Units) per hour. The higher the BTU, the bigger in size we say the unit is. And a unit with a high BTU will be capable of providing more cooling energy.

Factors that Affect Your AC Unit Size

Before selecting an AC unit, it’s a good idea to consult with an expert and make sure you’re choosing the right size. Your expert will analyze your home and consider the following factors before making a recommendation:

  • The volume of your home—all the living space that must be cooled. This is more than just square footage. The height of your ceilings matters too. A small room takes less energy to cool than a spacious one.
  • How many exterior walls are exposed to sunlight—and how big those walls are. Exposure to sunlight increases the ambient heat in your home.
  • Your window quality. Do your windows leak? Do they face the sun?
  • The age of your home. Older homes have more trouble retaining cold air.
  • The ventilation and ductwork, and whether these factors are set up in your favor already.
  • Whether your home is receiving shade from nearby trees and bushes.

If you need help deciding what AC unit to buy, contact us today!  

What Is A Load Calculation?

At some point in your life, you’ve visited someone’s home and thought to yourself…

“Why in the world is it so hot/freezing cold in here?!”

Perhaps the homeowners simply have no sense of comfortable temperature. But don’t place the blame just yet. The truth is that the majority of heating and cooling systems installed in homes today are oversized and inefficient simply because the contractor who installed it did not perform a proper Manual J Heat loss/Heat gain calculation. Load Calculations are THE ONLY acceptable way to size a furnace, boiler, or air conditioner. Oversizing causes poor efficiency, subpar comfort, and premature equipment failure. Make sure your contractor takes the time to do one! A few minutes now will prevent years of headache, frustration, and added costs!

How to Formulate Load Calculation

You should always enlist the help of a professional when measuring load calculation. Chances are, you can’t walk into your home, evaluate its needs and determine it needs a new four-ton system.

When you hire a professional, he formulates your load calculation by evaluating a number of different things:

  • How many people live in the home.
  • The size of the home.
  • The insulation values of walls, attics, windows, and skylights
  • Orientation of the home
  • Appliances in the home

It’s no surprise that larger homes need larger, stronger systems. Whereas, smaller homes require smaller systems. Every home is unique in these factors listed above and should not be generalized simply by square footage.

Other Factors to Consider

In addition to occupancy and home size, you’ll need to consider a few other factors. Each of these things play an important role in formulating the load calculation of your home.

Outside Temperatures

The temperature outside will play a huge role in how hot or cold you want your home. This becomes even more important when you live in areas with extreme temperatures. A poor load calculation could leave your home smoldering in hot areas or freezing in cold areas.

The Importance of Air Control

Many don’t consider what happens as a result of too much air control. With too little, you don’t have enough heat. But with too much, you’ll experience problems as well.

Because the system overworks itself, the house will get way too hot or cold. It can also wear out faster due to overuse.

Both of these issues result in unnecessary financial burdens. No one wants to replace their system or suffer with inordinately high energy bills every month.

Does Your Home Have Proper Load Calculation?

Take the time to get a professional estimate. They will evaluate the factors to determine the efficiency of your system. A system designed by a load calculation will keep your home comfortable and energy efficient.

Invest in an estimate today.