Heat pumps have become increasingly popular as an alternative to traditional heating and air conditioning systems here in the Ocean City, MD area. They use the same principles as air conditioning – circulating refrigerant through a closed loop of valves and coils – to both heat and cool your home, helping you save money on monthly bills while combining all temperature controls into a single unit. This is the time of year when heat pump owners shift from heating to cooling mode, and as such you may run into a few common problems that we see a lot of this time of year. We’ve provided a short list of them below.
Common Spring Problems for your Heat Pump
March 28th, 2016Now is the Time to Work on Your Commercial Air Conditioner
March 21st, 2016The snows of winter are finally fading here in Lewes, DE, and if you’re a business owner or an office manage, you know that means you need to think about the state of your commercial air conditioning system. Temperatures are still cool, but summer will be here before you know it, and when it arrives, you want your space to be comfortable for employees and customers alike. Now is the time to work on your commercial air conditioner, not only to ensure it’s in working order, but to consider any add-ons or upgrades that might improve its performance.
Low Refrigerant Is a Problem for your Air Conditioner
March 14th, 2016With spring slowly pushing away the cold winter temperatures, residents of Smyrna, DE are going to be dusting off their air conditioners for another summer of keeping their homes cool. But sitting for those winter months can leave your air conditioner vulnerable to some common problems, especially leaking refrigerant. Refrigerant isn’t consumed by your system; it needs to appear in certain set amounts, and if a leak springs up during the off-season, it could go for months without being detected. Why is that a problem? It helps to understand how refrigerant functions in your air conditioner.
What to Look for in a New Furnace
March 7th, 2016As we approach the end of winter here in Bridgeville, DE, you may be looking at the end of your furnace’s life too. When properly maintained, a furnace can last for many years, but sooner or later, every system gives up the ghost, and if you were wrestling with high monthly bills or frequent repairs with an older furnace, this off-season may be the perfect time to replace it with a new one. Planning for it now gives you the most amount of time to have it installed, leaving plenty of room to ponder your options and have it ready to go before the temperature drop next fall. Here’s a brief list of what to look for in a new furnace to give you an idea of the variables involved.
3 Reasons to Install an Energy Recovery Ventilator
February 29th, 2016If you live in Milford, DE, you know how tough it can be to keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Our weather has plenty of ups and downs, and the trick for more homeowners is to keep their homes as insulated against those variations as they can. An energy recovery ventilator – a pair of ducts connected to a heat exchanger, which swaps out stale air in your home with fresh air from the outside – makes a powerful weapon in that fight. It can be hard to understand what an energy recovery ventilator (or ERV) can do for you in this situation. Here are three handy tips to help explain the benefits that a good system can provide.
Late Winter Heater Problems That You Should Look For
February 22nd, 2016When heating problems crop up, they tend to do so in the latter half of the season, after your system has been running for a while and possibly accrued some wear and tear in that time. Regular servicing at the beginning of the winter can spot early problems, but even if you had your system maintained, our Dover, DE winter has been a tough one, and there’s always a chance that something will develop to shut your heater down. If you can spot the signs of late winter heater problems, it can often mean the difference between a comparatively simple problem and a much more serious one. Here’s a list of a few to help you out.
The Difference Between Efficiency and Saving Money
February 15th, 2016Here in this blog, we often talk about efficiency: ways to improve it in your heating and air conditioning system, and features to look for that indicate a more efficient system. You may be surprised, however, if you buy an efficient device, only to find that your bills remain the same or even go up a little more. It’s quite common and with winter still raging here in Dover, DE, it can catch people by surprise. We’ve found that understanding the difference between efficiency and saving money can be very useful, not only in helping with your heating and air conditioning purchases but with your habits once a new system is installed.
How to Detect a Leaky Boiler
February 8th, 2016Many homes in the Dover, DE area rely on boilers to keep themselves warm in the throes of winter. A boiler is an eminently reliable system and its use of steam to provide heat is both simple and economical. One of the biggest problems we encounter with boilers is a leak, which can wreak havoc with the process and diminish the system’s heating capacity. Even worse, because the system uses steam, it’s very hard for you to detect some leaks, since the water evaporates as it leaves the system, with no puddles or drips. The good news is that you can still detect a leaky boiler with some careful observation and diligence. When you do, you should shut it down and call in a repair technician immediately.
Beware of Problems with Your Heat Exchanger
February 1st, 2016Furnaces will run into problems from time to time, as all appliances do, and while maintenance services here in Dover, DE can reduce the incidents of repair, sooner or later, most systems end up experiencing problems. There are, of course, gradient of problem, and while some issues can be left for a day or so while you schedule a service call, one thing that can’t is a cracked heat exchanger. Why? It’s dangerous for starters, as well as seriously interfering with your heater as a whole.
3 Alternative Forms of Heating
January 25th, 2016Here in Dover, DE, most homes rely on traditional heating models to stay warm and cozy during the cold winter months. This usually means either a boiler (which uses pressurized steam to warm your home) or a furnace (which pushes heated air through the same series of ducts used by your air conditioner). Both are extremely effective means of warming your home and can serve you well. But they’re not the only kinds of heating system. If your home is the right fit, you might consider one of these 3 alternative forms of heating when the time comes to install a new system.