Air Conditioning & Heating Blog | Articles, Updates, News & More

Old R-22 Air Conditioner? It’s Time for an Upgrade

May 17th, 2021

We can handle all types of air conditioning repair in Dunedin, FL whenever our customers have cooling trouble. We’d like to think there’s nothing we can’t repair, but of course there are times when an AC is too old and worn for a repair to be worth it. In those cases, the best step is to have a new air conditioning system installed.

There is one repair that we can’t do. Actually, a repair we’re not allowed to do, and that is fix an old R-22 air conditioner that has a refrigerant leak. This is why we strongly recommend that our customers with R-22 air conditioners have them replaced as soon as possible.

Aren’t sure what we mean by an “R-22 air conditioner”? We’ll explain more below.

How Cool Can My AC Make My House?

May 3rd, 2021

There’s probably some point where you’ve sat behind the wheel of a car, looked at the speedometer, and wondered, “How fast could I really drive this thing if I wanted?” Would it go as fast as the upper limit on the speedometer? Would it fall short, or maybe go faster?

We don’t encourage you to try this, of course, but we understand the desire. We can apply this to the air conditioning system in your house. You look at the thermostat settings and see the lowest temperature (usually 60°F). Can the AC make your house that cool? Even cooler? Is there a limit on what your AC can do when removing heat from the house to lower the temperature?

Yes, there is a limit. We’ll explain more below.

“Fan Only” vs. “Air Conditioning”: What’s the Difference?

April 19th, 2021

In our last post, we explored a topic that’s always popular with homeowners: ways to save money. Specifically, how to lower the cost of cooling a home in the summer. It’s not hard to find ways to reduce how much you use your AC, and our technicians can help out with installations like dehumidifiers and high-efficiency ACs.

We didn’t touch on one way to lower AC costs in the last post, which is “fan only” mode. We’re going to address it here because it’s not exactly a way to save money, but it’s something important to know about.

Beating the High Cost of Staying Cool: Our AC Tips!

April 5th, 2021

The cost of heating a home in Florida during the year can be steep. Not only do we have intensely hot summers, we also have high humidity that makes it even hard for people to stay cool. Our summers are also long, with hot weather stretching through both spring and fall.

We can’t work any magic that will make cooling your home free. But we can offer some advice about lowering how much it costs to get through a summer with your air conditioning in Tampa, FL. You may not have realized the way energy goes to waste and what you can do to turn it around.

Is This the Year You Get a High-Efficiency AC?

March 22nd, 2021

We can’t answer this question for you, not in a blog post. But if you are in the position of considering replacing your current mid-efficiency air conditioner with a high-efficiency one, we can help you with the decision. When it comes to an AC installation, you always want the assistance of professionals from early in the process. You must have pros to put the system in place and connect it so it works its best (as well as dispose of the previous unit). But you also need them to help you pick the ideal new AC for your needs and see that it’s correctly sized.

So let’s talk a bit about high-efficiency air conditioners. When you’re ready to take the next step, call our team for air conditioning service in Oldsmar, FL and we’ll get you headed in the right direction.

Good News: It’s About Time to Prep Your AC for Warm Weather!

March 8th, 2021

It’s true that warm weather could always be around the corner in Tampa Bay, even in January. We never experience deep cold winters. But we do have seasonal changes, and we’re coming to the point where we’ll start to enjoy warm weather almost every day. That’s great for those of us who love living in the Sunshine State.

And what better way to celebrate the coming of warm weather than to have your AC maintained!

Did You Get the Best Heating Efficiency This Winter?

February 22nd, 2021

The end of this winter season is extremely harsh for some parts of the country. Here in Tampa Bay, it’s standard late-winter-as-usual, which means the spring warmth is already arriving and many of us can expect to start using our air conditioning systems. As the season of heating comes to a close, it’s a good time to assess how efficiently your heating system performed.

It may seem hard to know that, especially when heating systems don’t do as much work during our mild winters compared to more northern states. But there are ways you can analyze your heating system’s efficiency and judge whether you need heating service in Clearwater, FL to improve it.

Common Repair Warning Noises From a Heat Pump

February 8th, 2021

Heat pumps are wonderful devices, especially in warmer climates like we get to enjoy here in Tampa Bay. A heat pump can deliver all the cooling a home needs through the long and hot seasons, and then switch over to energy-saving heating during the short periods of cooler weather. It’s all there in one system, and it can make a difference in energy costs compared to using a combination of an AC and an electric or even gas furnace.

But this marvel of comfort technology can still malfunction. Whether you have your heat pump in heating or cooling mode, it still operates in a fashion similar to an air conditioner and can encounter the same types of malfunctions as an AC. Many of these malfunctions make specific noises that will give you a warning that it’s time to call us for cooling/heating repair in Clearwater, FL.

The Trick About Electric Furnace Efficiency Ratings

January 25th, 2021

For homes that don’t have a natural gas connection, an electric furnace is one of the most common options for central heating. Even for some homes that do have natural gas, electric furnaces can offer several advantages.

But when people are shopping around for a new central heating system, they might feel confused regarding the energy efficiency of furnaces. The trick is that the efficiency ratings for electric furnaces look different compared to gas furnaces, even though they use the same measurement: annual fuel utilization efficiency, or AFUE.

We’ll explain below how to understand the AFUE of an electric furnace vs. that of other types of furnaces (including gas, propane, and oil).

How Long Can You Expect Your Heater to Last?

January 11th, 2021

You don’t want to replace a valuable central heating system in your home until you’ve gotten all the possible useful years of service out of it that you can. That’s just the basic logic of any important appliance. But how long will that heater in your house last? When can you expect to call us to schedule a heating replacement?

There is no one answer we can give you, because not only do different heaters have different life expectancies, but other factors such as use and maintenance come into play. We can make several generalizations that may help you if you’re currently on the fence about the future of your heating in Tampa, FL.