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

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.

Don’t Ignore These Odd Sounds From Your Gas Furnace

December 28th, 2020

If you’ve lived with a gas furnace at any time in your life—and most people have—you’ll know what sounds to expect from it: the whoosh of the burners igniting, the clicking of the ignition as it comes on, the whir of the blower fan, the movement of air through the vents, and an occasional rattle as the metal vents expand with the heat.

If you hear other noises, it may be cautioning you that you need professional furnace repair in Dunedin, FL. And we do mean professional. Only licensed technicians can work on gas furnaces while keeping them safe, so please don’t try to go DIY to find out what’s wrong with your home’s heater and don’t let amateurs try their luck with it either.

Below is a list of common gas heater warning sounds and what they may mean.

Why Is My Heat Pump Only Sending Out Cold Air?

December 14th, 2020

One of the nice features of heat pumps is that they easily switch between heating and cooling modes. You don’t need to make changes to the heat pump itself when you need warmth from it after months of cooling. All that has to happen is an adjustment on the thermostat, and the thermostat signals the heat pump to change modes. That’s a reason heat pumps in Tampa, FL are popular options: we can quickly leap to heating during the short periods when we need it, then go right back to cooling.

But a heat pump can malfunction like any other device, and you might find that when you need heat for your house that the heat pump is still working in air conditioning mode and sending cool air from the vents. Why is this happening?

An Air Purifier: When Filters Aren’t Enough for Better Air Quality

November 30th, 2020

Our homes in Florida are often sealed up against the outside. During the summer, it’s to make sure the heat stays where it should and the air conditioner can run effectively. In the brief winters, it’s to trap heat and make sure our heating systems have to come on as little as possible. Having a home this sealed up, however, can create severe indoor air quality problems—the contaminants inside the house, which come from wood, paint, cleaning supplies, and many other places, start to build up. We recommend homes have air filters put into their HVAC system to help remove larger unwanted particles from circulating.

But what if those filters aren’t enough? Too many minute particles can slip through them, and putting in more powerful filters is rarely an option because that will stop airflow through the ventilation system. In this case, the answer is to have an air purifier in St. Petersburg, FL. Or more than one, depending on what types of contaminants you’re targeting.

Reasons to Never Miss Heating Maintenance in Fall

November 16th, 2020

It’s not tough to convince people to have air conditioning system maintenance done to prepare for a Florida summer. You only have to remind them what a Florida summer feels like and how much worse it would be without a working residential AC.

The job gets tougher when it comes to heating maintenance in fall, since winter weather is more unpredictable than just flat-out cold (although of course it often gets cold). But we want all our customers to know that fall maintenance is still an essential HVAC service in Tarpon Springs, FL and it needs to be done each year. This is why we have our VIP Club to help customers keep on top of their regular maintenance and never miss out on the benefits. If you have yet to schedule fall maintenance for your heater, well, it’s still fall and there’s still time.

Below are a few of the best reasons not to miss heating maintenance this fall or any fall.

Can Dry Air Really Be a Problem?

November 2nd, 2020

We know what you’re thinking when you see this headline: “Of all the possible problems with indoor air quality in Tampa, FL, is dry air something to worry about? Florida is almost legendary for having high humidity!”

However, our climate is often humid. That doesn’t mean the air inside a house will also be humid. Many factors are at play in indoor air quality, and homes in Florida can often experience dry conditions. Why? Air conditioning systems!

Ways to Improve Your AC In Fall

October 19th, 2020

Florida is definitely an “air conditioning state,” since we use our ACs around the year. We use them less during winter, but it’s never long before we have to switch them back on. So while fall may be a time when people in northern states stop thinking about their air conditioning systems altogether, we still need to give some thought to helping our cooling systems make it to April and their next scheduled regular maintenance.

In this post, we’ll examine some ways you can make your air conditioning system better in the fall so it’s prepared for any surprises.

Is an Air Conditioning System Done When It’s Older Than 15 Years?

October 5th, 2020

We know you want to get the most work from your home’s air conditioning in Tampa, FL, and that means getting the longest service life from it. But you don’t want to continue to run an air conditioner into the ground—keeping a system running year after year until it finally breaks down isn’t wise. For one thing, it means having to schedule an emergency replacement that can leave you trapped in the heat until the new system is in place. You want to have a new air conditioning system installed on your schedule, not the air conditioner’s. For another, an AC that is past its prime will waste large amounts of power, sometimes costing 25% more to run than it once did, and rack up repair bills.

So it’s best to have an AC replaced when it’s on the cusp of starting to decline, and 15 years is often a good point to have this done.