Heating ventilation and air conditioning systems are complicated networks of machinery that should be serviced by a certified professional. However, if your heating ventilation and air conditioning system seems to be malfunctioning, you can try a few basic steps, which may correct your problem, prior to calling a service professional. If you do not feel comfortable performing any of these tasks, however, do not hesitate to call Novell Custom Heating and Air Conditioning Company.
- Disconnect and reconnect your indoor and outdoor switches.
- Make sure your circuit breakers are in the ON position.
- Make sure your air filters are clean.
- Open supply and return vents and make sure they are unobstructed.
- Check the settings on your thermostat.
- Make sure the system switch is on the appropriate COOL or HEAT setting.
- Keep your thermostat at a constant temperature; the recommended temperature is 78º in summer and 69º in winter, even when no one is home.
- Change your air filters every month.
- Check the outside condensing unit regularly for any grass clippings or leaves stuck to the coil. If it is dirty; First, set the thermostat to “Off”. Second, place the outdoor circuit breaker to the “OFF” position!
- Use a shop-vac™ with a brush attachment to vacuum off the debris.
- Run water from a garden hose through the coil until the water passing through it is clear.
- Turn the power back on.
- Have the unit serviced every spring by a licensed service company.
At Novell Custom Heating and Air Conditioning, we realize that purchasing a central heating or air conditioning system is no small matter. However, if your existing system is old, in need of repair or simply inefficient, purchasing a new system, one which can be as much as 60% more efficient than a system purchased just 10 years ago, can offer long-term benefits. Rather than continuing to pay for ongoing maintenance and costly monthly bills, invest in a new system today that will save you money for years to come.
There are many central heating and air conditioning systems to choose from today. Novell Custom Heating and Air Conditioning Company can draw on a vast degree of central heating and air conditioning knowledge and experience to help you decide on the system that best fits your specific needs. The size and age of your home, as well as the number of rooms, climate, local and regional utility costs, are all factors that will affect the functionality and, therefore, selection of your system. Novell Custom Heating and Air Conditioning Company utilizes the latest technology and considers these factors while assisting you in choosing the best system for your home.
Contact Novell Custom Heating & Air Conditioning Company to help determine initial cost, warranty protection, service options, preventive maintenance options, operating cost and proper installation procedures.
Factors affecting the size of your new system include the climate in your region, humidity levels, the number of windows in your home, total square footage of your home, the direction your home faces, the number of heat-producing appliances in your home, the type of insulation you have, the color and material of your roof, and the number of people that live in your home. There are several other factors taken into consideration during the in-home evaluation.
Novell Custom Heating & Air Conditioning Company can perform the calculations to determine the appropriate central heating or central air conditioning system for your home and lifestyle. We use Wrightsoft™ load calculation software.
Putting a new system in a home that has not had central heating and air conditioning before, will require the installation of, copper refrigerant piping, refrigerant filter driers, electrical service, wiring, thermostat, condensate drain pans, condensate piping, flue piping, flue terminations, equipment slabs, air filters, registers, grilles, insulation and evaporator coil. Beyond equipment, the most important component installed with a new system, is the air ducting.
Air Ducting is composed of two parts, supply and return. Supply air ducting is attached to the outflow of the new system, delivering air to each room in a home. The amount of air reaching each room is determined by the size of the supply air ducting connected to your system. Your contractor should help you determine the size of the supply air ducting in your home.
The return air ducting, attaches to the inlet of the new system and draws air out of the spaces being heated or cooled. Your contractor should help you determine the size of the return air ducting in your home.
Air ducting can be either flexible type or rigid metal type. Air ducting must be properly sized, sealed, and insulated to evenly distribute the proper amount of air to each room.
To install the most efficient heating ventilation and air conditioning system in your household, your installation contractor should first perform a detailed inspection.
The inspection by your contractor should include, at a minimum, the inspection of your home’s air ducting, copper refrigerant piping, refrigerant filter driers, electrical service, wiring, thermostat, condensate drain pans, condensate piping, flue piping, flue terminations, equipment slabs, air filters, registers, grilles, insulation and evaporator coil.
Maintenance and service play a key role in the life cycle of a central heating and air conditioning system. If all recommended maintenance and service actions are taken, an air conditioner can last 12 to 15 years and a gas furnace 20 to 25 years.
It is generally a good idea to replace the indoor coil if you are also replacing your air conditioner or heat pump. There is a correlation between the efficiency of your heating or cooling system and the performance of the indoor coil. Changing out the current indoor coil for a new “matched” coil may be critical to optimizing the performance, efficiency and comfort level of your new system.
The system can actually be located in several different places. A system with an up-flow application might be located in the basement, while a system with a horizontal application may be found in your attic. A self-contained, or single package unit could be located outside on a slab or on the roof. Your garage could house an up-flow, down-flow or horizontal application system.
A heat pump is a device used for either the heating or cooling of a space by transferring hot and cold between two reservoirs.
A heat pump can act like an air conditioner, transferring heat from inside to out, or like a heater as it transfers exterior heat to the interior. A winter day with a temperature of 32º Fahrenheit still produces enough heat to warm a space when the air is transferred by heat pump.
Using a variable-speed furnace or air handler as part of your heating ventilation and air conditioning system can reduce humidity levels. Variable speed systems run longer, at lower speeds, allowing air to constantly circulate against the cooling coil and remove more moisture.
Variable-speed motors also use less electricity than regular motors, reducing your energy costs. Additionally, variable speed motors are a great solution for indoor air quality issues.
AFUE is the abbreviation for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency ratio. AFUE is used to rate furnace efficiencies by dividing the ratio of heat output by heat input. This measurement describes how well fuel; gas or oil is consumed to produce heat by a furnace. As the AFUE rate increases, the efficiency of your furnace also increases, lowering your fuel costs. Furnaces manufactured in the United States are required to have at least an 80% AFUE.
HSPF is the abbreviation for the Heating Seasonal Performance Factor. This factor rates the efficient operation of the heating portion of the heat pump. As the HSPF increases, the unit functions at a more efficient level. New units in the United States have HSPF ratings from 7.0 to 9.4.
The Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) measures air conditioning and heat pump cooling efficiency, which is calculated by the cooling output for a typical cooling season divided by the total electric energy input during the same time frame. A higher SEER rating means greater energy efficiency.
Like SEER, the Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) of a cooling unit is determined by the output cooling divided by the electrical power input. As opposed to SEER which is calculated over a range of outside temperatures, EER is typically determined by a set outside air temperature, a set inside air temperature and a 50% relative humidity. For a comparison point, 11 EER is roughly equivalent to 13 SEER.
R-22 is the common name for hydro-chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC). Heating ventilation and air conditioning manufacturers have used R-22 as a refrigerant for over 40 years, but studies in the past decade have shown that HCFC’S contain chlorine, an ozone-depleting agent. For this reason, the United States Clean Air Act set a target date for January 1, 2010, on which heating ventilation and air conditioning manufacturers ceased the production of products that use R-22.
R-410A is the common name for a hydro-fluorocarbon (HFC) being used as a refrigerant in the HVAC industry. R-410A is more environmentally friendly than R-22 and is the replacement for R-22 by HVAC manufacturers. At the beginning of 2010, the use of alternate refrigerant was required in HVAC manufacturing. United Technologies Corporation (Carrier/Bryant), refer to this refrigerant as “Puron”.
ENERGY STAR is a program that was created by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help businesses and individuals make energy efficient purchases. This program places the ENERGY STAR label, a small blue and white logo, on items that meet superior energy efficiency standards. This label provides an easy way for consumers to identify quality, high efficiency products. For more information about the Energy Star program, please view their website at www.energystar.gov