I work in a newly built office building situated right in the downtown area. The construction features a great deal of glass and the design is ultra modern. I am fortunate enough to have a corner office on the eighth floor and the view is really amazing. Unfortunately, none of the windows open, and there’s no opportunity to bring any fresh air into the building. Although the glass is tinted to deflect UV rays, the weather still affects the indoor temperature. In the winter, the glass is cold and makes the room feel quite chilly. I have the opposite complaint during the summer. The whole building is sealed up tight and entirely temperature controlled all year round. It is a problem that the thermostat is not on the premises. No one on location has the ability to make any adjustments. The operation of the HVAC system is entirely determined by the corporate headquarters. The headquarters are located on the opposite side of the country. Rather than catering to our very unpredictable weather, the temperature is regulated according to dates on the calendar. At a predetermined day of the year, the air conditioner starts up and blows cool air non stop for several months. Whether the outdoor conditions are hot and humid or freezing cold, we deal with air conditioning. The building is often uncomfortably chilly, and we all dress up in sweaters. In the middle of July, many of the workers are wearing their coats indoors. As soon as the fall season arrives, the heating system switches on. Very often, the weather at this time of year is still hot and sticky. There’s no way to prevent the steady supply of heated air. The workforce is sweaty, sluggish and complaining. We plug in portable fans and get very little work accomplished.
Replacing your old thermostat with a new model
When I got a new job and had to relocate to the west coast, I began to watch property shows with keen interest. I’m never one to watch shows where people show off their gadgets because it creates jealousy and envy in others. Also, I’m not too fond of showoffs or people who always have to be the centre of attention—but having to move made me realize that I had to learn how to adjust and be accommodative. Some of the property being showcased in these shows featured a smart home where a computer controls electric appliances.
One of these appliances was a smart thermostat, which can control your air conditioning. It is incredible how much a gadget like an air conditioner has evolved. Users can manage their heating and cooling needs from anywhere using an app. A sophisticated HVAC system can learn your habits and adjust itself accordingly. Depending on changes in the weather, a smart thermostat can adjust itself accordingly.
By using power efficiently, such a system will mean less need for heater repair or conditioner repair. These days, air conditioner service can involve showing a customer how to use a control panel. You can program your smart thermostat to work via WIFI from the touch of your phone. It can switch on your furnace in the evening before you get home.
The HVAC business has gone to the next level, and an HVAC provider has to be tech-savvy to meet the needs of the modern shopper. It also means that an HVAC technician has to keep up with the latest trends in heater repair, heater installation, and furnace service.
Ductwork, energy savings and your home
If your system has ductwork, have you thought about getting ductwork cleaning or sealing? Ductwork accounts for 30% of energy consumption. What happens when the ductwork has a tear along the seam or a hole in the middle of it? The home energy bills significantly go up. The HVAC system works longer, harder hours since the temperature controlled air is literally flying out the door. Trust me, you will know when your ductwork has a leak. The home won’t be the right temperature and the bills will be through the roof. Get a HVAC contractor to perform ductwork sealing. It is an easy, non invasive procedure that saves a homeowner a lot of money. In the end too, most HVAC companies offer a five year guarantee that their sealant will hold up or they will come back for free.
What about the ductwork sealing? Not only is dirty ductwork bad for the air quality, it is no good for the system either. Any part of the HVAC system with dust is sluggish, tired and more likely to produce inferior results. Every 5-7 years make it a point to clean out your air ducts.
Choosing a heating system
With so many choices on the market, how do you decide which one is right for you and your family? There are boilers, central heaters, underfloor heating, and others. How do you choose what’s right for you? Well one thing that many people consider when choosing a heat source is energy consumption. Nobody wants to pay a hefty energy bill. Despite this, one heat source that is frequently overlooked is heat pump systems. Heat pump systems use about 50% when compared to other heat sources.
Heat pumps are not just heating your home either, heat pumps can also be used to cool the home. It is this versatility that makes me a fan of heat pumps. Of course, the energy savings help out too. I’m not suggesting that you throw out your working furnace or other heat source. If it’s working fine, keep it but if you’re in the market for a new heater, there are several reasons why you might want to look at heat pumps. I am going to explore some of those reasons here in my blog.
But, before I get started, I’d like to add a bit of a disclaimer. Heat pumps are not for everybody. Heat pumps tend to work best in moderate climate. This means areas that are neither too hot nor too cold. This is just due to the nature of how the heat pumps work. So if you live in a nice comfortable area, like the Bible belt, heat pumps are for you. If you live somewhere like the deep South or the extreme North, you might need to stick with a heating or cooling that is more energy consumptive.
Smart thermostats are the way of the future
Most people these days have smartphones, but there are a lot of people who don’t have smart thermostats. This is a relatively new type of HVAC technology that has been improving the lives of countless people. Probably the best reason to get a smart thermostat is for the energy savings. The energy savings alone are fairly substantial and will allow the smart thermostat to eventually pay for itself. If that’s not a good enough reason to get this amazing technology, you need to know what a smart thermostat can do for you. Smart thermostats can actually learn your preferred temperature control settings. So if you place the smart thermostat in learning mode and just set the temperature control throughout the day, the smart thermostat will remember your settings and will eventually implement your very own custom temperature control schedule without even having to program it! This is perfect for people who don’t like to mess with all that technical stuff, and just let everything go on autopilot. When you have your own customized temperature control schedule, you hardly even have to make adjustments to the temperature control settings. One of the biggest selling points of smart thermostats though is the fact that you have instant remote temperature control. Just imagine being able to adjust the temperature control settings to your HVAC wherever you happen to be! You can be on vacation and check on your HVAC via your smartphone and adjust it as needed. Perhaps it’s winter and you just want to make sure the pipes don’t freeze at home, you can do that! Maybe you left to work in a rush and realized you forgot to turn off the cooling system, you can easily adjust that from work! There are so many benefits to having a smart thermostat, and it’s clear that this is the HVAC technology of the future.
Having a remote for your air conditioner is awesome!
One of the most wonderful things is having a remote for your air conditioning system. There are actually many different types of A/C units and systems that you can use a remote with. One of the most popular ways to control your HVAC remotely is via a smart thermostat. Seriously, just by hooking up a smart thermostat to your HVAC system, you are able to enjoy full control remotely via your smartphone. Another beautiful thing about having a smart thermostat is the fact that having one actually allows your HVAC to run more efficiently and it will ultimately lower your energy bills.
If you happen to be on a budget then you might want to consider something that is more affordable than getting a new central cooling system. You can go for room air conditioners such as portable A/C units or window A/C units. These are great for cooling down individual rooms, but you have to keep in mind that these A/C units consume more energy than your standard central cooling system.
You can always opt for a ductless mini-split system. These types of HVAC systems can come with a remote, which is convenient since they are typically mounted high up on the wall. There are many benefits to having a ductless mini-split air conditioner. The best thing is the fact that it is extremely energy efficient. You don’t have to worry about using ductwork for this type of air conditioner. Using ductwork actually accounts for up to 20% of energy loss in HVAC systems, so it’s great not having to depend on a system of ductwork.
When winter comes around you want a quality heater
I will never be someone who appreciates the winter climate. I don’t like snow or ice, or wind, or even rain for that matter. I only like sunny days and mild temperatures. I realize that is beyond the realm of normal expectation and where I live, in the Midwest, it appears as though the climate is about as erratic as it can get. In the winter it can storm, downpour, hail or snow all in the same day. It’s sort of stressful to not realize what’s in store for you each day. Winters appear to last for a considerable length of time and spring and summer can never get here fast enough. The cool temperatures make me need to stow away inside my home all concealed in covers and layers of clothing. I am glad I have an HVAC heater that functions dependably and keeps my home warm throughout the entire winter. I never need to stress over it coming up short and if there is an issue, I can turn to the HVAC organization. They are always quick to come to fix it for me for an affordable price. My heating system runs perfectly and always keeps my home warm. It also works as a cooling unit in the summer. I may despise winter and all that it brings to my life, however in the event that I need to ice and snow, I can always count on my heater to keep me warm and my HVAC technician to handy any problems that winter may try to throw at me.
It’s really annoying when air conditioning doesn’t work properly
When you go to the beach you expect the winter to be warm or even hot. What you don’t expect is to wake up in the middle of the night with ice on your nose. I was appreciating a gentle fall and trusting that winter wouldn’t be too brutal when I took off for my favorite beach. I checked in with the sun shining and fell asleep quickly because I was so tired. I woke up freezing cold. I peered out my window and couldn’t accept what I was seeing. There was snow everywhere, even on the sand. I immediately ran down to the beach to see if it was real. The water was like ice.
I ran back to my room and turned on the heater. It didn’t come on right away. I heard the HVAC unit kick on and figure it would be quite a while before I really felt the warmth. Incredibly within an hour, my hotel was heating up. I fell asleep, but a few hours later work up cold again.
The unit had shut off and this time it would not come on. I called down to the front desk and they said that other rooms had similar problems. However, they had an emergency HVAC service program. The technician came to my room quickly, repaired the heating system and was on his way. I fell back asleep and slept cozy. The next day I ran down to the beach to play in the snow. How many people get to say they have done that?
It is very important to schedule service for your heater
I love to take care of the things I own. I work hard for them and I spend a lot of time cleaning and making sure everything is in working condition. One of the things I didn’t use to maintain as well as I should is my furnace. My HVAC system has always run great so it’s not something I have ever worried about. One day in the middle of winter, all that changed. I woke up in the middle of the night freezing cold. I wasn’t sure why my heater wasn’t on but it was obvious that it hadn’t been for a while. I tried pushing all the right buttons but I didn’t have any luck. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get it fixed until morning. I called my local HVAC experts and they had someone to my house in no time.
Keep in mind it was in the middle of the night. They didn’t seem to mind at all and they weren’t going to stop until my home was warm again. He was able to make the repairs and had my heating system running like normal again in just a few minutes. It took a little while for my house to warm up, but I was eventually able to sleep comfortably and feel warm. I am now very aware of the importance of heating maintenance and I schedule maintenance appointments every fall to make sure my heating system is ready for winter. Don’t ever want to wake up feeling that cold and scared again.
What you do if your HVAC system breaks
I was devastated when I broke my cell phone coming down a flight of stairs at the doctor’s office. That day I was rushing to get out of my appointment to reach a job interview on time. The appointment started 30 minutes later than it was supposed to, and I spent another 15 minutes waiting in one of the rooms in the back before my doctor even saw me. I was racing to get out of the building in time for an important job interview at a bank roughly four miles from the building where my doctor is located. As I ran into the stairwell, I still had my phone in my hand coming down the steps. I nearly tripped and caught myself on the railing, but not before my cell phone flew from my hands and fell down several flights of stairs before reaching the bottom. This wasn’t an old phone either, I had just bought it six months prior and had only recently finished paying off the small loan. I figured at that point things just could not get any worse for me that week, but they did. Just two days after I dropped my phone down that flight of stairs, my central air conditioner in my house stopped keeping up with the thermostat. I would set it to 75 degrees inside but could not get it to get lower than 85, despite the temperature outside only being a few degrees warmer. Soon I learned that my air conditioner was broken and needed to be replaced. Even though I could technically afford a new air conditioner, it was not an expense that I had been planning for.