Archive for the ‘Care and Maintenance’ Category
Monday, May 14th, 2012
Polybutylene Replacement By Dan Jape
During the late 70’s to the mid 90’s, polybutylene was the preferred piping material for builders of new homes and businesses. It was easy to install, cheap and could be installed quickly. Poly was considered to be the future of all water pipe for new home construction all across the country.
Unfortunately, after ten years of usage, polybutylene water pipes started to fail due to the breakdown of the piping caused by sensitivity to chemicals used in the municipal water supplies in different communities. Overtime, these chemicals, chlorine in particular, began to attack the polybutylene piping and fittings which led to catastrophic pipe failures around the country causing thousands of dollars worth of property damage!
Polybutylene pipes are gray or blue in color and one can detect them near their water heater or leading to their sinks or toilets. If you find you have polybutylene pipes in your home, especially if your home is more than 10 years old, call Reliable right away. The question is not “if” the poly piping will fail, but “when” the poly piping will fail.
You Will Need Polybutylene Replacement
Virtually all the poly piping put in homes has failed or will fail soon, so it’s imperative you have it replaced as soon as possible! Even if your poly pipes are still going strong after 10 years, don’t get overconfident and think you’ve dodged the bullet. It is only a matter of time before you find a problem!
Some of the risks associated with polybutylene pipes include:
- Flooding
- Mold growth from undetected leaks
- Increased insurance premiums or cancelled insurance coverage
- Ruined furniture and belongings
- Destroyed hard wood floors and tile floors
The risks extend beyond damage to your home. Selling a home with poly piping is becoming more difficult as many mortgage lenders are refusing to lend money for homes with polybutylene piping. Most of the time, real estate agents leave it up to buyers and sellers to negotiate the terms of polybutylene replacement, so if you’re planning on selling your home, it might be a good idea to contract to have the poly replaced first so it does not possibly interfere with a sale.
Call Reliable Heating, Air, Plumbing & Electrical Today!
Polybutylene piping replacement can be very disruptive and there is a fair amount of work to be performed, but it’s absolutely necessary in order to protect your home from potentially severe damage. If you need polybutylene replacement, call Reliable today! Our state license plumbers will perform with the highest level of professionalism, and we will do everything we can to ensure your polybutylene replacement goes smoothly and is as minimally invasive as possible. Call Chris McKinney, plumbing manager today!
Tags: Call Reliable Heating, Reliable Plumbing, water heater
Posted in Care and Maintenance, Plumbing, Safety | No Comments »
Monday, April 2nd, 2012
By Dan Jape, owner Reliable Heating, Air, Plumbing and Electrical
When you are in need for a new water heater, there are a number of different models on the market today. One can choose the regular tank water heaters that last for 10 to 12 years normally or a high efficient tankless type that can last 20 to 25 years and provide a large amount of hot water on demand.
But another choice that is quickly becoming popular is the Marathon water heater that will last a lifetime and is one of the most efficient ways to heat water. The tank of a Marathon is made out of a high impact, high temperature polysufone fiberglass that will never corrode or rust, and the tank is cocooned in a 2.5 inch thick foam insulation jacket that stops the heat from escaping from the heated water when it is in standby mode.
The Marathon comes with a lifetime warranty that allows for no pro-rating deductions if there is a leak. The water heater is simply replaced by Rheem no questions asked. If you are a Georgia Power customer, you can even qualify for a $525 cash rebate if you convert over to a Marathon.
One very nice feature of the Marathon is they can be installed in a basement or an upstairs closet/attic and you virtually never have to worry about your heater leaking and flooding your home and furnishing. Because of the special fiberglass construction, you are assured it will not fall apart and rust. Most Atlanta area homes have no overflow protection for their water heaters meaning hundreds of homes each year suffer flooding when the homeowner waits to long to replace an old unit. This will not be the case with Marathon.
All the internal parts carry a 6 year warranty and can easily be rebuilt after that if any failure occurs. If you have an electric water heater currently, the Marathon can cut your usage cost by half – and if you currently have a gas heater, you can normally save $60 to $70 per year.
All gas water heaters need regular maintenance and flushing to make sure sediment does not build in the tank and by not doing so, the lifetime will be shortened. The Marathons need no cleaning or flushing and other than an occasional check of the Temperature and Pressure relief valve, the Marathon is one of the few maintenance free water heater choices in the market place.
Another great choice for a water heater with an extremely long lifespan is the gas tankless water heater. They heat water on demand without holding any water in a tank on reserve. This means that they also are a very good choice to be installed in an area where a leak or failure could cause damage since they have no water in them to leak.
Either one is a very attractive option to consider when the old builder grade heater in your home starts nearing the 10 year old mark or it is rusty or leaking. They will truly be the “last water heater you buy.”
Georgia Power offers their customers a cash rebate of $525 for converting their old water heater to a new Marathon heater of any size. Reliable Heating & Air is a Georgia Power approved contractor who can process all the needed paperwork to get this rebate back to the customer quickly. Reliable serves all of metro Atlanta and surrounding cities quickly and efficiently. Call Reliable Heating & Air today for all your water heating or general plumbing needs.
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Posted in Care and Maintenance, Gas Water Heaters, Going Green, Heating, Plumbing, Saving Money, Uncategorized, Water Heaters | Comments Off
Tuesday, November 29th, 2011
by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air
A few weeks ago I received a letter from Cherokee County water department informing me they were installing a back flow preventer on our home and letting us know of a need to have a thermal expansion tank installed in our plumbing system to prevent possible damage to our home. All cities and counties have installed or are installing back flow preventers to stop the possible contamination of the water supply in homes. A back flow preventer is a one way valve installed at the connection of your homes water supply and it makes the home a closed system that has no room for expansion which occurs when water is heated. A thermal expansion tank is required to stop the possibility of an over pressure situation that can damage to the water heater and the temperature and pressure relief valve in your home. The letter from the county gave us 30 days to have a expansion tank installed before the backflow valve is installed in our subdivision.
Cherokee County is currently putting the backflow valves in all homes and one should check with the water department to see when they are scheduled to do your home if you are a resident of Cherokee. Cobb and Fulton counties have already installed these valves in past years and if you live in these areas, you should already have a thermal expansion tank in your home. If you do not, you should have one installed immediately, as the lack of one can cause damage to the water heater or a collapse of the flue of a water heater, which can be very serious. They are round cylinders installed above of adjacent to the water heater and they contain a bladder filled with air pressure that allows the excessive pressure a place to expand to.
Until recently, I thought the thermal expansion tank was an item that would last for years with no maintenance required from the homeowner, and once you had one, you were set. But I found out I was wrong. I was called to a home last week to give a customer a price on a new heating system and I was surprised to find the first floor of their home had been severely flooded when their thermal expansion burst and leaked water on their furnace and then filled up their basement while they were away on vacation. He found out the hard way that thermal expansion tanks should be changed every 5 or 6 years according to the manufacturers. They are very easy to change once you have one and can be purchased at any home improvement store or hardware store as well as from your plumber. In most homes in Atlanta, a floor drain was not installed in the basement during construction, making a water leak from a water heater or thermal expansion tank a major problem. These two items should be checked on a routine basis for leaks and when over 10 years old, replaced to make sure you do not have a flood you may not detect until major damage is caused. Neither item carries a big ticket price to replace considering the peace of mind it can bring.
Check with your water department today to see if you have a backflow preventer already installed and if not, when they will install. If you already have a thermal expansion tank, check the date on it to make sure it is not too old and a potential for harm to your home.
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Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air
It is not often that a new product gets me so excited I want to write about it twice, but this is one of those times. A few months ago I wrote about a new remote access thermostat Trane had brought out that allowed a user to control their heating and cooling systems from any web enabled phone, I-pad or computer. The system is called Nexia Home Automation system and now that I have one actually installed on my unit, I wanted to go over it again, as I truly believe it is a very cost effective, easy to use “Smart House” device that many will find useful in their lives. If you enjoy tech, you will love this system. It is being expanded everyday to do provide more and more useful features.
First, it is a remote access thermostat that allows one to monitor and control the temperature and energy consumption in your home, business and second vacation home. If you are like me, it is hard to use a normal programmable thermostat because you are never sure when you will come home in the evening. With ComfortLink, you can simply adjust your cooling or heating when you start home to make sure it is comfortable when you arrive. I have in the past just left my home cool all day since I work in homes every day without cooling and want my home nice and cool when I arrive. ComfortLink will also send me a text message if something ever goes wrong with my heating or cooling which allows me to be proactive on getting it fixed early so I do not have to spend an evening without conditioned air. It will send text messages reminding me to change my filter also, which I find is something even I forget to do. (Remember the saying about the cobbler’s kids shoes?)I can keep track of energy usage and take action accordingly. I can control dehumidification with this system and have multiple fan settings and circulation modes that will allow constant fan operation without adding moisture during the summer. If you have a second home, you can periodically run the HVAC to keep it fresh and dehumidified.
Another nice feature is the ability to adjust lights, fans or small appliances from a remote location. This can be handy if you think you forgot to turn off the coffee maker or curling iron or if you want to simply turn on lights when away from home for security. Outdoor lighting or appliances can be controlled as can over 200 different compatible devices. The possibilities are almost limitless.Regular receptacles in your home or business can be installed so almost anything you desire will be controlled from anywhere in the world.
Door locks are easily installed that can be opened from your phone allowing a maid or service person easy, one-time access to your home without leaving a key. Then once in your home, you can watch what is taking place in all areas of your home by simply installing a Trane wireless camera that shows you real time how many teenagers are actually in your home after school and what your maid is really cleaning out. Never worry about your children getting locked out again, as you can simply give them a code to get in and your system will send you a text message when they arrive home after school. Without bothering them or causing them to think you are “checking in on them;” you can check in on them with the camera.
There is a simple walk around remote control device that is similar to a TV remote device that you can use in your home to control all these items if you just do not want to walk around and adjust all the lights etc. You can also turn off your cable box or satellite receiver during the day which, according to Clark Howard, can save you hundreds of dollars each year. You can turn it back on 10 minutes before you arrive and you won’t have to wait for your TV to boot back up.
These are just a few of the possibilities this system can bring you and Trane is constantly developing more and more uses for the Nexia system. It will soon control your home sprinkler system and all types of audio equipment. This is truly an exciting product that has only begun to scratch the surface of home automation and remote access that will surely be the standard in the future. Call Reliable Heating & Air today to get information about this product or arrange to have an in house demonstration. I think you will feel more connected to your most valuable asset, and enjoy features never available before in the world of “smart house technology”.
Tags: Clark Howard, HVAC, Trane, TV
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Monday, October 3rd, 2011
by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing
Cold weather is right around the corner and you will soon be in need of heat in your home. Furnaces need a complete service and cleaning each year before they are turned on to make sure they are safe and efficient. Many times, a homeowner will make the assumption that just because a furnace ignites, it is safe to operate. This could not be farther from the truth. Modern day furnaces are a very safe appliance and when maintained, can give years of service. But it is important that the series of safety devices and components that make them safe are in good working order. All modern day furnaces are safe if they are maintained properly, but if neglected could cause a problem. Reliable Heating, Air & Plumbing employees 100 plus Nate certified techs to make sure all is in good shape for a long cold winter.
One of the most important items to check and clean is the heat exchanger. A furnace burns gas and heats up a metal box that contains the gas burners and when the box is warm, a fan blows air across the outside of the box and transfer heat to the air stream, which is then distributed to all the rooms of a home. This heat exchanger heats and cools thousands of times a year and this causes expansion and contraction. This can cause metal fatigue and cracks in this burner box which allows carbon monoxide to leak into the air stream. We have long optical scopes that can be inserted into a heat exchanger to check for cracks and fatigue to make sure they are airtight. This is extremely important to be checked every year, as this piece is a very stressed component of the furnace and can fail at any time a furnace is over 10 to 12 years old. It is also very important that any rust and debris that accumulates in the heat exchanger is vacuumed out to allow all the heat generated by the combustion of the gas to be properly transferred to the air stream.
Another very important series of devices that need to be checked are high temperature limit switches which monitor a furnace for an overheated condition. These high limits are crucial in making a furnace safe and they need to be checked and tested each year to make sure they operate correctly. If a fan or blower stops operating on a furnace, the gas will continue to ignite until these limit devices sense the furnace is overheated and shut off the burners and turn the furnace off. These limit switches are directly in the air stream and take a lot of abuse and they fail after a number of years.
Furnaces have a device that moves air and fumes through the heat exchanger and it is often a component that needs service in a modern furnace. This “draft inducer” is in the combustion stream of the furnace and is exposed to the hot, acid laden fumes of the by-products of gas combustion. Some manufactures make the housing of these inducers out of plastic and they become so hot, the plastic housing cracks allowing flue gases to be emitted into the living space of a home. Some early models also used metal housings and fan blades that was not built out of corrosive resistant materials and they rusted out quickly. These units need to checked at the start of every season for proper operation and integrity of the housing. A complete and through inspection on all the controls on a furnace have to checked every year to assure one all is working properly on their gas furnace.
A gas furnace that a builder installs in your home can give you 14 to 18 years of service if they are taken care of properly and serviced regularly. A furnace that a consumer purchases can last 20+ years and provide safe efficient heat if properly maintained. Have your local heating and air contractor check for correct operation and your family should be warm and safe this winter. If you are need of a new furnace, they start out as low as $1495 and can go up to $3500 for a top of the line model.
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Friday, June 17th, 2011
by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air
When it’s finally time to replace your old heating and cooling system, there will be many choices and different decisions to be made that will affect your comfort, efficiency and overall happiness with any new system selected. It would benefit anyone to become familiar with the different components and terms you will face when that day does arrive.
There are 3 separate pieces of equipment you have to replace when purchasing a new HVAC system and they are the furnace, the indoor cooling coil, and the outdoor condenser or air conditioner. You have choices of different furnaces and condensers, but generally there is only one coil for any system.
There are many different manufacturers of furnaces and many different models available, but there are really just two distinctly different types of furnaces, single speed, single stage furnaces and two stage, variable speed furnaces. A single speed single stage furnace comes on full blast anytime it runs and the motor in it consumes $250 a year of A/C electricity. A two stage variable speed furnaces comes on gradually and only uses the amount of gas needed at any given time to heat your home and it’s blower consumes only $30 annually of D/C current. The Variable Speed furnace also comes with a special thermostat that actually allows the furnace to reduce the amount of humidity in your home by an additional 5 to 10%, and when it is drier in your home, you can actually keep it warmer and feel the same comfort level, which will save you money.
You have many choices in different outdoor condensers and what you pick is critical in your comfort. There are two different types of outdoor units, single speed units and two speed units. The two speed units are the best choice for most homes in the south, as they can be large enough in capacity to handle the extreme hot days, but because of their two speed design, they slow down to remove more moisture than a regular single speed condenser. The efficiency of these two speed units is usually so much better than a single speed unit that they can reduce the electric consumption by over 50% compared to your old cooling system you have in place now.
There are “builder grade units”, consumer grade units and top of the line units in both single speed and two speed. Builder grade units are units designed for a low, upfront price point and come with short warranties and will usually provide a shorter life span, as most builders are only interested in how a particular appliance operates for one year, which is the standard warranty a new home comes with.
Consumer grade units today come with a 10 year parts warranty and some companies offer a 10 year labor warranty or even a lifetime warranty if properly maintained. Units such as these can last 18 to 20 years often times and are available up to 16 seer in most cases.
Top of the line air conditioners are loaded with safeties and controls that allow them to last 20+ years and cut operating costs up to 60% while doing the best job in dehumidification and cooling and come in single speed, two speed single compressors, two speed twin compressors and even solar powered. Units such as these are more expensive up front, but are a better investment in the long run, by offering superior operation, efficiency and comfort.
It helps in any market place to know about the different products that are available and it is always a good idea to get at least 3 different estimates to see if there is a general consensus to what each company recommends.
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Monday, May 16th, 2011
Dan Jape, Reliable Heating & Air
Now that warm weather has arrived, it is very important that your cooling system is checked to make sure it is operating at peak efficiency. If your system is low on refrigerant or coils are dirty, it can cost you hundreds of dollars more each year to cool your home. Make sure you do not waste your money operating a cooling system that is not operating at peak efficiency.
Most HVAC companies offer a service contract which provides two visits a year to clean and tune up your heating and cooling systems and the summer inspection should include cleaning the outdoor unit of mud and debris lodged in the outdoor coil. This cleaning helps a unit give the best efficiency possible. It is always best to sign a service agreement with your company, as it gives your priority treatment during peak times and a discount on parts. At Reliable, we offer a lifetime warranty on most parts if a service agreement is put into effect at time of repair. If that same problem or part ever fails again, we fix it for free, no questions asked.
There are some big changes in the HVAC business brought about by the passage of the new Georgia State Energy Code, which goes in effect this year. It calls for some new tough policies regarding the heating and cooling systems that are installed in new homes.
Blower door tests are now required on all new homes to check the infiltration rate of a new home. The result must be less than 7 air changes per hour at 50 Pascals . Companies such as Reliable Heating & Air are required to have a DET certified specialist on staff to check the tightness of the duct systems and the thermal envelope of the structure. Duct leakage now has to be tested and certified to meet the new standard for tightness. Duct mastic has to be used to seal ducts to make sure they are tight and not leaking conditioned air.
Programmable thermostats are required with every system as are attic tents or covers over the attic staircases. Attic vent fans can no longer be installed in a new home unless they are solar powered. Electric furnaces cannot be installed in any new homes after January 1, 2011. A heat pump must be installed as the primary heat source if natural gas or propane is not used.
There are many other facets of this new energy code, but these are some of the highlights that might affect your HVAC system in the future.
For over 33 years, Reliable Heating & Air has been known as the company to trust for all your heating and cooling needs, providing top quality service at affordable prices. Many times, our customers have looked to us for referrals to handle their plumbing needs also since they have always felt a high level of trust and satisfaction from conducting business with Reliable. We have searched for many years for the right plumber who gave the same great service experience we like to provide our customers and have never been able to give a recommendation without worrying about the outcome. We are now proud to announce we have opened up a plumbing division offering the same great pricing and helpful cheerful service our customers have always had counted on for their heating and cooling needs and we guarantee 100% customer satisfaction. Call us today for any plumbing or heating and cooling needs.
Dan Jape, Owner – Reliable Heating & Air
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Monday, April 18th, 2011
Courtesy of HGTV.com
To keep your house in top shape, give systems an annual checkup.
Spring cleaning is a tradition, but there are some other chores that should be part of your springtime routine, too. Most of them take only a few minutes, so get started!
1. Check your air-conditioning and heating equipment before the beginning of a new season.
2. Check and replace your furnace and air-conditioning filters every month. There are several types from which to choose, depending on your needs. Fiberglass filters last only one month, while the filters typically last three to four months. HEPA filters last up to six months and can be cleaned with a vacuum nozzle.
3. Most air conditioners have a drainage hole on the base of the cabinet, beneath the evaporator fins. This hole needs to be kept clear in order for the air conditioner to work properly. It’s a good idea each spring to use a paper clip or wire to poke through the hole and clear it.
4. To keep a dehumidifier working properly, remove its housing and let the unit dry completely. Vacuum every accessible surface and crevice.
5. Clean your bathroom fans once a year. Take the cover off, wash it in soapy water and clean dirt off the fan blades with a toothbrush. Be sure the power is off when you do this!
6. Check the flappers on your toilets at least once a year. If they are showing their age, replace them before they start leaking and wasting water.
7. Remove all faucet handles and clean their insides to keep the screws from corroding. Use a rust remover if necessary.
8. Replace the batteries in smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors twice a year: when the time changes to daylight savings time and then back to standard time. While you’re at it, dust or vacuum the detectors to keep them working at peak performance.
9. Make sure you have a fully charged fire extinguisher that you can reach quickly and easily.
10. Inspect and, if necessary, caulk around your home’s windows and doors annually. That will help keep out heat and humidity in the summer and cold drafts in the winter—and save money on your utility bills all year round.
11. Open and close all windows. Do they all open easily, yet close tightly? If not, check the weather stripping. There are a number of different types to consider.
12. The best time to caulk a joint outdoors is during the spring or fall. That’s when the width of the joint is halfway between its seasonal extremes. A plastic drinking straw or a length of plastic tubing makes a handy extension tube for caulking hard-to-reach places. Secure the extender with duct tape.
13. To really clear and clean screens for springtime, rub them with kerosene on both sides, then rinse with soap and water. Kerosene fumes are dangerous, so make sure to do this outside or in a well-ventilated area.
14. To fix a small hole in a window or door screen, dab clear household cement over the hole with a toothpick. If the screens are plastic, test the cement on a scrap to make sure it won’t melt the material.
15. Use the same technique to repair screen tears. Pull the two halves of the tear together and hold them in place with masking tape on one side. Apply the household cement to the tear, then smooth with a putty knife. When it’s dry, gently remove the tape and apply cement to the other side.
16. Clean out the gutters of winter debris and check them for damage from ice. Install gutter screens or protectors to help keep debris out of the gutters.
17. If a roof gutter is sagging, pitch it back to a level position by tightening its strap with pliers. The tighter the strap is twisted, the more the gutter will rise.
18. Be sure the gutters slope properly toward the down-spouts.
19. To prevent basement flooding, make sure there is at least three feet between the side of the house and the down-spout’s outlet. Use one of the following methods to reach that distance:
- Add an elbow for pipe and extension, although that often leaves the outlet still too close to the house.
- Use a splash guard that stretches about three feet.
- Attach a flexible extension hose to the end of the down-spout and bend it in away from the house.
20. To prevent foundation erosion as well as basement flooding, build up soil around the house and slope it away from the foundation.
-For more home improvement tips and money-saving ideas, visit HGTV.com
-Dan Jape
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Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air
There is an exciting new Trane product we have available that will allow you to put control of your home in the palm of your hand and provide total comfort and total security from any remote location. The “LiNK” system allows you to monitor and remotely control the temperatures and energy efficiency of your home as well as controlling the door locks, security lights and even turn on cameras that show you what is happening in your home. Many different systems in your home can be controlled from your web enabled phone or laptop computer. Two hundred and thirty-one different systems can be connected to the LiNK system and all you need is an internet connection.
Controlling and monitoring you homes heating and cooling system has many uses. I never know when I will get home on any given day, so a programmable thermostat is useless for my lifestyle. LiNK allow me to adjust my temperatures when I am on my way home so my comfort level is already where I like it before I get there. LiNK will send me an alert if my home gets too hot or too cold, possibly alerting me to a problem with my system.
One of the most exciting aspects of the LiNK system you will enjoy the most is the ability to have wireless camera’s pointed at your front door and throughout your home that will show you real time pictures of who just entered your home and what is actually taking place even though you might be out of town. The LiNk system can be programmed to allow select people in your home at certain times and not others and keep a 90 day record of when and who came in and out. This could be very useful for cleaning services, exterminators etc. It would also be very handy to know when your teenagers come home and who was with them. I will occasionally get a call from my security company that I had an alarm go off and I do not know if it was a false alarm or a real emergency. So far, thank goodness, all have been false alarms, but the drive home to check it out is a very tense trip I would rather not have to make. LiNK would allow you to verify to the police that you have had a real break in and need them to actually respond.
You can remotely turn off and on lighting and open and close your garage door in addition to many other uses. You can even program your system to work in concert when you arrive from work, push a button and the garage door will open, your entryways will light up, your security system will recognize you, and your front door will unlock. LiNK can have your favorite music playing for you when you get home and while you were away, LiNK can make sure the lawn sprinkler watered your lawn on schedule. If it had rained, you could have bypassed the sprinkler system from work.
The great thing about this system is it is modular and you can slowly but surely add new devices as you find you need them and as long as they are Z-Wave compatible devices, the sky is the limit. And the best part is the system is very affordable!
Call us today (770-594-9969) to learn more about this exciting new way of controlling your home.
Tags: control door locks, dan jape, home automation, home monitoring, home security, remote lighting, remote music, security lights, wireless cameras
Posted in Air Conditioning, Care and Maintenance, Going Green, Heating, Saving Money | Comments Off
Friday, April 16th, 2010
Free service call. Free diagnostic with service call. Free repair with paid service call. Free furnace with air conditioner!! And now FREE FREON. I know you have seen them all before. That ad that screams an offer that is too good to be true. It makes you stop just a second and ask yourself, could this really be free- like that quarter laying on the ground of the parking lot- or is just a come on to get me to buy something else at an inflated price to cover the cost of the “free” offering?
I have always found there is no “free” in life, that free always comes with strings attached and sometimes those strings are not pleasant. The free service call, the free repair, the free furnace and free diagnostic are all priced into what you are charged for and in the end you pay more for usually inferior goods and services than if you had just used an honest contractor offering no free services.
Now comes the most harmful “free promotion” I have seen used as a marketing campaign to date: The offering of “free Freon” if your unit has a leak and needs a recharge of refrigerant. While this is a way to get in the home and pitch a new system to the homeowner with a leaky system which needs to be replaced, the danger of this advertising campaign is there will be people who have systems that leak thousands of pounds of Freon into the atmosphere every summer and they will take advantage of this program to simply put more Freon in their system only to have it leak out two or three times over the season. The problem with this is that Freon, which is just a brand name for R-22 refrigerant is actually difluoromonochloromethane which is a hydrochloroflurocarbon or HCFC, a poisonous toxic gas that when released into the atmosphere causes damage to the environment and the ozone layer. It is not something to be pumped into leaking systems to only leak out into the atmosphere. If you have a leaking air conditioning system, the proper course of action is the stop the leak and stop polluting the world for future generations.
If you call this company, they will gladly come out and pump your system full of difluoromonochloromethane at no charge and keeping coming back and filling it up at no charge as it leaches into the air we breathe. This is just not being socially conscious or “green”. They may think it is a good way to get into your home to try and sell you a new system, but in the real world, a lot of people will just opt to have their systems filled up over and over again, never really knowing what problem they are contributing to. A law was passed called the Clean Air Act and it called for the removal of Freon from our cars first then our homes and businesses. It is now illegal to keep pumping up a leaky air conditioner that has over 50 pounds of Freon in it and it is environmentally irresponsible to keep pumping up a home air conditioning system that will just contribute to a problem that will have long reaching ramifications for future generations.
I seriously doubt the company advertising this “free freon” promotion meant any harm. They are by all accounts an honest company that does good work. The heating & cooling industry is extremely competitive in the Atlanta area and we’re all looking for new and inventive ways to grow our businesses, but we have to make sure that we do it in an ethical and environmentally responsible manner. Pumping “free Freon” into the atmosphere is not something we should do in any way shape of form!
The bottom line is this: Do not be fooled into thinking you are getting something for nothing. Repair or Replace your leaky air conditioner instead of just pumping it up. I still believe what my parents taught me years ago: Nothing free is worth having.
Tags: a/c repair atlanta, a/c repair marietta, a/c repair woodstock, dan jape, free freon, freon, freon leak, leaking a/c, R22 freon, reliable heating, reliable heating & air, reliable heating & air table of contents
Posted in Air Conditioning, Care and Maintenance, Going Green, Heating, Safety, Saving Money, Uncategorized | Comments Off
