Posts Tagged ‘a/c repair roswell’
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
By Dan Jape – Reliable Heating & Air
One of the most important aspects of your home’s heating and cooling system is the duct work. Proper duct work can make a huge difference in the comfort and efficiency of your home. I visit four or five customer’s homes each day and in the vast majority of them, I find duct work issues that need to be corrected to make sure the new heating and cooling system we install will deliver what is promised in terms of comfort and efficiency. I see a number of customers who simply are talked into replacing the equipment in their home without analyzing the distribution system and they end up with the same poor comfort level they had before they purchased a new system.
One of the most frequent problems we find is lack of the proper amount of return or intake duct work. A proper operating system has to have the correct amount of return ducts to match the output of the system. Without the correct amount of intakes, many problems will arise such as lack of cooling capacity, overheating furnace heat exchangers, freezing cooling coils and reduced life of the entire system. Many homes suffer this issue and it must be corrected when upgrading your HVAC system.
Many homes have duct work built out of fiberglass or duct board. This a foil covered, glue impregnated sheet of fiberglass that is used as plenums or distribution boxes on the top and the sides of furnaces and is a very poor choice for ducting material. It is very porous and rough inside and collects dirt and debris and after a few years of service is always filthy dirty. Mold grows on the inside of this material and it is very hard to keep the corners and seams sealed up to keep air from leaking out in attics or basements. Metal ducts and plenums need to be installed to replace this inferior product when a new system is installed in your home to assure you of proper airflow, comfort, and efficiency. In some extreme cases, I find actual splitter boxes or wyes made of this duct board to try and save money on new home construction. You can find these by looking for boxes made into triangle shapes with many ducts attached to them. These impede airflow, overwork the furnace blower, and provide inferior comfort to the entire home. They have to be replaced to make sure you are getting the full comfort and efficiency a new HVAC system can provide you.
The last and one of the most important aspects of your ducts is making sure they are sized properly to deliver the correct amount of airflow to each room in your home. Almost every homeowner I visit complains about the comfort in their bonus room or the room over their garage in a two story home. This discomfort is caused by lack of airflow to overcome the heat loss or heat gain in this special room, which is over unconditioned space and needs more air flow to make this room comfortable. I will never understand why builders ignore this room and provide a space that in many cases cannot be used in peak weather conditions. This problem is easily corrected when replacing your comfort system and should not be overlooked and if it is, the problem will still be there after the new system is installed.
One should never purchase a new HVAC system without having a competent contractor inspect the duct system to assure you that your new heating and cooling system will actually deliver the promise of comfort and efficiency that you should demand from this purchase.
Tags: a/c broken woodstock, a/c freezing, a/c frozen up, a/c not cooling, a/c repair roswell, a/c repair woodstock, ac repair, air conditioner icing up, dan jape, dirt build up in fiberglass ducts, Duct board ducts, duct design, fiberglass, Fiberglass ducts, furnace repair, http://mechanicsresponds.com/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air%20Conditioning%20and%20Dan%20Jape/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air_Table_Of_Contents.htm, mechanicsresponds.com/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air%20Conditioning%20and%20Dan%20Jape/Reliable%20Hea... -, mold, proper duct design
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Monday, February 15th, 2010
By Dan Jape, owner of Reliable Heating, Air, Plumbing & Electrical
One of the most important aspects of having a new comfort system installed in your home is who is going to install it and maintain it. For many years, potential customers would perform their due diligence by asking for a number of references from former customers and of course, contractors would give a
list of their customers who were the most pleased. Somehow unhappy former customers would never be included in this reference list. Due to the advent of certain Internet sites, these days are over. Customers never ask for references anymore, instead they turn to websites that list former customer
reviews that are posted on these sites and give all the details of their experiences with contracting firms, both positive and negative. The most popular site people turn to is Kudzu.com and it lists reviews all types of companies.
Kudzu.com has been online for 4 or 5 years and it is an amazing tool to be used in selecting a service business. Kudzu.com is anonymous, so many people open up and write reviews they might not if their identity was disclosed. They are brutal if a company does not perform up to snuff, and many times will write very negative reviews over small missteps. They are also quick to
sing the praise of a company that goes above and beyond the normal level of expectations that they had. What also is very useful and fascinating is the fact the business owner or manager has the ability to answer every review listed about their company. One of the most telling parts of this website is how they respond, if they respond and what their response is to negative comments. We at Reliable Heating & Air use every comment about our companyas a learning/training experience. We go over every detail with the employee or crew and see what caused a negative review and how we could avoid a similar reoccurrence. We then answer each and every review and if a customer is not 100% pleased, we try and rectify the problem. I strive for 100% customer satisfaction and will not stop until we achieve that goal. We will redo the service or refund a customers money if that is what it takes to make sure every one of our customers is pleased.
The best outcome of having a website like Kudzu.com is it has raised the bar of the industry by keeping companies on their toes and forcing them to perform their best work. Before the Internet, companies could sweep unhappy customers under the rug and go on. Now the whole world can read each and every detail about each unhappy experience. I personally know some HVAC
company owners who have changed the way they do business to keep their Kudzu clean and they have had employees change the way they treat their clients.
There are also some big heating and air/plumbing companies who just can’t get it when it comes to the level of service needed to have a good Kudzu rating. Several companies refuse to even answer their reviews because they get so many negatives ones. Some blamed their negative reviews on other companies writing fake reviews about their companies instead of taking a long hard look at their own level of customer service. It is an attitude that will catch up with them soon or later. One large HVAC company in metro Atlanta will not respond to their negative reviews instead refusing to even acknowledge they exist. They feel sites like this are not worthy of a response.
The next time you need a service business, a new restaurant, a doctor or a lawyer I suggest you turn to Kudzu.com to look at reviews from other people who have used these business’s to see how they stack up. Reliable Heating & Air is one of a few select 5 star rated companies on Kudzu and we work hard everyday to make sure all our customers are happy. Call Dan Jape today for help in all your hvac, electrical and plumbing needs. 770 594-9969
.
Tags: a/c broken woodstock, a/c repair alpharetta, a/c repair roswell, dan jape, http://mechanicsresponds.com/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air%20Conditioning%20and%20Dan%20Jape/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air_Table_Of_Contents.htm, kudzu, mechanicsresponds.com/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air%20Conditioning%20and%20Dan%20Jape/Reliable%20Hea... -, reliable heating & air
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Monday, November 23rd, 2009
By Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air
There are many different ways to find and screen good contractors to perform work at your home. Some people prefer word of mouth and personal referrals. A number of people turn to Internet services such as Kudzu.com or Angie’s List. Others use the yellow pages or other advertising services when compiling a short list of companies to interview.
Whatever method you use, when selecting a heating and air conditioning contractor, one of the most important questions one should ask is whether sub contractors or employees perform the actual work. One would never want to use a company that uses subcontractors, as they are paid a set amount to perform a certain task and they have no vested interest in the outcome or quality of the job. They simply do the work as fast as possible so they can move on to the next job. They gain nothing by taking their time and making sure all the little extras are done properly. In the past, most heating and air companies that specialize in new construction residential installation work would use subcontractors so they could control the labor costs when building new homes. On the other hand, most heating and air companies that service and replace systems in existing homes all employed technicians that work by the hour and work only for that particular company.
Now, there is a new method of paying employees who replace and install heating and cooling systems that is designed to fool the homeowner into thinking they are not getting a subcontractor, but in reality they are. The method of payment is called “piece rate” and it is the most dangerous method of payment arrangement a homeowner could contract for. Under this method, a technician or installer is paid a certain amount of money to install each component or “piece” of equipment regardless of complexity or difficulty. The technician’s goal would to be installing a new system as quickly as possible so as to expend the least amount of time possible allowing them to move on to the next job. This method was developed by the managers of a certain large heating and cooling company as a method to control their costs and insulate the company of the ups and downs of the individual jobs. When a customer asks this company if they use subcontractors, they are told no without any mention of this other payment method. It is a dishonest way of tricking a customer into thinking they are contracting with a company that pays a technician for all the time spent at their home when in reality they are just getting a subcontractor who will not care about the finished product, only the time spent installing it.
One needs to ask their heating and cooling company they are considering hiring if the people installing or servicing their heating and cooling equipment are hourly workers paid prevailing hourly wages to work at their home and are not paid any type of “piece rate” or performance incentitive to perform this type of work. This same type of query would be appropriate for other types of companies one might be contemplating hiring. You will much happier with a contractor who does not employ this type of payment method. If you are unsure of how a company pays it employees, give me a call and I will be glad to give you what information I have from interviewing people who have worked for these “Piece Rate” companies.
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Monday, October 12th, 2009
by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air
The floods that struck Atlanta brought many tragic results included the destruction of life and home for many and my heart goes out to all those affected. Sometimes one is at a loss to understand why such occurrences happen and how they become so terrible out of something so necessary such as rain. The floodwater also can have long reaching affects on our lives and safety unless properly cleaned up and treated.
Many basements and crawl spaces were flooded with water that was laden with bacteria and byproducts of sewer due to the overflowing of the drain water systems and septic tanks. This water made its way into walls, carpets, floors, and most importantly, furnaces and water heaters. The modern day furnace is lined with insulation panels that absorbed all this very dangerous and polluted water and it cannot be removed the fibrous material. These panels have to be replaced as do all the controls devices, limits, fan motors and gas valves. The furnaces have to be removed and completely taken apart and scrubbed and disinfected and by the time all the damaged parts are replaced, one would come out much better by replacing the entire furnace. The cooling coils are also insulated with fiberglass panels that soaked up this dirty infected water and should also be replaced to ensure safe indoor air quality.
Water heaters that have been under water are extremely dangerous, as they often will relight after drying out, and people assume sine they fire up and heat water, they are safe. This could not be farther from the truth, as the water and sediment that seeped in gas valves, burners and safeties can cause trouble in the days that follow the flood. One should never attempt to light a flooded water heater without a complete replacement of the controls and burners or replacement of the entire heater. These appliances are far too cheap and the consequences of a malfunction are too severe to chance using a damaged and flooded heater.
Outdoor air conditioner condensers are designed to sit outside in the rain and they faired much better in the floods than furnaces. If an outdoor unit flooded and the controls did not get immersed under water, there is a good chance the unit can be cleaned out and put back in service. If the control box and the electronics got wet, they will need to be replaced. The coils should be acid washed and thoroughly cleaned before the unit is operated.
The two mail concerns with flooded systems are safety from gas valves and controls that were damaged and dangerous indoor air quality from fecal matter and sewer water that was mixed in with the rain water. The last area of concern was ductwork and insulation that got soaked in the flood. All duct work that got saturated needs to be replaced regardless whether it’s metal or flexible. The insulation on ductwork will never dry out to properly insulate the ductwork after it has been under water, and the ducting itself can’t be properly cleaned to make sure it is clean and disinfected to not spread airborne pollutants.
The floods hurt many people and cost untold millions in damage to homes and property. Make sure you properly repair and replace your homes heating and cooling systems along with your water heating appliances to make sure you are safe and secure and all systems work as designed.
Tags: a/c broken woodstock, a/c freezing, a/c frozen up, a/c maintenance alpharetta, a/c maintenance atlanta, a/c maintenance marietta, a/c maintenance roswell, a/c maintenance woodstock, a/c not cooling, a/c repair alpharetta, a/c repair atlanta, a/c repair marietta, a/c repair roswell, coolray heating & air marietta, dan jape, flood damage, flooded furnace, free buzz word, freon leak woodstock, leak repair atlanta, tax credits, Trane Marietta, Trane R410a
Posted in Air Conditioning, Awards, Care and Maintenance, Commercials, Dan Jape, Going Green, Heating, Safety, Saving Money, Uncategorized | Comments Off
Monday, March 23rd, 2009
If the furnace in your home is over 10 or eleven years old, you should explore the option of replacing it with one of today’s 2- stage variable speed models with a humidity sensing thermostat. The Variable Speed Two Stage Furnace with uses a multi-stage gas valve to give two levels of heat output depending on how cold it is in your home. The colder it gets the more heat and airflow the Variable Speed furnace puts out very much like the gas pedal on your car. In Georgia, you do not need the full amount of your furnaces heat output as we do not normally have extremely cold winters. The Variable Speed furnace will run on low heat output most of the time and it will run for a longer amount of time, which will more evenly heat the people and the objects in the home, not just the air. This slow gradual heating process will make you more comfortable than you have ever felt before.
Most people are concerned about the gas their furnace consumes, but never consider the electrical consumption of the blower, which distributes air through your home summer and winter. The blower on your furnace is one of the largest expenses in your home on a month to month basis. The Variable Speed furnace utilizes a special blower motor that is powered by DC current like you battery in your car. It uses about $35.00 a year in electricity versus $300 for a regular furnace blower and uses technology to measure airflow and increase or decrease it’s output depending on the complexities of your duct work. It is the only way to be sure you are receiving the correct amount of airflow over the life of the system. A normal furnace starts to deliver less airflow as it gets dirty and old. The Variable Speed furnace speeds up it’s blower to always keep you comfortable and warm.
A special touchscreen thermostat controls the Variable Speed furnace and you can actually program in a desired humidity level that the furnaces will slow down to maintain, wringing out 10% or 20% more moisture than a regular furnace. In Georgia, it is the extreme humidity that makes you feel uncomfortable and having lower humidity allows to set the thermostat at a higher temperature and still be cool. This feature is something most homeowners have never experienced and it is one of the best improvements/upgrades for the money spent.
The Variable Speed Two Stage furnace is available from a number of different furnace companies and the technology behind is tried and true. It will save you money on gas and electric bills and also make you feel more comfortable than ever before. I think you will truly enjoy the enhanced comfort and efficiency of this furnace and thermostat controller. No matter what a/c unit you pick, its performance and efficiency will be enhanced by the Variable Speed. Call me, Dan Jape for advice on this furnace and I will be glad to help. 770 594-9969
Tags: a/c frozen up, a/c maintenance marietta, a/c repair roswell, air conditioner, carbon monoxide, Carrier Woodstock, dan jape, furnace repair, mechanicsresponds.com/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air%20Conditioning%20and%20Dan%20Jape/Reliable%20Hea... -, reliable heating and air, Trane, Trane Marietta, Variable Speed
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Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
by DAN JAPE of Reliable Heating & Air originally published May 2008
In the past few months, there have been many severe hail storms in and around the Metro Atlanta area and many homeowners have had damage to their air conditioners that is costing them many hundreds of dollars in wasted energy dollars and their insurance companies are misleading them in a effort to reduce their losses.
Your air conditioner remove heat from your home by pulling air through a coil that is very much like the radiator in your car. This coil/radiator has fins made of thin sheets of aluminum bonded to copper tubing and when these fins were struck by hail in the recent storms, they were bent and damaged to the point of reducing and changing the airflow properties of your home’s cooling unit. These fins are critical in the operation and efficiency of your air conditioner and they can’t be repaired. Most of the insurance companies handling these storm damage claims refuse to help the homeowners with these damaged air conditioners due to the fact that it is very expensive to replace these damaged coils.
The outdoor unit and the indoor cooling coils are now a matched set and in 2007 the federal government mandated that all air conditioners be 13 seer or better. This means that insurance companies must spend $2800 to $4000 to bring you back to the point you were before the storm and the fact that the majority of the air conditioners that were damaged were 8 or 10 seer means the homeowner is getting something more efficient than they had before and this is apparently the sticking point with these companies. They don’t seem to mind replacing the roofs or gutters damaged in these storms because they can be repaired with like quality and kind. But the fact that they have to “upgrade” a damaged cooling system has been the source of many problems for homeowners.
Insurance companies have been telling homeowners that this damage is just cosmetic and they can simply comb out the damaged fins with a coil comb and have an air conditioning contractor straighten out the smashed fins. This will never work and will not bring back the cooling efficiency and air flow the unit had prior to the storm. This would be similar to your insurance telling you to beat out the damaged fender in you car with a hammer after a wreck and insisting you be happy with the results.
Except in this case, you will suffer by higher cooling bills and lost cooling capacity for many years to come if these units are not properly repaired and replaced. Do not let your insurance mislead you into not pressing a claim on you air conditioner just due to fact that it still “cools”. If your cooling unit was dented by hail and the fins of your coil were bent, you will never have the same cooling you had before and your insurance company knows this. There is no way to put an exact dollar amount on what it will cost you, but over years of operation, it could be many hundreds of wasted energy dollars. Insist your insurance company treat this damage the same way they are treating your roof, replace it or repair it will a new or like kind product.
As an update to the above blog, we found many of the a/c units that were just combed out like the insurance companies promoted failed completely due to a lack of refrigerant. The razor sharp edge of the aluminum fins cut through and weakened the copper tubing of the coil causing a complete loss of refrigerant. Insurance companies have taken advantage of many policy holders by insisting that this hail damage was not a functional problem, but only a cosmetic problem. But aren’t a number of issues an insurance company deals with simply cosmetic. There job is to restore a customer back to where they were before the damage occurred, not to argue and deny a legitimate claim. The really sad story behind all this is the insurance companies paid for thousands of twenty year old roofs without flinching and many of these claims were simply fraud. The people who had legitimate damage were in many cases turned away. Call me if I can help. 770 594-9969
Tags: a/c repair alpharetta, a/c repair marietta, a/c repair roswell, a/c repair woodstock, ac repair, air conditioner, flood damage, hail damage, http://mechanicsresponds.com/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air%20Conditioning%20and%20Dan%20Jape/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air_Table_Of_Contents.htm, mechanicsresponds.com/Reliable%20Heating%20&%20Air%20Conditioning%20and%20Dan%20Jape/Reliable%20Hea... -
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