Posts Tagged ‘a/c repair woodstock’

Big Savings Available Now!

Friday, April 15th, 2011

by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air

This is an exciting time to be in the market for a new HVAC system  in the greater Atlanta area due to the many programs and specials available to help with the cost of replacing an old inefficient system.

The tax credit program is still available for homeowners and it is $500 as a straight bottom line credit off your income taxes. It is called the 25C program and it is available to most taxpayers without any income limits. You simply have to purchase a high efficiency furnace and air conditioner or heat pump and you can earn this lucrative credit. The $500 tax credit will pay for some of the upgrade costs needed to qualify for this great program.

There is money available from all the major EMC electric companies to finance a new heating and cooling systems and it is in the form of a 36 month no interest loan that can make the payments very affordable on a new comfort system that can save hundreds of dollars in energy bills every year. They also have very low interest loans for people who need long term payments.

The Atlanta Gas Light company has a number of specials that are available to almost anyone in the Atlanta area that has gas at their home. There are a number of different gas marketers, but they all buy their gas from Atlanta Gas Light Company. There are a few cities that have their own gas companies such as City of Austell or Sugar Hill that do not participate in the gas promotions, but the vast majority of Atlanta homeowners can take advantage of these specials. If in doubt if you qualify, call our office and we can help you. If you replace a furnace and an air conditioner and use an 80% efficient furnace, you can earn a $200 cash rebate and if you purchase a 90% furnace and an a/c unit, you can earn a $400 cash back rebate. If you currently have a heat pump or a dual fuel system with a gas furnace or a heat pump, you can earn a $1000 cash rebate if you replace the gas furnace and air conditioner or if you just replace the gas furnace and have the heat pump rewired to work as an a/c unit. This is a very lucrative program and this money will go a long way in helping with the cost of a new HVAC system replacement.

Trane also has incentives of $200, $400 and $1000 dollars or interest free financing for 36 months. All you have to do is purchase a high efficiency heating cooling system and the rebate is an instant rebate given at the time of time of purchase.

If you have not had your existing system serviced for the summer, now is the time. If your unit’s coils are not clean or if your units are slightly low on refrigerant, it can cost hundreds of dollars in wasted energy bills. A dirty blower wheel and any number of items out of sync can come back to haunt you in higher bills and poor comfort. People who have their routine service performed are assured they are getting their monies worth when the long hot summer days arrive with a vengeance. Call Dan Jape today at 770 594-9969 for details on this new tax credit program and take advantage of all the utility incentives available to help pay for a new energy efficient Trane Comfort System.

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Don’t forget the ducts

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.

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Heating & Air Cooling Tax Credits will Expire Soon

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air

Two years ago when the tax credit program started, December 31, 2010 seemed so far down the road it would never come. Well, here we are at the end of one of the best deals we have seen and there is only a few months left to take advantage of the $1500 credit that has allowed millions of homeowners to replace old inefficient heating and cooling systems. There have been many negative reports in the media about the stimulus plan and its success or failure has been debated to death by the press and talk radio, but the positive side of this bill is the impact it has had on every average homeowner who had old worn out heating and cooling systems that needed upgraded. These people have been able to purchase top of the line super high efficiency heating and cooling systems for the same price as an entry level system. A very nice added feature to these new systems is a special thermostat that not only controls temperature but also controls and removes more humidity than a regular system. The increased moisture removal makes one feel more comfortable at higher temperatures saving cooling dollars.

There are many new models and sizes available today that earn the tax credit and they give homeowners many more choices that were not open to them just a few months ago. Another positive side of this tax credit program is that all the different manufacturers of heating and cooling systems have advanced technology and efficiency to meet the government standards and these new models will be around for years after the credit program goes away in a few months. If you have not looked into the tax credit program, you should call your heating and cooling provider and at least explore this program as it ends December 31, 2010 and there is no extension or plans to extend this program, so do not miss this opportunity to cut your utility bills in half and increase your comfort by two fold.

The cold weather is here now and it is time to get your furnace checked for proper operation and safety. A properly adjusted furnace can save hundreds of dollars in cost of operation and make sure that your heating system is in top working order. Furnaces should be cleaned of rust and soot and have the heat exchanger inspected thoroughly each year. Gas pressure should be adjusted and the gas jets cleaned to assure proper operation and efficiency. Your air filter should be changed every 2 months and the blower wheel and assembly should be kept clean and free from dirt build up.

Another nice addition to your comfort system this season would be a central humidifier that adds moisture to your homes heating system. These units prevent damage to your homes hardwood floors, cabinets and furniture. They also prevent dry skin and static electricity and reduce the heating bills as it is more comfortable at a lower temperature when the moisture is increased. This is the opposite of the summer when comfort is increased with lower humidity. Call Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air at 770 594-9969 for all the details about the expiration of tax credits.

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Free Freon? Is it really free? By Dan Jape

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.

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AHRI news release 09/23/2009

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

For Immediate Release Contact: Colleen Hughes, AHRI Public Affairs
Direct: 703.600-0331
(excerpts)
Homeowners Urged to Replace Storm Damaged Heating and Cooling Equipment
Arlington, VA (June 12, 2008) — After a flood or hurricane, homeowners are advised to take important safety precautions with regard to their home’s heating and cooling systems, according to the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), the trade association representing manufacturers of this equipment.
“A house or basement exposed to standing water can damage a home’s heating and cooling equipment — putting families at risk,” said AHRI President Stephen Yurek. “We advise homeowners to play it safe and replace, rather than repair flood-damaged heating and cooling equipment and systems.”
AHRI recommends that all inspection and replacement work on flooded equipment be performed by qualified heating and cooling contractors, not by homeowners.

“Homeowners can turn misfortune into opportunity by considering new, energy-efficient models that will lower their future energy bills,” said Yurek. “They also should ask their local utility about available rebates for installing new, energy-efficient heating and cooling equipment.”
Gas Furnaces and Boilers If there is any question whether flood water has reached a gas furnace or boiler, it should be checked by a qualified contractor. This equipment gas valves and controls that are especially vulnerable to water damage from floods — damage that might not be visible. Corrosion begins inside the valves and controls, and damage may not be apparent, even if the outside of the device is clean and dry. At a minimum, this damage can result in reliability problems.
Electric Furnaces An electric furnace consists of electrically heated coils, a fan to provide air circulation across the coils, and controls that include safety relays. As with a gas furnace, an electric furnace is susceptible to corrosion and damage from flood water, creating potential reliability problems or safety hazards. If there is any question whether flood water has reached an electric furnace, homeowners should have it checked by a contractor.
Propane Heating
Use extreme caution where there is the potential for propane leaks and have propane equipment checked, repaired and/or replaced by a contractor as quickly as possible after a flood. In every case, contractors must replace all valves and controls that have been in contact with flood water. The gas pressure regulator on a propane system should also be checked. This regulator contains a small vent hole to sense outside pressure. For effective gas pressure regulation, this hole must always remain unobstructed. During a flood, debris can easily plug the hole, causing dangerous malfunction or corrosion.

AHRI News Release Page 2

Radiant Ceiling Heat With this type of heating system, electrically-heated cables are embedded in the plaster or drywall ceiling. The cables warm the ceiling, which in turn warms the room by radiant heat. If the ceiling becomes wet from a flood, it can weaken and perhaps crack and the ceiling will need replacement. Although the electrical cables themselves may appear to be undamaged due to their tough, waterproof coating, there may have been large mechanical stresses on the cable, and a qualified electrician should be consulted to determine whether the cable can continue to be used.
Heat Pumps and Air Conditioning Systems Split air conditioning and heat pump systems have power and control wiring between the indoor and outdoor parts of the system, and piping through which refrigerant flows through the system. If flood water has repositioned either the indoor or outdoor units of a split system even by a small amount, there is a potential for refrigerant leaks. The system will then require major repair or full replacement.
If the refrigerant system remains intact after the flood, the entire system should be cleaned, dried and disinfected. Homeowners should have a contractor check the indoor and outdoor units’ electrical and refrigeration connections, including all control circuits. The decision to repair or replace should be made after consultation with a qualified professional on a case-by-case basis.
Ductwork If a house under storm repair contains a central forced-air system, attention should also be paid to the ductwork. A contractor will not try to salvage duct insulation that has been in contact with flood water, but will replace it because it is impossible to decontaminate. The contractor also will clean, dry and disinfect the ductwork itself. A thorough job will require disassembling the ductwork, but the silver lining is that such repairs will allow the contractor to seal joints in the ductwork and improve insulation to reduce heat and cooling loss.
Water Heating Systems Whether a water heater uses gas, oil or electricity, and it was exposed to flood water, the unit should be replaced. A new water heater is a relatively small investment, and replacing it is fairly easy to do. If the water heater was more than five years old, chances are a new unit will be more efficient, saving the homeowner money in the long run.
In a gas unit, valves and controls can corrode. In an electric unit, the thermostat and controls can corrode. In both types, the insulation surrounding the unit will likely be contaminated and will be nearly impossible to disinfect. In addition, the insulation takes a great deal of time to dry and can lead to corrosion of the tank from the outside.
Even if water heater components have been cleaned and the unit seems to operate properly, parts may corrode in the future. Both gas and electric water heaters have a pressure relief valve that can corrode and stick after being exposed to flood water. Homeowners should be sure, therefore, to replace this valve as well.
Government Aid For victims of some natural disasters, government aid may be available to help consumers finance the replacement of flood-damaged HVAC equipment. Homeowners should contact any of the offices set up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help flood victims in their area.
The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute is the trade association representing manufacturers of air conditioning, heating and commercial refrigeration equipment. An internationally recognized advocate for the industry, AHRI develops standards for and certifies the performance of many of these products. AHRI’s more than 350 member companies account for more than 90 percent of the residential and commercial air conditioning, space heating, water heating and commercial refrigeration equipment manufactured and sold in North America.

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Why can’t I get my home below 80 degrees in the summer?

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
80 degree home

 by DAN JAPE of RELIABLE HEATING & AIR originally published July 2008

In the thirty years I have been repairing air conditioners in the greater Atlanta area, this is one of the most asked questions from frustrated, hot homeowners And the answer is usually lack of tonnage or capacity and lack of proper airflow.

The capacity or tonnage of your air conditioner is the measurement of it’s ability to move heat from inside your home to the outside of your home. Air conditioners are produced from 1.5 ton to 5 ton in half ton increments. A ton of air conditioning is 12,000 Btu’s and a Btu is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree in one hour or lower it one degree in your cooling system. A Btu is about the same amount of heat generated by burning one stick match. The tonnage of your system is picked by your heating cooling installer using a number of criteria such as sized of your home, insulation in your home, the amount of and type of glass in your home, the roof color, the amount of shade, which way your house faces and a number of other qualifiers that help determine the size needed to overcome the “heat gain” in the summer. The more tons an air conditioner is, the more expensive it is, so many times the builder of your home uses a unit that is not large enough to remove the heat properly in the summer. An air conditioner can’t be sized too large because it will not remove the moisture in your home, but it need to large enough to cycle off and on and maintain your desired temperature. Often when replacing an old cooling system, a slightly larger unit is needed to accomplish this goal. People often spend days researching the SEER rating of an air conditioner and the brand of the units available, and do nothing about what ton cooling unit to purchase. There is nothing more efficient than an air conditioner that is not running. A properly sized air conditioner will cycle off and on all but the hottest days of the year. Then it should be able to maintain a reasonable inside temperature.

Inadequate airflow from your supply vents can be the cause of both poor heating and cooling performance and with the advent of complete ducts system constructed of flex ducting with many twists and turns, many homes today have very little air delivery. Airflow in older homes with all metal ducting was far superior to the modern home of the last 15 years and often times there is very little that can de done about this due to the fact that this flex duct is sealed up behind sheetrock walls and ceilings. Many times it is not cost effective to replace all the ducting in your home with new proper metal ducting or properly installed flex duct. The airflow for your home originates with the furnace blower and it is often a good idea to increase the size of the furnace blower “drive” to help deliver more air to the remote rooms in your home. A variable speed blower furnace will also help deliver the correct amount of air without the need of spending thousands of dollars on duct modifications.

A few small adjustments when replacing your furnace and air conditioner can result in thousands of dollars of energy savings and enhanced comfort for years to come.

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What the heck is Puron (R410a) anyway?

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

by DAN JAPE of RELIABLE HEATING & AIR originally published June 2008.

Freon or Puron? That is the question. Whether is nobler to protect the ozone layer or your pocketbook. Now is the time to consider that change has arrived. As many people are aware, Freon or R-22 is on the way , outlawed by government mandate to be discontinued in home air conditioners by the end of 2009. Starting January 1, 2010, all cooling units produced and sold will no longer be able to use R-22 Freon, the old refrigerant long favored in air conditioning. Starting January, 1 2015, there is a ban on sale and use of all R-22 except for certain uses and by that time the EPA predicts a 90% phase out of R-22. And then on January 1, 2020, all Freon R-22 will be gone except for old, recycled stockpiles of used refrigerant.

This time deadline has seemed like it is far away, but it is now right around the corner and if you buy a new Freon based air conditioner today, you may be in for a surprise tomorrow. Freon is going to shoot up in price, quickly and by the time your new air conditioner is in need of service, it will be more expensive that purchasing a new unit that runs on R410a or Puron, as the new alternative refrigerant is called.

The good news here is that R410a is a far better refrigerant than Freon R-22 ever was. It cools better, dehumidifies better, and is more efficient than R-22. R410a provides a much colder air coming out of your vents, dropping the temperature of the air 25 to 28 degrees each time it passes over your cooling coil. You will also find it does a much better job of removing the humidity in the air, which is half the battle in Metro Atlanta. There are many wonderful things about this new refrigerant, but the most important thing is that this is the only alternative on the market for cooling your home.

Many air conditioning companies have refused to invest in the new equipment needed to service and install this new refrigerant, instead telling the customer nothing about it, or misleading them about the truth on the subject. Just yesterday, I had a potential customer tell me that out of five companies he had bid his new system, two told him nothing about this upcoming phase-out and two told him it was “no big deal” and Freon R-22 would be around for many years and plentiful. The truth is, many of the lower priced air conditioner manufactures have built a lot of R-22 units, thinking the lower price would sell these outdated units and now they have to dump them on an unsuspecting consumer.

The truth about this phase out is just a Google away and no one should ignore it, regardless of what any dealer tells you. The government decided long ago to use a long, gradual phase out of Freon as the smartest way to deal with this issue. Do not wait until the very end to look into it. R410a is only slightly more expensive today and if your heating and air conditioning company does not mention it, or offer it, look elsewhere quickly and do not be mislead. The time is here now to make the change, and in the future, you will very glad you did.

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Hail Damage To Your A/C Is Costly

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

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