Posts Tagged ‘Carrier Woodstock’

The Last Water Heater You’ll Ever Buy

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

Reliable Heating & Air Summer 2011

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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Posted in Air Conditioning, Awards, Care and Maintenance, Commercials, Dan Jape, Going Green, Heating, Plumbing, Safety, Saving Money, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Spring Cleanup List Begins with HVAC

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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Goodbye, my old friend..

Monday, February 15th, 2010

by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air

After a ten year phase out, Freon is now dead and gone forever and this change will have an impact on most every home and business in the country. Back in the early 1990′s, law was enacted that called for the phase out of CFC’s, halons, and HCFC,s due to the fact they destroy the ozone layer and are responsible for creating an ozone hole over the South Pole. Freon is an HCFC and whether you believe in the ozone issue or not, everyone who currently has an old air conditioner that runs on Freon will be affected by the phase out since the law mandated that no new Freon based a/c units can be built after January 1, 2010 and after January 1, 2015, there is a ban on the sale and use of Freon in residential use. As the production of new Freon is limited, the price of this gas is going up to the point to where if you have an old leaky a/c system that uses Freon R-22, it will be a better idea to replace your a/c system instead of spending hundreds of dollars fixing leaks and recharging the system with Freon. Freon is going to be expensive this summer and to keep adding more to a leaky system is not a good use of your money. The state of the economy has the price of new systems lower than ever before and warranties have been escalated to 10 years parts and labor making this the best of times to cut ties with your Freon based a/c system.

New units now use R410a refrigerant which is far better than Freon in removing heat and moisture and is the only refrigerant available for home use. New units can cut your electric bill by 50 percent while giving you comfort you have never known. There are tax credits available of $1500 from the federal government which will pay the cost of upgrading to the very best furnace and a/c system. You will get a variable speed furnace with a built in dehumidifier and a 16 seer a/c system that will keep your home cool and dry in the summer and an even temperature in the winter. There are also factory rebates of $1000 or 36 months same as cash to help with the cost of upgrading your comfort system. Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air was one of the first contractors in the Atlanta area to specialize in the new R410a refrigerant having installed some of the first units on the market late in 1999.

Every year people who know they have to replace their cooling systems get estimates over the winter when business is slow and they get the best prices of the year. But instead of going ahead and getting the work done early before the warm weather arrives, they procrastinate until it get hot and contractors are already busy, then they call and try to get off season deals. The heating and cooling business is all about supply and demand. In the warm months, there is an abundance of jobs and customers waiting to have work performed and no contractor can give you a special deal because the time to do your work could be sold at full price to the next person waiting in line. Do not wait until spring to try and repair or replace your a/c if you already know you need service. Get it done early if you want the best price and experience no waiting in a hot house. Call Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air today for details about the new green refrigerant R410a.

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Awards, Care and Maintenance, Commercials, Dan Jape, Going Green, Heating, Safety, Saving Money, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Don’t be fooled by “Piece Rate”

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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Why variable speed? By Dan Jape, owner Reliable Heating & Air

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

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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.

Tags: a/c repair atlanta, a/c repair woodstock, Carrier Puron, Carrier Woodstock, Puron, R22 freon, R410a, Trane Marietta, Trane R410a
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