Posts Tagged ‘reliableair’

When it’s time, it’s time!

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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Posted in Air Conditioning, Awards, Care and Maintenance, Commercials, Dan Jape, Going Green, Heating, Plumbing, Safety, Saving Money, Uncategorized | No Comments »

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 | No Comments »

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.

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.

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Awards, Care and Maintenance, Commercials, Dan Jape, Going Green, Heating, Safety, Saving Money, Uncategorized | No Comments »

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

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

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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