Touchstone Heating & Air Inc Blog | Air Conditioning and Heating Tips

Going on Summer Vacation? Tips for What to Do With Your AC

June 17th, 2019

Summer is here, and you’re planning a summer trip. Although you have plenty on your mind about what to pack and how to plan, there are a few things at home you’ll need to think about before you go. One of these is your air conditioning in Lake City, FL. Is it better to shut the entire system off while you’re on the trip to save energy? Or should you let it stay on?

At first, it sounds odd to leave the AC on while you’re away from your home for more than a day. That’s just a waste of energy when nobody is in the house to enjoy the cooled air. If saving energy is your main concern, then shutting off the air conditioner is the best choice. However, in many situations, we recommend keeping the air conditioning system on—although with the thermostat at a higher temperature.

Using Your AC Less Not Only Saves Money, It’s Better for Your Health!

June 3rd, 2019

What’s the best way to lower how much you pay to run your air conditioner during the summer? That’s an easy one to answer: run the air conditioning system less often!

That’s a bit easier said than done, but if you remember to raise the thermostat to higher levels (such as around 78°F during the day when people are home), you’ll see a noticeable drop in your cooling costs.

However, this post isn’t focusing on saving money by using the AC less often. It’s about the health benefits of running your air conditioner less often.

My AC Is Running Constantly—What’s Wrong?

May 20th, 2019

When the summer heat ramps up in Florida, it can be searingly hot. On some days it may feel as if you have to run your air conditioning system constantly.

But there’s a difference in needing to keep your air conditioner on and your air conditioner’s compressor never cycling down. When the compressor just continues to run and run, then there’s something wrong. The compressor is designed to run through cooling cycles, which is why under normal circumstances you’ll hear the compressor kick in periodically during the day. When it never shuts off, you probably need air conditioning repair in Lake City, FL from professionals.

How and When to Change the AC Filter

May 6th, 2019

Spring air conditioning maintenance helps your cooling system to run at higher efficiency and avoid air conditioning repair in Alachua, FL. It also extends the service life of the system.

A professional does most of the maintenance during a scheduled visit. But there are a few maintenance tasks you’ll have to do on your own during the summer and fall, and the most important is changing the air filter in the HVAC system. This filter is what protects the inside of the air conditioner from dust and lint the blower fan draws through the intake ducts. The professional will change the filter during maintenance, but after that, you’ll need to make the periodic filter change yourself.

A Helpful AC Tip to Clean the Condensate Drain

April 22nd, 2019

It’s time to get down to the nitty gritty of your air conditioning system. It’s about to shoulder an immense amount of work as the hot and humid season in Florida settles in, and you don’t want it to go up against the heat without the proper preparations.

One of the essential air conditioning services in Lake City, FL to schedule is professional preventive maintenance. Nothing is better at fixing up an AC for another summer. Our Energy Savings Agreement is the fast, easy, and affordable way to set this up.

But once the professional maintenance inspection and tune-up is done, there are a few maintenance jobs you can do over the season, such as changing the air filter and cleaning the condensate drain—which we’re going to examine below.

Do I Need an HVAC Expert to Help Select a New Air Conditioner?

April 8th, 2019

Shopping for a new central air conditioning system for your home is hard to compare to most other types of shopping. It might not be as stressful as buying a new car, or as expensive, but with a new car there are many different models that would suit you, and personal preference is one of the most important criteria in making a final choice. With an air conditioner, there’s a narrow number of units that will do the job necessary, and choosing the wrong one means a house that isn’t comfortable and utility bills much higher than necessary.

You absolutely need a Lake City, FL, HVAC professional to help you to find a central air conditioner for a new installation. Trying to go it alone can end up creating major problems.

Questions to Ask Your Maintenance Tech About Your Old AC

March 25th, 2019

The time is here once again—time to schedule your air conditioning maintenance in Lake Butler, FL or elsewhere in North Central Florida. If you’ve signed our Energy Savings Agreement, then you’re ready to go! Just call our office to set up your maintenance appointment. If you haven’t signed up yet, then you’re almost ready to go! Just call our office to sign up, and we’ll take it from there.

Spring AC maintenance is usually straightforward. Our techs inspect your cooling system, clean and adjust it, and then inform you about anything they’ve noticed that may require repair work (such as a loss of refrigerant to leaks). However, if you have an air conditioning system that’s in the 10 to 15-year range (or older) and/or you’ve noticed it isn’t working as well as it once did, we recommend asking the tech a few questions about the AC’s future. It may be time to have it replaced.

Heat Pump Not Switching to Cooling Mode?

March 11th, 2019

This is the time of the year when you’ll probably appreciate having a heat pump to take care of both your warm and cool weather comfort needs. As the weather swings back and forth during spring, you can simply switch your heat pump between its two different modes—heating and cooling—with only a single adjustment on the thermostat. No reason to think about having to shut down a heater for the year, and your thermostat programming doesn’t have to change much.

But what if the heat pump won’t turn over into cooling mode? This is one of the more common troubles a heat pump can run into, and it’s also one our technicians are familiar with fixing so the heat pump can go back to work.

We’ll take a brief look at what might be going on with a heat pump stuck in one mode.

Is It Too Early to Think About AC Maintenance?

February 25th, 2019

Most HVAC contractors recommend their customers schedule maintenance for their air conditioning systems during the spring. This fits the maintenance in at an ideal time, when the weather is starting to warm up but isn’t yet warm enough to make an AC necessary. HVAC contractors are less busy in this period, making scheduling simple.

The situation is a bit different in Florida. The official start of spring isn’t until the third week of March, but our weather can warm up much faster with higher humidity. It’s a good idea to be prepped for hot conditions starting in April.

So if you’re already thinking about arranging for AC maintenance here in late February—that’s good! We think it’s best to arrange for your regular maintenance before the rush of other homeowners who realize the weather is starting to turn hot.

High Heating and Cooling Costs? The Ducts May Be the Problem

February 11th, 2019

We run our HVAC systems throughout the year in Central Florida, often with the air conditioner running even during winter—and heating systems taking over for a few days here and there. If you keep a close eye on your utility bills (always a good plan!), you should have an idea of what your seasonal heating and cooling costs are, and they should remain steady through the season.

Sudden spikes in the cost of heating and cooling your house when there isn’t an obvious reason for it is often a warning of a malfunction. Your might first think it’s a problem in the AC or the heater. Almost any type of repair need in a cooling or heating system will cause it to drain more money as it runs. But one of the main causes of wasted energy in an HVAC system isn’t located in the AC or heater—it’s in the ductwork. You may not realize it, but the cure for your high utility bills might be professional duct repair in Macclenny, FL from our experts.