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

Yes, Your Heating System Can Be TOO Powerful!

December 26th, 2022

This HVAC fact often comes as a surprise to people. After all, what’s wrong with having a heating system in your home that’s more powerful than necessary? True, it costs more to buy a more powerful system, but it means you can always have the extra heat boost when you need it, and when you don’t need it, you can just turn it down.

None of this actually works out, because furnaces and heat pumps don’t operate with a throttle where you ramp up and down how much thermal power the heater puts out. Aside from wasting money on getting a heater that’s too powerful for your house, an oversized heater will create other problems that will cost you in both money and comfort.

Let’s take a closer look at why an oversized heating system is bad news for your home.

How Does an Electric Furnace Work?

December 12th, 2022

Electric furnaces are a common option for heating in Florida. In regions with colder winters, electric furnaces can become costly to operate and they don’t have the heat capacity and heating speed of using a gas-powered furnace. In our short and mild winters, however, electric furnaces are cost-effective and just plain effective. For homes that don’t have a connection to a gas main, using an electric furnace in Newberry, FL is an excellent option for winter heat.

If you’d like to know more about electric furnaces and how they operate, we’re glad to share our knowledge with you.

How an Air Purifier Will Benefit You in the Winter

November 28th, 2022

Winter in Florida may not be a flurry of snow as it is for more northern states, but can still be drizzly and cold. It’s a time when you’ll want your home sealed up as best as possible to trap heat so you and your family can stay warm without having to rely too much on your heating system.

A shut-up home like this creates problems, however. Winter is a season with increased illnesses, as germs and viruses find it easy to thrive on people packed together in closed-in spaces. This is the flu season, and of course there are a few nasty strains of viruses still making the rounds—and they spike in frequency during the winter.

For this reason, and several others, we recommend installing an air purifier in High Springs, FL to help with winter conditions. We don’t mean one of those portable room air purifiers, but a powerful and effective whole-house purification system installed into your ductwork and controlled through the thermostat. This isn’t just a benefit for the winter: it will help you throughout the year, such as during spring when allergy season starts.

How Heating Maintenance Improves Your Winter Safety—Even in Florida

November 14th, 2022

Each fall, we make it a point to remind our customers to schedule heater maintenance in Wellborn, FL and elsewhere in North Central Florida. It’s easy for people who live in a warm climate to let their home heating needs slip past. There simply isn’t the same urgency in Florida when it comes to winter as there is in a place like Wisconsin. But heating maintenance is still important in our region, and that’s why we make a bit of noise to ensure the homeowners know it’s the time of year to get their heating maintenance appointment on the calendar before the winter.

There are several reasons why these annual inspections and tune-ups for home heating systems are important, even in the Sunshine State. Maintenance ensures the best performance from a heater when necessary, lowers the occurrence of malfunctions, and keeps energy efficiency high. But even without those factors, there’s an important reason to always have heating maintenance … and that’s safety.

Get Ready for the Season Ahead With Heating Maintenance

October 17th, 2022

It’s October, and even if the weather is still warm, this is when we recommend our customers arrange for their annual heater maintenance in Fort White, FL and throughout North Central Florida.

Unfortunately, people often forget the importance of heating maintenance in a place that gets as warm as Florida, but this is an important service, as we’ll explain below.

Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Home’s Air Quality

October 3rd, 2022

Over the past two years, a huge shift has taken place in how people live in their homes. I.e., they live in them a lot more now. With a massive shift to work-from-home, many homeowners have discovered aspects of their houses they didn’t know they needed to change, such as available work space. Many people also found out that their homes have poor air quality.

Low indoor air quality isn’t a new phenomenon, but its effects have become more noticeable as people spend more time in their homes. If you have concerns about your home’s indoor air quality (IAQ), you can start by asking yourself some questions:

After This Summer, It’s Time to Think About Your AC’s Future

September 19th, 2022

The title of this blog may sound melodramatic. But consider how important your home’s air conditioning system is to your comfort during a Florida year. Do you want to have next summer be the one where you abruptly discover that the time to replace your air conditioner was last year? Preparation and planning are key to ensuring uninterrupted comfort and energy-efficient comfort in your home. This post will help with that preparation and planning.

We’ll start with a basic but essential question…

Signs of a Failing Compressor in an AC

September 5th, 2022

The compressor is the literal heart of the AC: it’s what makes refrigerant circulate through the system and go through the process of evaporating and condensing. It’s an extremely powerful component that uses more electricity than any other part of the AC—from 35,000 to 41,000 watts per hour. It’s also an expensive piece to replace if it fails. Homeowners often find it more cost-effective to replace the entire air conditioning system in the case of the burnt-out compressor.

We want to help you avoid running into a problem because of a failed compressor. If you call for AC repair in Madison, FL in time, we can sometimes rescue the compressor and keep your AC working for several more years.

Below are some warning signs of a compressor that’s failing.

How an Old AC Can Become Too Costly (And Not Just in Money)

August 22nd, 2022

We understand that people want to get their money’s worth from their homes’ air conditioning systems, so they’ll try to push those ACs to last as long as possible. But an old air conditioner is a costly thing to have in a home—and not only because it will waste money.

The average service life expectancy of a central AC is 10 to 15 years. When an air conditioner reaches this range or goes beyond it, it will create problems. Below are some of the ways your old AC can be costing you.

Should I Invest in More Expensive Air Filters for My AC?

August 8th, 2022

Purchasing a new air conditioner is a big investment in any home. It is critical that you do what it takes to maintain your AC.

Many factors play a role in that process, such as ensuring that you are buying high-quality air filters (and changing them often enough). The big question, though, is if there really is a difference and a benefit to those really expensive air filters. Or can you go with the least expensive options and do just fine? When it comes to air conditioning in Newberry, FL, the answer to this question is not always as clear as it may seem.