Maintaining proper indoor air quality is important throughout the year, but especially so during winter. It is during winter when people tend to seal off their homes as much as possible from the outside environment, in order to keep a comfortable indoor temperature. This, unfortunately, also cuts off the flow of fresh air into the home, making the indoor air quality drop considerably. One of the most popular ways to deal with this kind of issue is to install a whole-house air filter in the home. However, there is one particular factor that you absolutely need to consider before installing a whole house air filter. Read on to find out what it is.
Touchstone Heating & Air Inc. Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Lake Butler’
Before You Install a New Air Filter, Read This
Monday, February 15th, 2016Get Your Ducts Cleaned This Winter
Monday, January 11th, 2016Winter is here, and many homeowners have already prepared for the cold weather with things like heating system maintenance. While that’s a great way to make sure that your heating system is up to the strain of daily use, it’s far from the only thing that you need to do to prepare for winter. In fact, one of the best things you can do, both for your heating efficiency and your health, is something that is often completely overlooked. Read on for more information about the advantages of duct cleaning.
Types of Generators Available for Installation
Monday, December 7th, 2015Florida is one of those areas where the power grid is not as reliable as it should be, especially during hurricane season. If you happen to live in an area that gets frequent blackouts, you don’t have to just sit in the dark and wait for the lights to turn back on. A generator could be the perfect solution if you want to keep your home up and running. Read on for more information on how they can help your home.
Why Your Heat Pump Needs Maintenance Twice a Year
Monday, September 14th, 2015With summer ending soon, many homeowners are getting ready to turn off their air conditioners for the year. If you have a heat pump, though, you’re probably going to continue using it throughout the winter. Heat pumps are well known for their ability to provide both heating and cooling functions. While this is quite convenient for homeowners who use them, it also means that they require different treatment from more traditional climate control systems. Let’s look at why your heat pump needs preventive maintenance at least twice a year.
The Steps of Professional Furnace Maintenance
Monday, October 27th, 2014Have you scheduled your furnace’s annual maintenance visit yet? Right now is the ideal time to get it done, during the fall before the weather starts to turn colder. We recommend that anyone who uses a furnace to heat their home have maintenance done once a year during fall. This will not only prepare the furnace for the work ahead, but it will also catch any repair issues before they can become serious, and will keep the furnace working at its most energy efficient.
With our Energy Savings Agreement, you’ll receive a furnace check-up and inspection in the fall, as well as a visit for your air conditioning during the spring. Call us today to hear about the details.
What happens during furnace maintenance
A routine maintenance visit for a furnace follows a number of basic steps. Your technician will make any adjustments necessary depending on the condition of your furnace and what he or she may discover during the session.
The technician will start by replacing or cleaning the furnace filter, and show you how you can do this during the rest of the year on your own if you don’t already know how. After that, the technician will check to see if the thermostat is correctly calibrated so it reads temperatures accurately.
Next, the work inside the furnace cabinet begins. The technician lubricates the fan motor, which is an important part of relieving stress on the system. Next comes a check on the electrical system (even a gas furnace uses electricity to run its fans) to measure voltage and look over the fuses, breakers, and other wiring. If necessary, the technician will tighten loose electrical connections.
One of the key steps a technician will take for a gas-powered furnace is to look for any signs of corrosion on the unit and especially on the heat exchanger; cracks along a heat exchanger due to corrosion can lead to dangerous carbon monoxide leaks, and the exchanger will need to be replaced. The technician will also clean off the burner if necessary. Finally, the maintenance technician will perform a visual inspection of the ductwork to see if there are places were air might be escaping.
The technician will present you with any problems discovered during the check-up and offer advice on repairs or services you may need to improve the system and keep it operating safely. Once the maintenance job is completed, you should have a furnace in the best running shape possible, ready for another year of keeping your home cozy.
When you sign up for the Energy Savings Agreement with Touchstone Heating and Air Inc., you will not only receive quality heating maintenance in Lake Butler, FL that will keep your heater working efficiently for many years, you will save 15% on repair services and receive priority scheduling. Contact us today.
Touchstone Heating and Air Inc. offers an excellent program for heating maintenance in Lake Butler, FL and other communities in North Central Florida. Call us today!
Here’s How Professional HVAC Maintenance Can Save You Money
Monday, October 13th, 2014Air conditioning and heating systems use up a large portion of any home’s utility bills every month, and sometimes, it seems like the easiest way to save money is by shutting off your system entirely. Of course, doing so means sacrificing comfort—and a lot of complaints from the members of your household.
Another easy way to save is by scheduling HVAC maintenance every year. With professional maintenance, a technician cleans, inspects, and makes adjustments for your heating and cooling system. All it takes is one phone call and a bit of your time, and the savings will surely make up for the low cost of maintenance.
Steps of Maintenance that Help You Save
Every part of the maintenance process is intended to protect your air conditioner from costly future repairs and to help keep energy costs low. Although there are many other components to the process, here are the details of just a few of the most important steps of HVAC maintenance.
- Adjust Thermostat Calibration: If your thermostat is inaccurate, you may be setting your thermostat too low in the cooling season or too high when it’s cold outside. Even if you are only one or two degrees off, it could mean you are spending a lot more on your energy bill. A technician will clean or adjust the thermostat, and may recommend replacement in some cases.
- Inspect and Clean the Filters: A dirty air or furnace filter could reduce the required amount of airflow to your system, resulting in poor efficiency and possibly leading to repairs. You should replace or clean the filters in your HVAC maintenance system about once every month, but a maintenance technician can ensure that this is completed properly.
- Inspect and Tighten Electrical Components: Electrical problems could lead to issues with fan motors or the compressor, both of which may need replacement. Technicians check for wiring problems and tighten electrical components when needed, in order to prevent costly repairs later on.
- Visually Check the Ductwork: The ductwork in your home may have leaks, and leaks can cause up to 30% of the air from your HVAC system to escape from the ducts in some homes. A technician can tell you if duct sealing will have a significant impact on your cooling and heating costs.
At Touchstone Heating and Air Inc., our maintenance program includes a twice yearly tune-up and discounts on services.
For these offers and more, call Touchstone Heating and Air Inc. today and ask about scheduling HVAC maintenance in Lake Butler.
3 Benefits of Installing Air Purifiers
Tuesday, August 5th, 2014Good indoor air quality is a big part of your indoor comfort, but it’s also important for health. One of the best ways to improve your indoor air quality is to add a whole-home air purifier to your air conditioning system. While room air purifiers can help with some indoor air quality issues, the best way to truly improve indoor air quality is to upgrade to a whole-home air purifier. There are a couple of choices when it comes to choosing an air purifier in Lake Butler, which is why it’s important to work with professionals like the ones at Touchstone Heating and Air, Inc. to choose the air purifier that’s best for you.
3 Benefits of Installing an Air Purifier
- Better health – if you are concerned about biological pollutants such as bacteria and/or viruses, an air purifier will destroy these kinds of particles.
- Odor removal – do smells from activities like cooking tend to linger far longer than they should? An air purifier can help remove offensive odors from your indoor air.
- Prevention of biological growth – mold, mildew, fungi and algae all thrive in cool, dark and moist environments, making your air conditioner a great place for them to thrive. Using UV germicidal lighting can stop this kind of growth from developing and proliferating.
Types of Air Purifiers
There are 3 common types of air purifiers on the market:
- Electronic precipitators
- Ion generators
- UV germicidal lights
Electronic precipitators clean the air by sucking air into an ion field, charging the particles, and then attracting the charged particles to oppositely-charged plates that should be cleaned every 3 months. An ion generator is similar to an electronic precipitator in that it charges particles in an ion field, but it does not capture the particles; rather, the charged particles attach to surfaces throughout the home, such as counters and walls. UV germicidal lights are different from the electronic filters. UV germicidal lights use UV-C light to destroy the DNA of biological pollutants (like mold, mildew, bacteria, viruses, etc.) to prevent them from reproducing and surviving. UV lights do not have the ability to attract particles, so they are usually placed in specific areas such as over the evaporator coils or in ductwork.
If it’s time to improve the indoor air quality with an air purifier in Lake Butler, call on installation experts you can trust: Touchstone Heating and Air, Inc.