Many homeowners find that a certain room or floor consistently has a different temperature than the rest of the home. If your home is heated unevenly, there may be a few factors at play. Here, we’ll outline the most common issues, along with solutions to get your whole home consistently comfortable. (more…)
Commercial HVAC isn’t something you think about day-to-day. It’s designed to run in the background, take as little active maintenance from you as possible, and let you and your team work comfortably.
Until it doesn’t work. Then, it’s all that’s on your mind.
Nobody ever wants to get to that point. It’s an uncomfortable and frustrating interruption. Luckily, just a little forethought can prevent all that.
You’ve got two options when it comes to commercial HVAC maintenance: a reactionary approach, where you fix it when it breaks. The issue with that approach is that it involves your system breaking.
The other option is proactive and very low effort. Not only does it avoid the interruption of an HVAC system not running well, but it avoids the costs associated with repairs, and keeps your system running well. It involves your system running at peak efficiency.
Scheduling routine maintenance keeps you, your team, and your system happy.
You know that chore on your list every few months at home? The one that takes little time to actually accomplish, but keeps your AC running smoothly?
Yes, your commercial HVAC unit runs the same way. Find out what your manufacturer recommends, and take the simple step of changing out your filter when it’s time.
If you have a rooftop unit, a lot of gunk can build up. Using a pressure washer (on a light setting) will help get a lot of the excess off, which can save you up to 30% over 20 years. It will help extend the life of your unit, and your unit will run much more efficiently (saving your money on energy costs).
If you know you’ll need an upgrade or repairs that aren’t immediately pressing, wait until the winter. Or, get them out of the way in the winter before the summer months come around. More commercial HVAC technicians will be available in off-peak months, and it’s much better than dealing with emergency maintenance in the heat of summer.
Cleaning, regular maintenance, and filter changes will go a long way towards keeping your commercial HVAC running, but units still need repairs from time to time.
If you’re noticing that the repairs are getting more frequent, or more expensive, ask your technician if it’s time to replace. It may be more cost-effective in the long run to avoid costly repairs as they build up.
Your HVAC unit is important to your office, even though you rarely think about it when it’s doing its job. Contact Gator Air and Energy for more information or to schedule your next maintenance appointment.
Just about everyone knows one of the best ways to keep your home warm in the winter is to pack in the insulation. The idea seems to be that more insulation means more warmth. While that’s certainly true while you’re running your heater, the fallacy is that people think of home insulation in the same way as they do insulation in, say, a winter coat. (more…)
As the dog days of summer are upon us, lets take a look at your AC efficiency. Are you receiving maximum cooling when you need it most? Are you overexerting your unit? Are there any preventative measures that can be taken to avoid maintenance issues?
During the summer months, it can be especially tempting to lower your thermostat to 65 degrees and set your fans to the highest settings in order to combat the heat. Meanwhile, proper AC efficiency requires a little bit of restraint. Setting your thermostat at a lower temperature than the room itself won’t actually cool the room any faster. In addition to placing undo stress on your AC unit, it could also dramatically increase your electricity bill.
Have you ever noticed how your air conditioning unit can take especially long to cool you off your home when the temperature is hot outside? That’s because before your AC unit can disperse cool air, it must first convert liquid refrigerant into a gas, a process that occurs at a high temperature. When it’s hot outside, the combined heat from the sun and the conversion of refrigerant can delay the process of cooling the air.
Dirty air filters and coils can also effect your AC efficiency, causing your unit to overheat. Preventing these issues could be as simple as checking your coils and filters once a month. Keeping an eye on your AC unit can go a long way in ensuring reliable AC efficiency and extending the lifespan of your unit. In addition to doing it yourself, we also recommend calling your AC vendor to schedule routine maintenance.
For even more AC efficiency tips and tricks, head over to the energy.gov and download their Home Cooling Energy Saver Infographic!
It’s easy to forget about your attic unless you’re making routine trips into it. For most Gainesville, FL homeowners, the attic is a place for storage and is rarely considered unless it’s being used.
Ignoring it could be part of the reason for your escalating utility bills. It’s always possible that the cool air produced by your A/C unit is slipping through your home and into the attic, and the reverse is also true with the hot air from the attic coming into your home. Attics affect your home cooling in a major way.
Here are some tips on how to limit the impact your attic is having on your home as we head into the hot summer months.
To keep the cool air from escaping through your walls and into the attic space, insulation is a big deal. If home cooling is a big deal to you, adding insulation during the home building process can ensure savings over the lifetime of the house.
If you built the home, hopefully you had conversations with the builder about how much insulation would be put into the house. If you bought the house when it was already built, it can be tough to know how well insulated the house is. However, if you’re noticing some rooms heat up faster than others in the summer time, that’s a strong sign that those rooms didn’t receive the insulation the others did.
While trying to figure out if the bottom of your attic has enough insulation, a good rule of thumb is to look at how high it comes up. If the insulation ends at the top of the joists, then you should consider adding more. If it comes over the joists, then you should be fine and it wouldn’t make sense financially to add any insulation. Improving the insulation can reduce the way attics affect your home cooling.
Just as insulation is important to your attic, ventilation is also a big deal. There are big problems, like hurting the life of your shingles and supporting mold growth, that come with a lack of ventilation. For home cooling purposes, lacking ventilation can have a negative impact on your attic’s insulation.
During the hottest months of the year, the built up heat in your attic can get over 120 degrees. When that starts to seep into your living space, home cooling costs can increase.
If ventilation is set up properly with your home, it should give a constant flow that pushes air from outside of your home and through your attic space. This gives your attic a chance to breathe and lower the temperature.
Gainesville, FL homes are in prime location to get beaten down by the sun. One simple way to limit the impact the sun has on your attic is to go with a lighter colored roof. This can help reflect some of the sun’s energy and keep it from heating up your attic space.
If that doesn’t work, you can use reflective coatings on the roof to reflect the sunlight and keep it from having a major impact on the temperature of your attic.
Studies have shown that wood roofing panels under black shingles are usually 10-15 degrees warmer than white shingles on similar days. These temperatures can play a big role on the temperature of your attic and ultimately make your home cooling more difficult.
If you’d like to have your A/C unit looked at by a trained professionals, call Gator Air & Energy at 352-275-4827 or send us a message on our website.
First-time home buyers learn a lot during the home buying process, but it’s not all about your mortgage. The home has many parts that must be considered and looked at before moving in or immediately after.
One of the most important steps should be to check out the HVAC system to get an idea of how old it is and how long it can go without being repaired or replaced. Here are some tips about the system when you move into your first home:
You can do this by yourself with a quick check or hire a professional to do a thorough check. If you’re doing it by yourself, look at the unit to see if there is any rust and listen to see if it sounds normal when running.
The general rule of thumb is that an HVAC system needs to be replaced after 10 years, but that can vary depending on how well it was cared for throughout its life up to that point. If the unit is getting close to the 10-year mark, consider that if it needs to undergo any repairs. It could be cheaper in the long run for you to purchase a new system instead of continually paying for fixes.
If you can investigate the HVAC system before you move in, consider trying to use it as leverage to get the house for a cheaper price since the unit will likely have to be replaced in the future.
Seek out the ducts that are visible in the house — check the attic or basement for those — for any noticeable problems. Any rust, condensation on the outside, gaps or loose connections can be red flags with the ducts and should be fixed by the owner or an A/C professional.
If the duct issues go ignored, it will cost you monthly on the utility bill and could shorten the life of the system because it will put more work on the HVAC system. Duct work is an important part of making sure your first home is off to a good start.
Insulation is one of the most important elements to your comfort indoors. If helps keep the cool air inside during the summer and the warm air inside during the winter. However, it’s tough to know much about the insulation when you move into your first home. Ask your realtor or the previous home owner to try gaining more information about how you should proceed.
The insulation is one of the most important areas of the house regarding your future comfort, but it’s also one of the most difficult to account for since you can’t see it. If you don’t have enough of it, you’ll notice almost immediately after moving into the house. It’s also important to remember that some rooms could have more insulation than others.
If you’re moving into your first home and want trained professionals to make sure your HVAC system is in good shape, call Gator Air & Energy at 352-275-4827 or send us a message on our website.
A/C unit repair is a frustrating option for homeowners, but when is it time to stop calling for repairs and start calling for a new unit?
This is a question many homeowners battle with, especially as their A/C unit ages. There comes a time where you should stop dealing with the frustrating, continued repairs and purchase a new unit.
Here’s how to know when that time comes:
When an A/C unit passes the 10-year mark, it’s time to start planning for a replacement. It doesn’t have to happen immediately at the 10-year mark, but this is the general rule of thumb for the average lifespan of a unit. That can increase or decrease based on how well the unit is maintained throughout its life.
If you need continued repairs around the 10-year mark of a unit’s lifespan, this is the time to heavily consider starting over with a brand new unit. It’s also a good time to evaluate how long you plan to stay in the home and make the decision based on that.
A one-time repair is nothing to worry about. These small repairs aren’t uncommon and shouldn’t have you questioning the long term health of your system.
The problem comes when the repairs begin to happen frequently. When that becomes a routine and the system gets up in age, that’s when you need to start considering if it would be more cost effective to get a new A/C unit.
It’s always a good idea to keep your eye on the price of your monthly utility bill. Any sharp spikes could be a sign of issues, but even without a quick increase, the bill can still tell you a lot about the unit.
HVAC systems are typically responsible for about half of the money in your bill. The bill will naturally go up as the system runs more when the weather gets hot, but continued increases in the bill can be a sign that there is something wrong with the unit. If the cost continues to go up and you have an old A/C unit, it’s not a bad idea to start planning for a new one.
When the A/C unit gets up in age, it’s even more important to keep an eye on the temperature inside your home. If you notice it feeling hotter than normal, this can also be a sign that the HVAC system needs to be replaced.
These hotter temperatures can signal that your unit is having problems cooling the house. When that happens, it’s usually time to start looking at a replacement.
If you’re debating whether or not your A/C unit should be replaced and want the help of trained professionals, call Gator Air & Energy at 352-275-4827 or send us a message on our website.
Question: How often do you think you should have your HVAC serviced by an experienced contractor?
Once a year?
Every 5 years?
Only when it stops working?
A good HVAC maintenance plan calls for a comprehensive check on your entire AC system by an experienced contractor every three to six months.
There are 2 main reasons this maintenance schedule is recommended:
Regular HVAC service can be compared to regular car maintenance: you can pay a little bit for routine service or wait and pay a hefty amount for major ac repairs. Many people wait until their air conditioner is making a strange noise or isn’t running properly before they call for service but costly ac repairs can be avoided by preventing a problem before it starts.
Even if your air conditioner seems to be running smoothly, it can lose about 5% of its operational efficiency every year. According to energy.gov, regularly servicing a a unit will maintain up to 95% of its original efficiency. This means that the cost of a regular service is quickly recovered in savings on your monthly electricity bill as well as reduced repair costs. A properly serviced air conditioner will also do a better job of dehumidifying your home
A service technician looks at and listens to your air conditioning system closely. Typically, maintenance includes:
All major equipment needs routine maintenance to keep it running reliably. Regular servicing of your air conditioner will provide you with a number of benefits, such as:
Contact Gator Air and Energy for more information or to schedule your next maintenance appointment.
Contrary to popular belief, Florida does get pretty cold in the winter. Here in North Central Florida, we spend many winter mornings scraping frost off of vehicle windshields. These colder temps mean that heating bills can be as high, or higher, than summer months. Aside from regular maintenance of your HVAC system, there are other steps you can take to save money on heating costs. Here are some useful tips for heating your home:
For more cost-saving information, visit the U.S. Department of Energy.
Your best bet when it comes to energy savings is to have your HVAC unit checked before the temperatures start to drop. A unit that is heating properly makes all the difference.
Still have questions or need an energy efficiency consultation for your home or business? Let one of our licensed HVAC energy saving experts help!
Isn’t it every Floridian’s dream to breathe clean air within their mold-free home? If so, then Gator Air and Energy can help you turn your dream into a reality by revealing some simple ways in which you can do just that! By taking care of your ductwork, you can ensure that your air conditioning is operating to its full potential year round, so take advantage of our practical advice by incorporating these preventative practices into your regular home care routine.
Air filters are supposed to be replaced about four times a year, if not more. Dirty filters allow dirty air to flow through your house, so your air ducts will be filthy. While this occurrence usually doesn’t cause mold, it is still safer to maintain this habit as well as possible because dirty air can have unhealthy effects on you and those around you. Dirty air can trigger allergies, but clean air can help you, your family, and your coworkers avoid allergy issues and other respiratory problems.
What is the condenser coil? Technically, it converts gas to liquid, includes a refrigerant, and when air is blown over the top of it, it converts it to a cooler temperature. Essentially, the condenser coil is what makes your air conditioning cold. Unfortunately, if the coil or the fan is dirty, the air blowing over it can get restricted. From there, the air blows too cold and creates a lot of condensation. With all that water comes mold and of course, water damage. Both of these are dangerous for your house. Stagnant water not only erodes its surroundings, but it can also be breeding grounds for various insects, according to the World Health Organization.
If you notice that you are consistently spending a lot more money for the same amount of air conditioning usage each month, then there might be a problem with your air ducts. Even if you can’t see mold, or the air conditioning doesn’t seem to be spotty, a problem such as a leak or a closed air duct valve could still exist. Therefore, it is definitely a good idea to have your air ducts inspected, just in case.
Those are the three best preventative practices to prevent you from having to deal with poor ductwork. These practices can save you money on your energy bill and keep the air in your home clean and cold.
However, if you already see mold around your vents or are experiencing erratic air conditioning, then stay tuned for part two of “How to Properly Take Care of Your Ductwork”, in which you can read about the importance of duct dnspections and duct cleanings. In the meantime, however, please contact us with questions or look up our services here.
