cooling and heating: what you should know before you start

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COOLING AND HEATING: What You Should Know Before You Start You have to have a properly functioning HVAC system, so you must know about good maintenance techniques. Learning how to keep your system maintained will help you avoid large repair bills. This article will provide you with helpful tips to keep your HVAC system operating well thus avoiding expensive repairs. If your HVAC is running into problems, check out each room in your house before calling for assistance. Make a list of the temperatures http://www.acehardware.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=2627979 in each room and whether they are hot or cold. This will help the repairman determine what the problem is. If you do have a good experience with a HVAC product or contractor, let others know. Go online and post a review so that people can easily find out who and what brands to trust. At the same time, you can check reviews online to learn more yourself about what's available. An HVAC system is a really expensive investment. This is why you should do some browsing before purchasing your system. Try to find a good sale so you can get your system at a discount. Check out a couple of sites before making a decision. A great site to begin is www.energystar.gov. When you have an outdoor unit, be sure to keep all plants, flowers, shrubs and trees at least two feet from it. Anything that grows inside it, either above the ground or even roots beneath the soil, can block it up and cause it to break. Give it some breathing room. Look to your neighbors and family to get recommendations of good HVAC specialists. Likely there's someone you know who's already done a ton of research. Use this knowledge to help get you the best specialist you can. This can save you many hours of research time and money too. The correct HVAC system should have sealed air ducts to minimize heating or cooling loss as air travels to different rooms. The heating or cooling requirements of different rooms in the home should be taken into consideration. There is no reason to increase energy usage by controlling the temperature in rooms that are used very little. To help lower cooling costs when not at home, make sure the air conditioner is turned off. When it's off the house will get hot, but only by a certain amount. Leaving the system on all day will cost a lot of money in terms of electricity. When selecting the spot to put the outdoor compressor for your unit, choose somewhere that gets plenty of shade. When your unit is bringing in cool air, it will not have to work as hard to cool the air as it moves it inside, boosting efficiency. If you have a window air conditioner without a timer, use a regular outlet timer to control when it is on or off. These are the same ones you use for holiday lights, so all you have to do is plug your air conditioner into the timer and set it to cool you during the day.

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Page 1: COOLING AND HEATING: What You Should Know Before You Start

COOLING AND HEATING: What You Should Know BeforeYou Start

You have to have a properly functioning HVAC system, so you must know about good maintenancetechniques. Learning how to keep your system maintained will help you avoid large repair bills. Thisarticle will provide you with helpful tips to keep your HVAC system operating well thus avoidingexpensive repairs.

If your HVAC is running into problems, check out each room in your house before calling forassistance. Make a list of the temperatureshttp://www.acehardware.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=2627979 in each room and whetherthey are hot or cold. This will help the repairman determine what the problem is.

If you do have a good experience with a HVAC product or contractor, let others know. Go online andpost a review so that people can easily find out who and what brands to trust. At the same time, youcan check reviews online to learn more yourself about what's available.

An HVAC system is a really expensive investment. This is why you should do some browsing beforepurchasing your system. Try to find a good sale so you can get your system at a discount. Check outa couple of sites before making a decision. A great site to begin is www.energystar.gov.

When you have an outdoor unit, be sure to keep all plants, flowers, shrubs and trees at least two feetfrom it. Anything that grows inside it, either above the ground or even roots beneath the soil, canblock it up and cause it to break. Give it some breathing room.

Look to your neighbors and family to get recommendations of good HVAC specialists. Likely there'ssomeone you know who's already done a ton of research. Use this knowledge to help get you thebest specialist you can. This can save you many hours of research time and money too.

The correct HVAC system should have sealed air ducts to minimize heating or cooling loss as airtravels to different rooms. The heating or cooling requirements of different rooms in the homeshould be taken into consideration. There is no reason to increase energy usage by controlling thetemperature in rooms that are used very little.

To help lower cooling costs when not at home, make sure the air conditioner is turned off. When it'soff the house will get hot, but only by a certain amount. Leaving the system on all day will cost a lotof money in terms of electricity.

When selecting the spot to put the outdoor compressor for your unit, choose somewhere that getsplenty of shade. When your unit is bringing in cool air, it will not have to work as hard to cool the airas it moves it inside, boosting efficiency.

If you have a window air conditioner without a timer, use a regular outlet timer to control when it ison or off. These are the same ones you use for holiday lights, so all you have to do is plug your airconditioner into the timer and set it to cool you during the day.

Page 2: COOLING AND HEATING: What You Should Know Before You Start

Manage the heat flow into your home with window coverings to help out your HVAC system. In thewarmer months, use drapes, curtains and blinds to block out sunward facing windows to keep heatfrom building up through the greenhouse effect. Alternatively, make sure that sunlit windows areletting light and warmth in during the colder click over here now months.

When you are looking for a service provider to perform service on your HVAC system, look for acompany that stands behind their work. This is especially important if your compressor or condenseris being repaired. Repairs to these two things are extremely expensive, so you want to ensure thatthe service provider warranties their work.

Use your HVAC system to heat your water for free! In the summer, residual heat pulled out of yourhouse is used to heat water through a geothermal system. This will cool your home while allowingyou to save a ton on hot water costs, plus it's environmentally friendly to boot!

Pick HVAC companies that know what they're doing and can work quickly. Companies that are mostreliable stick to the appointment time they give you. The technicians will be able to help you andoffer the best possible options. Once the problem is identified, they will also be able to quickly andefficiently resolve it.

If you are thinking of installing a new roof and want it to also boost the efficiency of your HVAC,choose white materials. They reflect the sun's heat so that your attic doesn't get hot, and that meansyour air conditioner doesn't have to labor as hard to cool your home.

When looking for an HVAC company, find one that is available when you need them. Reliablecompanies can be reached easily at any time. This includes both day and night. A prospectivecompany should also values your resources and time. They should be able to schedule service callsat your earliest convenience.

Never hire anyone to work on your HVAC system unless they are licensed and bonded. This industryis one where mistakes happen often and you want to make sure that you are protected. You do notwant to be stuck paying for medical bills that are more expensive than the work you were havingdone.

Is your home's electrical set-up ready to handle a new air conditioning unit? Most homes have 115-volt circuits in place, but larger air conditioners need 230-volts to be used. Some smaller units mayneed their own dedicated circuit as well to ensure your home doesn't go dark when you turn themon.

Page 3: COOLING AND HEATING: What You Should Know Before You Start

When you have a short list of contractors toconsider, ask the people on their reference list aboutnot only the service they received, but also how wellthe system is still running. Did they need more workdown the road? Has the company come back tomake things right?

As stated in the introduction above, it is essential to take great care of your HVAC system. The air inyour home is very important, especially to you and your family's health and comfort. Make use of theinformative tips above when you are maintaining and repairing your HVAC system.