HVAC information for Homeowners

Anyone living with residential HVAC can save money around here during the summer heat.

So many people just automatically assume that they will have to pay huge HVAC cooling bills during the summer.

This is a fallacy. Do the utility bills rise during the summer? Yes, but how much depends entirely on how committed a person is to saving on HVAC cooling. It only makes sense that if the HVAC cooling is running more, there will be a higher utility cost. But we can do some pretty simple things to deeply effect just how much we pay in cooling costs. As a local, I watch people come to the area and end up not liking it because they focus so much on the summer heat. And to make it worse, they go from one source of air conditioning to the next. It’s like the main thing is to avoid any sort of exposure to nature. This is the wrong well to go about it and a sure fire way to drain your bank account with HVAC cooling costs. The trick is to acclimate to the heat in the spring. Let the house get a bit warmer over the spring months. So by the time summer rolls around, an 80 degree home during the afternoon hours feels pretty dang cool. Also, I tend to employ fans which cost less than a tenth what it costs to run HVAC equipment. The facts of the matter are that the HVAC thermostat setting is the key to real savings during the heat of summer. Getting a bit more accustomed to heat will help you save tons of money in the summer.
air filter

I just don’t think I would make it anywhere that the winter weather required a gas furnace or a boiler or something like that.

That’s just a lot of HVAC heating power right there. So that means the temperatures dictate the need for such big time heating methods. That is no place for me. Hey, I love quality heating and air as much as the next guy. But I don’t think I’d ever survive a winter with temperatures that need a gas furnace. Instead, I’ll stick to the winter I know. And that winter is one where the temperatures are actually quite nice. Plus, there’s plenty of sun and cloudless skies as well. If there is a cold snap, all I have to do is flip the heat pump over to heating. Honestly that’s not too often. And even if I need the heat pump for heating, the heat pump makes short work of it. Now the heat pump is truly designed for the opposite of the temperature spectrum. It’s called a heat pump for a reason. That’s because this revolutionary HVAC technology is able to move heat energy elsewhere. And for residential HVAC, that means outside of one’s home. The heat pump gets a maximum workout during the summer heat season. But that’s what it was designed to do. The heating in the winter is really sort of a bonus given that a heat pump can extract heat energy from outside air down to near freezing temperatures. If it gets colder than that, there is a supplemental heating grid that fires up to help with heat energy. Yea, I’ll stick to where I am and let my heat pump take care of me no matter the season.

HVAC home services

For a long time, it seemed that I always had bad luck with any professional services. When I would hire plumbers, they would be rude, but they would get the work done at least. When I hired HVAC professionals, it was similar, they would act like they had better things to do and wouldn’t bother explaining any of the work they had completed. I remember telling a friend of mine that I was thinking about just not getting professional services. I thought maybe I could do my own maintenance around my home, perhaps watch some online tutorials on how to do things on my own. My friend laughed and said we needed HVAC professionals and plumbers, it was just one of those things. I mean I understood it, these people went to college to learn trades and they put their skills to use to make good money. I figured there had to be a way I didn’t have to deal with all these guys who were disrespectful though. It was enough motivation for me to figure out how to do things on my own. I ended up buying a new home that needed an HVAC system upgrade. I did have a local HVAC professional come out and he was just as disrespectful as most of them I have met. I got an estimate for an HVAC installation of a ductless mini split. I liked this system but I definitely didn’t like the price. I ended up researching how to install a ductless mini split and I went for the installation. I saved a lot of money and the best thing is that I didn’t have to deal with any annoying professionals.

 

Space heater

When my husband was away overseas on his last tour of duty, he told me to have a new HVAC system installed in the house.

He told me to go through different HVAC companies to see about finding the best price. The old HVAC system was basically useless, and I was worried about the approaching summer coming up. Our summers always get brutally hot and I didn’t know what I was going to do. Of course even before my husband sent over the money to have a new HVAC installed, I had already looked at different HVAC systems we could go for. I actually liked the ductless mini splits the best because they have multiple zones with customized heating and cooling. I even looked into the DIY ductless mini splits and I watched installation videos. I thought it looked so easy. After I got different estimates from the professionals, I realized that I could save a small fortune by just installing a DIY ductless mini split on my own. So I purchased a triple zone ductless mini split and then got to work when it arrived. It was a little bit challenging when I first started, but then I got a good rhythm with the work. I was even able to do the electrical work without too much difficulty. When my husband got back home, he said whoever installed the HVAC did a great job. When I told him that I actually installed it and saved us a small fortune, he was in shock and disbelief. Now he brags to his buddies saying that his wife is an HVAC professional.

 

Local contractor

When I first started living on my own, I learned that I had zero life skills.

I didn’t know anything when it came to taking care of a place. I wasn’t even good at grocery shopping and I ate out at different fast food places too often. At least at those places, they had comfortable temperature control settings. At my place, I had poor air quality and my HVAC didn’t work very well. I eventually learned that it was because I wasn’t changing the air filters. I find that it’s a two way street with things like your HVAC system. If you want it to take care of you, you have to take care of it. If you don’t change those air filters regularly, your air quality becomes really bad. If you go too long without the air filter change like I did, your HVAC system will struggle to even reach the temperature control settings. It really was no wonder I loved to eat at places. Whenever I got groceries, I knew I would have to cook and that would just heat up my house even more with the total lack of air conditioning. When it was becoming impossible for me to sleep at night, that’s when I had to do something and had an HVAC professional out to my house. He’s the one who told me about the importance of air filter changes and calling for regular tune-ups and HVAC maintenance. These days, I’m on an HVAC service plan so I have all my HVAC maintenance needs covered with no headaches.
a/c installation

Before I moved out to the country, I used to live in a pretty sweet little suburban home.

It was nice having a home that didn’t require a lot of renovation work.

We did a few things that were necessary though. We had a new roof installed on the garage. I actually got some friends to help do that project which turned out to be pretty nice. It certainly was a lot cheaper than what I would have paid the professionals. But of course, I had to help with cleanup and everything. I remember we collected so many nails, it was crazy. I also installed a ductless mini split in the garage. I remember how easy the job was because the garage wall is extremely easy to go through. When I moved to our new home in the country, I realized that I was going to have to install a ductless mini split for the entire household. I have never installed a ductless mini split with multiple zones before, but I didn’t think it would be too challenging. The biggest challenge about installing this particular HVAC was the fact that I had to drill a 3.5 inch hole through the cinder block. If you have ever tried doing that, you’ll know it can be a little bit tough if you don’t have the official tools required. I simply used my hand drill with a hole saw though, and it got the job done even though I went through a number of battery charges. You also have to be careful not to drill through the web of cinder blocks as that would make the job a lot more challenging. Happily, I was able to do the work with no real concerns, and the house feels perfectly comfortable both in the winter and the summer now.

 

 

commercial hvac

Back in the day, I used to enjoy going to the movie theatres.

I always thought it was fun going with my family, but if they didn’t want to go I would often go on my own.

Sometimes I would go with friends which was always cool too, but I always had to remain focused on the movie. I hated when people wanted to go to the concession stands in the middle of the movie or go to the bathroom. It ruins it when you miss parts of the movie, you know? That’s why I mostly loved going on my own to films. And I have seen a lot of big hit blockbusters that still remain some of my most preferred to watch films to this day. One of the things I appreciated the most about the movie theatre was the amazing climate control they had. In the summer months, the A/C was always feeling nice. In the winter, it was also just right and I could never recall having a lousy experience. These days, I will go to the theatres very rarely. I only go when there is a film I have been anticipating because I have to admit, I don’t enjoy all of the newer films so much. Of course, I have my own little movie theatre in my house now. I have the perfect climate control in a separate zone and I have a classic movie theatre theme to my movie theatre. Friends and family love to come over all the time to enjoy watching classic movies, and sometimes even the newer films.

 

furnace filter

There was a time when I would get into dance competitions amongst friends and rivals. It all started out as fun in the beginning, but it became pretty serious over the years as we all worked on new dance routines and skills. While it was fun dancing wherever we could, even on the streets, it was always best in a venue that had excellent climate control. I always found that my dancing was most on point when I was in a good venue. That’s why it was my favorite thing to go to the dance clubs. I mean, we’re talking about a place that is designed for dancing. There’s plenty of space on the dance floor and the crowd easily divides when you initiate a dancing competition. The DJ always gets into it also and hypes all the people up. I appreciate certain dance clubs too because they have the best climate control equipment, good air quality, and they keep the temperature control settings just right. And you know it takes a powerful climate control system to handle so many people in the building. All those bodies just heat up the atmosphere, especially when everybody is getting their groove on. As of late, I am retired from dancing, but I will get into all the fun from time to time. I still enjoy going to some of the old dance clubs I used to frequent. It’s always a great way to let off some steam every so often. I do enjoy staying at home the most lately though with my energy efficient ductless mini split.

 

 

Air conditioning maintenance

I definitely should have listened to my wife when she told me it was not a good idea to try to fix our HVAC system. She said that I was going to void the warranty. I thought that sounded ridiculous, but she did warn me. She also said I wasn’t an HVAC professional, but I watched plenty of DIY videos for doing this type of work. I was careful and made sure the power was off before doing anything. I carefully removed the cabinet and got to work with replacing a few parts. It probably would have been okay if I got the original parts that were needed, but I got some off generic brand of parts. They ended up working in the HVAC for about a year, and then a few of them failed. When I eventually had an HVAC professional come out, he said I definitely voided my warranty. He said the HVAC was basically ruined because it was working with the wrong parts. I thought he was just trying to make me feel stupid and wanted to sell me something expensive. He did offer to install the new HVAC, but said I could do whatever I wished. He did advise against trying to work on the HVAC again myself. Well I didn’t want to have him install anything, so I looked into the DIY ductless mini splits. I ended up installing one myself. My wife said I was making a big mistake, but it turned out okay. She actually is happy that I did it now, even though the warranty is probably void.

oil furnace

Ever since my buddies and I were youngsters, we have enjoyed riding our bikes around the area.

When we were young, we had our old school pedal bikes.

We still have those bikes to this day and some of my buddies still can perform stunts on their old BMX bikes. Back during those times, we would be outside often in the brutal heat of the summer. There were numerous times when we would all go into different houses of friends to enjoy the A/C for a little while. Sometimes it would be so hot outside, that we would just stay inside with the cooling A/C and the good air quality while playing video games. We would especially want to take some A/C and drink breaks after we would race each other around the block, and a huge block it was. These days, we all have motorcycles. We love to go cruising all around and when we want A/C breaks, we typically go to the bar where they have a nice ductless mini split. I tell you, a long while back I was skeptical when the owner was talking about upgrading to a ductless mini split, but he was right, that thing is a beast. When I saw the small sized indoor units, I thought there was no way there was any power behind that. The power is in the condenser unit though, and that thing is actually a pretty good size. It’s relatively quiet, but it is extremely powerful. I think one of these days, I will get a ductless mini split installed in my house.

 

a/c repair