Heat pumps are great for the climate here in Austin. During the heat of the middle of the year, a heat pump is as powerful as the best air conditioning system. When temperatures cool down enough that a house needs a bit of warmth, a heat pump shifts smoothly into heating mode—and uses much less electricity to run than an electric furnace. We’re still enjoying warm weather in December, but the time to change your heat pump over to heating mode is coming up. If you haven’t done so yet, it’s time to schedule maintenance for your heat pump with an HVAC company in Leander, TX
You mean a heat pump needs winter maintenance?
To answer the question in the title: yes. If you schedule maintenance for the heat pump in spring, that doesn’t mean you have the heat pump taken care of for the entire year. Spring maintenance inspections and tune-ups are vital because they help the heat pump get through the most arduous part of its workload during the year. But it needs similar attention at the end of the year.
But a standard AC only needs maintenance once!
And so does a furnace. But those are systems that only do a single job. The AC cools, the furnace heats. The AC picks up most of its wear and tear during the summer, and then has a stretch where it does much less work. The furnace will only run during the winter. But a heat pump works all through the year, and it uses the same components in either heating or cooling mode.
No matter what job the heat pump is doing, it picks up dirt, stress, and wear that affects it regardless of the mode it’s in. This means that whenever you need your heat pump to cool you off during the off-seasons—and hot weather can strike at almost any time—it will be at a higher danger of malfunctioning or wasting energy. Maintenance at this time of year is an investment in your heating and cooling.
You enjoy all the benefits of regular maintenance
If you sign up for our maintenance plan, you’re already covered for two maintenance visits a year. This is just a basic part of the package: our NATE-certified, dependable HVAC technicians are looking out for your entire HVAC system, heating and cooling. Along with our technicians watching out for your heat pump throughout the season, you’ll receive other benefits (depending on your membership level):
- Premium Scheduling (you jump to the front of the service queue)
- No overtime or holiday rates
- Complementary refrigerant (1 pound per system R410a only)
- 10% discount on all repairs (does not include equipment replacement)
Of course, the biggest benefits are the ones that come from the skilled tune-ups and inspections our NATE-certified technicians perform. When you have us help you out each spring and fall, you’ll enjoy better energy efficiency from your heat pump, fewer repairs (85% less on average), and longer equipment life. Plus, you’ll keep the warranty in place.
Call iAir Services: The Intelligent choice today makes cents tomorrow! Serving the Greater Austin Area.
During the short winter season when you run your gas furnace, your main concern will be that it works the way it should and provides the heat necessary for household comfort. Safety, however, is another concern. We don’t want to be alarmist and make you think the gas furnace in your house is a constant source of potential danger. Modern furnaces are constructed with the uppermost safety in mind, and few furnaces will create any hazards provided they receive routine maintenance inspections from professionals and are repaired promptly when the need arises.
But there is a specific repair issue we want to address—it’s the most important repair your furnace may need because it is a major safety hazard. And that repair is…
The heat exchanger is the component of a furnace that does the actual heating of the air moving into the vents. The combustion gas from the burners can’t be used to directly heat the air, because that would permit harmful gases to enter the air distributed around the house. What happens instead is the hot combustion gas enters a narrow metal container: the heat exchanger.
The heat of the combustion gas transfers to the metal walls of the exchanger and turns them hot. Air from the air handler blows across the hot metal surface of the heat exchanger and the heat transfers to the air. This air continues into the ventilation system to the rooms, while the exhaust gas in the exchange escapes through a flue to the outside of the house.
The potential danger here is the gas in the heat exchanger seeping out and into the air. This can happen if cracks start along the metal surface. Even a small crack can allow harmful gases like carbon monoxide to get into the air because the metal surface of the exchanger expands with the heat, causing the crack to spread open.
The most common cause of these cracks is corrosion on the metal of the exchanger. Years of use or poor ventilation causes a reaction between the metal and the vapor of the combustion gas that lead to corrosion. When corrosion weakens the metal, the stress of the heat exchanger expanding and contracting may create cracks. This puts your household in danger of exposure to harmful gases.
Recognizing the signs
We recommend calling for furnace repair in Buda, TX to replace the heat exchanger if you notice these signs:
- Clicking noise from the furnace cabinet after the blower fan shuts off.
- Corrosion appearing on any part of the furnace.
- The odor of rotten eggs in the house. This is a special chemical put into natural gas so its odor can be detected.
- Your CO detectors go off. (Vacate the house first and call the gas company before calling for repairs.)
If your furnace is more than 15 years old, it’s at a higher risk of a cracked heat exchanger, and we recommend an inspection to see if it’s ready to be retired. If your furnace is this old, then replacing the heat exchanger is not a cost-effective choice; it’s better to have a new furnace installed.
The intelligent choice today makes sense tomorrow! Call iAir Services for furnace repair in the Greater Austin Area.
Unless you live in an older home that doesn’t have any ductwork, you rely daily on the unseen air channels set into the walls and ceilings of your house. Because you can’t see these air ducts, it’s easy for you to forget about them and believe they’ll just take care of themselves. The suggestion of duct repair service in Austin, TX may sound a bit absurd.
For example, duct sealing. Is this something ducts actually need, and is it any benefit? And even if it’s beneficial, why hire a professional for the job when you’ve got duct tape?
We can answer these questions for you—and then provide the duct services you need.
Ductwork is designed to retain an airtight seal along its length. This allows the ducts to maintain proper air pressure and deliver air from the blower fan evenly around the house. Any break in this seal allows air to escape—often heated or cooled air—and lowers air pressure.
- This costs you on your bills: You can lose up to 30% of the air in the ducts to these leaks. This means when the heater or AC is running, you’re losing 30% of the air you’ve paid to heat or cool. You can expect to see steeper utility bills as a result, peaking during the warmest and coolest parts of the year. You don’t want to pay 30% more for the same cooling/heating performance.
- This wears down the HVAC system: The 30% loss of air means the AC, heater, or heat pump must work that much harder to make up the difference. This is putting extra “miles” on the system that will cause it to break more often and have a shorter system life.
- This harms household comfort: Air leaks in ducts are one of the principal causes of hot and cold spots around a house. When you notice uneven heating and cooling in your house and aren’t sure why it’s a major warning sign of leaking air ducts that need repair.
All it takes to fix these problems is to have professionals seal the duct leaks. You’ll soon see the benefits of lower utility bills, improved comfort, and an HVAC system that hangs around longer with fewer repairs to pester you.
Duct tape is not an option to repair leaky ducts. There’s a long and weird story behind how duct tape received a misleading name. (It was originally called duck tape, although there are competing reasons why.) The essential fact you need to know is that duct tape is not useful on ducts. At all. It quickly turns brittle and falls off when exposed to temperature changes inside the ductwork.
If you think you have ducts that need repair, leave the tape in the drawer and call our professionals instead. We’ll first perform duct testing is to see if the ventilation system needs repair work, and then we’ll focus on where sealing will help.
iAir Services offers full HVAC service throughout the Greater Austin Area. Speak to us today to arrange for duct testing if you suspect leaky ductwork.
The heat in Austin is intense in the summer, and hot weather can linger through many other times of the year. That means air conditioning systems take on immense workloads. You probably have a central air conditioner for your home, so you know how high electrical bills rise when the AC runs. When you hear about a possible energy-saving alternative like an evaporative cooler, you might start to consider making the change.
And then you’ll stop because … maybe this “evaporative cooler” thing won’t do the job?
You’re already thinking the right way. Healthy skepticism about any type of new comfort system (or new to you) is wise. You never want to impulsively purchase HVAC equipment because there is no such thing as a universal air conditioning or heating system. Certified professionals must not only find the right type of unit for a house but also accurately size it so it’s neither too weak nor too powerful.
Evaporative coolers can work as effective air conditioning systems for homes. But they are not right for all homes in all areas of the country. Let’s dig deeper into the particulars.
What differs between a standard central AC and an evaporative cooler is the cooling mechanism.
- A standard air conditioner circulates refrigerant to pump heat from inside the house to the outside. Electrical power goes to a compressor to super-heat the refrigerant and places it under extreme pressure so it circulates. Electricity also powers a set of exhaust and blower fans.
- An evaporative cooler uses the water to cool off air brought in from outside the house. Water is pumped onto the pads the air passes over, and the air loses its heat to the water—this is evaporative cooling. Electrical power goes to the pumps wetting the pads and to the blower fan.
An evaporative cooler is simpler than a refrigerant-based air conditioner, and it consumes less electrical power to cool the air. It also has the benefit of bringing in fresh air and raising the humidity in dry conditions.
We can’t provide a definite answer in a blog post because we need to examine your home. However, we live in one of the best environments for evaporative coolers—a dry one. High humidity makes it harder for evaporative cooling to work. Under dry, hot conditions, an evaporative cooler can work just as well as a refrigerant-based air conditioner. For example, on the day we’re writing this, relative humidity is at 14% and the temperature is in the mid-80s. Under these conditions, an evaporative cooler can lower the temperature down to the low 60s! That’s far cooler than you’ll ever need your home. Even on 90°F days with average humidity, an evaporative cooler can lower a home’s temperature to a comfortable range.
The lowdown: an evaporative cooler is definitely worth considering.
If you would like to learn more about evaporative cooler installation, or you have other troubles like AC repair in Kyle, TX, you can trust our technicians for the service you need.
Choose iAir Services, where the intelligent choice today makes cents tomorrow! Contact us for more information about your cooling options.
We’re dealing with another hot early fall here in Austin, with days frequently peaking in the 90s. This isn’t good news for your beleaguered air conditioning system, which has already had to deal with a long summer of steady work. This is a time when your AC is most likely to suffer a major malfunction because of the accumulation of wear and tear on it.
It’s important to never ignore any signs of problems with your air conditioner in Austin, TX, no matter how late in the year it is. Don’t count on the relief from cooler weather to bail you out when your AC is struggling. A call to our NATE-certified, dependable HVAC technicians for repairs is easy to do—and it rewards you with a dependable AC that has a longer service life.
Below are a few common air conditioning malfunctions that can strike during this time of year when the heat has already taken a heavy toll:
- Failed capacitors – Capacitors are electric components responsible for sending voltage to the motors in the AC to start them running and keep them running. The blower, the outdoor fan, and the compressor all have a set of capacitors. Extreme heat can lower a capacitor’s ability to hold an electric charge and eventually cause it to fail—so these parts of the AC are at high risk during late-season heat. When a capacitor begins to fail, it will give off a clicking sound. You may also notice motors in the AC hard-starting. Don’t try to replace capacitors on your own—let our technicians make sure the right new capacitors are put in place.
- Low airflow – Have you noticed the air coming from one or more of the room vents feels weaker than normal? This often means the air filter in the HVAC cabinet is clogged up and needs to be swapped for a new one. Changing the filter should be done every one to three months, and it’s a job people often forget during the transitional seasons. If changing the air filter doesn’t fix the low airflow, the HVAC system ductwork may be leaking or the blower fan is malfunctioning.
- Ice on the evaporator coil – No, you should never see ice forming along with the indoor coil of the AC. An air conditioner doesn’t use ice to operate, and when it does appear it means something is interfering with the coil’s ability to absorb heat. There are multiple possible reasons for this to happen, but at this time of the year, one of the most likely causes is dirt and dust along with the coil. Don’t try to scrape off the ice yourself! You must have the underlying problem solved first, so call the experts.
- Uneven cooling – The AC isn’t cooling all parts of the house as well as it once did. In fall, this may indicate that the outdoor coil is dirty and the air conditioner isn’t able to exhaust heat as well to the outside. There are other potential causes, and you’ll want an HVAC technician to inspect the system to find out what needs to be fixed.
iAir Services serves the Greater Austin Area. The Intelligent choice today makes cents tomorrow.
Posted in Air Conditioning
There are many reasons to enjoy the fall and winter seasons, especially since Austin doesn’t have to suffer through the intense cold weather of many other parts of the country. But even in our milder weather, we can’t escape the effects of the cold and flu season. Flu shots and other medications are recommended to help people make it through the season in good health even as numerous germs and viruses float through the air.
But did you know you can make an addition to your home’s HVAC system that improves you and your family’s defense against seasonal illnesses? Installing a UV air purifier in Austin, TX is a strong defense against the cold and flu bugs of fall and winter—and it offers other benefits during the rest of the year.
What does UV air purifier do?
A UV air purifier, also known as UV germicidal lights, is an effective air cleaner that eliminates organic contaminants without using chemicals. The purification system consists of ultraviolet lamps. The wavelengths of UV radiation from these lamps cause cellular disruption to microbes, viruses, bacteria, and mold spores, which either kills them outright or stops them from reproducing, thus rendering them inert.
In an HVAC system, a UV air purifier is positioned to send the ultraviolet lights over the condenser coil of the air conditioner system, where all circulating air in the ventilation system must pass. This not only helps the UV air purifier target the organic pollutants that can cause illnesses but also target the main area where mold may begin to develop inside the HVAC system.
What Are the Other Benefits?
Aside from lowering the number of viruses and germs inside your house, UV air purifiers stop many harmful allergens like mold spores. These are troublesome irritants during another time of the year: spring allergy season. A UV air purifier puts in work for you all through the year.
UV germicidal lights also help improve the efficient performance of an air conditioning system. The lights prevent mold growth over the evaporator coil, which helps the AC from losing heat absorption power. It also stops “dirty sock syndrome,” when moldy odors are spread throughout the house.
Can I Install a UV Air Purifier myself?
No. Like most whole-house air purification systems, UV germicidal lights need special expertise to install correctly. HVAC technicians who offer indoor air quality services can find the correct UV lights for your house and place them in the ideal spots in the ventilation system so they do the full job expected of them. These IAQ experts can also handle the occasional upkeep on the UV air purifier, which is a straightforward and easy task.
To find out more about UV air purifier installation, as well as other air filtration and purification systems that can give you a healthier house, call our office. Our technicians have extensive training in many different areas, making us your one-stop-shop for HVAC needs and services in the Greater Austin Area.
Arrange with iAir Services for great indoor air quality solutions. The Intelligent choice today makes cents tomorrow!
One of the great advantages of living in Austin is our winter weather. Temperatures cool down, sometimes dropping into the forties during the evenings, but we rarely suffer from any bracing cold spells. Homes, however, still require heating systems to handle the cooler evenings and help with the draftier houses.
We assist homes in Austin, TX with HVAC maintenance in the fall through our maintenance plans. Regular maintenance is necessary to ensure a house can make it through the winter and all the way through to spring with minimal problems and maximum energy savings. A heating system may not need to run every day during our mild winters, but it should be able to operate reliably when a home needs a heating and without draining excess energy while it runs.
We understand how easy it is to put off scheduling maintenance for a heating system in a place like Austin. Cold weather is often at the top of people’s thoughts in September and October. But think of this not as heating maintenance as much as it is HVAC maintenance—a service for your general comfort and ventilation. You’re investing in general home comfort, and the inspections and tune-ups professionals perform during maintenance must be done twice a year to provide the fullest benefits:
- Maintain system warranty: The manufacturer’s warranty on a heat pump, electric furnace, gas furnace, or other heaters in an HVAC system will expire if the system doesn’t have regular maintenance. Missing out on professional maintenance can mean you lose the important protection the warranty provides in case of a failure from a factory fault. This is especially important for a heat pump, which under most warranties must receive maintenance twice a year.
- Safety: Even an all-electric HVAC system (an AC/electric furnace; a heat pump) can pose safety hazards if allowed to decline from neglected maintenance. Natural gas heating systems must have careful professional inspections once a year to catch malfunctions that can potentially lead to combustion and toxic gas leak dangers. When you keep up with fall maintenance, your family will enjoy greater safety.
- Energy efficiency: An HVAC system’s efficiency rating gradually declines when it’s not maintained annually. You may still receive the same level of heating from the system during the winter but end up paying 25% more for it. A single maintenance visit each fall can prevent this waste.
- Reduced repair needs: Here’s a fact that puts maintenance in perspective—around 85% of the repair needs for an HVAC system are preventable thanks to maintenance. The savings and convenience this delivers are enormous.
- Peace of mind: When your home starts to feel cold, you want to feel certain the furnace or heat pump will turn on to warm your family. Maintenance gives you the peace of mind that you have a reliable HVAC system at your beck and call, rather than a wonky heater that might fail on you at any minute and leave you trapped calling for repairs.
We offer different maintenance plans to fit your budget and specific needs. Call our offices to find out more. Once you sign up, we’ll place you on the schedule for prompt HVAC care to prepare you for the change in seasons.
The Intelligent Choice Today Makes Cents Tomorrow. Call iAir Services for 24/7 emergency response throughout the Greater Austin area.
A residential central air conditioning system is an intricate device, and all its components need to work together seamlessly for the AC to keep a house cool without wasting power. It’s fair to say that all the parts of an AC are equally important. But it’s also fair to single out the compressor since the job it does is the key to how an air conditioner cools a house. It’s also the component that is the most expensive to replace if it breaks down. A burnt-out compressor often means the entire air conditioner must be replaced.
We’re going to take a closer look at your home’s air conditioning system and the job of its compressor. We hope this will help you understand the importance of keeping up with regular maintenance as well as air conditioning repair in Austin, TX so you won’t end up with an emergency due to a busted compressor.
Starting at the top: an air conditioning system provides cooling for a house by moving heat out of the air inside it. This process is called heat exchange, and the medium for heat exchange is refrigerant, a blend of chemicals that switches easily between liquid and gaseous states. When the refrigerant evaporates and turns from a cold liquid into a warm gas, it draws heat from the indoor air. When it condenses and turns from a hot gas into a cool liquid, it releases this heat to the outside air. The evaporating and condensing occur along with two sets of coils in the air conditioner.
But wait… did you notice a step missing? After the refrigerant evaporates into a warm gas, it next shows up as a hot gas. And then the cool liquid becomes a cold liquid before it gets back to the indoor coil. What happens between to make the changes? This is where the compressor does its vital job.
The warm gas from the indoor coil enters the compressor through a suction line. Inside the compressor are a series of chambers where the refrigerant gas is, well, compressed. This is done similar to the pistons in a car motor. When the volume of the gas is reduced, it increases the gas’s pressure and this raises its temperature. The high-pressure gas now exits the compressor and moves toward the outdoor coil. Later, an expansion valve drops the pressure of the cool liquid to drop its temperature below freezing.
The compressor is, therefore, the pump or the heart that gives the refrigerant the energy necessary to circulate and carry out heat exchange. Without the refrigerant getting changed into a hot, high-pressure gas, the heat exchange process wouldn’t happen. The refrigerant wouldn’t move and wouldn’t condense—and the house wouldn’t receive any cooling.
The motor driving the compressor does the most work of any part of the AC. This is where the majority of the electrical power to operate the air conditioner goes, and the reason you see higher electrical bills during periods when you use the AC the most. If the motor of the compressor burns out, the compressor is fried. Unless the compressor is still under warranty, it’s best to get a new air conditioner.
Call Intelligent Air Services in the Greater Austin Area. “The Intelligent choice today makes cents tomorrow.”
It’s hot this August in Austin. This can mean bad news for air conditioning systems, since they’ve already done a hefty load of work during the summer, and this end-of-season heat puts them in bigger jeopardy of a breakdown. Our NATE-certified, dependable HVAC technicians are busy with air conditioning repairs in Austin, TX at this time of year to help when ACs suddenly breakdown. We have a 24/7 emergency service for exactly this reason.
But in this post, we’re looking at a problem that may not send you scrambling to make an emergency call to fix the air conditioner but is still a huge issue. We’re looking at the AC system that’s still running, but isn’t maintaining the cool temperature in the house it once did.
Please don’t turn the thermostat lower and lower!
If you currently have an air conditioner failing to live up to its old cooling standards, don’t attempt to compensate by lowering the thermostat setting to stay cool. This only places extra strain on a system that may already have a malfunction. If you normally have your AC set in the mid-70s, you shouldn’t need to lower the setting by 10°F just to enjoy regular comfort. There’s something wrong with the AC that needs to be remedied.
The old air conditioner ready for the scrapyard
One factor to consider when your air conditioner can’t do the job it once did is its age. Loss of cooling power is a major warning sign of an AC that ought to be replaced. Check on the manufacturer’s date on the AC (located on a metal plate on the back of the outdoor cabinet). If the AC is more than 15 years old, we recommend having a new system installed—a far more cost-effective outcome that repairing it over and over again.
The clogged air filter
Turning from the big change to the simple fix… An air conditioner’s air filter needs to be changed for a clean one every one to three months. If the filter is left in place for too long, it will choke off the flow of air into the system, and this means less air receives cooling. Check if the AC has a clogged filter and change it if it does. This may solve the performance trouble.
Leaking refrigerant
This is a problem that can affect air conditioners that have been in service for five years or more. When refrigerant escapes, it reduces how much heat the AC can draw from the air. It will also cause catastrophic damage to the compressor eventually. HVAC professionals can find the leaks, seal them, and then restore the refrigerant charge to the system.
Dirty refrigerant coils
This is one of the more common reasons for an AC to become less effective. Dirt and grime (such as grass clippings and mulch) can easily get into the condenser cabinet and block the coils. This restricts the AC’s ability to exhaust heat from inside. Dust along the indoor coil or the development of mold or mildew will make it harder for the AC to absorb heat indoors. Please leave the job of cleaning the coils to professionals.
Intelligent Air Services—Serving the Greater Austin Area. Making the Intelligent choice today makes cents tomorrow!
Low indoor air quality is an endemic problem around the country. As more homeowners become aware of the problem, they want to find solutions. Unfortunately, these “solutions” often involve purchasing expensive filters and air purifiers that don’t actually do the job they need from them. If you are looking to improve your home’s indoor air quality in Austin, TX, or the greater Austin area, we recommend you call our NATE-certified, dependable HVAC technicians to help with finding the filtration system that works for your home.
The simple description of an air filter is that it’s a mesh of fibers or another medium that traps airborne pollutants as air passes through it. Basically, an air strainer. When most people think of air filters in their homes, they think about the filter that’s on the HVAC cabinet or the plastic permanent filters in window AC units. These filters only do a rudimentary job of filtration, catching large pollutants like dust and lint. Some HVAC professionals refer to them as “rock-catchers,” which gives a pretty good idea of how effective they are when it comes to filtering smaller pollutants.
There are many types of filters, from the simple panel filters made from fiberglass to pleated filters made of polyester with extremely thick weaves. One powerful filter you may have heard about is the HEPA filter, which is often used in hospitals and industrial facilities.
Minimum efficiency reporting value, or MERV, is the rating system that expresses how well a filter traps pollutants. A filter can have MERV between 1 and 20, and the higher the number, the smaller the particles it can trap. The plastic cleanable filter found in window AC units has MERV 1–2. A MERV 20 filter is the type used for clean rooms in high-tech facilities. Residential filters for central AC and heating systems usually fall between 8 and 14.
The mistake people make when they attempt to find filters on their own rather than work with IAQ and HVAC professionals is to pick out as powerful a filter as they can afford. The problem with this is that a filter can be too strong for the HVAC system in a house. A thicker weave filter puts more resistance against airflow and may end up blocking airflow entirely.
Even worse than the negative effect, this has on comfort (you can’t enjoy cooled/heated air that never reaches the rooms!) is the effect it has on the HVAC system. When pressure increases in the ventilation system, it puts extra strain on the blower fan and can damage the system.
You want to apply the “Goldilocks Rule” to air filters: not too weak, not too strong, but just right. Our IAQ professionals will locate the “just right” filtration system for your house, and we can pair the filter with a purifier if you need additional air cleaning power. We keep Austin residents comfortable year-round!
Intelligent Air Services serves the greater Austin area. The Intelligent choice today makes cents tomorrow!