iAir Services Blog: Archive for August, 2014

The Very First Labor Day Celebration

Friday, August 29th, 2014

Labor Day as a federal holiday, held on the first Monday of September, has been with us now for 120 years. President Grover Cleveland signed the law that made Labor Day a national holiday in 1894. Ever since then, the three-day weekend has provided people in the U.S. with the opportunity for vacations, time with their families, shopping trips, and a general celebration of the conclusion of summer and the beginning of fall.

However, there were twelve years of Labor Day observations in the U.S. before it became an official holiday. The first Labor Day celebration took place in 1882 in New York City on September 5. According to the accounts from the time, it had a rough start and almost didn’t happen.

The main event planned for that first Labor Day was a parade along Broadway that was to start at City Hall. However, the parade ran into a bit of a snag early on. The marchers started to line up for the procession around 9 a.m., with a police escort to make sure the event went peacefully. However, the problem of the day wasn’t rowdy members of the parade—it was that nobody had remembered to bring a band!

With people ready to march, but no music to march to, it started to look like no parade would happen at all, and the first Labor Day would have ended up a failure. But just in time, Matthew Maguire of the Central Labor Union—one of the two men who first proposed the celebration—ran across the City Hall lawn to the Grand Marshal of the parade, William McCabe, to inform him that 200 men from the Jeweler’s Union of Newark were crossing the ferry to Manhattan… and they had a band!

At 10 a.m., only an hour late, the band from Newark walked down Broadway playing a number from a popular Gilbert and Sullivan opera. They passed McCabe and the other 700 marchers, who then fell in line behind them. Soon, the spectators joined in, and an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people marched through Lower Manhattan.

According to the New York Times, “The windows and roofs and even the lamp posts and awning frames were occupied by persons anxious to get a good view of the first parade in New York of workingmen of all trades united in one organization.”

The parade concluded two hours later when the marchers reached Reservoir Park. But the party was only getting started. Until 9 p.m., some 25,000 people celebrated with picnics and speeches and beer kegs. It was an enormous success, and all thanks to the speedy arrival of jewelers carrying band instruments.

If those musicians from Newark hadn’t shown up, perhaps we wouldn’t have the holiday opportunity that we now have every year. However you celebrate your Labor Day, our family at Intelligent Air Services wishes your family a happy end of summer.

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Signs It May Be Time to Replace Your Air Conditioner in Austin, TX

Friday, August 22nd, 2014

Although summer is coming to a close, you can expect to use your home’s air conditioning system throughout the year in Texas. If your current air conditioner is showing signs that it may be approaching the end of its service, there is never a bad time to have it replaced: a hot day can surprise you at any moment.

But how can you tell that your old AC is close to failing, or that it no longer is worth the cost of keeping it running? There are a number of signs to look for, some obvious and some not, that will signal that the time has come to retire your air conditioning system and install a new one.

You should always look for a professional opinion, however. Call an experienced company, like Intelligent Air Services, for the help you need to make the choice about your air conditioner. Our technicians will determine the best path to take, and then handle whatever work you need done to cope with the Texas heat.

Warning Signs You Need To Replace Your AC

  • Rising bills with no sign of relief: Always keep a close watch on your electrical bills during times of the year when your air conditioner frequently runs. You should have a good idea of how much you pay a month. If this amount starts to rise steadily, and no amount of maintenance or repairs does anything to reverse it, then your AC is likely past the point where its worn components can work efficiently. Call technicians to help you make a choice about how to proceed.
  • Excessive repair needs: Air conditioners require the largest number of repairs during the last two years of their service lives, so when you start calling for technicians on a regular basis to keep your cooling system working, it’s probably time for a new AC. Look over your repair bills for the last year, and if they exceed $500, you are spending too much to keep the air conditioner limping on.
  • Noisy operation: As the parts of an air conditioner age, they will start to make more racket doing their job. This is especially true of the motors and the compressor. When you hear grinding, groaning, and shrieking noises from the system every time it runs, have technicians investigate the situation to see if it’s a sign that the AC is too old to work well any more.

Although an air conditioner that is past its prime may continue to provide you with an adequate level of cool air, it will continue to waste energy and cost you money. In these cases, it’s almost always less expensive to replace the aging AC with a new, efficient system.

At Intelligent Air Services, we specialize in replacing air conditioners with new units that will keep homes cooled for many years. Make us your first choice when you need a new air conditioner in Austin, TX.

 

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Why Waiting to Repair Is a Bad Idea

Friday, August 15th, 2014

You hear a clunking sound, or smell something a little funny, coming from your air conditioner. But from what you can see, it’s still running fine – until it doesn’t.

Air conditioners, like other mechanical devices, are pretty good at giving signs and signals when problems develop. However, it can be very tempting to ignore these signs when your AC appears to operating normally. Waiting to repair your air conditioning is a bad idea for a few reasons that we’ll explain below, but remember: always call for a professional, like the ones at Intelligent Air Services, whenever you suspect something is wrong with your AC.

Waiting on Repairs Is a Bad Idea

Here are a few reasons to consider picking up the phone sooner rather than later when it comes to repairing your air conditioner:

It won’t get better on its own

We’d love to tell you that air conditioners self-repair; actually, we’d love to invent a self-repairing air conditioner, and then sell it, but neither of these scenarios is going to happen. Typically, a problem not only doesn’t repair itself, it can become worse and more costly.

It may cause more damage if left unrepaired

This is especially true for components that can get loose and bang around your system, like bent or loose fan blades and motor mounts. It’s also true for worn wiring: wiring that is frayed or corroded can interfere with the flow of electricity to certain components, leading to shorts and breakdown.

It can cost you more as time goes on

Malfunctioning parts tend to have a cyclical effect on closed systems like your air conditioner: once one part starts to malfunction, the entire system becomes stressed. This added stress can make other parts malfunction. At some point, you may have a lot more to repair, and as such, a lot more to pay for, by the time a trained technician arrives at your door.

Don’t Wait – Call and Schedule HVAC Service Immediately

Waiting won’t make a pending repair better, and will most likely make it worse. If you are seeing the signs that your air conditioner may need repair, call the people you can trust: Intelligent Air Services. Call and schedule air conditioning repair service in Austin, TX with us today!

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3 Benefits of Heat Pumps

Friday, August 8th, 2014

The name “heat pump” can be a confusing word, especially when it comes to air conditioning. Heat pumps have been around since the 1940s, but it’s only been over the last 10 years that they’ve become a popular choice for property owners. How can a heat pump benefit you and your air conditioning? There are several reasons why a heat pump is a good choice for air conditioning in Austin, TX, but it’s important to know how it works.

How a Heat Pump Works

Heat pumps are electrical devices that transfer (move) heat from one location to another, so they can provide both heating and cooling. During the winter, heat pumps move heat from the cool outdoors into your home, and, during summer, they move heat from inside your home into the outdoors. Heat pumps can provide heating and cooling with or without ductwork, making them an option for many different households.

Benefits of Using a Heat Pump

There are a number of benefits when using a heat pump for your cooling:

  • Energy efficiency – there are a couple of ways heat pumps can be very energy efficient: first, they use 25-50% less electricity to operate than traditional air conditioners (and furnaces). Second, they do not use fossil fuel to operate, eliminating the need for oil or natural gas.
  • Longevity – the average lifespan of an air conditioning system is 10-12 years, while the average lifespan of a heat pump is 20-25.
  • Comfort – heat pumps cool uniformly, helping to reduce and eliminate hot and cold spots. Additionally, the humidity level stays fairly constant because there is no forced air component.

Geography Can Make a Difference

Heat pumps tend to work best in geographical areas that don’t have winter temperatures less than 40 degrees. If you do live in an area where it gets cold during the winter, you can still use a heat pump but you may need to use it in conjunction with a second heat source.

The best way to decide if a heat pump is a good option for your air conditioning is to work with an HVAC expert, so call Intelligent Air Services today and schedule air conditioning service in Austin, TX.

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How Does Duct Sealing Help My Air Conditioner?

Friday, August 1st, 2014

It is estimated that faulty ductwork can account for up to 30% of air loss in a system – that’s a lot of cool air to lose during the summer, and a lot of air for which your air conditioner has to compensate. Faulty ductwork is ductwork that has holes, cracks, broken seals and disconnections, and all can contribute to serious air loss for your air conditioning.

Signs of Faulty Ductwork

There are some common signs that can indicate you may need work done on your ducts. Our Intelligent Air Services technicians have put together a list of signs they have seen while working with customers in Austin:

  • Steep increase in utility bills – many problems can contribute to higher energy bills. If you’ve ruled out the majority of them, haven’t changed how you use your air conditioning and are still seeing a sharp increase in energy usage, it may be time to have your ductwork inspected and repaired.
  • Definitive hot and cold spots – it isn’t unusual for certain parts of your home to experience small temperature variances throughout the day, but if you are experiencing very definitive areas of hot and cold in your home, this may indicate certain vents are not delivering air properly.
  • Increase of wear-and-tear on your system – when your air conditioner has to work harder to compensate for air loss, it prematurely ages the system and its components. This can lead your system to malfunction and break down more frequently.
  • Decrease in indoor air quality – are you noticing your indoor air is stuffier, has more particulates or is making you feel poorly? These can all be signs that your vents are delivering excess particles of dust and dirt as pulled into the system from cracks and holes.

Why Duct Sealing Isn’t a DIY Project

Ductwork can be long and complex in structure, and it can be difficult to see all the existing problems without the right equipment and training. When hiring professionals for your duct sealing like the ones from Intelligent Air Services, your ductwork isn’t just repaired; it is tested for air flow (both before and after repair), backdrafting and supply and return air balance to ensure that the problems have been fixed. If you suspect you may have issues with your ductwork, call us today and schedule air conditioning service in Austin, TX with our experts.

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