iAir Services Blog: Archive for March, 2015

Why You Need to Schedule Air Conditioning Maintenance

Monday, March 30th, 2015

A lot of people try to save money and time by only calling a professional when their air conditioner develops a problem. This is fueled by the belief that if the air conditioner doesn’t have an obvious problem, then it is a waste of time to call a professional to examine it. Unfortunately, this belief is untrue.

By neglecting preventive maintenance for your air conditioner, you are actually increasing the likelihood of expensive repairs that you otherwise wouldn’t have to pay for. Read on to find out why you need to schedule air conditioning maintenance today.

The Benefits of Preventive Maintenance

As your air conditioning system gets older, its various parts will begin to accumulate wear and tear. As the parts wear out, they will slowly start to lose effectiveness. If you wait to conduct any sort of maintenance, those parts will eventually break down completely. Before that happens, though, your system will become less and less efficient. This will lead to it having to be on longer to accomplish the same output, which will waste money.

Conducting preventive maintenance at least once a year will allow your HVAC technician to identify and fix any parts that are dragging down the rest of the system. If any parts are on the verge of breaking down, they can be replaced before they have the chance to cause further damage to the air conditioner. This is especially important during spring. Conducting your preventive maintenance during spring ensures that your air conditioner is in the best possible shape, right before the season where it will see the most use. If there are any problems developing in your system, unbeknownst to you, then the added strain of operating during summer will almost certainly make them worse. Preventive maintenance prevents that from happening.

Waiting to have your air conditioner examined until it breaks down does not save you money. In fact, it often results in you having to spend more money to repair or replace a system that could have been saved by preventive maintenance.

If you haven’t scheduled preventive maintenance for your air conditioner in the past year, call Intelligent Air Services. We provide air conditioning maintenance throughout Kyle, TX.

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When Should I Replace My Heater?

Monday, March 23rd, 2015

In a perfect world, heaters would last forever and never need to be replaced. Unfortunately, that’s not the world we live in. You can and should take excellent care of your heater, in an effort to make it last as long as possible. No matter what you do, however, you will eventually have to have it replaced. The key, then is to be able to recognize when you need a new heating installation. Let’s take a look at some of the signs that you should replace your heater with a new one.

Increase in Heating Bills

Your heating bills are going to rise and fall naturally month to month, as your demand fluctuates. That’s not what we’re talking about here, though. If you notice your heating bills consistently rising over the months, it’s a sign that your heating system is losing efficiency. This could be the result of a specific problem within the system, but taken with the other signs in this list it’s a good indication that the heater needs to be replaced.

Increase in Repairs

The same accumulation of wear and tear that causes an increase in heating bills will eventually cause an increase in repair cost and frequency. As a system reaches the end of its life, the cumulative effect of years of wear and tear will cause multiple parts to start failing in rapid succession. This can result in your heating system requiring repairs every few months. If you need to have your heating system repaired every few months, you should just save money on future repairs by replacing it entirely.

Age

Every heating system has an estimated lifespan, usually established by its manufacturer. If you don’t know your heating system’s estimated lifespan, a good rule of thumb is to evaluate its health at 15 years. If your heating system is older than 15 years old, it is probably very close to the end of its life. If it’s younger than that, you might be able to get a few more years out of it with proper care.

If you have any questions about whether you should replace your heater, contact Intelligent Air Services. We provide heating installation services throughout the Austin area.

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How a Clogged Air Filter can Damage Your Furnace

Monday, March 16th, 2015

When you take your car in for a maintenance check, the technician will often ask whether you would like a new air filter. When an air filter becomes clogged with dirt, the car is no longer fuel efficient. As it turns out, this is the same for a furnace. A furnace filter does not exist solely to improve the air quality in your home. In fact, filters were not first added to furnaces for this purpose.

Find out more about the damages that may occur with a clogged air filter in this guide, and call Intelligent Air Services when you notice trouble with your furnace in Austin, TX.

Furnace Filters

Originally, furnace filters were added on in order to keep the unit from becoming damaged. The blower fan of your unit sucks in air from your home and moves it into the system so that it can heat up before returning to the home. If debris were to get into the unit as air was sucked in, it could get into the fan motor, block the heat exchanger, or even present a fire hazard in some cases. Hence, it was decided that a filter would be an appropriate means of controlling it.

But if the filter becomes too clogged with dust and debris, this can also present some problems. The main issue is that there is not enough air moving into the unit. If air cannot easily pass through the filter, the necessary airflow is hindered. The system is designed to accommodate a certain amount of air. Without enough air blowing past the heat exchanger, the furnace plenum could become overheated.

If the plenum of your furnace were to become overheated, it wouldn’t be a safety issue. In most cases, a safety switch takes over—called the furnace limit switch—and it shuts off the system in order to protect your home when the temperature in the plenum is above a preset setting. Of course, this means you are without heat. Your system may start up again once the unit cools down, or you may need a technician to come check it out.

Take preventive action by changing your filter every couple of months. And call Intelligent Air Services today for repairs and more for furnaces in the Austin, TX area.

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Why You Should Consider Installing an Air Purifier in Your Home

Monday, March 9th, 2015

What would you say if I told you that right now, as you read this, you’re inhaling millions of microscopic airborne pollutants?

If you’re reading this from home, that’s probably the case. The air inside the average home is absolutely full of contaminants, from dust and dander to viruses and bacteria. Several of them are lung irritants, provoking allergy attacks and hay fever. Others, like viruses, can infect people and cause more serious illness. In order to combat these pollutants, it’s best to make use of an air purifier in your home. Let’s take a look at some of the air purifiers available on the market, and the pros and cons of each.

HEPA Filters

Filters are air purifiers that basically “strain” particulates out of the air, capturing them as the air flows through the device. They are largely passive in their operation, simply a fiber mesh stretched over a frame. Despite their simple natures, however, filters can be quite effective air purifiers. HEPA filters, for example, are so closely woven that they can capture individual virus and bacteria cells. They are so effective that they are often used in hospitals to maintain sterile environments. They can be installed as portable or whole house units.

Electronic Air Purifiers

Electronic air purifiers, also called ionization filters, are devices that utilize electromagnetism to capture contaminants. The device creates an electric field around itself during operation. When particles pass through this field, they contract a negative charge. The negatively charged particles are then attracted to positively charged metal plates in the purifier, and stick to them. The plates can then be removed, cleaned, and replaced.

UV Germicidal Lights

Germicidal lights are a bit different from other air purifiers, in that they don’t physically remove anything from the air. Instead, they bathe the area around themselves in ultraviolet light. This sterilizes or kills many of the germs commonly found in a home’s air supply, making your air safer to breathe. Germicidal lights are a great option for people who find themselves getting sick often.

If you’d like to know more about air purifiers, call Intelligent Air Services. We provide air purifier services throughout Austin, TX.

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