R-22 Phase Out
If you have an air conditioner that uses R-22 refrigerant it is advisable that you retrofit your air conditioner to one that uses R-410A. Several years ago, the EPA put into law new regulations that require the gradual phase-out of air conditioners that run on R-22. In fact, it is no longer legal for air conditioner manufacturers to make R-22 units. Your local heating and air conditioning company might be able to sell you one if they have one left over in their warehouse from the days when they could be manufactured, and they will likely be willing to sell an R-22 air conditioner to you for a significant discount. Do not fall into this trap. The transition to air conditioners that run on R-410A has been slower than the EPA anticipated largely because of situations such as these. This slower transition has resulted in an estimated 27.5 million pound shortfall of R-22. What this means is that you may not have much luck in the future acquiring R-22 refrigerant for your system should you need it for a repair. Think ahead and don’t find yourself in the group of people that will be “left out in the heat.” Consider replacing your R-22 air conditioner with an R-410A air conditioner today.
Research before you buy
Even if your furnace is running great and is well maintained it doesn’t hurt to research a heating systems now in case your furnace dies out on a freezing cold night. Read More
More Keys to Keeping Your House Cool
Want to keep your house cooler this summer? Here are a few more steps which are relatively easy and can save you money on your cooling bills.
If you don’t already have one get a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat will allow you to be able to adjust the temperature in your home so that when it is unoccupied you can keep the temps higher. Perhaps a half hour before your daily arrival, set the temperature to lower settings to cool your home. This step can save you a fair amount of money!
Check your windows and doors for leaks and gaps where air may escape from indoors to outdoors. Even small gaps and leaks can cost you big money. These gaps will also cause your cooling system to run longer to keep temperatures comfortable and constant. Windows and doors are typically what people neglect or take for granted but can keep your central air conditioning bills down.
Upgrading your attic insulation can also be a major factor in saving you money. You can reduce your yearly heating and cooling cost by as much as 30%. The energy savings make attic insulation a product that helps pay for itself. Older homes may not have sufficient attic insulation because over time insulation settles and doesn’t provide the barrier of protection it used to provide. Increasing the amount of insulation to recommended and appropriate levels is the key to saving money on your energy bills. BONUS: Now through the end of the year the U.S. government is providing tax credits for the purchase of attic insulation up to $1500.00. That is quite a bit of savings and also encourages homeowners to think about saving energy in a very positive and beneficial way.
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locateing a serviceman for every hvac need
when you need a service performed on your hvac system do you have one hvac company you turn to, or do you call all around town searching for someone for every work? if you are one of those people that call a different place for every bit of work you need done, you most likely locate this frustrating. it’s like going to a different doctor every time you are sick or need a checkup. it just doesn’t create sense! wouldn’t you rather develop a relationship with your hvac company and utilize that company for the life of the system? if this sounds like more of what you are searching for, look no further than four seasons. we have tailored our fleet to meet every hvac need that you and your family may have.
our variety of skilled servicemans:
- general repair serviceman: the repair servicemans from chicago warmther repair can service any create and model of warmther on sale. these pros have worked in the industry and have been nate certified to artfully repair any warmthing or cooling system they may come across. for added security, four seasons servicemen have also gone through testing in houtilize to create sure that their skills truly meet the four seasons standard.
- tune-up servicemans: our tune-up servicemans handle the cleaning and inspection care that your warmther and cooling system will need on a regular basis. they will scrub down your system and inspect for hitchs so that you can have a warmther or cooling system that runs as efficiently and reliably as possible.
- senior level servicemans: got a warmther hitch that no one else seems to be able to pin point or fix? call four seasons! we have senior level servicemans on staff that have years of experience diagnosing systems that were deemed undiagnosable by additional hvac companies. we can sort out your hitchs and get your family back to comfort.
- put ination servicemans: the put ination servicemans at four seasons most likely have one of the most demanding functions. one wrong step and the entire put ination could go awry. we hand pick our put iners and put them through extensive training and testing before they ever step foot close to a customers houtilize .
- duct work and insulation specialists: the duct work is often ignored as part of the hvac system, but at four seasons, duct work is a precedence . we have specially trained servicemans on staff that will clean, seal, insulate, repair, and substitute your hvac system’s duct work.
whatever your hvac system requirements may be, chicago warmther repair can handle it! it is part of our promise and we strive daily to keep this commitment to our customers.
powering your houtilize to ensure comfort
most houtilize owners would do everything in their power to protect their houtilize from damage and their family from discomfort or danger. we buy high tech warmthers and cooling systems to keep the temperature in the houtilize stable. we put in powerful sump pumps to keep water amethod from the houtilize during the worst of the storms, but what occur s when the power source for these appliances and every additional appliance in the houtilize is eliminated. for most houtilize s, a power outage means the loss of comfort at the very least and at the most the loss of their safety and security. chicago warmther repair and houtilize services have a method to protect the houtilize completely.
generators from four seasons
a whole houtilize automatic generator is the only sure fire method to create sure that you will almethod s have a constant supply of electritown to the houtilize . in the event of a power outage, these systems will kick on automatically and generate electritown for the houtilize . they are hooked up to the houtilize natural gas line and it is the natural gas that provides the fuel to run electrical appliances for the houtilize . these generators come in a variety of sizes to fit close toly any application. whether you only want to create sure the warmther, cooling system or sump pump will work in an outage or you want the entire houtilize to be supplies with backup electritown, four seasons has a generator for you!
understanding efficiency
when shopping for heating system, boilers, and air conditioners, you will come across various efficiency ratings. the salesman will prattle on about how one rating means this and another means that, but how are you going to know what really is best? you need to have a good understanding of just how efficiency ratings are determined, and what a good efficiency rating is compared to a bad one. the more you understand about the investment you are about to make, the better decision you will choose.
heating system and boilers
heating system and boilers are the two most popular systems used in the u.s. to achieve heating for home homes. there are several different types of each unit, but the majorities are either run on gas or power. depending on the application that you are using this heating system for, the type of fuel you choose may differ. for those who live in colder climates, a gas powered heating or boiler would probably be their best bet. gas prices are typically lower, and gas heat provides a more comfortable heat distribution throughout the house. electric heating system are recommended for homes that don’t require as much heat or that are in areas with low power costs. electric radiators are a good option to add supplemental heat to a room in a house that has another heating source already in place.
understanding afue
the type or fuel used directly effects the efficiency or afue rating for a particular heating or boiler. afue stands for annual fuel utilization efficiency. the rating that a system has will be represented by a percentage. that percentage corresponds to how much fuel is being used to generate heat and how much is being wasted. for example, a gas heating that has an 80% afue rating turns 80% of its fuel into heat, and 20% of its fuel is lost in the set on fire process. if you have an old gas powered heating, odds are the efficiency rating is between 68% and 72% afue. that’s pathetic. nowadays you can find gas heating system on the market that reach efficiencies between 90% and 97%.
electric heating system may cost more to operate, but they are very energy effective. they often have afue ratings between 95% and 100%! that is because there is no flue lost through the venting system. as the cost of gas continues to increase, this type of heating may become more practical in the u.s.. however, alternative renewable fuel sources are the best option over all, but the conversion is often too costly or unrealistic for many areas of the country. for now, we have to best with what we have, and that means purchasing high efficiency heating systems.
cooling energy efficiency
cooling systems are on a completely different scale. seer or seasonal energy efficiency ratio is a way of expressing the efficiency of a central cooling system. it is the measurement of the amount of british thermal units per hour of cooling, per watt of power. basically what that means is the higher the seer rating, the better the unit uses its fuel. up until 2006, there was not a seer requirement placed upon manufacturers of air conditioners, so if you purchased your unit before then it probably has a seer rating between 6 and 10. the requirement is now 13 or higher!
replacing that old cooling system with a new high efficiency unit could greatly decrease your energy bills during the summer months. you could even find air conditioners that have up to a 23 seer rating. if you had your cooling system implemented in the 70s you could save 30-50% by upgrading, and even if you only replaced the unit within the past 10 years, you could still save 20-40% by upgrading your central cooling system.
at this point you should have a much better overall understanding of how energy efficiencies are determined, and you should also be able to make a more educated decision when it does come time to upgrade. the investment in heating and cooling appliances is already a big one, so you might as well get a unit with the highest efficiency possible to increase your savings in the long run.
24 hour furance repair also recommends this great site: Best rated heating cooling companies
duct leaks and insulation
many property owners are on the right track with making their homes more energy effective. they replace the old heating and cooling appliances with high efficiency units, install a programmable thermostat, have their yearly routine repair performed, and replace the heating filter regularly. however, thousands of homes that have these upgrades are still wasting loads of energy. how is this possible? leaky or poorly insulated air ducts is the problem.
problems caused by leaky and un-insulated duct-work
when the builder implemented the air ducts system in your house, they had to place sections of the duct-work system in areas that are no conditioned by the cooling system or heating. as a result, the air that passes through the ducts will either loose heat or cooling to the air ducts material. for example, attics are common place for air ducts to be hidden. during the winter, the temperature in the loft is similar to the temperature outside. when the air ducts is not insulated, it becomes very cold. as warm air passes through the ducts, some heat is lost to the cold duct-work material whether it is metal, fiberglass, or another duct-work type.
by the time the warm air reaches the rooms in your house, it has lost a good percentage of its heat. the heating will, in turn, be required to run for longer periods of time in order to compensate for the heat loss. this drives up energy bills and decreases the heating energy efficiency. add gaps or leaks to the problem and you could easily have a major problem on your hands.
gaps are common at the joints between sections of air ducts. the older the system is, the better the chance is that it is full of leaks. besides loss of heating and cooling, you also may have an air movement problem. as the air passes through the ducts, it will escape through the crevises in the system, and by the time the air reaches the target room, it will have lost some of the force that was pushing it into the room. this will result in rooms of the house that do not receive adequate heating and cooling.
solving the problem
if you are a big “do it yourself” type person, this is a effort you may be able to handle on your own. these are a few steps to help make the effort a little easier.
- locate “at risk” duct-work- review the loft, crawl region, unfinished basement, and garage for sections of air ducts that you can access. these are the areas that suffer most when ducts are not sealed or insulated. also review the registers in every room if you can access them easily.
- turn on the heating- when the heating is in operation, feel along the outside of the duct-work for heat that is escaping. if the duct-work is already insulated, areas of the insulation that are black indicate the presence of a leak.
- sealing the gaps- use a mastic tape, not duct tape, to seal the areas where you were able to feel heat escaping.
- adding insulation- if your ducts are not insulated or if your ducts have old insulation wraps, purchase duct wrap insulation with an r-value between 6 and 11. these are usually made out of fiberglass though there are other options out there. connect the different sections of insulation with a staple gun because staple are less likely to lose their grip with time compared to foil tape.
if this project seems a little labor intensive that your best bet would be to hire a correction technician. the benefit of hiring a reliable correction technician is that they will be able to access sections of air ducts that you wouldn’t be able to. they will also be able to replace sections of air ducts that have been crushed or damaged, and if you choose your correction technician wisely, there is a good chance you will get the effort done right. don’t let your ducts leak another day. investigate your situation and make repairs today!
24 hour furance also recommends this great site: Central Air Repair Contractors
humidity and your difficult wood floors
in much of the machineed states, the summers are hot and moist and the winters are cool and dry. if this sounds like the climate you reside in and you have difficult wood floors in your houtilize , you may have a hitch. excessive moisture and excessive dryness spell destruction for your difficult wood floors, and if you invested all of that cash in a floor, you are going to want to preserve it for as long as possible. that means getting a humidifier for the winter and locateing a method to dehumidify the houtilize in the summer months.
dehumidification of the houtilize
high summer humidity can get in between the grooves in your wood floors and wreak havoc! vinyl wood floors are especially vulnerable to moisture. fiberboard is not very moisture resistant and will easily warp over the years if the humidity in the houtilize cannot be controlled. dehumidification can be attained in one of two method s. if you operate a forced air conditioning machine in the houtilize , this will effectively take amethod excess moisture if utilize d consistently. if you don’t have one of these systems, think about put ining a dehumidifier and a whole houtilize ventilation fan. the ventilation fan will keep great circulation in the houtilize and the dehumidifier will assist you create up for for those days when the humidity level is out of control!
humidification of the houtilize
nowadays that the summer humidity is under control, it is time to solve the hitchs cautilize d by winter. that means that you have to address the drying affects of using a warmthing system in the houtilize . excessive dryness will create your wood floors brittle and crack prone. you need to create a great balance between too much and too little moisture in the houtilize . this can be achieved during the winter through the put ination of a humidification system. if you have a forced air warmther, put ining a whole houtilize system is simply and it is the preferred method of humidification as well. keep the humidity between 30-60%. locate the setting that is most comfy for you and your family and you will be able to protect your comfort and your wood floors all winter long!
winter cooling system protection
this may be the season for giving, but it is also the season for stealing, stealing cooling systems that is. you may have thought that your cooling system worries ended with the summer season, but the truth is that the winter is the best time for thieves to take advantage of the easy access they have to your cooling system. everyone is spending their time indoors and there are far less eyes on your cooling system this time of year. you need to take certain steps to keep your machine safe. this is a crime that is growing in popularity and if you did nothing to prevent it this past summer, you were one of the lucky ones. don’t let a different season go by with no getting your cooling system sheltered .
send a message to potential thieves
protecting the cooling system requires doing something that sends a clear message to potential thieves. the message should be that they need to move on to a different houtilize and leave your machine alone! there are two method s to do this. either move the cooling system to the roof or encase it in a security cage. the first option could cost you tons and is likely not possible in all situations. so, for the majority of us, a security cage is the method to go.
security cage criteria
if you are looking into a security cage for your cooling system, you have to create sure that you buy one that meets certain criteria. first of all, the cage must fit your cooling system! not all cooling systems are the same size and you will need to locate a company that offers customized cages. also, create sure that the cage lets the cooling system to breathe! if your cage is too limitive, it could cautilize damage to your cooling system and if this occur s, you might as well let the thieves take it since the machine will be utilize less. finally, create sure that the cage actually protects the machine. there are far too many cage manufacturers that create a product to simply intimidate and not protect. this will not work on all thieves and is quick frankly a throw amethod of your cash. locate a cage that will truly protect your cooling system, and get it put ined as soon as possible.
an easy target for thieves this winter!
while you are protecting your warmther from experiencing hitchs this winter, thieves are on the prowl for cooling systems that sit unattended. winter is the perfect time for thieves to take advantage of easy access to cooling systems across chicagoland. they can be in and out and before you knowadays it, your cooling system is long gone! protect your cooling system this winter with a bit assist from four seasons!
stolen cooling systems
with the economy the method that it is, there are plenty of people out there looking to create a quick buck illegally, and with the soaring prices of copper, your cooling system is a target. we have seen houtilize owners go all winter not knowadaysing their cooling system was stolen until they attempt to utilize the system the next summer. at the point the thieves are long gone and you are stuck in a hot houtilize waiting for a new system to be put ined. odds are this is not the method you want to ring in your summer season, so get your machine sheltered right now!
create thieves think twice
at four seasons we custom fit cooling system cages to fit any create and model of cooling system on sale. these high polished, steel cages will protect your cooling system from damage and from the greedy hands of thieves. a thief will think twice before wasting their time with your cooling system, and they are much more likely to simply move on to an easier target. decrease your cooling system’s vulnerability this winter by having four seasons put in one of our cooling system security cages nowadays!