Having to go without HVAC service

I am crossing my fingers that everything will be okay

I admit that I’ve kind of let my air conditioning go, when it comes to maintenance. Normally, I am conscientious about getting someone out to clean my system. Lately, however, I’ve been strapped for money. I’ve had to pay for one unexpected incident after another. It has been a year since my air conditioning component has acquired service. I am going to try and schedule service at least by next month. The problem is, it’s already mid-November, and the furnace will need to be turned on pretty soon, because I can’t handle the cold anymore at night. I am hesitant about using my furnace without having someone take a look at it first, although I may have to this time. At least it will only be about a month before they can send someone out. I am aware that it’s best to make sure that a heating system is thoroughly cleaned and working properly before the weather turns cold. Again, I have abided by this principle in the past, but my finances just couldn’t allow it this time around. I am crossing my fingers that everything will be okay. As soon as I can, I shall be calling out the HVAC supplier that I’ve regularly relied upon. They even provided me a reminder call recently to see if I was still interested in being a customer!

air conditioning

The problematic HVAC system

My area had a bad storm recently.

It wasn’t a hurricane, just a bad thunderstorm, dropping both rain and hail.

There were a whole lot of lightning strikes. My household made it out okay, but my neighbor wasn’t so lucky. At one point in the storm thinking that my house had been directly struck by lightning because it sounded right on top of us, but it turns out that my neighbor’s household had been struck instead. The lightning strike wreaked havoc on his electrical system. There was considerable electrical harm, as well as the worst part for him was that the system’s circuitry was fried as well! It was going to cost him a pretty penny to service his HVAC component at this point. This involved getting his household rewired. We can be grateful that there wasn’t any sort of fire or anything. Still, it’s going to be quite some time before his family will be able to appreciate electricity, much less a running air conditioning unit. My wife and I decided to buy a few portable, battery-operated air conditioning units for our neighbor, as a gift. He was grateful, and said that at least he would be able to set one up in the master living room. Another one could go up in his kids’ room. It was a tough situation to be in, but I am sure his family will pull through.

 

Smart HVAC

Preparing my HVAC system for a storm

A huge nor’easter was on its way.

I knew I had to prepare my household for what would genuinely be the storm of the decade in my area! My biggest problem was the brand new HVAC component that I had recently installed in my home.

I wasn’t about to risk letting my outdoor and indoor HVAC components suffer any harm whatsoever from this storm, no matter how bad it turned out to be. So, I had to prepare. The first thing I did was cover up the outdoor condenser component with a tarp. I tied the tarp down as best as I could. Next, I ensured we had surge protectors. One of my old surge protectors needed replacing, going back to the yard, I also knew that I needed to clear all the yard debris away as well as prune some of the hedges and bushes to make sure that there would not be too several sticks or branches flying in the wind, and ultimately, when the storm was on its way, the temperature inside my home was comfortable; All the wind as well as terrifying cool air made it that way, so I decided that I would go ahead as well as shut the HVAC system completely off. I figured I would not be turning it on again until the storm had completely passed. As I heard a loud rumble of thunder in the distance. I saw the ominous black clouds approaching, I knew I made the right decision.
Air conditioning repair

Frugality on heating and cooling

I tried to save money wherever possible.

I am not cheap, I am frugal. One of the things I find difficult to give up, though, is decent heating and cooling in extreme temperatures. Much of the time, our summers are brutal, but our winters can often be pretty darn cold! We barely ever get mild weather, although there are brief times in the spring and the fall where weather can be pleasant. So, I use my HVAC system excessively when I occupy my house. That being said, I tend to be away for at least 60 hours a week! So, for the longest time, I got into the habit of turning my thermostat up or down when I wasn’t in a home, to save money on my utility bills. In the dead of the summer I would set my thermostat to 70, before I left, so that it would rarely turn on. In the winter, I would set it to 60, so that the heat would not kick in so much, either. This has saved me a considerable amount over the years on my utility bills. The only thing I struggle with is coming home to conditions that need before it’s comfortable again. Luckily, my HVAC system is a pretty good unit, so it brings things back up or down to comfortable hot as well as cold temperatures pretty abruptly. I am even starting to wonder whether or not I should simply shut off the system before I leave for work in the day. It may not make all that much of a difference!

 

Mini split air conditioner

Heating and cooling trouble at a bakery

My neighbor owns a small bakery.

I like to stop by at least a couple times a week, sometimes on my lunch hour or on the weekend.

Business is pretty brisk for her. Customers cherish the unique pastries that she makes along with her three employees, but lately she’s been telling me that she’s having trouble with one aspect of the job. Sporadically, it gets extremely hot in the bakery, and in order to keep confectionery items from melting or otherwise not coming out quite the way she wants them to, she has to blast the cooling system. This is undoubtedly raising utility bills. She also needs to get proper service on the HVAC component, because it needs to remain clean to prevent the air quality from going downhill. She definitely would not want to have moldy or mildew blowing on her cakes or pies! We were there discussing this one day when I realized there may be a straight-forward solution. Should she supplement the air conditioning component by strategically placing fans in particular parts of the bakery, to keep the air circulation going? It would also prevent her confections from spoiling. She was kind of embarrassed that she never thought of that, but that is what friends are for – two heads are better than one! She even baked me a cake, just for giving her a straight-forward idea. I hear the solution is working pretty good. Maybe she won’t have to pay so much for air conditioning now.

 

Air conditioner install

Strange noises coming from air duct

I thought I was taking care of my HVAC unit.

My model was relatively new, at five years old.

I did everything right when I had it installed, hiring a licensed HVAC supplier who helped me order from his business’s catalog. We weighed the pros and cons of several systems, and studied my household to make sure that we were choosing a system that was the right fit. I’ve been calling out HVAC suppliers at least twice a year ever since it was newly installed. Now, suddenly, I am hearing some bad noises coming from the system – rattling and vibrating noises; other times, a loud, banging noise. It scares me so much that I turn off the cooling system entirely. Was this a big issue? Wondering, I called a company to see what the problem was, but long story short, there was nothing wrong with the component itself. The air duct was aging, and falling apart. It had become disjointed in several sites. Cracks were developing in others. It turns out, I needed to get the entirety of my air duct replaced. That cost a pretty penny, but it was definitely less costly than replacing the component itself! I was quite satisfied with this HVAC supplier service, particularly because my component ran quietly after the air duct was replaced. So, if you ever hear unusual noises coming from your system, it may actually well be a problem with the air duct.

 

 

air conditioning company

New cat complicates HVAC situation

Cleaning up after all the shedding is a bit of a pain in the butt as well as needing a little more HVAC service is a bit inconvenient

When I moved into a new household five years ago, I did not have any pets. I wasn’t particularly nervous about getting any. I don’t mind dogs or cats. Then, about half a year into residing in my new home, a stray cat kept showing up at work. We would often feed it as well as leave water out for it as well as it ended up coming around for two weeks straight. I definitely warmed up to the cat as well. Because nobody else wanted to take it home, I decided I would give it a home. The cat definitely sucked me in, as well as I have to admit that I have enjoyed his business, despite the fact that he is undoubtedly a breed that sheds a lot! I did not definitely mind doing a little extra vacuuming every now as well as then, but what I did not realize is that my air conditioning component would actually be affected as well. Pet hair and dander was getting sucked into the system, fouling up the air filter faster than if I did not have the cat. I found that I needed to call out an HVAC supplier to disinfect my system, because the fur was definitely flying. I wanted my heating and air conditioning system to be clean and my air to be a little more breathable. Cleaning up after all the shedding is a bit of a pain in the butt as well as needing a little more HVAC service is a bit inconvenient. I still appreciate my cat to death. You adapt, when you appreciate someone.

 

HVAC worker

Perils with second-hand heating and cooling systems

I took a gamble when I bought my first home a couple years ago. I was so happy I was able to afford this little house in a relatively quiet village just outside of town. There were a few things that needed to be renovated, though. One of them was the HVAC system. There was no system in this home! The formal leaseholder had gotten by with window cooling systems as well as no heat, although I suspect they genuinely had space boilers in the winter. However, I wasn’t interested in getting by on such weather conditions control implements. I knew I wanted a central HVAC unit, although I did not definitely feel I was in a position to buy a brand new one for this house. That’s when I decided to get an HVAC system second-hand. I thought it was luck when I came across a system on a social media website marketplace. The price seemed too enjoyable to be true, although I was willing to take a chance. It was difficult to even convince a local HVAC business to install it for me, because they warned me that second hand systems could have a host of problems with them as well as may not even be regularly sized for your home. I was stubborn though, as well as I insisted that I would pay them to install it as well as the thing barely works! Now I have to pay the same people to remove it as well as buy one of their models, but it’s going to be a while before I can afford that!

 

ductwork sealing

My Heating as well as Air Conditioning system lasted over seventeen years

It’s been 17 years since I installed my heating and cooling system in my home.

I have babied this system as delicately as I possibly could.

However, it is finally showing signs of aging. The first indication that my HVAC system was on its way out was my rising utility bills. The price of heating as well as cooling steadily increased for the past year. I was not using my system anymore or less than I usually did, as well as yet my utility bills crept up as well as up until it was conspicuous how much I was paying. Then, I began to notice that particular rooms in my household were no longer quite as comfortable as the other rooms; Particularly, I noticed that the side of the household that the Heating as well as Air Conditioning system was farthest from seems to be warmer as well as warmer as time went on. It seemed like my system just wasn’t able to put out as much cooling power as it used to. The final straw came when little problems began developing that required the assistance of HVAC suppliers, however something would go wrong as well as then something else would go wrong as well as then that same thing would need to be fixed just a short time later. It was time for a new system! Still, I was quite impressed with myself that I was able to squeeze just over 17 years out of my new system. I’ve heard that similar models may only last for a mere decade if they are not regularly cared for.

 

 

ductwork sealing

Finally purchasing a new HVAC unit

I bought a house with a heating and cooling system that was already several years old.

I was determined to get at least seven more years out of it.

I took great care of it, so It did last that long. However, by the eighth year, it was clear it was time for a HVAC replacement. To begin talking about what kind of brand new system I might be interested in, I called a local company. I have been saving considerable money in anticipation of having to replace my old system. I was more than ready to get a new one that I intended to have for more than 15 years! I knew I was staying put in this house. I was taking good care of the household, but it’s in a good section of the city and I’ve come to appreciate my property. I was happy when the HVAC supplier mentioned that technology has greatly improved in the past decade. We were looking at tempting offers for several systems that provided a variety of perks and benefits. I ultimately settled on a heat pump system, mostly because it takes care of heating and cooling, and is quite efficient and lasts for a long time! Once I settled on the system that was right from my house, the supplier had to do the usual measurements and determine whether or not my air duct needed to be replaced as well. I was relieved it did not need to be replaced!
Smart thermostat