SURGE PROTECTORS

Being a Florida homeowner, in the heat of the summer, you surely do not want to be without air conditioning. Lightning strikes can damage televisions, computers, and even air conditioners. The outdoor condensing unit is like having an electrical conductor waiting for a strike. If your home is unprotected, the cost of one lighting strike could be upwards of $10,000 or more.

Homeowners tend to think Surge Protectors are only for indoor electronics. But Surge Protectors are also available for your air conditioning and heating unit.

Protect your heating and air conditioning system from an electrical surge with a Surge Protector. Call us today for a Surge Protector Assessment on your heating and air conditioner unit.

SPRING CLEANING

As spring is quickly approaching, most people have in their mind to do a good spring cleaning at their home, indoors and outdoors. Well, DO NOT forget your central heating and cooling system. Call the experts at Action Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc., and find out about our Maintenance Program.

Maintaining your system can keep your utility bill at a constant, prolong the life of your system, and give you peace of mind.

Sealing Your Ducts Can Significantly Reduce Energy Loss

Ducts distribute cooled or warmed air from your Heat Pump, Air conditioner and Air Handler throughout your house. When your ducts are leaky, a significant amount of this conditioned air is lost. In fact, leaky ducts lose as much as 20 percent of the air that flows through them in a typical U.S. home. Properly sealing your ducts reduces this energy loss significantly, saving you money and reducing waste.

Signs of improperly sealed ducts include:

•Excessively high energy bills, especially when you use your air conditioner during hot Northeast Florida summers

•Difficulty keeping your home comfortable with your existing HVAC system
•Stuffy rooms

•Extra difficulty heating or cooling some rooms in the house but not others
Sealing your ducts will often go a long way toward solving these problems, making your home much more comfortable. Sealed ducts also can significantly increase your energy savings, which is great for the environment and your wallet.

If you try sealing your ducts yourself, look for leaks where the ducts attach to vents at the floors, walls or ceiling. It’s also relatively easy to inspect exposed ducts in attics and basements yourself. Perhaps surprisingly, duct tape shouldn’t be used to seal ducts — it isn’t a long-lasting solution. Instead, use mastic sealant or metal tape.

Rather than sealing ducts themselves, many homeowners choose to hire professionals to find and repair duct leaks. Some HVAC ducts are in difficult-to-reach places, such as inside the walls and ceilings. A certified professional will have the tools and experience to assess airflow throughout the house and locate leaky or kinked ducts.

For help finding and repairing duct leaks in the Northeast Florida area, contact the experts at Action Heating and Air Conditioning. We’ll be glad to help you identify and resolve your home’s ductwork problems.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).For more information about your sealing ducts ,Indoor Comfort and other HVAC topics,click here to visit our website

SEER

The efficiency of air conditioners is often rated by the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) which is defined by the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute in its standard ARI 210/240, Performance Rating of Unitary Air-Conditioning and Air-Source Heat Pump Equipment.

The SEER rating of a unit is the cooling output in Btu (British thermal unit) during a typical cooling-season divided by the total electric energy input in watt-hours during the same period. The higher the unit's SEER rating the more energy efficient it is.

PHASING OUT R-22 REFRIGERANT

Below is the Phaseout schedule of R-22 and R142b a stated by the United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA):
HCFC-22 (also called R-22) and HCFC-142b are the next two HCFCs that the United States will phase out. The schedule to phase out HCFCs is:
January 1, 2010 Ban on production, import and use of HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b, except for continuing servicing needs of existing equipment
January 1, 2015 Ban on production, import, and use of all HCFCs, except for continuing servicing needs of refrigeration equipment
January 1, 2020 Ban on remaining production and import of
HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b. After 2020, the servicing of systems with R-22 will rely on recycled or stockpiled quantities
January 1, 2030 Ban on remaining production and import of
all HCFCs.

What Does This Mean to a Homeowner?
If you own a Heating and Air Conditioning System that contains R-22, you do not have to change it out immediately. When your system does have to be changed out, you will have to purchase a system with the new R-410A refrigerant.

At this time, it is estimated by the EPA that starting in 2020, new R-22 may no longer be produced, so consumers will need to rely solely on recycled or reclaimed quantities to service any systems still operating after that date.

The Ductless Mini Split — The Perfect Solution For Zoned Temperature Control

If you are looking for targeted temperature control in specific areas in your home, consider exploring a ductless mini split heat pump system.

Many homeowners know mini splits work well in home additions where extending ductwork is not feasible or to supplement cooling and heating in homes with radiant or other ductless home-comfort systems. Fewer have considered using ductless mini splits as zoning systems. But in many cases, these small, flexible systems offer the perfect solution for zoned temperature control.

“Zoning” refers to cooling and heating that can be controlled for individual rooms or sections (zones) of your home. Often, homes with zoned control require retrofits involving the installation of dampers within existing ductwork. But what if your home doesn’t have ductwork or you need an alternate solution for another reason? Or what if you’re looking for a way to avoid the energy loss associated with leaky ducts?

That’s when you should consider using a ductless mini split as a zoning system. Mini splits are heat pumps, but with multiple indoor air handlers located in various rooms in your building connected to a single outdoor unit. Each air handler is regulated by its own thermostat — allowing individual, precise control in multiple living spaces all served by the same system.

Ductless mini splits as zoning systems offer a great deal of flexibility. For example, they let homeowners air-condition only the areas that are occupied at the moment and temporarily close off vacant areas, such as guest rooms. Their individualized temperature control also allows residents to make adjustments based on the quirks of individual rooms, or zones. Say you have a room with multiple large windows that collect lots of heat from the sun; a zoned system lets you boost the A/C in that room only to offset its rise in temperature — without cranking up the system throughout your entire home. For many homeowners, zoned temperature control saves energy and keeps their monthly utility bills lower.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).For more information about your Ductless Mini Splits ,Indoor Comfort and other HVAC topics,click here to visit our website

DIGITAL THERMOSTAT VS. MERCURY THERMOSTAT

You may ask why a Digital Thermostat instead of a Mercury Thermostat. Digital Thermostats are so much more accurate. Most Digital Thermostats have a back light and are easier to read then a Mercury Thermostat, and a Digital Thermostat contains no Mercury.

Should You Get One?

Many air conditioning and heating companies are now offering and recommending digital thermostats.

We realize they are not for everyone. No one can make you purchase a Digital Thermostat, but the following information may help you make a choice:


What is a Thermostat?

A thermostat is any device that regulates temperature. You use your air conditioning and heating thermostat to control/adjust the temperature in your home.

Is There a Problem With My Old Thermostat That I Have?

The older style, non-digital (Mercury) thermostats are made up of several moving parts which includes a small glass vial that contains mercury. The Mercury Thermostats contain the highest amount of mercury found in ordinary household products!

Besides the health risks, the sensitivity and accuracy of a Mercury Thermostat depends on the moving parts inside. A harsh movement, including accidentally bumping it too hard even while trying to adjust the temperature, can cause the parts in the thermostat to move. If this happens, your thermostat will no longer function properly. Your air conditioning and heating unit may not turn on or off when it is supposed to or turn on at all. What happens then, is you have to pay a technician to come and recalibrate your thermostat.

Another problem with the the Mercury Thermostat is that they can be inaccurate. When properly calibrated, the Mercury Thermostats are usually not 100% exact; resulting in your air conditioning and heating system running longer than it needs to, wasting energy, and money.

Some Benefits of a Digital Thermostat

There are several benefits of having a digital thermostat. Digital Thermostats contain no mercury. Not only is this safer for you, it also helps the planet by eliminating a part of the six to eight tons of mercury that end up in landfills each year (EPA estimate.)

Secondly, a Digital Thermostat contains no moving parts. This eliminates the need for a technician to come and recalibrate the thermostat.

Digital Thermostats have the ability to save you money! Energy Star estimates that up to $200 each year could be saved on your energy bills because of the precision and accuracy of the Digital Thermostat. The thermostat knows exactly when to turn on the air conditioning and heating system in order to be the most efficient. There is no energy (or money) used that does not absolutely have to be used. You can get a Digital Thermostat that has the capability of being programmed. This allows you to set different temperatures for different times of the day or week.

Are Digital Thermostats Right for Everyone?

Digital Thermostats are usually more expensive to purchase, but the savings can usually be recouped within a year. Some people will have to make an adjustment to using a Digital Thermostat, and some people will just refuse to use one. The adjustments to getting used to a Digital Thermostat are a lot less encumbering than most digital products.

NOW THE CHOICE IS YOURS!