HOMEOWNER TIPS

Some system maintenance can and should be done by the homeowner, but should you find yourself with no heat or air conditioning, these tips are a good place to start.

These are fairly simple and can get you back up and running quickly and free.

*Set the thermostat properly. Remember, that if you put the thermostat switch in the fan "on" position, the fan will run continuously. Set thermostat to fan "auto", the fan will only run when the thermostat is calling for air conditioning or heating.
*Check that all emergency switches are on. On some systems, the heat and air conditioning share some controls and parts. If you shut off the furnace switch, the air conditioning unit will not work.
*Check that all electrical breakers are on. Sometimes breakers trip and you can't tell. Turn the breaker off then back on. Quite often storms in the summer trip breakers.
*Be sure the furnace doors are securely fastened. Most furnaces have safety switches which shut the unit down if the door is not secure.
*Check your pilot light(s). If your heat isn't turning on and the furnace has a pilot light check to be sure it's lit. While uncommon, these pilots do go out from time to time. Also, if you have a gas or #2 diesel furnace, make sure that your tank is full.
*Check and change your filter regularly. Dirty, clogged filters can cause numerous problems and will decrease efficiency and increase your utility bills.
*If your air conditioning ices up turn the unit off and set the fan to on position using the controls on your thermostat. Ice should melt in approximately 6 hours. Call us immediately for service.

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

HOW HEATING & COOLING SYSTEMS WORK

All climate-control devices or systems have three basic components: a source of warmed or cooled air, a means of distributing the air to the rooms being heated or cooled, and a control used to regulate the system (e.g., thermostat). The sources of warm air, such as a furnace, and cool air, such as an air conditioner, in a house often use the same distribution and control systems. If your house has central air conditioning, cool air probably flows through the same ducts that heat does and is regulated by the same thermostat. When a heating or cooling system malfunctions, any of these three basic components may be causing the problem.

Both heating and air conditioning work on the principle that heat always moves from a warm object to a cooler one, just as water flows from a higher to a lower level. Furnaces and heaters put heat into the air to make your home warmer; air conditioners remove heat to make your home cooler.

All heating and cooling units burn fuel. Air conditioners use electricity. Most home heating systems use gas or fuel oil; other systems use electricity. The heat pump -- an electrically powered climate control unit -- both heats and cools air. In summer it extracts heat from the air inside your home. In winter it pulls heat from the air outside and uses this heat to warm the air inside.

When the furnace is turned on, it consumes the fuel that powers it, whether it be gas, oil, or electricity. As fuel is burned, heat is produced and channeled to the living areas of your home through ducts, pipes, or wires and then is blown out of registers, radiators, or heating panels. Older systems use the heat they produce to heat water, which in turn heats the air in your home. These systems use a boiler to store and heat the water supply, which is then circulated as hot water through pipes embedded in the wall, floor, or ceiling.

When an air conditioner is turned on, electrical power is used to cool a gas in a coil to its liquid state. Warm air in your home is cooled by contact with the cooling coil, and this cooled air is channeled to the rooms of your home through ducts and out registers or -- in the case of room air conditioners -- directly from the unit itself.


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

WEED EATERS AND YOUR HVAC REFRIGERATION LINES

Homeowners don't realize the damage a weed eater can do to their refrigeration lines (copper tubing), refrigeration line insulation, and thermostat wire! If you or your lawn service decide to use a weed eater near and around your outdoor condensing unit, be sure not to get close to the refrigeration lines. The insulation around the refrigeration lines can be damaged by the nylon line of the weed eater. It can also cut the thermostat wire. If you or your lawn service use a blade tip weed eater, that type can put a hole in the copper tubing causing you a rather expensive repair (especially if you have an older R-22 system because of the cost of R-22 refrigerant). It is a much safer method to pull the grass and weeds around your condensing unit or use a small hand-held gardening tool to remove them.

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

AMRAD USA CAPACITORS

WHAT IS A START AND RUN CAPACITOR USED FOR ON YOUR HEATING & COOLING SYSTEM?

Start and run capacitors are normally used in AC motors to aid in starting and running efficiency.

Both capacitors are wired in series with the start winding of the motor.

The reason they are not both called start capacitors is that the start capacitor gives the motor more torque to overcome the fact that it is at standstill, and then automatically disconnects itself from the circuit.

The run capacitor gives the motor better running efficiency and remains part of the circuit, it is therefore called the run capacitor.

We use AMRAD USA Capacitors (manufactured in Palm Coast, Florida) and they have a 5-year unconditional warranty.

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

DUCT WORK (continued)

Have you checked your duct work under your mobile home lately? As you can see from the picture, animals and rodents can get into your duct system. They can rip the duct work and they can also die in the duct work. This, of course, can cause odors and health issues.

Give us a call and we can come and check your duct system out.

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

DUCT WORK

Have you checked your duct work in your attic lately? As you can see from the picture, this duct work is in need of repair or replacement. It can be very costly to you if the duct work is leaking. High electric bills and loss of air into your attic. Give us a call and we can come and inspect your duct work.

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

TRANE INFORMATION

TRANE CELEBRATES 100 YEARS! (we at Action Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc., are very proud to sell Trane Equipment)
This year the Trane Company celebrates 100 years. It all started with James Alex Trane and his son Reuben Trane in 1913. James and his son were pioneers in the heating industry and in 1925 invented a new type of heat transfer device known as the convector radiator. In 1931, the Trane company developed its first air conditioning unit. Many years later, the Trane company took advantage of an opportunity to acquire GE's Air Conditioning Division. We have seen all sorts of changes since then, from being acquired from American Standard Companies (1984 - 2007) to a brief stint as the stand alone Trane Company (2007), and then finally being acquired by Ingersoll Rand in 2008. Even with all of these changes, one name transcends, one name resonates, and only one name remains, TRANE. Happy 100 years old Trane! This information was acquired from North Florida DSO Newsletter.

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