Downtown Air and Heat Blog : Archive for the ‘Heating’ Category

Why It’s Important to Consult with a Professional for an HVAC Installation

Saturday, February 21st, 2015

Your HVAC system provides both heating and cooling to your home, and if it is poorly installed or incorrectly sized, your new home and your comfort can suffer. If you are building a new home, or doing a major remodel to an existing one, it is important to hire a professional design-build contractor for your Orlando home.

Size Matters

HVAC systems are not one-size-fits-all, and ductwork for an HVAC system also needs to be measured and installed correctly to ensure your home gets the air volume it needs to be comfortable. When it comes to the actual unit, your Downtown Air & Heat technician will do two calculations to help ensure that your HVAC unit will supply the right amount of heating and cooling for your home. The first calculation is the heat load and the second is the cooling load. Both calculations take into account the following factors:

Orientation of home
Floor plan
Number of stories
Number of rooms and occupants
Level of insulation
Types of windows and doors
Daytime heat gain

Ductwork Installation

Having a well-planned, properly-sized duct system is equally important for your HVAC to run properly and your comfort. First, the ductwork should be wide enough to accommodate the volume of air being delivered to your living spaces; if it is too small or too big, the delivery will be compromised. Second, planning a system with clean lines, i.e., little to no kinks, helps ensure that the air travels in as straight a line as possible for your home.

Assistance from Start to Finish

When you hire an expert to design and build your home’s HVAC system, you’ll have the help you need from start to finish. A design and build HVAC expert will handle all the heating and cooling calculations, review your HVAC options and then install the system.

If you plan to install an HVAC system in your new home or remodel, call the specialists at Downtown Air & Heat and schedule a consultation today!

Tags: HVAC, HVAC Installation
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Types of Ignition Systems for Furnaces

Thursday, January 29th, 2015

There was a time not too long ago that there was only one type of ignition system for furnaces. Indeed, the same kind of ignition system served pretty much every type of combustion based heating system. That system was the standing pilot light, which was used for many decades. More recently, however, there have been a number of innovations that have risen up to challenge the standing pilot light for supremacy. Let’s take a look at the different kinds of ignition systems for furnaces, and which one you should look for when installing a new one.

Standing Pilot Light

The standing pilot light is the oldest of the ignition systems, and is still used by many furnaces across the country. It consists of a small burner assembly attached to a gas line. The assembly and gas line are connected to a flame sensor called a “thermocouple.” The thermocouple keeps a valve in the gas line open as long as the flame is lit, to keep gas flowing to the flame. If the flame goes out, the thermocouple closes the gas valve as a safety measure. Standing pilot lights are always supposed to be lit, and are only out if there is a problem. While they are a fairly reliable ignition sources, standing pilot lights are not very energy efficient, and waste a lot of fuel by being lit all the time.

Intermittent Pilot Light

Intermittent pilot lights were invented in an attempt to solve a lot of the problems associated with standing pilot lights. They consist of a much more complex electrical system, instead of gas, culminating in an electrode instead of a flame. When the thermostat sends a call for heat, the electrode generates a spark that ignites the system. When not needed, the intermittent pilot remains dormant. This solves the two biggest problems with standing pilot lights: having the flame blow out and wasting energy.

Heating Element Pilots

Heating element pilots are another type of electrical ignition system. Rather than throwing off sparks to ignite the burners, however, heating element pilots use similar heating elements to a lightbulb wire. Instead of giving off light, however, most of the energy directed into the heating element is expelled as heat. This heat eventually gets high enough to ignite the gas and start the burners. This also avoids the standing pilot light’s two biggest issues. However, the actual heating elements do eventually burn out and require replacing.

If you aren’t sure what kind of ignition system would fit your furnace best, call Downtown Air & Heat. We provide furnace services throughout Orlando.

Tags: Furnace Services, Orlando
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Why Is My Furnace Booming?

Thursday, January 22nd, 2015

It’s a pretty unnerving thing to hear your furnace make a loud booming noise during operation. Don’t worry, though, your furnace is not going to explode. It does very likely have a problem that needs to be addressed, however. There are a couple of different things that can contribute to a furnace making booming noises. Let’s take a look at these issues, and help you determine whether or not you need to call a professional.

Delayed Burner Ignition

A very common cause of furnaces booming is something called “delayed burner ignition.” This is caused by a buildup of carbon on the burner assembly over time. Carbon builds up on a burner assembly because it is a byproduct of the combustion of natural gas. Though virtually all combustion byproducts move through the exhaust flue and out of the house, carbon particles are heavy enough to settle on the burner assembly instead. This buildup can eventually get so high that the burner has issues getting enough oxygen to actually light the gas being supplied through the gas line. When the burner finally does ignite, it tends to ignite all the excess gas at once. This is what can cause a sudden BOOM without any sort of warning.

Duct Flexing

Another common cause of a booming noise coming from your heater is the ducts in your house expanding and contracting. As the warm air moves through your ducts, they react to the heat by expanding. Sheet metal tends to make a good bit of noise when it flexes, which can be a cause of that booming sound. This is especially true in colder climates, where the contrast in temperature results in a greater fluctuation in the ducts.

So which of these two causes applies to you? That will require a professional HVAC technician to actually examine your furnace and ductwork. The duct flexing isn’t really a problem, as long as everything is secured properly. The delayed burner ignition can get progressively worse, however, and may end up in that burner not being able to ignite at all.

If your furnace is making a booming noise, contact Downtown Air & Heat. We provide furnace repairs throughout Orlando.

Tags: Furnace Repairs, Orlando
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Why Is Sizing Part of Heating Installation Service?

Thursday, January 15th, 2015

Properly sizing a heater is a very important part of installing a new heating system. Though homeowners almost never think about this when shopping for a new system, the size of the heater will drastically affect how well their home is actually heated. You may be tempted to think that the old adage “bigger is better” would apply here, but that is not the case. A heater that is too large can be just as bad for your home as a heater that is too small. Let’s take a look at what can happen if you ignore sizing during your heating installation.

Oversized Heaters

Oversized heaters often waste a great deal of energy by putting out more heat than the home actually needs. This doesn’t seem like that much of a disadvantage, but the picture becomes clear when you consider specific systems like furnaces and boilers. Any combustion based system is equipped with what is called a “limit switch,” which is responsible for monitoring the central heater’s internal temperature. If that internal temperature gets too high, the limit switch activates and shuts down the system as a safety measure.

An oversized heater will naturally provoke the limit switch, due to its heat output being much higher than the limit the system is naturally set for. This causes the limit switch to shut down the system in order to stop what it reads as the heater overheating. Once the heater has cooled off a bit, it will start up again and provoke the limit switch to shut it down again. This endless on/off cycle is called “short-cycling,” and wastes a great deal of heat while shortening your system’s life.

Undersized Heaters

Far from provoking the overheating safety measures, undersized heaters simply lack the ability to heat the entire home to a satisfactory degree. Instead, they will turn on and stay on for longer and longer periods of time, trying to reach the thermostat temperature when it is completely beyond them. This leads to early burnouts and breakdowns for the heater, as well as wasting quite a bit of energy.

If you’d like to know more, call Downtown Air & Heat. We provide heating services in Winter Park.

Tags: Heating Service, Winter Park
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Reasons to Schedule Heating Maintenance

Friday, December 19th, 2014

Usually, when you call a technician to your home, you have a pretty good reason for it. Perhaps your heating system is making some particularly strange noises, your heater struggles to switch on, or you just want to upgrade with zone heating or a new thermostat. But you may not know that there are plenty of very good reasons to call a technician when there are no apparent problems with your heating system.

Here in Orlando, we go for a long time without running our heating systems. This means that you may not know if there is a lurking problem with the components of your heater. And with a defunct heating system, you may leave yourself vulnerable to a few different problems that can affect your comfort, your bills, and even your safety.

There are a few good reasons to call a technician for maintenance on a regular basis. We’d like to remind you that it’s not too late for a heating maintenance visit this season, especially since you may end up with the following benefits afterwards.

A more comfortable space: Maintenance includes an inspection, cleaning, and adjustment of some of the most crucial components to the operation of your system and some of the seemingly minor ones as well. This helps to make sure your unit is in top shape, as a unit runs at its very best well all of the components are in an optimal condition.
Energy savings: When parts are loose, out of place, bent, or dirty, they have to run for longer and use up more energy to get the house to the proper temperature. This costs you more than expected every month, and a maintenance visit may actually offset the extra cost in some cases.
Peace of mind: Finally, heating maintenance gives you peace of mind that your system will not breakdown any time soon. And with a gas furnace, you’ll feel confident that there is not a safety issue that could lead to a gas leak.

Call the experts at Downtown Air & Heat to make sure you get a thorough and complete heating maintenance in Orlando. We offer a twice yearly tune-up as part of our maintenance program with discounts on parts and services as well.

Tags: Heating Maintenance, Orlando
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Repair That Heater, Don’t Replace It

Monday, March 31st, 2014

It’s always tempting to start over with a clean slate, and if you have an older heater that sometimes has trouble and requires repairs, you may think that—regardless of cost—you should simply replace it with a new system and start fresh.

And sometimes that is the best choice, especially if your heater has already exceeded its manufacturer’s expected service life. If your heater has raised your utility bills and racked up repair costs, then you should also give serious consideration to replacing it.

However, in this post we’ll look at the time when you should repair and not replace. Don’t get too hasty about scheduling new installation: you might have a few good years left with your current system if you have the right repairs done.

For a professional, informed opinion about your heating in Winter Park, FL, call Downtown Air & Heat today.

When repairs are the better option

First, check the manufacturer’s expected lifetime for your system (it should be on the cabinet). If your heater hasn’t reached that point yet, you should take into account the current costs of running the system and how much you spend on repairs to keep it running.

Look over your heating bills to see where you have experienced spikes in heating costs. A heater that needs replacement will usually show a gradual build in operating costs that expert heating repairs and maintenance do not alleviate. If you notice nothing more than the expected increase in costs because of fuel prices—along with an occasional jump because of a repair need—then your heater isn’t aging fast enough to warrant a replacement.

As for your repair bills: a good benchmark figure is $500. If you pay less than that per year to keep your heater running, you aren’t yet at the point-of-no-return. However, if the number hovers near $500, you should consider finding a more experienced heating technician who can make better long-term repairs. You may need to pay a bit more for the necessary fixes, but with the right contractor, these repairs should keep away many additional service calls.

One last factor to consider is maintenance: if you’ve kept up a strict yearly regimen of professional inspections and tune-ups for your heater, then repairs should be enough to keep it running past its expected lifespan.

Whether repair or replace, call for professionals

The best way to know for sure about the “repair or replace” debate is to have an experienced HVAC technician come to your home and inspect your heater. Arrange it during a maintenance visit. You’ll then have an informed opinion about what steps to take next.

Downtown Air & Heat has NATE-certified technicians who can help you make the best choice about your heating in Winter Park, FL.

Tags: Heating Repair & Maintenance, Winter Park FL
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3 Causes of Lower Heat Levels in Your Furnace

Monday, March 17th, 2014

Furnaces are among the most reliable and powerful of all heating systems. Natural gas-powered furnaces in particular can achieve high levels of heating that few other heaters can approach. With regular maintenance, a furnace should last for years without a loss of heating power.

But if you begin to notice cold spots in your house when your heater is working, or if the air coming from the vents no longer feels as warm as it should, something has probably gone wrong with the furnace and it will require repairs (or, in extreme cases, replacement). Call on professionals like the NATE-certified technicians at Downtown Air & Heat to help you with the heating repair service in Orlando, FL that will restore your furnace to its full power.

3 possible reasons for a drop in furnace heating power

Duct breaks and leaks: This isn’t a problem in your furnace itself, but in the ventilation system that delivers air through your home. The ductwork that carries the hot air must remain in a sealed environment to avoid a loss of air pressure. If the ducts develop breaks because of corrosion or poor installation, it will allow hot air to escape to the cooler outside. You heating power will suffer for it. This requires ductwork specialists to locate the leaks and seal them with mastic sealing or metal tape.
Broken heating elements: This applies to electric furnaces. To heat the air in an electric furnace, an array of heating elements containing electrical coils come on. The current through the coils heats up the air in the cabinet, which the air handler then sends into the ducts. But if one or more of the elements fail, it will result in a drop in heating power. Technicians will need to open the cabinet, remove the broken elements, and replace them.
Bad thermostat: People often take the thermostat for granted, but it’s a key part of keeping your furnace running the way you want it to. If the thermostat becomes miscalibrated and begins to shut the furnace off early, it will result in lower warmth throughout your house. It takes heating professionals to track this to the source and figure out how to repair the thermostat, or perhaps replace it.

You should never attempt to perform diagnostics on your furnace or open the cabinet and tinker. It’s especially dangerous with gas furnaces, where you risk carbon monoxide exposure; but electrical furnaces also pose the risk of electrical shock. Don’t chance it: call skilled technicians to investigate and repair your furnace so you know it’s done right.

Whenever you need heating repair in Orlando, FL, no matter the time of day or night, you can call on Downtown Air & Heat to answer.

Tags: Furnaces, Orlando
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Why Heat Pumps Make Sense in Orlando, FL

Monday, March 3rd, 2014

We often recommend that our customers looking for installation of a new air conditioner or heater in their home choose a heat pump. There are few places in the country better suited to take advantage of a heat pump than Florida. Whether you want quality cooling or energy-efficient heating in Orlando, FL, you should put a heat pump high on your list of choices for installation.

Downtown Air & Heat has handled numerous heat pump installations, and our NATE-certified Orlando, FL heating technicians can provide you with an excellent installation that will leave you with a heat pump working at its best for many years to come. Trust us for all your heating and cooling needs.

Heat pumps work great in Orlando—and here’s why:

Heat pumps perform the work of two different systems: heaters and air conditioners. But they aren’t separate systems housed together, like a cabinet that contains both a furnace and an air conditioner. A heat pump uses the same process to provide heating and cooling. Basically, a heat pump is an air conditioner that can switch the direction it moves heat. In cooling mode, it removes heat from inside a house and puts it outside. In heating mode, it moves heat from outdoors and puts it indoors.

Because Orlando experiences very mild winters, a heat pump experiences few problems providing sufficient warmth during cold weather. Extreme cold can hinder a heat pump, making it less efficient, but that usually only happens when the temperature goes below freezing… incredibly rare for Orlando. The heat pump in heating mode also uses less power to run than a furnace, which means you won’t waste money during those days when you need heating.

When it comes to air conditioning, which is much more on the minds of Florida residents, a heat pump is as powerful as any standard air conditioner of comparable size, and its moisture absorption helps combat the humidity.

Have professionals install your heat pump

Since a heat pump is useful at almost any season of the year, it’s never a bad time to have one installed. With the hot weather coming up fast, make sure you’re ready with a heat pump to keep you cool. And you’ll have the winter heating in Orlando, FL covered as well.

Downtown Air & Heat is ready to help you find the right heat pump for your home. We’ll size the unit and install it so you’re ready to enjoy many cool summers and warm winters.

Tags: Heat Pumps, Orlando
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Things to Consider Before Installing a New Heating System

Thursday, February 27th, 2014

If you are interested in having a new heating system installed in your home, now is an excellent time to schedule it. With winter already quickly receding in Florida and air conditioning is starting to hum once again, heating installers will have more open schedules. You also won’t have to worry about forgoing heat for a short time while the installers do their work swapping out your old heater for the new one.

New installation does require some planning, so here are a few things to consider before you start. For quality help when it comes to heating systems installation in Orlando, FL, contact Downtown Air & Heat and talk to one of our NATE-certified technicians today.

What you should consider before heating installation:

Your energy supply: How do you receive power for your home? Do you only use electricity, or do you have a natural gas line? Have you used stored heating oil before? Understanding the fuel sources available to you will guide you toward the heater that will fit best with your home. If you only have electricity, you’ll need to narrow your options to heat pumps and electric furnaces. With a natural gas line, you’ll have a choice of gas furnaces as well.
Your budget plans: There are two places to think about your budget when it comes to heating systems. First, the initial installation cost. Second, the long-term cost of operation. Some heaters have low installation prices, but cost more to run. High-efficiency systems, which can generate large long-term savings, often cost much more upfront. You will need to give some thought to where you wish to spend the money and how long you expect the heater to work for you.
Your home’s heat load: “Heat load” is the amount of heat (in tons) that your home requires in order for you to be comfortable. Determining the heat load requires calculating numerous factors—house size, number and position of windows, heat generated from appliances, how many people live there, etc.—and for this you should have your installers perform a careful heat load calculation. Knowing the heat load will not only help you pick the right heater, but it will help the installers size it to fit your home.

Make sure you use professional installers

When you are considering your budget, don’t plan to save money by going with amateur installers for the job (or even doing it yourself). This won’t actually save you money: it will result in years of repairs and poor performance, and it could even create safety hazards. Only deal with licensed and trained professional installers.

Contact Downtown Air & Heat and talk to our specialists with heating systems installation in Orlando, FL. We’ll do the job right!

Tags: Heating Installation, Orlando
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Why Should I Hire a Heating Systems Repair Specialist?

Monday, February 17th, 2014

If you’re a business owner, you’ll often rely on the maintenance crew from the building to take care of minor mishaps that can occur in your workspace, such as broken doorknobs, flickering fluorescent lights, and occasional problems in the vents. But when it comes to the heating system you have for your business, if it’s a heater that you own and pay for, it’s best to contact a professional HVAC company that handles commercial work to take care of it. A heating systems repair specialists can do the specific and targeted job to get the work done correctly and with little chance of it re-occurring.

If you’re looking for professional heating system repair in Orlando, FL for your company’s requirements, contact Downtown Air & Heat today. We think you’ll like our work so much that you’ll put us down as your regular heating repair specialists for all your needs.

What can a heating systems repair specialist do for my business?

The HVAC system in your business place is much more complicated than what you will find in a home. It requires more power to run and must work for a larger number of people. Keeping the system working at peak level is essential for the comfort of both your employees and customers, and to maintain a check on heating bills. The need for precision while working on a large system calls for a technician with extensive, expert training in commercial HAVC.

Most business use rooftop packaged units for heating and cooling; these machines require a level of advanced knowledge to service that is often beyond residential HVAC technicians, and certainly beyond the skill of standard maintenance crews. These systems also need a dedicated technician who can keep up maintenance on the unit and detect if it is developing problems that may lead to repairs, and to figure out when the unit will need replacement.

Heating systems repair specialists will also be considerate concerning your business and how important it is to keep it tidy. They work in protective covers to keep your workspace clean and will go out of their way to avoid disruptions to work flow.

Where can I find a good heating systems repair specialist?

Right here, at Downtown Air & Heat! We have the best of both worlds, since we handle residential and commercial HVAC work. We have specialists for the work you’ll need, and they can take care of your installation and replacement services, including heating and cooling systems up to 25 tons. We have a staff of NATE-certified technicians ready for your needs for heating systems repair in Orlando, FL.

Tags: Heating Repair, Orlando
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