It can be a very strange site, especially when it’s hot outside: ice on your air conditioner. However, this isn’t just some strange anomaly. Ice on your AC indicates that there’s an issue with your system and it needs to be repaired. Otherwise, you could find yourself with warm air blowing through your home’s vents. Scraping off the ice doesn’t fix the problem, and it isn’t a good idea to try and detect the problem yourself unless you have expert training about your AC system. The air conditioning specialists at Downtown Air & Heat can help you with all your repair needs, so if your air conditioner is “on the rocks,” give us a call.
Downtown Air and Heat Blog
Why Is There Ice on My AC?
April 13th, 2015How to Ensure a Successful Air Conditioning Installation
April 6th, 2015Once the heat of summer is in full swing, you are going to be using your air conditioner extensively in an effort to keep your home cool and comfortable. If you hope to do so successfully, then it is absolutely necessary that you have the right air conditioning system for your needs in place, that that system is well-designed for your home, and that it is installed by a qualified, trained professional. To guarantee that this is the case, you need only work with the professional AC technicians at Downtown Air & Heat. We install quality air conditioning systems throughout the Orlando, FL area, and we are more than happy to help you to find the right system for your unique situation. Give us a call today to discuss available options.
The first step that you should take prior to your air conditioning installation is to familiarize yourself with the various makes and models on the market today. This may be more of an involved process then you’d expect. This is because modern technology has left homeowners today with more options to consider than ever before in terms of how they choose to heat their homes. There are always quality split central systems available for installation. Some homeowners may choose to use a heat pump, though, so that they can both heat and cool their homes with one convenient system. Ductless mini splits allow for this versatility as well, while eliminating the need for ductwork entirely. There are also high-efficiency systems to consider, which offer great dependability even in our hot weather, while also helping you to cool your home with reduced energy usage.
The next step to take is to hire a professional technician whom you can count on to get the installation itself completed properly. Our technicians are some of the finest in the business, and we have plenty of experience in installing air conditioners of all types. We will make sure that your system is of the right size to handle your cooling needs, and we will guarantee that every step of the installation process is completed with the utmost care.
Our summer seasons around here are just far too hot and far too long to take any chances with the quality of your air conditioner or its performance. Make sure that your air conditioning installation goes off without a hitch. Let Downtown Air & Heat ensure that you are able to cool your home all summer long in an effective, efficient, and reliable manner.
When Is It Time to Call for Ductwork Services?
March 27th, 2015When your home’s ductwork isn’t working properly, you can have problems with both your HVAC system and your living spaces. Why? Ductwork is the highway for the air being delivered to your home, and when the air blows through your ducts, it can pick and up take with it just about anything in your ducts. The result? Poor indoor air quality and less volume of air for your home. To help combat the problems that can develop with your duct system, Downtown Air & Heat offers comprehensive duct services in Orlando, including duct cleaning, duct sanitizing, duct sealing and duct repair and replacement. When is it time to call for help with your ducts? Let’s take a look.
When your energy bills are sky high.
Have you noticed a big jump in your monthly energy costs but haven’t changed the way you use your HVAC system? This can be an indication of air loss, which is a common problem with faulty ductwork. In fact, it’s estimated that faulty ductwork can account for up to 30% of your home’s total air loss, so if you are seeing sudden, high bills, call for help today.
When you are seeing too much dust and dirt in your home.
Your ductwork can accumulate a great deal of dust and dirt, especially if they haven’t been cleaned in a long time. If the build-up is large enough, the air blowing through your vents will start to bring the excess dust and dirt with it, and deposit it into your living spaces. This can be particularly bad for allergy sufferers.
When you’ve had an infestation.
No homeowner wants to think about “things” inhabiting the ductwork, but it does happen, and when it does, the ductwork needs to be thoroughly cleaned and it’s a good idea to also sanitize. Critters and insects leave a lot behind when they take up residence in your ductwork so it’s important to remove all traces of them completely so they don’t return.
When you need any kind of duct services in Milwaukie, OR, call the people you can trust: Downtown Air & Heat.
What Factors Are Part of a Load Calculation?
March 20th, 2015There are a number of factors that need to be taken into account to properly heat and cool your home or business, but one of the most important of these factors is correct sizing. You may hear that all you need to know in order to correctly size and HVAC system for your home is the square footage; this simply isn’t true. Why? Every property gains heat throughout the day via a phenomenon known as heat gain, and daytime heat gain can increase the heat in your property up to 10 degrees. If you don’t account for this daytime heat gain, you could purchase and install an HVAC system that isn’t the right size. The heating and cooling experts at Downtown Air & Heat know how important it is to correctly size an HVAC system for any property, which is why we offer load calculating services in Orlando and the surrounding areas. If you are planning to install a new heating or cooling system, and need help, call us today!
Factors in a Load Calculation
No one really thinks about the various elements that may contribute heat to a given property, mostly because the focus on the main source of heating or cooling: the HVAC system. But there are a number of ways a property can gain heat:
- Through exposed walls
- Solar gain through windows
- Conduction movement through doors and windows
- Latent gains from electronics, lighting and people
- Fireplaces
So, in order to properly calculate how daytime heat gain affects your property, the following items need to be considered:
- The orientation of the property
- The location
- Climate
- Types and number of windows and doors
- Floorplan
- Number of stories
- Number of rooms
- Number of occupants
- Insulation levels
- Square footage
Once all these factors have been determined, your technician can perform the calculation. The calculation will yield how much heating and cooling you’ll need, and as a result, what size HVAC system you’ll need.
A number of problems can develop when you install an HVAC system that is too big or too small for your home or business.
Contact the load calculation experts at Downtown Air & Heat today and schedule an appointment for your Orlando property!
How an Aprilaire Air Purifier Can Benefit Your Home
March 13th, 2015We are headed toward spring, and while we all welcome the warmer temperatures, one thing that many people don’t welcome is the new wave of allergens. Spring is the season of pollination, which can be absolute misery for people allergic to different kinds of pollen. While you can’t filter pollen from the outdoors, you can filter pollen and many other contaminants from your indoors with the installation of an Aprilaire air purifier in your Orlando home. These air purifiers integrate seamlessly with your HVAC system, and can also integrate with other existing components, such as dehumidifiers. Why consider an Aprilaire air purifier? Let’s take a look.
Aprilaire Air Purifier Options
Aprilaire has been a leader in whole-home indoor air quality products since 1954. They have several options from which to choose:
- Model 1000 series – this model is best for the removal of dust build-up. This series removes up to 94% of mold and pollen, 72% of fungi spores and bacteria and 56% of dust and pet dander.
- Model 2000 series – the 2000 series air purifier products are best for dust-build-up and moderate allergy issues. The 2000 series removes up to 98% of mold and pollen, 96% of pet dander and dust, 97% of bacteria and fungi spores and 75% of tobacco smoke and smog.
- Model 3000 series – the model 3000 series of products will help moderate allergy sufferers and remove moderate amounts of dust build-up. The model 3000 series purifiers have the same effectiveness at removing mold, pollen, pet dander, dust, bacteria fungi spores and tobacco smoke as the 2000 series, but these air purifiers come with a programmable thermostat.
- Model 5000 series – the series 5000 air purifiers are top-of-the-line. These air purifiers are best for those suffering from asthma and severe allergies, and the purifier will remove significant amounts of dust. The effectiveness of the 5000 series is: 99% of mold and pollen, 98% of dust and pet dander, 98% of bacteria and fungi, 98% of tobacco smoke and smog, 80% of viruses and ultra-fine particles.
Benefits of an Aprilaire Air Purifier
Clearly, these air purifiers can help to greatly improve indoor air quality and health, especially for the allergy sufferers in your home, but they can also:
- Put less stress on your HVAC system
- Help you save energy
Interested to see what an Aprilaire air purifier installation can do for your Orlando home? Call the experts at Downtown Air & Heat today and schedule an appointment.
Can I Do My Own Spring AC Maintenance?
March 6th, 2015Maintenance for your air conditioner is important, and because it is important, you should always hire an expert to perform your spring air conditioning maintenance in Orlando. Our technicians get asked a lot by homeowners if they can perform the maintenance on their AC, and our answer is this: unless you have expert knowledge about your air conditioning system, including expert electrical knowledge, it’s always best to hire a trained professional to do the work. It’s hard to gain the benefits a maintenance appointment has to offer when the work is done by an amateur; you also run the risk of damaging your system and causing some serious problems. The bottom line? Always call an expert, like the ones at Downtown Air & Heat, to perform all work done to your AC, including maintenance.
What Does a Professional Have That I Don’t?
Here are some reasons why calling an expert is always the best idea:
- Knowledge and experience – air conditioning professionals do this kind of work every day, so they know exactly what to do and what to look for, no matter the job.
- Training and certification – your air conditioner is a complex electro-mechanical device; as such, it’s important to have someone with the right training and certification working on your system.
- Specialized tools – professionals have all the tools they need at their disposal, and many of these tools are specialized; this means there is a good chance you won’t have the same tools readily available.
What Benefits Does Maintenance Offer?
Wondering why maintenance, performed by a professional, is so important? Here are some reasons:
- Better comfort – maintenance is a full tune-up for your air conditioning system, and when the system works optimally, it won’t have any trouble reaching your desired indoor temperature.
- Better energy efficiency – your AC was made to operate at a specific level of energy efficiency; when the system is carrying wear and tear from last year, it can be hard for the system to achieve optimal energy efficiency.
- Prevents repairs – part of the maintenance appointment involves the thorough inspection of your air conditioning system, which allows the technician to find existing and developing problems; this helps get you ahead of potential repairs.
To ensure that you gain the benefits of spring air conditioning maintenance in Orlando, it’s critical to hire a trained professional for the work.
The experts at Downtown Air & Heat are here to assist, so if you are ready to schedule spring maintenance for your AC, call us today!
Why Consider a High Efficiency AC System?
February 27th, 2015Have you been looking for a way to significantly lessen the amount of energy you use annually for your home’s air conditioning? Are you in need of a new AC installation and have energy efficiency as a top priority? Then you may want to consider the installation of a high efficiency AC system in your Altamonte Springs home. What makes a high efficiency AC system different from other AC systems? The main difference is that high efficiency systems have SEER ratings of no less than 16 – a full 3 levels higher than the federally-mandated minimum SEER of 13. But proper installation, repair and maintenance is critical to enjoying the energy efficiency you can achieve with a high efficiency AC system, and this is where Downtown Air & Heat comes in. Our trained and certified AC specialists can help you with all of your air conditioning needs, so call us today!
Understanding SEER
Just as combustion heating systems are rated by AFUE, air conditioning systems are rated by SEER numbers. SEER stands for seasonal energy efficiency ratio, and it is a scale that tells you how energy efficient a given air conditioning system will operate. All air conditioners must be manufactured at a SEER rating of 13, as this has been the federal law since 2006. The SEER scale runs from 1 to 23, and for an AC system to qualify as high efficiency, it must have a SEER rating that is no less than 16. SEER is important because it tells you that a particular AC will cool your home the same as another, but the AC with the higher SEER rating will cool your home using less energy. However, high efficiency does typically come with a higher initial price tag. So where does the savings come in? With your monthly energy use. According to Energy.gov, every SEER point higher on the SEER scale can save you up to 10% on your annual cooling costs. This means that if you replace an existing AC system with a SEER of 11 with a high efficiency system with a SEER of 16, you can save up to 50% on your annual cooling costs.
Consult with a Professional
Is a high efficiency AC system in Altamonte Springs for you? The best way to assess how a high efficiency system can benefit you is to sit down with a Downtown Air & Heat expert and review the numbers. Call us today, and schedule an appointment with one of our AC experts!
Why It’s Important to Consult with a Professional for an HVAC Installation
February 21st, 2015Your 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!
Some of the Unusual Movies Released for Valentine’s Day
February 14th, 2015Hollywood has always tried to match movies up to the seasons to draw droves of viewers to the theaters: October is packed with fright-offerings, while the winter holidays skew toward warm and pleasing family films (as well as Oscar hopefuls). Valentine’s Day falls in an odd spot when it comes to the movie release calendar, however, since February tends to be a slower time for the film industry. The studios are as likely to slot strange movies that don’t fit anywhere else in their annual schedules into the Valentine’s Day weekend as they are films with powerful romantic appeal.
So, while the second weekend of February has featured hugely successful romantic comedies like Hitch, The Wedding Singer, and (of course) Valentine’s Day, some truly weird choices have debuted in this weekend as well. And a few have even gone on to tremendous success despite the bizarre match with the holiday. Here are a couple of the odder Valentine’s Day movie releases:
- Dracula (1931): Yes, this Halloween perennial and the start of Universal Studio’s Classic Monsters actually came out on Valentine’s Day! But perhaps this makes some sense, as the Dracula legend has often received a “doomed lover” approach in the many years since Bela Lugosi made the aristocratic vampire a screen icon.
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991): Does any film seem less appropriate for Valentine’s Day than this unnerving and sometimes very violent psychological thriller? What’s even more astonishing than the film’s release date is that The Silence of the Lambs eventually nabbed the Oscar for Best Picture, an almost unheard of occurrence for a movie released so early in the year.
- Daredevil (2003): This Marvel comic adaptation featuring Ben Affleck as a blind superhero does contain a romantic subplot, but the stronger connection to Valentine’s Day may just be that Daredevil wears a bright red costume.
- A Good Day to Die Hard (2013): The least successful of the Die Hard film franchise, this is an excellent example of a studio dropping a film into a weekend where it doesn’t fit in the hopes that it works as counter-programming. (It didn’t.)
- Wayne’s World (1992): Now here is an example of counter-programming that clicked with audiences. This comedy based on a Saturday Night Live sketch turned into one of that year’s biggest hits and spawned a sequel.
Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day with a trip to the movie theater, or you have your own special plans, everyone here at Downtown Air and Heat hopes you and your loved ones have a wonderful weekend.
Signs of Low Refrigerant in Your Air Conditioner
February 5th, 2015Refrigerant is vital to your AC because it continuously cycles through every single component. Refrigerant is a chemical blend that can easily convert from a gas to a liquid under pressure and back to a gas again. Heat dissipates from the refrigerant as it moves outside to the condenser unit, but the refrigerant itself is not meant to dissipate from the system. When refrigerant leaks from the air conditioner, it’s never a good sign, and it may result in some costly repairs if it’s not taken care of ASAP.
Learn to recognize the signs of low refrigerant, and call Downtown Air & Heat at the first sign of trouble. Our team of skilled technicians are trained to locate and seal refrigerant leaks or take care of any other home air conditioning repair in Central Florida.
Loss of Cooling
The main problem you’re most likely to notice from a loss of refrigerant is if there is not a lot of cool air entering the home. Refrigerant is vital to the heat exchange process, and as more and more begins to leak out, heat cannot absorb into the refrigerant effectively, and temperatures may remain high in the home, or it might just take your system longer to cool a space. Either way, immediate repairs are necessary as other parts may become overworked and break down as a result.
Frozen Coil
If you happen to get a peek at the inside air handler portion of your AC, you may notice a set of coils. The evaporator coil cools down as refrigerant runs through and converts into a gas, and the blower fan sends air over it to bring cool air into the home. The warm air blowing over the coil should keep it from freezing, but only if there is the right amount of refrigerant running through it. A frozen coil won’t actually keep you cooler, and your unit may shut down entirely.
Failing Compressor
This last symptom is one you’re a lot less likely to notice, but it’s certainly one of the most important reasons to consider maintenance every year. The compressor is designed to process a certain amount of refrigerant in every cycle. If there is not enough refrigerant the compressor will struggle, and it may fail, which usually results in replacing the entire outside unit.
Speak with the friendly professionals at Downtown Air & Heat for quality air conditioning repair in Central Florida at the first sign of trouble.
