Envirotech Air Quality Services Blog : Archive for March, 2014

AC Maintenance Steps

Thursday, March 27th, 2014

It’s time to prepare for another long summer season in Lake Worth, FL with air conditioning maintenance. You should always have AC maintenance done once a year, and spring is the ideal time to schedule a visit from a technician to see that your cooling system can take on the summer heat. You probably already have your air conditioner running a few times during the week, and you shouldn’t let it start wearing down before the main part of its service year begins.

Envirotech Air Quality Services will provide you with a thorough inspection, cleaning, and tune-up of your air conditioning during a maintenance visit. Don’t forget about this crucial step; call us and set up an appointment while it’s still spring.

What happens during maintenance

The steps a technician takes when he or she comes to your house for the annual check-up and tune-up will differ depending on the technician and your particular needs; however, these are the routine steps to expect:

  • Thermostat check: Technicians usually start with a thermostat inspection, since any miscalibration or wiring problem will throw off the entire cooling system. Thermostat wiring troubles and miscalibrations are usually simple fixes.
  • Checking and cleaning the coils: The indoor and outdoor coils of an AC must remain clean for the system to carry out heat exchange. The technician will remove the coils and clean off any excess dust or dirt that might have started to build up.
  • Changing the air filter: If the air filter shows signs of clogging, the technician will swap it out for a new one. (You should perform this job yourself once a month during the rest of the summer.)
  • Interior cabinet inspection: The technician opens up the cabinet of the outdoor unit of the AC to look over all the major components inside: capacitors, compressor, motors.
  • Electrical connection check and tightening: The technician inspects the electrical connections and tightens down anything that may be coming loose.
  • Refrigerant level check: The refrigerant charge in the AC must remain at its set level. If the level has dropped, the technician will recharge it, and also look to find out what caused the loss of charge in the first place.
  • Complete system check: The maintenance session will end with a final check to make sure that airflow and cooling capacity are all as they should be, and that the AC is not draining extra power.

Keep up regular maintenance for a long system life and lower bills

Annual maintenance pays off in many ways that outweigh the small cost of a check-up. You will have a more efficient AC, fewer repairs and breakdowns, and a system that will live up to and probably beyond its manufacturer’s expected lifespan. Call Envirotech Air Quality Services today and talk to our maintenance staff to schedule the yearly visit for your air conditioning in Lake Worth, FL.

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How Your Thermostat Affects Your Air Conditioning

Wednesday, March 19th, 2014

Here in West Palm Beach, FL, air conditioning season starts early. Almost as soon as we’ve shut down our heaters at the end of winter, the temperatures rise and it’s time to turn on the AC again. A number of different factors can impact your air conditioner, including your thermostat, which lets you control when the AC turns on and off. Here’s how your thermostat affects you air conditioning in West Palm Beach.

Problems with the thermostat tend to result in one of three different outcomes. Either your air conditioner doesn’t turn on when you need it to, it shuts off before it has adequately cooled the air, or it refuses to shut off when it should. If the thermostat is to blame, it could be suffering from a number of possible issues. For example, it may be misreading the temperature, causing it to turn on and off when it shouldn’t. Or its trigger switch may be malfunctioning, meaning that it can’t activate the air conditioner when it should. Circuitry shorts can cause it to simply shut off, or to turn the air conditioner on and off at random times.

Those issues involve something wrong with the thermostat unit itself. In some cases, however, the unit itself may be functioning properly. It just hasn’t been placed in an area that accurately reflects the temperature. Drafts, cold spots and similar quirks in your home can wreak havoc with a misplaced thermostat and render your air conditioning system all but useless in the bargain.

An air conditioning expert can usually fix the problem for you. In the simplest cases, he or she can simply replace a malfunctioning thermostat, though it may be possible to repair an existing unit depending upon the circumstances. A service technician can also reposition your thermostat to a spot in the home that more accurately reflects the temperature.

If you need West Palm Beach, FL air conditioning repair services, call Envirotech Air Quality Services. We understand how your thermostat affects your air conditioning in West Palm Beach and we’re ready to implement whatever solutions you need. Give us a call today!

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How to Get Your Heat Pump Ready for Summer

Wednesday, March 12th, 2014

Unlike other home comfort systems, the heat pump works for you around the year. Air conditioners hibernate during winter, and furnaces and boilers take a summer siesta. But the heat pump, acting as both an air conditioner and a forced-air heater, operates throughout the calendar, usually only getting some vacation time during brief temperate periods in spring and fall.

So with the winter weather gone, your heat pump is about to take on the hardest part of its job: the Florida summer. Here’s how you can help prepare your heat pump to run the gauntlet so it will make it through without problems—and help you make it through as well.

When you need assistance to bolster your system with maintenance or heat pump repair in Wellington, FL, call the 24-hour technicians at Envirotech Air Quality Services.

Change the air filter

During the height of both heating and cooling seasons, you might need to change the filter for the heat pump as often as once a month to make sure it receives proper airflow and no contamination enters the cabinet. During the spring, you use the heat pump less, so you probably haven’t changed the filter recently. Before the heat pump comes on for steady cooling, change the filter to start the season fresh. (And keep up with those regular changes.)

Any operating oddities? Get those repairs done now!

As the winter season closed out, did you notice any irregularities with your heat pump’s operation? This could include odd sounds from the cabinet, uneven heating and cold spots in the house, strange smells from the vents, periods of low airflow, or the appearance of ice on the outdoor coil. If so, call for repairs before the summer haul: your heat pump needs some work done, and ignoring this could lead to a major breakdown during a sweltering Florida summer day.

Schedule regular maintenance

Your heat pump requires two maintenance visits per year: a fall check-up to prepare for winter, and a spring check-up to prepare for summer. Maintenance will investigate to see if there are any repairs or replacements that need to be done, and adjust, clean, and prep the unit to make it through to fall. Don’t wait for the summer to get this done! HVAC technicians have tighter schedules during extreme hot weather, so use the transition time to find a convenient appointment.

Get started with taking care of your heat pump right now. Call Envirotech Air Quality Services to take care of the heat pump repair in Wellington, FL that you need. While on the phone with us, arrange for your regular maintenance. With all this taken care of, you and your heat pump will be ready for any heat wave.

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How Duct Cleaning Will Make Your Heating and Cooling More Efficient

Monday, March 3rd, 2014

We recommend duct cleaning to help homeowners increase the quality of their indoor air. Because Americans spend an average of 85% of their time indoors, the quality of the air inside homes and businesses is crucial for better health. Keeping your home’s ventilation system clean of excess dust, dirt, dander, pollen, and biological contaminants is an important part of protecting your air quality.

However, there is another important reason to schedule duct cleaning in Lake Worth, FL: it will make your HVAC system more energy-efficient, leading to savings on your annual heating and cooling bills. We’ll go over the ways professional duct cleaning will improve your budget as well as your air. Contact Envirotech Air Quality Services today to ask about the duct cleaning services we can provide for your home.

What does duct cleaning do for AC and heater efficiency?

The ductwork that makes up the ventilation system for your forced-air heater and air conditioner is manufactured to form a seal to prevent a loss of air-pressure. As dust enters the ductwork through the return air vents, it will start to settle in this sealed environment. This layer can become thick if cleaning is neglected, and it will create resistance against the airflow from the heater and air conditioner. The more friction against the airflow, the harder the HVAC system will need to work, and the higher your power bills will rise.

Dirty ducts can also lead to contaminating the HVAC system itself. If the air filter grows too clogged from dust, it will allow debris to get through and into the heater or air conditioner’s cabinet. A dusty HVAC system will work inefficiently and may even cause a complete system breakdown. Even if the dust doesn’t get through the filter, a clogged filter will cut off the airflow and force the system to have to work harder.

A thorough duct cleaning from professionals equipped with power vacuums, agitators, and skill can clear away all these impediments to proper HVAC system function. You’ll have a cleaner heater/air conditioner with clear air channels so it can do the best job it can for you.

Duct cleaning will save money in other ways

Aside from keeping your HVAC system running efficiently, duct cleaning will prevent repair needs or breakdowns because of dust infiltration, and will help prevent corrosion that can lead to breaks along the ductwork.

You need to have professionals perform this cleaning: call Envirotech Air Quality Services for top-level duct cleaning in Lake Worth, FL from our NADCA-certified (National Air Duct Cleaners Association) technicians.

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