Taking Care Of Your Furnace Room

The furnace room, or room where the furnace is located, is typically low on a homeowner’s maintenance list. Many times, the room is located in the cellar and rarely used. However, in order to keep your furnace operating properly, you will need to regularly clean and maintain the room where the furnace is located.

There are several reasons for this. First of all, cleanliness will reduce the risk of a fire. Secondly, a clean furnace room will make it easier to fix the furnace if repairs should be necessary.

The good news is that keeping your furnace room clean and clutter free is not a lot of work in the long run. Of course, if you have used your furnace room as a storage area, it may take some time to clean the area and make sure that it is safe.

Here is a simple list of things that should be done to keep your furnace room clean in order to minimize the risk of fire and to keep your family safe.

1. Do make sure that there is enough space around the furnace so that it can safely operate. Some families have a tendency to pack the room full of unused items or use the room for storage. This can create a fire hazard and can interfere with the operation of the furnace.
2. Do not hang laundry lines or clothes from your furnace to dry. Although the clothes may dry quickly, this is definitely a fire hazard. If you put the clothes on a drying rack in the furnace room, make sure that the rack is a safe distance from the furnace.
3. Do not place your cat’s litter box near the furnace. The ammonia from the cat’s urine can actually corrode parts of the furnace. In addition, the smells from the litter box can get caught up in the vent system and circulate through your home.
4. Do not store chemicals, cleaning products, or laundry soaps near the furnace. If you must store the items in the room with the furnace, make sure that the products are in an airtight container.
5. Never store flammable products like gasoline, pool chemicals, kerosene or paint thinners any where near the furnace. These items can easily cause a dangerous fire.
6. Do keep the area clean. Don’t leave your old dusty furnace filters or broken furnace parts lying around the furnace room. Not only does this clutter up the area, but it can also create a fire hazard.
7. Do make sure to dust and vacuum the furnace and the furnace room regularly. This means dusting the area and vacuuming around the furnace and the floor in order to keep dust build up at a minimum.

Once you have given the area a good cleaning, you will only need to invest a few minutes a week making sure that the area is clean. Even if it does take a lot of work to clean the area at first, the peace of mind you will get is well worth the work.

Source by Catherine T Wilson

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Air Conditioning – Cleaning the Condenser Coil

Air Conditioning works by exchanging heat from inside a building to the outside air. To do this some very basic refrigeration principles need to take place. One of the most critical pieces that make this happen is the condenser coil. This is usually the aluminum coil the surrounds the air conditioning compressor.

What happens inside this outdoor unit is a very basic state change of the refrigerant inside the air conditioning unit. The refrigerant that changes from a liquid to a gas inside the indoor coil moves to the outside where the compressor compresses the gas under high pressure. When this happens the gas also becomes very hot. The hot gas then leaves the compressor to start traveling through the many feet of tubing in the condenser coil. As the gas cools it changes back to a liquid form going back indoors to start the cycle all over again.

Big problems start when the condenser coil becomes so blocked up with dirt that the hot gas in the condenser coil does not cool enough to change the hot gas back to a liquid form. If this happens the cooling process does not happen and then air conditioner runs but is not cooling. The compressor starts to get very hot and the ultimate result will be the death of a compressor. For these reasons the condenser coil must be kept clean and free of debris at all times when the air conditioner is running. Cleaning the coil is a fairly simple process, Here are a few guidelines to follow when doing this.

To clean the coil a few simple tools are needed. A garden hose with a nozzle, wrenches to remove the condenser fan, a garden sprayer for applying the cleaning solution. The first thing is to disconnect the power to the outdoor unit. There should be a disconnect switch of some type near the condenser. Then remove the fan from the condenser unit. Usually this will be the top of the unit. The fan can usually be laid aside carefully without disconnecting the wires to the motor. Carefully wet down the coil with the garden hose. If you have very high pressure water where you live be careful that the water pressure does not bend over the fins on the coil. These are very thin and fragile. If they get bent over the air will not be able to freely flow through them. Using the cleaning solution from the garden sprayer, coat he inside and the outside of the coil. Let the solution work on the dirt build up before washing it off. If you use a foaming type coil cleaner then let the foam cook the dirt out of the coil. Then use the garden hose to wash the dirt out of the coil. I often work from the inside spraying out through the coil. This is the reverse of the usual air flow and it washes the dirt out easier. Rinse the coil with water till it is clean with no more dirt or cleaner coming out. Replace the fan and start the unit back up.

The cleaning solution for the condenser coil can be any good household cleaner. Many automotive type radiator cleaners will work well. For very dirty condensers it would be good to buy a foaming coil cleaner made specifically for cleaning condenser coils. A local plumbing and heating supply house should stock coil cleaning solutions. Most of these solutions are very strong chemicals. Be sure to wear gloves and eye protection when working with them.

By keeping your air conditioning condenser coil clean, you will help to have your air conditioner running at the best efficiency possible. A clean condenser coil is one of the easiest ways to save electric while running your central air conditioning system. A clean coil will allow your compressor to run cooler and help it to last longer. Your condenser coil should be thoroughly cleaned at least once a year. If in you live in very dirty areas like along a dirt road you may need to clean the condenser coil more often. Also do not do things that would clog up the coil. Blowing grass clippings into the condenser coil is one common thing that happens. Keep shrubbery from growing into and around the condenser coil. This stops the air flow to the coil. Large flowers planted too close to the coil can do the same thing.

As you can see there are many things that can cause your air conditioner to work harder and cost you more money. By taking a the time to look over things and give it a cleaning you can save a lot of money.

Source by D. Floyd Kolb

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HVAC Preventive Maintenance Tips

Air conditioning and heating units are costly to replace. So, it’s important to do some regular preventive maintenance on your home units. This maintenance can be done by the home owner and will help the unit last longer.

This maintenance should be done at least twice per year. I do it one time in the fall right after the leaves have fallen. And, once again in the spring just before the air conditioning is needed to beat down the summer heat.

Here are some tips to help you with this task:

1. Clear debris from around the outside unit. Eliminate any brush or leaves that are too close to the unit. When the unit turns on, brush and leaves may interfere with air circulation.

2. Look inside the condensing unit and remove any leaves or dirt that may have accumulated there. You may have to unscrew the top mesh to get into the unit. Once cleaned, make sure you put the top mesh back on.

3. Clean the condensing coil with a coil cleaner. Coil cleaners can be found at Lowe’s or any HVAC store. Just spray it on and allow it to foam up. After 3-4 minutes, wash it off with a hose and water.

4. Turn the unit on and inspect the fan blades. Check to see if they look like they are properly balanced. If the blade is bouncing around or making a lot of noise, call a professional repair service to fix it before further damage occurs.

5. After shutting the unit off, check the blower wheel. It should turn freely by hand and it should be free of dirt.

6. Inspect all of your wire connections with a screwdriver and make sure that they are all tight.

7. Inside you house, replace all of your air filters. This should be done about every three months.

8. Check the duct to your air conditioning system. You may have to climb into your attic or under your house to completely do this. Make sure all of the insulation around this duct is secure and not torn. Look for and repair any air leaks.

These are the simple preventive maintenance items that most homeowners can do themselves.

Of course, a professionally done preventive maintenance program will cover another 10-15 items that requires some special tools and electrical knowledge. If you can afford this ($150-$250/year), I would highly recommend that you call a HVAC Service in your area and ask them to come and inspect your unit. If you can’t afford it, at least cover the eight items listed above – it could save you a lot money.

Source by Richard S. Cannon

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Air Conditioning Maintenance Tips

One of the best ways to save money in the summer is to have an air conditioner that works well. There are a few ways to ensure that your air conditioner works well this summer, which will keep your family from having to deal with any hot-house broken AC days and will save you money in the long run.

One way to make sure your air conditioner stays in good shape is to have a professional come in for a maintenance appointment every year before the cooling season. This might seem like an unnecessary expense, but it can keep you from having to actually pay to repair your air conditioner, which can be very expensive and annoying. Besides this, keeping up on your air conditioner maintenance can keep the whole system clean, and it can give you some notice about when things might need replaced. That way, you can at least see it coming when an expensive repair might be in your near future or when you might need to replace your air conditioning system.

Another way to keep your AC in good shape is to run it less often. Throughout the summer, you can go easy on your air conditioner by setting your thermostat up a little bit higher, which can also save on your energy costs, of course. Besides this, you can keep your south-facing windows covered by curtains or blinds, which can help keep your rooms much cooler even without the air conditioner. Also, putting exhaust fans in your warmest rooms and running ceiling fans along with your air conditioning system can help you save on air conditioning and run your system less.

You can also keep your system working less by shading the actual air conditioner if it is outside of your home. Make sure that you don’t plant anything too close to the box, but put trees or tall, decorative grasses around the air conditioning box that will keep it cooler so that it has to work less. Besides making your air conditioner work less, this can also hide that unsightly metal contraption from the comfort of your back yard.

If you’re building a house from scratch or completely redoing your HVAC system, you can use this same concept to keep your air conditioner cooler. Put the air conditioning unit on the north side of your home where it will be shaded for most of the day, especially during the hottest parts of the day. This way, you can keep your AC in the shade without having to rely on the landscaping.

Although you’ll always have to replace your AC system in a timely fashion, you’ll be able to keep it in better shape for longer if you can keep it from running quite as hard. Keeping your AC maintained on a regular basis will also help it stay in better shape. Taking all these simple steps can save you lots of money in air conditioning costs, and it can also help save you from expensive air conditioning repairs.

Source by Alen Khaykin

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Energy-Efficient Home Improvements

Remodeling your house is not only an opportunity to visually enhance and improve the function of your home, it’s also a great way to reduce waste and lower your energy bills. Energy-efficient remodeling will help to increase the comfort of your home while helping to protect the environment. If you’re considering remodeling, it’s worth the time to find out if there are ways to improve your home’s energy efficiency. Here are a few ways that make an impact.

Energy-Efficiency Audit

Before you can improve your home’s energy efficiency, you have to first determine exactly where your house is losing energy. A home energy audit helps owners determine their energy use and how problems can be corrected. Your local government energy office may help you identify a local company or organization that performs audits. You can also contact your utility company to see if they offer free or discounted energy audits to their customers.

Seal Air Leaks

Plugging up the leaks that allow air to slip into and out of your house-and drive up your utility bills-is an important first step in creating an energy-efficient home. Such leaks are often found around doors and windows, but they also can be in your basement, crawlspaces, or attic.

Insulation

Adding insulation to your attic can help keep your home comfortable all year round. Statistics show that about half of the homes in the United States are under-insulated. Often in the attic spaces the insulation will reduce down to 3 or 4 inches over a period of years, where you are supposed to have at least 12 inches of insulation (depending on the type of insulation).

Seal Ducts

In forced-air heating and cooling systems, ducts carry hot or cold air to different parts of home. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that roughly a fifth of this air escapes through leaks. To address this costly nuisance, consumers should repair leaks in exposed ducts, such as those found in the attic and basement. In addition to sealing leaks, it’s also recommended that homeowners insulate their ducts.

Replace old windows

Replacing old, leaky windows with higher-efficiency models can save in the long rug. There are many energy-saving options available. Make sure any new windows are double-paned and glazed. Energy-efficient low-e (low emissive) and spectrally-selective coatings block out UV rays while still allowing light and heat to pass through; storm windows and solar shades can help to protect your home from solar heat gain. Adding more windows in specific locations is another option. This technique offers a way to capture natural sunlight and heat during colder months.

Replace dated heating and air conditioning units

Older, inefficient heaters and air conditioners use more energy because they have to work harder to heat and cool. Replacing an outdated HVAC system with a more energy-efficient one can lower your monthly energy bills.

Replace your energy-zapping water heater

High-efficiency water heaters can drive down home energy costs. Water heating makes up anywhere from 15 to 25 percent of the annual energy usage in a home. High-efficiency water heaters conserve energy by keeping water hot longer than traditional water heaters.

Kitchen

The real energy savers in kitchen remodels are the appliances you choose. Certified ENERGY STAR products can cut your energy bill by 40 percent since they use less power and water. Additionally, if you replace your gas or electric stove with an induction range that uses a small amount of concentrated heat, you’ll use less energy while you cook.

Bathroom

As you replace showerheads and faucets, consider low-flow products that provide water pressure that is similar to conventional items while significantly cutting down on water usage. Consider installing high-efficiency and dual-flush toilets that use approximately 1.28 to 1.6 gallons of water per flush.

Source by Anthony J Melillo, III

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AC Repair St Louis MO

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AC Repair St Louis MO – Call 314-736-3400 – Air Conditioner Repair St Louis – Visit us at http://www.ETL-HVAC.com

St Louis Heating and Cooling can do all of your AC and Air Conditioning Repairs in Saint Louis Mo. Trusted for many years, we work on residential and commercial HVAC systems, including AC units, furnaces, boilers, air handlers, geothermal, and more.

We also provide 24 hour Emergency AC Repairs in St Louis and are here to serve you. We look forward to your call!

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