Ask Mike 4/04/07

Spring is here! That means it’s time for Quality Service, Inc. customers to be watching their mailboxes for our Spring Newsletter HomeSense! Even if you’re not yet in our family of customers, we’ll be glad to send you one, too. Just call us at 635-3452 and we’ll be glad to mail you one, or stop by our office on North Main to pick one up. This one is full of valuable information. Recently, we’ve a heard a lot of scary things about indoor air quality and pollution. We always discuss it on “Ask Mike”, and anybody who suffers from allergic symptoms-like itchy eyes, stuffed-up heads, sneezing-can tell us exactly how real this problem is. There’s a great article in the newsletter about the “air scare”. There’s also a great article about “thermostat wars”. That’s where one person is cold and one is hot and they take turns turning the thermostat up and down. Did you know that it could be a matter of “balancing” of the air? There’s even a piece about getting rid of “Unwanted” houseguests.

No, we don’t mean your in-laws; we mean the four-legged kind like mice and squirrels that drop in for a free meal and place to sleep. There is a very informative article about real spring-cleaning, too. Do you know the 2-year rule? If you have clutter and “things” that you haven’t touched for 2 years…THROW IT AWAY, or give it away. You really don’t need it. There are a lot of great informative articles in our newsletter. It’s just another way to say “Thanks” to all our customers for another great year at “Quality Service.” Call us at 635-3452 to get a free copy or to get your “Ask Mike” question to us. Visit us on the Internet at www.qualityserviceinc.com, too! Change your filters and we’ll talk to you next week.

Ask Mike 4/14/07

Good morning and welcome to “Ask Mike” on WTRB. I’m Paul Hankins and this is Mike Currie (Mike), we are with Quality Service, Inc. right here in Ripley. We’re here every Saturday at this time to answer your questions about your home comfort system. Good morning, Mike!

I’d like to start this time talking about something we haven’t in a while. The whole change to 13 SEER minimum efficiency rating still confuses a lot of people. I want to explain that again. Let’s start with this question…What is SEER and what does it have to do with air conditioning?

People are still confused, Paul. S.E.E.R. is an acronym for “Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating”. It measures the efficiency of air conditioning. There is a specific scientific formula to arrive at the rating. The easiest explanation is that it is a measurement for air conditioning like “miles per gallon” measures vehicle fuel-efficiency.

And, back in January 2006, the world changed for the air conditioning industry, didn’t it? Could you explain what happened?

It did change things a good bit. The January 2006 date was the day that the minimum SEER rating was changed to 13 SEER from 10 SEER. After that date, no manufacturers could produce any air conditioners that less than 13 SEER efficiency ratings.

The minimum went all the way from 10 SEER to 13 SEER in one fell swoop?

Yes it did. It had a huge effect on prices, availability of models, types of air conditioning, and more. Just imagine the effect that would have on the automobile industry! If they had to produce vehicles that were 30% more gasoline efficient; imagine the effect that would have on prices! That is exactly what happened to the air conditioning industry.

And all new systems are required to carry at least 13 SEER efficiency, right?

Every single one must be 13 SEER.

That’s a big deal and it has and will cost the consumer a lot of money. We’ll explain right after this break on “Ask Mike.”

(Break One)

We’re back on “Ask Mike”! We’ve been talking about the new 13 SEER air conditioning mandate from the government. Just before the break we mentioned that it has and will cost the consumer money. Mike, let’s get some explanation of why that is.

There are several reasons this has and will cost money. We’ll go over as many as time will allow. Some people are surprised at the cost of replacing their home comfort system, and that’s perfectly understandable. But these days, along with the regular hike in prices due to all costs associated with building and marketing a product (like anything else) there are additional reasons for air conditionings recent price rise. Any product costs more now than it did 10 or 15 years ago, but the 13 SEER requirements have escalated that for air conditioning.

How so?

It has affected costs in a lot of ways. We can start with materials. The way to increase the efficiency of air conditioning is to make the coils bigger. Here’s the ripple effect of just that…more materials that make up the coils…larger coils mean larger units. Larger units mean more money in packaging AND packing materials. Larger boxes mean you can fit less on each truck for shipping. Less units on each truck means more trucks. More trucks mean more people to drive the trucks. Bigger units also mean more warehouse space for storage and more warehouse workers to move them about.

Man! We’ve seen a huge effect already, and these units aren’t even at the dealer like us who actually installs them. What’s next?

You’re starting to smell what I’m stepping in, huh? After the new larger unit gets here, it takes more guys to move it around and from here to the installation site. You need more strength to install a larger unit. It can take longer to set up a larger unit and can require additional training for installation as well as service