December Articles

December 2004 Articles

These are condensed versions of the Radio Program

12/01/04

Today we talk about thermostats. We love the basic questions first. What is the thermostat and what does it do? The thermostat is the control for the central system’s operation. It senses the temperature inside the home and turns the air or heat on or off as needed. Why is it usually located near the return air grill? It’s because that where the most average temperature air in the house is located. How many kinds of thermostats are there? A lot! Many houses still have the older mercury ones, and they are still available today. Most new stats are electronic and digital, and you can even get programmable thermostats that save an incredible amount of money on heating and cooling. How do they save so much? For example, when you’re heating, you can program it to let the temperature in the house drop from, say, 74 degrees to 62 while everyone’s away during the day. You can make it warm the house back up 30 minutes before you get home and you’ll never be uncomfortable. You can do the same thing when everyone’s in bed at night. At a savings of about 3% per degree you turn it down, you can see how quickly the savings can build up. What’s the price range? You can buy the cheap do-it-yourself type for as little as about 20 bucks. The top-of-the-line programmable thermostats can run up to $300 or more. You can even get some that you can control with an e-mail or phone call. (Those cost a bit). It just depends on the homeowners’ wants and needs. Call us with your questions at 635-3452 or visit us at www.qualityserviceinc.com.

12/08/04

Today, it’s heat pump questions! What is a heat pump and how does it save us so much money over a gas or electric furnace? When operating in air conditioning mode, there is no difference. The change is when you are heating. A heat pump uses outdoor heat to warm your house. That’s why they cost so much less to operate. They don’t have to create heat, they have only to transfer heat. How does it do that? The easiest way to explain how a heat pump works is to have you picture a window air conditioner turned around backwards. Instead of pulling in air, removing the heat and blowing it outside; the heat pump takes outside air-removes the heat and puts the heat inside your house. There’s plenty of free heat outside and the heat pumps gets it and brings it in. What about when it’s really cold outside?

There’s always heat outside, but when it’s real cold and the heat pump alone has trouble satisfying the thermostat-every heat pump has a back up or “auxiliary” heat source to help. The auxiliary heat will automatically shut off when the heat pump catches up and the savings continue. Why do heat pumps seem to blow cold air in the house? It doesn’t. A forced air gas furnace will throw air out of vents at up to 140 degrees. Air from a heat pump is not near that hot, but plenty hot enough to make any home comfortable. That just got started because to a 98.6-degree human hand, 140 degrees feels real warm and 100 degrees feels much cooler than that. One person thinks it feels cool…he tells another and the next thing you know lots of people think that heat pumps cool a house rather than heats it. Call us with your question at 635-3452.

12/15/04

How many kinds of installation are there for central air and heat systems? There are three basic methods.

The first is called a “change out”. That is simply when we remove old equipment and replace it with new equipment. The ductwork, energy source, and controls remain the same and we basically replace everything from the exterior wall out. A change out is less labor and material intensive than the other types of installations.

Next, we have a “full install”. That’s when we install a central system into an existing home that has never been outfitted with central heat and air before. You have to design and build an entire duct system including return, supply, and openings for vents. You have to make all the connections to the energy source and controls. You have to run a survey to determine the exact capacity needed in the home. (No two homes are exactly the same heating/cooling load) This is the most labor and materials intensive installation. And we have the “new construction” installation. This is when we install the system in a new house as soon as the builder gets it “in the dry” (roofed). When we do this, it is similar to the full install, except we are in the home before it is dry walled. You still have to run the survey to get the proper load, but it’s much easier than retrofitting a home that already exists. There is certainly a lot more to installations than we can fit in here, but these are the basics. The holidays are here, and here’s a trivial tidbit for you. You know how we’ve all heard that Poinsettia’s are poisonous? It’s not true. That boils down to an unfounded story from back in 1919 that said an army officer’s 2 year old died from eating a leaf. It would actually take 500 leaves to even make you sick!

Enjoy your holiday season! Change your filters.

12/22/04

Service calls on your home comfort system (or ANYTHING) are very expensive. Unfortunately, there are many times when we are called out when it really wasn’t necessary. As bad as we hate to, we still have to charge for the service call because we’ve already incurred all the costs of getting there. Even when it something really simple that takes little time, we still pay the overhead of the technician’s time, fuel, insurance, vehicle costs, etc. So, today, we’re going to share some things you can check for BEFORE you call a service tech to your house: Is the thermostat in the “ON” position with the temperature set properly? Also, many furnaces have a separate power switch located somewhere nearby. Is it turned on? Also, be sure to check the breakers or fuses before you call. As we always remind you, be sure the air filters are changed regularly, and that the outdoor portion is free of debris and clutter.

And, has the gas bill been paid? Many people have separate electric, water, and gas bills. It happens occasionally that folks miss paying a bill. Also, make sure that the gas company hasn’t cut off the gas in your area for some sort of repairs. We will always be here when you need us; but you may not always need us.

Check these things and that costly service call may just not be necessary and you could save yourself some dough. Finally today, all of us at Quality Service, Inc. wish you, your family, and friends the warmest holiday season ever! Thank you to everybody who reads our weekly column and listens to our show on WTRB, and thanks most of all to our family of customers for making everything we do possible. Merry Christmas from the Quality Service family to yours! Change your filters!