Ask Mike 1/3/07

With this being our first “Ask Mike” article of the New Year, we want to re-visit some of the reasons we provide information through this article and through doing things like our “Ask Mike” radio show on WTRB. Naturally, it’s good PR for us to make contact with as many of you as possible, but we are genuinely trying to educate and inform folks as well. We answer questions that pertain to indoor comfort as well as indoor air quality. You DO NOT have to be a Quality Service Customer to have a question answered in this article or on the “Ask Mike” radio show. We get questions from out website at www.qualityserviceinc.com, they are called in to our office at 635-3452, people ask us on the street or in the grocery store, and some even mail them in at PO Box 616, Ripley, TN. 38063. We’ll answer questions about equipment replacement and repair, about how to make your system last longer and work more efficiently, how to choose a contractor, or whatever. We offer major brands of new equipment, we service ANY make or model, and offer the “Quality Service Maintenance Program” that already offers heating and cooling Peace of Mind to hundreds of folks! We’re proud of our dedicated staff, from the office people up front, to our master sheet metal shop in back, and the well-trained install crews in between. We have four experienced servicemen in four fully stocked service vans to get and keep your system running at its best and most efficient. From new construction, to residential replacement, and commercial refrigeration and climate control, there is no job too small or too large for us here at Quality Service Heating and Air. Be sure to change your filters once a month and check out Ask Mike right here and on WTRB!

Ask Mike 1/10/07

Today, we answer Heat Pump questions!

Occasionally I see smoke or steam coming from my heat pump outside. What’s wrong with it?

As long as its not on fire, probably nothing! Most likely, you are seeing the end of the “defrost” cycle of the heat pump. The outdoor coils stay below 32 degrees when heating. Moisture in the air causes ice and/or frost to form on them. The defrost cycle heats the area and melting the build up, and that process causes the “steam” you see. What is the “Emergency heat” on my heat pump? “Emergency” heat and “Auxiliary” heat are the same. Every heat pump has to have a “back-up” heat source. Since a heat pump brings heat from outside TO inside, there are cold enough times where the heat pump cannot warm the house enough on it’s own. In these times, the back-up heat helps the heat pump reach the desired temperature and then cuts off. This is usually done with electric resistance heating, but can be done with gas. When do I use my “Emergency heat?”

Your heat pump will automatically engage the back-up heat when it needs help in satisfying the thermostat.

There is a switch on the thermostat to “force” the use of emergency heat, but I’d only use that if something happened and the heat pump was inoperable. Other than that, it’s best to just let the heat pump decide when the back-up heat is needed. If not, you’ll lose a lot of the efficiency you probably bought a heat pump for in the first place.

If you have a question for Ask Mike, please get it to us in any one of these ways: visit the “Ask Mike” section of our website at www.qualityserviceinc.com, call it in to the office at 635-3452, or just stop us wherever you see us and we’ll be glad to take your question then. Watch this article and listen to Ask Mike every Saturday morning on WTRB for your answers. Change your filters!