June Articles

June 2005 Articles

These are condensed versions of the Radio Program

06/01/05

Today, our questions will shed light on some things to think about before you decide who installs your next air conditioning/heating system. Is the contractor insured, licensed, and does he pull all the necessary permits? Ultimately, the responsibility for permits and inspections lies with the homeowner. A quality contractor will take care of this as part of the job. Many never mention it and just try to get in and out without getting caught. If you decide to deal with an unlicensed contractor to do any work for you, that’s a risk you’ve decided to take. If the contractor is not insured, (like even without worker’s comp), that is a HUGE risk for the homeowner. Not only can you be held liable for any injuries suffered on your property, but also you place your personal property at risk. Why would a contractor NOT want to be properly insured, licensed and not pull permits or have inspections done? Well, all these things cost money, and if a contractor has cut some corners that may not be quite up to code, it’ll cost him more to fix them. Also, by keeping overhead lower because he doesn’t pay for insurance premiums or permits, he can quote a cheaper job. He’s probably already using cheap equipment and materials, if he can avoid the cost of insurance and permits, he can stay under the prices of reputable quality contractors and try to get business on price alone. The sad thing is that very often, it works. We’ve given you some things to think about. Certainly, we do not claim to be the only area contractor that does these things right, but we are fully licensed and insured, and we purchase permits and inspections whenever they’re called for. While it’s important to realize that you get what you pay for, we can compete with the lower priced contractors while adhering to our higher standards.

06/08/05

We get many questions about the terminology we use in our industry; so today we’re going to define several of them. We’ll start with some basics and later we’ll do more. “HVAC and HVAC-R” stands for “Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration.” Heating is the simplest of these terms to explain. It simply means warming a space that is cold. Ventilation is the act of removing old, stale air and replacing it with fresh air. Air Conditioning is removing the heat from a conditioned space to cool it, and refrigeration means pretty much the same (only it’s usually appliances) Refrigerant is the term for the substance (generically called “freon”) that changes state from liquid to gas picking up and releasing heat as it does so. SEER is an acronym for “seasonal energy efficiency rating”. It’s just a measurement of efficiency in air conditioning equipment similar to
MPG or “miles per gallon” in an engine. AFUE means “Annual Fuel Usage Estimate”, which measures the efficiency of furnaces. Return and Supply refer to the sucking in and blowing out of air in the home comfort system. Like your lungs, Ac equipment must breathe in at the return and breathe out through the supply. The return is usually centrally located and supplies are located throughout the house to adjust temperature evenly. Vents and Registers are the same thing. They are metal louvered transitions from the end of the supply run and into the room. They generally disburse the conditioned air in at least two directions as it comes out of the supply run. We hope this little glossary of terms has helped. Look for more in the future. Until then, change your filters monthly and call us at 635-3452 with your questions. Visit us at www.qualityserviceinc.com.

06/15/05

The last couple of weeks we’ve been explaining better some of the terms you may hear when discussing air and heat issues with person in the industry. Today, we are going to look at The TVA Heat Pump Financing Program. We mention it on our radio show a lot and when we talk about financing options with our customers. TVA is the Tennessee Valley Authority and any qualified customer in this region is eligible for the program. Everybody in this area and far is a TVA customer. Whether you are a customer of Ripley Power and Light, Forked Deer, Southwest, Gibson Electric, or whomever, TVA supplies their electricity. In the program, TVA will finance for individuals the cost of equipment and installation of a qualified heat pump. Heat pumps are very efficient and will save a lot of energy when heating. They mostly move heat from outside to inside instead of creating the heat and then moving it. When they operate in air conditioning mode, they work like any other air conditioner and are as efficient as other air conditioners of the same SEER ratings. TVA will loan the money at a very reasonable rate for up to 10 years. The payment will be attached to the utility bill for convenience. Quite often, customers find themselves saving more in operation costs than the price of the payment. Yes, many times the utility bill goes down even with the payment figured in. It doesn’t happen in every case, but the savings are dramatic and the heat pump will pay for itself sooner rather than later. If you have any questions about the TVA program, please call us at 635-3452. We can put you in touch with the right person at your power company and help the savings begin! Visit us at www.qualityservice.com.

06/29/05

Let’s get straight to the questions!

Under my house, it seems that there’s water coming off the ducts. What’s wrong? Probably nothing wrong, but maybe. When the temperature gets as warm as it’s been recently, there is nothing unusual about some condensation building up on the ductwork. You are pushing cool air through metal ducts in warm areas. It works just like setting a cold glass of iced tea on a table.

Moisture will accumulate at the barrier between the cold and the warm (the outside of the glass in this case) Moisture collects on the outside of the ductwork in the same way. If the duct is properly wrapped in insulation, the condensation will only touch the silver moisture barrier. The wetness should never reach the actual insulation. Too much water is an indication that there is a more serious problem. Many people report that enough water runs off the duct to actually pool up under the house. If you get too much moisture trapped under your house in this heat; floors can buckle, mold can form, and a whole myriad of problems can occur. If the builder or homeowner has put a proper moisture barrier underneath the entire home, this shouldn’t be a big deal.

If you think you have a moisture problem under your house, get it checked out soon by a professional.

Why won’t some areas of my house get cool?

There are a lot of possible answers to that. Balancing of the air could be the issue. If not properly balanced vents farthest from the unit will get less pressure. The ducts may be crushed or leaking. We can check that for you too. Change your filters, and until next week, Stay cool.