Prepare Your HVAC Unit for the Winter with Easy Preventive Maintenance Steps

The changing season provides an excellent opportunity for the homeowners to save on their HVAC costs by temporarily powering down the unit and opening their windows. But it will soon be the time to turn on the heat. Is your system ready to handle the winter this season? Well, regular preventive maintenance can help your system to keep pace with seasonal temperature changes. Plus, it can increase the performance of your HVAC system and avoid costly emergency repairs. Here we have listed 5 easy steps to ensure that your heating replacement in Roanoke, VA, run at peak efficiency.

5 Easy Steps to Prepare Your HVAC Unit for the Winter

Power Down

Before performing any maintenance or repair work, you need to ensure that there is no power supply to your heating and air conditioning in Roanoke, VA. Turn off the power and wait for the blower to stop before you proceed to the next maintenance steps.

Replace the Filters

Replacing the filters is probably the easiest maintenance task you can perform at home, without any professional guidance. Thus, before opting for any other maintenance task, let’s start with replacing the air filters. Dirty air filters are the primary cause behind a raised electricity bill. This is because clogged filters make your system work harder to provide sufficient warmth inside your home. Every HVAC manufacturer recommends changing the air filters every 30 to 60 days. So, if you haven’t changed the air filters for a long time now, do it right away.

Run a Sound Check

If you want to find out which is the quietest home appliance you can have, it is your heating and air conditioning system in Roanoke, VA. Your HVAC is a perfect example of “you can keep calm while working efficiently.” This means that until you hear any sound from your HVAC unit, it is working correctly. If you turn on your unit and find unusual sounds like rattling or squeaking, there must be some problem with your HVAC system. You need to ask a professional HVAC technician to detect the reason behind the sound and fix it.

Look for Moisture Signs

If you can find any sign of moisture on the window panels or any component of your HVAC system, it indicates that your unit is operating improperly. Moisture buildup needs immediate attention to prevent your system from major breakdown or damage.

Check the Room Temperature Setting

The last step is to check your thermostat. Your thermostat is the mother control of your heating and air conditioning in Roanoke, VA. To get the most of your HVAC unit, you need to make sure that your thermostat is operating correctly. You need to check if you are getting the expected temperature throughout your home.

If you find any unusual signssuch as ear-piercing noise, damaged body part, etc. during your basic checklist run down, it implies that your unit is not functioning correctly. Contact a certified HVAC technician soon. Woods Family Heating and Air provides dependable HVAC maintenance for heating installation in Roanoke, VA and makes sure that your system is running at peak capacity.

HVAC Service Steps for the Best Heating and Air Conditioning

The winter months are almost here and all you expect from this festive season is lots and lots of fun. While you have taken care of your checklist and filled it with things to do during winter, you might have missed taking care of your heating replacement in Roanoke, VA. Don’t worry because we have already done that for you. We don’t want to wait until the full force of winter arrives. Thus, we are reaching out to you ahead of time and trying to safeguard your HVAC system and your family, this winter.

3 Essential Heating Repair Tips to Make Sure You Stay Warm and Safe

Detect Any Hazardous Heating Failures

You need perfect heating and air conditioning in Roanoke, VA, to stay comfortable inside your home. But, you also need to be sure that your system provides you with an equal amount of safety while operating. A highly trained HVAC technician needs to perform the essential tune-up before you switch on the system for the first time this winter. Any faulty connection in your system or damaged electrical component can be unsafe for your system and your family.

Don’t wait until your heating system completely breaks down; get it checked with the professional heating repair in Roanoke. Remember that your heating system may suffer even when not in use. It can collect dirt and dust throughout the spring and fall months. If you haven’t already changed or replaced your system’s air filters during autumn, now is the best time to do that. Your furnace also needs to be in a clean condition to generate proper air and circulate it throughout your house.

Check for Proper Installation

While looking for any broken part in your HVAC system, you also need to check the heater flue and ensure that the exhaust is safely and adequately exiting your home. Ignoring to address this exhaust may lead to severe health problems, including suffocation.

Ask a skilled and trained HVAC professional to identify if the flue gas spilling is taking place correctly. If you ignore this step, unattended leaks and gaps in your system may increase the system operation cost by more than 15%.

Get a Smart Thermostat

This winter, you can ignore the process of turning up your thermostat manually and wait until it begins working on its own, by replacing your thermostat with a smart thermostat. A smart thermostat helps your heating system to work more efficiently while saving you a lot of money. You don’t need to change the temperature setting frequently because the device does the task on your behalf and when needed.

The smart thermostat reads your heating habits and saves you from wasting energy while you are not at home. A programmable thermostat can save you more than 10% on your heating and air conditioning in Roanoke, VA.

For more information on heating and air conditioning in Roanoke, VA, call Woods Family Heating and Air. We are a team of expert HVAC technicians and can offer your HVAC system a complete range of services.

Should You Upgrade Your HVAC for a Home Addition?

Making additions in your home might be required for various purposes. You might be constructing a second bedroom in the house, increasing the kitchen and dining space, adding a guest room or a game room. The main thing is that you are increasing square feet area of your home. In majority of the cases, home additions have proved to be useful. In fact, these additions add to the curb appeal as well as to the valuation of a property. However, there is one thing which needs careful consideration after home addition and that is understanding the heating and cooling requirements of the newly added space. Homeowners are often confused if they need to upgrade the HVAC system or the air conditioner of their home for the new space. An experienced AC contractor in Roanoke will be able to help in this matter for sure.

Condition 1: No requirement of any upgradation of the HVAC system

In this case, you have to understand that the home addition will be just enlarging an existing space. No new rooms will be built into the structure. If this happens, then there is no need for upgrading your HVAC system. Generally, when we purchase a HVAC system, it is oversized and has the capacity of heating and cooling a slightly larger space comfortably. Hire a professional technician and carry out the load calculation of the HVAC system. This will give you a clear idea whether your HVAC system will be able to heat and cool the entire home, even after making additions or any kinds of modifications.

Condition 2: Upgradation required for the HVAC system

If your home addition is not getting enough heating and cooling from the existing HVAC system, it is important to think of what could be done. One way of handling the situation is by extending the ductwork from the current forced air unit. This will help in delivering heat and cooling to the additional space in the home. If baseboard heaters and radiators are used, hot water piping can be extended easily into the new area without much hassle.

However, for adding water piping or ductwork, you might need to install a HVAC equipment. This is mainly to be done for managing bigger load. If you are worried about increased electrical consumption for the newly installed HVAC system, you have to think of a new electrical panel. If HVAC replacement is in your mind, this will be an excellent solution for the same.

Condition 3: Getting a ductless mini-split HVAC system

If installing a new HVAC system is not possible for the whole house, you can think of covering just the extra area with an independent HVAC system. How? This is possible with ductless mini-split HVAC systems. There are two parts of this system—an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. Like a central heat pump, mini-split HVAC systems offer both air conditioning Roanoke, VA and heating for a long period of time from a single equipment.

For more information on such topics, you can get in touch with Woods Family Heating & Air Conditioning at 540-992-3944.

An Air Conditioner for Every Need

Technological advancements have changed the world to a great extent. Daily life is impacted greatly by such changes – some for good and some otherwise. For instance, previously fans were considered sufficient for beating the heat. But with the advent of air conditioning machines, levels of comfort have increased for people. Now AC machines have become kind of mandatory in every household and commercial space during the summers. With temperatures rising consistently globally, people are installing machines for air conditioning Roanoke VA in their homes and working spaces. With the temperature remaining cool and comfortable, people can work conveniently without any hassles.

The basics of air conditioner

We all know that an air conditioner helps in cooling a place. But how does that happen? Well, this instrument works on a law of physics. As per this law, when a liquid gets converted into gas, it absorbs heat. This is also known as phase conversion. All air conditioners have refrigerants in them, which convert from liquid to gaseous state in a very short period of time. The refrigerant pulls out the heat from inside thus making the room cool and comfortable.

There are mainly three important parts in any air conditioner. They are:

Condenser
Compressor
Evaporator

The evaporator is in the inside unit, while the compressor and the condenser are in the outdoor unit of the air conditioning machine. The refrigerant is there in the evaporator, which absorbs the heat and changes into gaseous state. The gaseous refrigerant then moves from the evaporator to the compressor, where the vapor is compressed to a state of high pressure and temperature. From here the pressurized gas goes into the condenser, where the gas rapidly cools off and gets back into a liquid state. It again flows into the evaporator. There is a blower which pushes the air past the evaporator for chilling the air. This air is blown into the room, making the place cool and comfortable. This whole process is repeated again and again till the time desired temperature is reached in the room.

Different kinds of air conditioners

You can get in touch with any reliable AC contractor Roanoke and gather information about the different kinds of air conditioners which are available. The three most common varieties include:

Split air conditioner
Window air conditioner
Central air conditioner

For small offices and homes, window air conditioners and split air conditioners are popular choices. However, for offices and large commercial spaces, central air conditioning systems are common.

Each of the varieties of the air conditioners comes with their own set of pros and cons. The customer should do a thorough research on all the varieties of air conditioners and understand their advantages and disadvantages. Next they should understand their requirements and then make a decision as to which kind of air conditioner will be most suitable for their needs. There are different companies manufacturing air conditioning units for customers. Choose the one which meets your requirements and fits well into your budget at the same time.

Call Woods Family Heating & Air Conditioning at 540-992-3944 and book consultation for any kind of air conditioner.

The Effects of Hot Weather on Your Air Conditioner and How Your System Deals With Those?

When the temperature rises in the mid-summer, your AC system takes extra workload to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature. Plus, the longer you run your AC system, the higher the electricity bill you need to pay. But there are other effects of the summer heat on your AC system. Let us take a more detailed look at AC systems vs. hot weather conditions.

Heat:

As the outdoor temperature rises, your air conditioner works harder to keep your indoor environment cool and comfortable. When the outdoor temperature touches the scale of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, you may notice that your AC system is having difficulty maintaining the comfort of your home. Sometimes, your AC may even fail to reach your comfort level of cooling. Setting the temperature level to achieve the desired temperature is not recommended, as it can reduce the lifespan of your air conditioning system.

Humidity:

The humid climate is uncomfortable to live in, and it also impacts the lifespan of your air conditioner. As there are more water droplets in the air, the cooling system needs to work harder. The air conditioning system can’t cool the water droplets directly. Thus, it needs to go through the air and water particles to cool the right ones. Due to humidity and extra strain on your air conditioner, the lifespan gets reduced, and there are higher chances that your air conditioner may require frequent repair and servicing. Using a dehumidifier, in addition to using an air conditioner, will help you control the humidity. If you are facing any trouble with your air conditioner, you may call for an AC contractor in Roanoke.

Temperature Inconsistencies:

You may feel varying temperature levels in different rooms at your home during the summer. Even when you are setting the AC temperature at the right level to keep your entire house cool, some of the rooms may remain inevitably warmer than others. Places closer to your air conditioning system tend to stay cooler than the rooms at a distance. You can do a few things to control this temperature discrepancy. Portable fans can be the correct device to even out this temperature discrepancy. Closing the vents of your rooms is another way to deal with the problem methodically.

Energy Cost:

Your energy bills are comparatively higher during summers than during other seasons of the year. When your AC must work hard to keep your home cool and comfortable fighting the summer heat, it leads to higher energy consumption. The unit needs to function at its maximum capacity to maintain the desired temperature inside your home, and your wallet will notice its effect. The modern AC companies in Roanoke design their models in such a way so that the homeowner can set the AC unit not to operate above a specific limit. It helps them to save money on electricity bills while preventing the AC systems from overheating.

Susceptible Components:

Most of the internal parts of your air conditioning system can prevent damage because of high heat, as they are designed to handle high temperatures. But some of the components, like the capacitors, can burn due to excessively high temperatures. The heat weakens the outer shell of the capacitor and leads to burning. If your AC is making cracking sound while operating, there is a good chance that your capacitor has been compromised. You may also notice a decreased performance in your air conditioner. You may call an AC contractor in Roanoke and seek maintenance service.

How to Maintain Your AC During Hot Weather?

Hot weather has some adverse effects on your air conditioner. If you follow a routine to maintain your air conditioner and get it tuned up and serviced professionally, you may feel abatement of those effects, to some extent. It is always essential to understand the limitations of your air conditioner to avoid any sudden breakdown. If something goes wrong, you need to call an AC contractor in Roanoke, to get that fixed and bring your AC to normal functioning again. Woods Family Heating & Air Conditioning is an excellent resource to upkeep the health of your air conditioner even during hot weather conditions. Call us at 540-992-3944 to schedule an AC servicing.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Does Hot Weather Affect Air Conditioning?

It does! Along with the increasing outdoor temperature, the thermostat instructs the air conditioner to maintain the desired temperature inside the house. It leads to a higher load on your air conditioner and affects the lifespan of your AC. So getting a perfect repair of air conditioning Roanoke VA you should contact Woods family heating & Air Conditioning.

Why Does My AC Stop Working When It’s Hot Outside?

It can be due to a voltage problem at your home, or you might have set the AC unit not to operate above a specific limit.

Do Central Air Conditioners Work in Extreme Heat?

Not necessarily! Central air conditioners are designed to work according to the size of your room and the amount of air that needs to get cooled. If the outside temperature soars high, even your central air conditioner may fail to work effectively.

How Long Should an AC Run On a Hot Day?

At a time, your air conditioner should run for 15 to 20 minutes. If your air conditioner is too big for your home, you may decrease the running time.

Is It OK for an AC to Run All Day?

It may seem easy to run your air conditioner all day, but doing so will waste a fair amount of electricity. It also puts a strain on your air conditioner and affects its lifespan.

How Quickly Should My AC Cool?

If you have set the inside temperature 5 to 10 degrees cooler than the room temperature, your air conditioner may take 10 to 15 minutes to cool down your home.

In Summers, What Temperature Should I Set My Air Conditioner At?

You must set the temperature of your air conditioner at 5 to 10 degrees below the room temperature. If the outside temperature is too high, you may prefer setting the temperature at a lower level, but that may harm your air conditioner.

Gas Furnace Buyer’s Guide

Replacing the old furnace in your central heating system with a new more efficient model can offset volatile energy prices. Also, today’s furnaces pollute less and boost comfort by producing heat more steadily than older furnaces. Gas is the most common heating fuel and here we will focus on gas furnaces.

Over the next several posts, we will cover the most important parts in the process of selecting your gas furnace….

Size matters – The furnace’s specifications should meet your needs.
Efficiency also matters – The efficiency of gas furnaces is reflected in its AFUE
Repair or replace – Depends on what’s wrong and the age of your system
Most and least reliable – Usually when do systems fail? When they are most needed
Features – Each brand of furnace offers a similar array of key features
How to choose your contractor? Key qualifications to look for.

Size Matters!

The furnace’s specifications should fit your needs. Installing a new furnace that’s too small won’t keep your house comfortable during extremely cold weather.

To offset that, the furnaces in most homes are larger than necessary. Initial cost is only one of the drawbacks of that strategy. A furnace that is too large will cycle on and off more frequently. That puts more wear on its components, wastes energy, and might cause the temperature to vary to uncomfortable levels. Also, a larger replacement furnace might require larger ducts. Without the right size ducts, airflow can be noisy.

To be sure of correct sizing and a proper installation, choose a licensed, reputable contractor who will take the time to calculate your heating needs. Such calculations take into account the climate and the size, design and construction of your house.

Efficiency Also Matters!

Gas is currently the most common heating fuel and most new central-heating systems use gas. How efficiently a furnace converts gas into heating energy is reflected in its annual fuel-utilization-efficiency (AFUE) rating, which is measured as a percentage. The higher the number, the more heat the furnace can produce from each therm of gas.

Furnaces have become more energy-efficient over the years. A gas furnace made in the early 1970’s typically has an AFUE of about 65 percent. The lowest efficiency allowed by law for new gas furnaces is 78 percent, and some new models achieve 97 percent.

The price of a new furnace generally rises in step with its fuel efficiency but you can often recoup that additional cost through lower fuel bills over the life of the furnace. How quickly you recover the investment depends on more than just AFUE. The climate where you live, how well your home is insulated, and your local gas and electricity rates also affect payback times.

A Woods consultant can present several models in a range of efficiencies and help you calculate the annual estimated operating cost of each model you’re considering.

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