Frequently Asked Questions
The first step is to identify and repair the moisture problem. Mold will not grow unless sufficient moisture is present. Small amounts of mold growing on visible surfaces can usually be easily cleaned by the homeowner. Care must be taken to control dust related to the cleaning and repair efforts. Larger amounts of mold may require more extensive evaluation, repair or replacement, and dust control. Professional assistance may also be necessary, give us a call and we can refer you to the appropriate help.
Health effects associated with airborne mold exposure are allergic reactions, eye and respiratory irritation, infection and toxicity. About 10% of the population is allergic to one or more types of mold. Many of these people will be affected by outdoor as well as indoor exposures to mold.
Many bad things...Poor indoor air quality, higher electric bills, higher humidity, greater chance for your house to become negative pressurized. Contact us and we would be glad to inspect your ductwork at no charge.
A central air conditioning is not a household appliance. It’s a self-contained system that requires professional maintenance and repair. That’s why attempts at "do-it-yourself" repairs on an in-warranty unit may void the remainder of your warranty. Other than changing the filters and maybe hosing off your condenser, you should not attempt to make any adjustments to your central air conditioning system. Contact us and get the BEST Maintenance in town.
There are differences from brand to brand as well as differences in what each different model can perform and achieve in comfort. There are differences in the metals and paints used to protect the condenser and air handlers, such as in the Carrier Infinity System. Dual staged compressors and variable speed air handlers to increase efficiency and to control humidity.
The condenser coils should be cleaned at least twice a year, by a trained maintenance professional. If you get water in the wrong place you could create serious damage to the condenser. You could even experience electrical shock if you are not careful.
Also, we once had a customer use a pressure washer on their condenser and smashed in all the fins of the coil. This minimized the heat transfer and the electric bills became outrageous.
No, condensers are meant to handle the outside elements. However, a Kool-Kap is recommended for units that sit under eaves of the house where grit, gravel, and leaves can fall or blow into the condensing unit. Contact us for a Kool-Kap.
This will vary with each house and is difficult to answer since it depends on the outside temperature and how well you home is insulated. Other factors would be how many glass windows you have and at what direction do they face. Contact us and we can perform an energy survey on your home and tell you.
Generally, it is not a good idea to close off vents unless you know the layout of the ductwork. One room's supply vent may not be off the same trunk line as the other room that you are trying to improve. Also, the savings are usually insignificant and you run the risk of increasing humidity in the house. Contact us, we are happy to look at your situation and give you a recommendation.
Here are some of the problems we have found:
You should set your thermostat at 80 degrees, but it is better to have a De-Humidistat installed or a Vision Pro IAQ thermostat installed. Both devices will allow you to control humidity and energy consumption while you are away. Please contact us for installation or more information.
4 Reasons
- This is usually the case when an air handler is placed in an attic where temperatures average between 90 degrees to 140 degrees with humidity levels averaging 80 to 100%. The other poplular location is the garage, where temperatures are milder, averaging between 80 degrees to 100 degrees with humidity levels averaging 80 to 100%.
It depends on you and your family's needs with regard to heating. Normally, Southwest Florida only has a few heating days a year. Most consumers feel the energy savings from the few times a year they heat the house does not cover the cost of the upgrade to Heat Pump. However, with the ever increasing cost of oil, utility costs are only going to increase in the future.
It is against code to place ductwork off your house's system and condition the garage. This code protects you and your family from having deadly carbon monoxide gas from your vehicles or Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) from your paints and fertilizers from going into your living space.
It is very confusing. The grill manufacturers actually use two styles of grills for bascially the same sizes. For example a 20x20 Return Grill may be designed with the filter being 19 3/4" x 19/34" the filter will be called a "20x20 Grill Filter" or it could be based on the "filter size being 20"x20" and called a 20x20- Filter or 20x20 "exact". What happens is the hardware stores will carry both. Our recommendation is to switch to an Air Cleaner which usually only needs to be replaced every six months or a year.
Air conditioning equipment does remove humidity, however; it does not do it efficiently. Many times systems will cycle off way before humidity is starting to be removed due to oversized units or the fact that the units are sized for peak load and now it is night time or winter time. Also, due to the 13 SEEER Federal Mandate, the new units do not remove humidity like they used to. Most of the manufacturers found the quickest way to get to 13 SEER and removing moisture was not their top concern.
Your coil is probably so impacted with debris, that cleaning it in place would be a waste of time and money. Your coil needs to removed from the air handler and cleaned outside to clean it effectively. This will get your coil as close to new conditon as possible which will provide energy savings and help prevent future conditions for mold or bacteria growth. It is not recommended to pull a coil if the coil looks severely rusted. There is a risk that the new cleaning will remove corroded metal or debris which is just holding back the refrigerant charge.
In most cases, in our opinion (and the EPA's), ductwork does not require cleaning. Even if you have allergies. In fact it is found that many times duct cleaning can actually worsen symptoms for a period of time due to stirring up the dust in your ducts. Another concern is damage that can occur, causing air leakage & lack of efficiency. We usually replace old ductwork with new as needed.
We can offer you any brand available. We prefer to install Carrier and Trane for air conditioning equipment and Honeywell for healthy air products. We have found these brands to be the most reliable and usually best in class.
- For repairs and service: 2 year on parts supplied - 90 days on labor.
- For installations of equipment: 1 year parts and labor.
- 10 year Parts & Labor Extended warranties are available.
We have many products available to increase the air quality in your home. However, we don't want to offer anything until we know what is really taking place in your home. Let us place an Air Advice Monitor in your house for three days to monitor your air. The air advice monitors particulates, temperature, humidity, Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs, and Carbon Monoxide. We will be able to show you the results and then make proper recommendations for you and your family.
First thing we would do is to assess where and what the issue is: Temperature v.s. Humidity.
Temperature Problems:
Absolutely. We offer free estimates on new equipment and unit replacements. Frequently we can give approximate costs on required repairs or replacements over the phone, however we always put it in writing if the job exceeds $500.00. We also provide free second opinions, however; we require that you show the other invoice to the technician while he gives his second opinion.
Filters should generally be replaced every month when the system is running. Replace filters
with the same kind and size as the original filter. If your filter is not disposable, follow
the manufacturer instructions for cleaning. If you're using a high-density filter such as an
electrostatic filter, call us at 239-354-5333 so we can check your systems external
static pressure. If the external static pressure exceeds the design criteria of
your system, it can negatively impact the performance and life of your equipment (ruined compressors).
The air handler is a device that moves the air in your house. It is usually located in the garage, attic or a closet of the house. The major components enclosed in an air handler's cabinetry are the blower and motor, controls, heater compartment, and an evaporator coil.
Environmental Protection Agency studies have shown that the air inside our homes and workplaces is 10-100 times more polluted that outside air. Harmful airborne pollutants such as dust, pollen, mold viruses, bacteria, pet dander, carpet fibers, and second-hand smoke are constantly being re-circulate and inhaled while indoors. According to the EPA, a person breathes in 2 teaspoons of these pollutants each day, This can result in harmful health conditions such as allergies, asthma, and other respiratory problems.
If you leave your home or condo for more than 4 weeks at a time then a Humidistat is a good investment since it will save money of your electric bill.
It is recommended if you have a system with R410 refrigerant or equivalent. The pressures that normally occur with this refrigerant produce enough heat to suit your family’s hot water needs without using additional energy.
The current refrigerant used in air conditioning systems is called R-22. Due to suspected ozone depletion, EPA regulators call for the eventual phase out of this refrigerant. Equipment that uses R-22 must stop being produced by the year 2010. All production of R-22 will stop being produced by the year 2020. There will be sufficient supplies of R-22 to service the equipment for its life span. Sufficient quantities of R-22 will continue until 2020. After 2020, recycled refrigerants will be available, for many years, which will safely fulfill all service needs for products that use R-22.
During the cooling season, most homeowners keep their thermostat set between 76-78 degrees. During the heating season, most homeowners keep their thermostat set between 68-72 degrees. Any setting will work, but please keep in mind that varying from these settings will effect your utility bills.
Two-speed units can run on low speed (using 50% of the energy) up to 80% of the time, so they offer fewer on/off cycles, and smaller temperature swings. You also get better air circulation, for even, consistent cooling and/or heating throughout your home. Plus, if you purchase a variable speed air handler with you unit, you will enhance both the comfort and efficiency of your air conditioning or heat pump system even further.
If your system is 10 years or older and the system needs frequent repairs, or your system has had a major component failure, high electric bills or the unit is not cooling like it used to then you should consider replacing the system with a new, reliable efficient system.
It’s actually more cost-effective in the long run to replace the entire system rather than just one part because the air conditioning components are designed to work together as matched systems. Otherwise, if you replace just one component you may not be receiving the rating of the piece of equipment you have just installed. It becomes just a guess on how efficient your system will perform. A complete system ensures that you are getting the SEER (efficiency) that you purchased.
You should first make sure that there is power to the outside unit. When your thermostat is set and the unit should be coming on, go outside and listen for a humming noise. If you hear no noise, then you probably have no power to the unit. Check the power disconnect outside at the unit (if breaker type, flip off then on again; if fuse type, pull out then push back in), then check the breaker inside at the breaker panel. If this does not bring on the unit then you should call for service.
Check your thermostat setting and make sure that the fan is set in the "Auto" position and not in the "On" position. This will cause your indoor fan to come on only when called by the thermostat for cooling or heating. Sometimes the setting gets bumped accidentally into the "On" position. If this is not the case, then you should call for service.
The most common reasons for your air handler freezing up is due to dirty filters or dirty coil, low refrigerant charge-possibly due to a leak, or operating the system in cooling when outside temperature is below 70 degrees. In rarer instances, it could be a bad thermostat, relay, or contactor.
Nothing if the technician actually provided a thorough Tune-up. However, no company can afford to send an employee and do work for an hour and a half (average time for a thorough maintenance-not including drive time). Many of the homeowners quickly find out that their air conditioning is shot and needs to be replaced or there is a mold infestation and only their special product can fix the problem.
There are many ways to get leaks in your system. The following are the most common that we run into day in and day out.
Ways to get Refrigerant Leaks
- Chemical reactions from the air quality in your home
- Latent damage to equipment from the factory or from shipping
- Technician generated
- Homeowner/Other generated
- Underground copper linesets compromised by fertilizers
A leak is never good since it can lead to damage of the system and potentially your home. The first step is to determine how big the leak is and where is it?
