Residential HVAC

The size of your air conditioner is based on a number of factors:

• How large your home is
• How many windows you have
• How much shade your home gets
• How much insulation you have
• How much air leaks out of your house
• How much heat your home’s occupants and appliances generate

The size of your air conditioner is the single most important factor in determining how efficient your home’s cooling will be. Too large and the unit will cost more to purchase and will cycle on and off more frequently, providing inefficient cooling and causing your compressor and parts to wear out more quickly.

In addition, an oversized air conditioner will not provide adequate moisture control. Too small and the system will have to run constantly to keep up with the demands you place on it, and that’s not good either! Your Weeke Sales & Service technician can look at your home and tell you exactly the size air conditioner you need to be as comfortable as possible.

Many home-owners struggle with the problem whether a HVAC comfort system should be repaired or replaced. Is it worth the money to invest into an expensive repair again? Would it be better to replace the system now?

Here are some parameters leading to the right decision:

Frequent Repairs
Systems needing repairs often display a clear sign of aging, wear and tear, and it’s a clear sign that the system has reached its useful end of life. Investing over and over in an aging system is the real question.

High Energy Bills
If you have the uncertain feeling that the energy bill is too high for the comfort level you get, you might be right. Aging systems run at lower efficiency because of wear and tear. And because inefficient systems work longer to get the comfort level desired, the energy bill is inevitably higher. Lower power bills up to 50% have been reported.

System Age
If your system is more than 10 years old, chances are that it’s worn to a degree that does not provide the original capacity and efficiency any more despite proper maintenance. In fact today’s systems are much more efficient than in earlier years, technology has not stopped improving in the field of HVAC. New high-efficiency systems run up to 50% more efficient than older systems.

Other Factors
Deterioration is also observed in the duct systems, in the house insulation and other factors such as drafts from windows and doors. Therefore, measures to mitigate windows and door problems or insulation improvements should to be considered.

Having regular HVAC maintenance performed on your heating and cooling systems provides a number of benefits, including:

• Improved energy efficiency
• Potentially lower utility bills
• Fewer inconvenient breakdowns and subsequent repairs
• Improved system performance
• Improved home comfort
• Improved indoor air quality
• Increased lifespan for your HVAC systems

Annual furnace inspections provide an opportunity for one of our HVAC technicians to check for any signs of wear and tear, to test the system’s efficiency, and to make any necessary adjustments or repairs. This yearly tune–ups are a simple, affordable way to help ensure that your system will work properly throughout the heating season. Therefore, the best time to schedule an annual maintenance visit is right at the end of summer or start of fall.

During these visits, we perform a thorough examination of your entire furnace, starting with basic components like the gas connections, electrical systems, and filters, We also check your heat exchanger and test all the thermostats. If you haven’t scheduled your yearly furnace maintenance exam, call Weeke Sales & Service today to set up an appointment.

Since your heat pump works double duty as both a heating and cooling system, it’s especially important to have regular HVAC maintenance performed on your system twice a year. One time at the start of the heating season and once at the start of the cooling season. This will help ensure your heat pump can provide efficient, effective heating and cooling throughout the year.

Air conditioner maintenance should be performed once a year (at the end of the winter or beginning of spring) in order to ensure efficiency and optimal operation of your system. A/C maintenance doesn’t take a long time, but it can have long-term benefits for the life of your air conditioning unit and spare you from costly repairs or even replacements down the road.

A heat pump does not produce heat like a gas or oil combustion appliance; it moves heat. An air conditioner moves heat from inside to outside, and a heat pump, which is an air conditioner that can run backwards, moves heat from outside to inside. In the winter time, you may wonder how that’s possible if it’s cold outside. But a high-efficiency heat pump can do a great job down to about 38° F outside. When it’s too cold outside for the heat pump, a high-efficiency gas furnace takes over.

On a hot summer day, a heat pump moves indoor heat to the outdoors. In cold weather, the cycle reverses and the heat pump somehow finds heat outdoors that can be “pumped” inside. Understanding the basics of heat pump operation can help you make important decisions about improving your home’s energy efficiency.

A heat pump depends on the unique properties of refrigerant compounds (such as Freon) that are pumped through evaporative and condensing cycles to absorb and release heat. A refrigerant’s ability to boil at a relatively low-temperature helps to facilitate the heat transfer process.

Air-source and ground-source (geothermal) heat pumps work the same way.

The same evaporative and condensing processes take place in all types of heat pumps. But ground-source heat pumps (aka geothermal heat pumps) take advantage of the fairly consistent temperature of the ground or the water in a well or lake. While the temperature of the earth at a depth of 6ft or more remains around 50-65°F all year round, air temperature can go from below freezing to 90 °F or more. Because they have more favorable operating temperatures, ground-source heat pumps are more efficient than air-source heat pumps.