Certified Comfort Heating and Cooling - Louisville KY

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Archive for furnace

Why Pre-season AC Check-up & Maintenance is Important

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

It’s that time of year, and dirty and clogged coils are the number one reason for compressor failures which can cost homeowners up to $1,500 to repair. They also are the main reason home energy cooling costs climb in the summer. With rising utility rates, cleaning AC coils guarantees your system will operate as efficiently as it is designed for. Hidden problems like clogged condensate drains can cause cause basement flooding or unnecessary system shut downs.

Louisville HVAC providerOur complete AC inspection and tune-up will clean outdoor condenser coils and check condensate lines and overall system operation. Take full advantage of the performance your AC system can offer by having Certified Comfort perform our spring AC inspection and precision tune-up for our internet-only special of $59. Say internet when you schedule your AC tune-up.

Give us a call 502-244-4328 or see details here.

What’s inside your furnace?

Monday, February 13th, 2012

So that’s what is inside your furnace… It’s most likely a clam shell heat exchanger. This one happens to be cracked. The top center eyelet of each heat exchanger has a crack of above and below it. The others are nearing failure. However, one crack is all it takes to condemn.

Goodman Clam Shell Heat Exchanger
What’s wrong with a crack? In the modern furnace, the primary risks is a fire. Over time the crack will open and allow flames to hit the cabinet. The secondary risk is carbon monoxide poisoning. This scenario is less likely due to the pressure switches that monitor the negative pressure inside the heat exchanger. You’re more likely to get air from the blower inside the heat exchanger rather than flue gases escaping.

How do you prevent this type of failure? It all goes back to proper air flow. Your ducts should provide design air flow per the manufacturer’s recommendations. This is achieved buy using ACCA Manual D to design the duct. Often, we find that the duct system needs to be modified to achieve desired air flow. Second, you must change your air filter regularly. Although some filters state ‘Three Months”, it’s important to check them monthly. You may find that your system draws more dust and hair than the filter can handle in three months. Finally, regular furnace maintenance by a professional service company keeps your system operating properly. You should have your HVAC system serviced twice a year — once for heating and the other time for air conditioning.

Give us a call today for all of your heating and air conditioning needs in Louisville — 244-4328.

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Furnace Setback Temperatures

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

We are often asked about how low to set the thermostat to save money on your heating bills. Obviously, you save more money the less your equipment operates. So, how cold can you stand it in your Louisville home?

Are you a Scrooge and want to keep it 40°F in the house? Well, there is a limit. When a furnace is operating, all of the combustion gases are just that – gases. We don’t want any of them to condense into a liquid while in the primary heat exchanger or vent. So, manufacturers recommend keeping the temperature above 60°F.

What happens if the gases condense in your furnace or vent? When they condense, they form acids. These acids will eat the metal in the vent and heat exchanger. This drastically shortens the life of your system.

So, what’s the answer? Set your thermostat as low as you can bear but keep it above 60°F in the winter.

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Waiting To Replace Your HVAC System

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

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So, you are considering selling your Louisville home but your air conditioner is not working well. Do you live with it thinking you won’t be in the home in a couple of years or replace it with an energy efficient air conditioner and furnace?

Three reasons to replace that dinosaur system now.

1 – If it’s more than ten years old, it’s up to 30% less efficient than today’s minimum efficiencies. You’ll save on energy consumption with a new system.

2 – Utility rates increase every year. No matter how much we dislike it, LG&E gets their rated increase approved annually whether it’s electric or natural gas rates. Back to point number one, you’ll save money with a new system.

3 – Let’s say you you do put your house on the market. The buyers will use the age and condition of your heating and cooling system as a negotiating point. A new HVAC system eliminates that point. Plus a stack of lower utility bills is on your side of the negotiating table.

If you can afford to do it, purchasing that new system makes sense.

Contact us today at 244-4328 to arrange an in-home consultation.

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Endless Summer

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

The air conditioning repair season has been full tilt since the middle of May. The heat doesn’t seem to want to leave any time soon either. Louisville weather forecast shows low to mid 90s for the next ten days.  However, school is back in session in many Kentucky districts. That means cooler air isn’t too far. Yet, the last thing on your mind is your furnace or heat pump.

We’ll start scheduling fall furnace heating tuneups after Labor Day in just a few weeks. What should you expect for a heating tuneup?

Meh. We’ll cover that later. It’s just too darn hot to think about a heating season tuneup right now. Enjoy the rest of  your summer and be sure to call us if you need air conditioning service.

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HVAC Filters

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

Air conditioning systems in Louisville are under a tremendous strain this year. One big thing you can do to help is using the right filter and changing the furnace air filter.

Do you have trouble remembering to change your HVAC filter? Are you asking yourself what is a filter? Here’s a short video with some helpful tips to remember to change your filter.

As always, please feel free to ask any questions in the comment sections. If you need service or a new system, give us a call at 244-4328 or use our contact form.

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Carbon Monoxide Monitoring

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

I’ve copied this post from a HVAC professionals’ discussion forum. Please take the time to read this post. My industry is being taken the wrong direction by some with good intentions. However, they are forcing compliance to an inadequate standard. This post has been republished with permission from David Richardson. David is an expert in carbon monoxide and appliance safety.

House Bill H.R.1796 Residential Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act

This bill is one that could have a severe impact on the services we are allowed to provide our customers in regards to CO safety.

If this bill is passed it will prohibit those of us who provide higher levels of CO safety to our clients to do so by means of providing low level CO monitors that exceed the current UL 2034 standards.

If this doesn’t scare you it should as we will be forced to provide a substandard product to our clients that does not provide true protection for all ages and medical conditions.

According to the bill all CO alarms must meet the UL 2034 standard or they will be deemed illegal devices.

For those unfamiliar with the UL 2034 standard it provides no true protection levels for the elderly, infants, or those with medical conditions. (Here’s a website that explains in detail the limitations of UL2034: http://www.coexperts.com/.)

There are currently two low level CO monitors that provide true protection from CO at low levels that being the NSI 3000 and CO Experts monitors.

If you provide these monitors to your clients as a means of protection they will become illegal if this bill is passed!

Two links to look at for reference to this bill are:

http://www.appliancemagazine.com/new…zone=0&first=1

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquer…:@@@D&summ2=m&

The gentleman who needs to hear from those of us who are concerned about this bill is dswitzer@cpsc.gov.

Anything you can do to help prevent this from happening is critical and needs to happen quickly.

Please post any questions and comments in regards to this and take action if you truly want to make a positive impact in regards to CO poisoning.

Anyone that reads this information should be gravely concerned with the ramifications of HR1796 (S1216). We are sending CO detection backward instead of forward.

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Categories : Heating