Tips On Breaking Your Equipment Down

It's a/c season again here in the midwest United States and I thought I would give homeowners and business owners alike some helpful hints to hurry up that needed replacement of your existing air conditioning equipment. 1. Never change your filter - One of the most annoying customer habits I run into is the consistent air filter replacement guru. This is the customer who is a fanatic about having their filter replaced once a month. They will usually have a half empty case of filters close to the furnace or air handler and they will have some kind of calender reminder to replace the filters. All this does is make their system work efficiently and filter out contaminants from the air. I will do my best to inform them that the air filter companies are just trying to up sell their product and fresh air is really over rated. 2. Pets are our friends - What could be nicer than our furry friends who provide warmth and love on those cold winter days and love to shed hair in the summer? If I notice one extremely shaggy dog I'll ask if they plan on getting their lonely little puppy a friend to play with anytime soon. I will also tell them that the matted dog hair that comes from Fido actually helps to benefit filtering on the inside evaporator coil for their air conditioning. Matted pet hair blocks air flow but this just helps to make the air colder. Yes, the coil will freeze up every other day but all you have to do is thaw it out and it will work (kind of) again in 24 hours. The best scenario is several dogs and several cats living in the same 800 square foot house. Love is better than central air. Also, once the coil is blocking the air flow, the added benefit in the winter time is the primary limit tripping in your furnace due to the heat building up from inadequate air flow around the heat exchanger. It's a win-win situation for the heating and air conditioning technician. 3. Quit trying to remove all the paint from your outside unit by washing it every year - Outside condenser units for your split system air conditioning will only remain nice looking if the paint isn't stripped off by unnecessarily washing off the condenser coil. Many myths are out their about the increased performance of a clean coil which allows better temperature/pressure drop of the refrigerant if adequate air flow is seen through the condenser coil. What really happens is repeated washing takes off a microscopic coating of paint and will eventually lead to the requirement of a fresh coat of pain within 40 years. What's the purpose of having nice things if you'll just have to repaint them in a few decades? 4. Weeds and bushes are nature's defense system - Many homeowners and renters will spend hours tediously pulling and cutting growth that occurs naturally by nature. For centuries, especially here in the United States, there has been a silent war against Mother Nature herself. Some people are under the delusion that grass and weeds distract from the natural beauty of their homes and will cut and mow these "distractions" until they're only several inches in length. It is the homes and dwellings which are the intrusions upon the natural beauty of the landscape. Why would we want to keep manicuring what God intended? My advise is to become the voice of reason in your neighborhood. How many emissions from carbon burning lawnmowers and trimmers does it take to deplete the ozone? I don't know but it surely isn't helping the global warming problem, now is it? Also, the electricity used by these same devices in their electrical counterparts still requires someone, somewhere, to burn coal so the electricity keeps flowing doesn't it? Send a message to your friends and family this summer and allow that grass to grow and those weeds to surround that outside a/c unit. It's a win-win for mother nature and for our children's future. Yes, the decreased air flow through the coil might require that air conditioner to run a few extra hours every month but isn't the environment worth it? 5. Fixing that leak in the refrigeration system will save me money? - Think again. That costly repair job of finding the leak in a system and not allowing the annual re-charging of your system will require at least one hour, if not two, in labor charges to you. Yes, R-22 has tripled in price but what about the cost to your personal relationship to that friendly qualified service technician who quickly puts his gauges on the outside unit and only adds a few pounds of refrigerant. Yes, economically it makes sense to pay a one-time fee of fixing the leak but what about the cost of friendship. Is money really that important to you? My advise to you, the homeowner or business owner, is to quit being so uptight about budgets and such. Without these special relationships the world becomes a really dreary place. And what about the poor guy in the R-22 factory? Should he go hungry because he's been laid off because you were so tight with those pennies? If the need isn't there to produce it then where will he work? I know the government has effectively shut down the productions of R-22 (or at least trying to) but if we end the demand for the product then who really wins? The ozone? The service technician? The homeowner or business owner? I think we all know the answer. In the end we really have to get along don't we? So, I hope these helpful hints will help you, my devoted fans, in making some key decisions this summer. Remember - when your money is more important to you in saving energy and replacement costs the only one who wins is you. The economy doesn't work unless you're spending money now does it? And you don't think the government can afford to do all the great things it does without a little tax revenue do you? So the answer is simple isn't it. My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.