Professional Heating & Air Blog: Archive for the ‘Heating’ Category

Consider a Dehumidifier with Your Heating Installation

Monday, February 24th, 2014

We don’t need to tell you that Louisiana can have extremely humid spring and summer weather, and that the higher the humidity rises, the hotter the temperature will feel. (The reason for this is that as the moisture in the air condenses on your skin, it releases additional heat.) But humidity can cause problems during colder weather as well, especially if it gets inside your home. When you have new heating system installation in Hammond, LA, you should consider the addition of a dehumidifier to combat these problems.

There are some good reasons that a dehumidifier will benefit your heating. We’ll look over why you should put a dehumidifier on your list for home improvements when you have your new heating system installed. Call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning to schedule both jobs.

Benefits of a dehumidifier

  • Increased comfort: Although high humidity will make the heat in your house feel even warmer during the winter, this isn’t the sort of comfortable warmth you want. Humidity will make a house feel stuffy, muggy, and closed in; a drier heat (although not too dry) will make your house a more pleasant place to live.
  • Reduction in mold and mildew: The water moisture of humidity will encourage the growth of microbacteria such as mold, mildew, and viruses throughout your home, especially in hidden places like your vents. Aside from looking unpleasant, these growths can contribute to poor health, leading to flu- and cold-like symptoms and breathing difficulty. This is especially hazardous if you have people with allergies living in your home.
  • Wood rot and other damage: High humidity is bad for your home’s furnishings and construction. It leads to peeling wallpaper, warped boards, destructive wood rot, and the ruin of the finishing across furniture.

What a dehumidifier does

A dehumidifier added onto your heating system works in a simple way. A fan draws in the humid air from the ventilation system and moves it through a refrigerated evaporator. This cools the air below the dew point, which causes the water moisture in the air to condense along the surface of the evaporator. The water condensation from this process is removed through a drain line.

Installation of a dehumidifier is easy

You can have a dehumidifier installed in your heating system at any time, but the easiest time is to schedule it for when your new heating system is installed. Call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning today to talk about what we can do to decrease your home’s humidity and make it safer, cleaner, and more comfortable with professional heating installation in Hammond, LA.

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What Problems Can Fireplace Maintenance Address?

Monday, February 17th, 2014

Few enhancements to your home are more inviting than a fireplace near the middle of your living space. A fireplace isn’t only a cozy addition to your lifestyle; it can also serve as an effective secondary heat source to help your main heating system.

Fireplaces are no more dangerous than a furnace or boiler—provided they receive routine maintenance once a year from experts in fireplace repair. You may have heard that fireplaces only need maintenance every five years, but this is false. Problems can start developing in a fireplace after only a year without a check-up, so make sure to schedule maintenance annually. Contact the fireplace experts at A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning to get started, or call for any heating repair service in Kenner, LA you need.

Here are a few issues you can avoid with your fireplace through regular maintenance:

  • Smoke or exhaust entering your home: The most immediate danger a fireplace in need of maintenance can pose is from poor ventilation, leading to smoke flowing out into your house. There are different causes for bad ventilation (broken damper, animal nests), but a maintenance check can catch almost all of them.
  • Fire hazards: It’s the worst-case-scenario for a fireplace… the fire getting out of the hearth and into places where it shouldn’t be. Cracks inside the chimney liner can permit heat to escape through to other areas of your home, making it possible for fires to break out on upper floors or on your roof. Cracks in the firebox are also potential hazards. Maintenance will look for all possible places where a fire might get out of the fireplace.
  • Creosote build-up: The No. 1 problem that can afflict a wood-burning fireplace is the development of creosote. Creosote is a shiny black substance that starts to appear on the fireplace bricks and in the chimney. It is unburned wood energy, often resulting from poor insulation, and is highly combustible, making it a major danger. Checking for creosote is an important part of maintenance, and technicians will be able to tell you if you need chimney sweeping to eliminate a possibly hazardous build-up.

Because fireplaces are seen as durable, almost invincible, homeowners often put off necessary maintenance. Don’t make this mistake: treat your fireplace as you would any heating system for your home and schedule an annual maintenance visit. A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning offers trained fireplace technicians to make sure you receive the important heating repair services in Kenner, LA you need to keep enjoying the pleasures of a warm hearth.

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Reasons to Move Your Thermostat

Sunday, February 2nd, 2014

The small size and basic operation of a thermostat often deceives homeowners into thinking they are less important to their heating than they actually are. The thermostat is not only a control center that gives you access to how your heater and air conditioner operate, it also measures the heat in your home (usually through a device called a thermistor, although older models use mercury sensors) to gauge when to turn the HVAC systems and theirs fans on and off.

You need to take care of your thermostat so you have the best climate control possible in your home. For heating repair service in Matairie, LA, call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning any time of the day or night.

Because the thermostat senses temperature, it’s placement in your home is crucial for it to record accurate readings and provide precision control over the HVAC system. If you are experiencing uneven behavior from your heater or AC that doesn’t seem to stem from a mechanical failure, you should check on the position of the thermostat and ask yourself these questions:

Is the thermostat often in direct sunlight?

The radiant heat from direct sunlight can raise the temperature of an object many degrees above room temperature. If your thermostat is in a position where sunlight from a window falls across it for long stretches, it will record temperatures higher than it should (“phantom readings”), which will lead to it either shutting off the heater prematurely or running the AC for too long.

Is the thermostat near drafts?

A thermostat that is adjacent to windows that are often open, or near to a door that opens to the outside, drafts of colder air will affect its readings and lead to inaccurate temperatures from the HVAC system.

Is the thermostat too far from the center of the house?

With a central heater and AC, it’s important for the thermostat to sense the average temperature of a home to provide accurate information to the HVAC system. The farther from the center of the house the thermostat is located, the more anomalous temperatures it will record. This will turn into a vicious cycle, since the heater and AC will run inaccurately, leading to the thermostat recording further erroneous readings.

If you answer “yes” to any of the above, you should call professionals to move the thermostat to a better position. The wall outside the master bedroom is often one of the ideal spots.

A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning can handle the heating repair in Metairie, LA that will take care of any thermostat problems you have, as well as any malfunctions in your HVAC system. We aim for complete customer satisfaction in all our work.

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The Best Heating Systems for You

Monday, January 27th, 2014

There are so many different heating systems available on the market today that even thinking about new installation for your home can make your head swim. However, we’re here to help: we’ve outlined the top heating systems for Hammond, LA homes. To help you further narrow down your choices, call our heating experts at A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning.

Furnaces

Furnaces are the old warhorses of the heating world, existing in some form since humans first moved into cities. Modern furnaces come in numerous styles that use a variety of heat sources, so there’s almost always a furnace that’s right for your home. Natural gas-powered furnaces are particularly energy-efficienct and effective at providing whatever level of heat you need.

Heat Pumps

The climate in Hammond is well-suited for a heat pump, an electrically-powered system that is essentially and air conditioner that can reverse the direction it moves heat so it brings heat inside your home. The major advantage of a heat pump is that it works as both an AC and a heater, so you’re covered for a whole year with a single unit. Heat pumps also have high energy-efficiency in heating mode because they use electricity to power the mechanics that move heat, not to directly generate heat as in an electric furnace.

Ductless Mini Split Heat Pumps

This system uses the same method of providing heat as a heat pump: the difference is its delivery system. As the name implies, ductless mini split heat pumps do not require ductwork. Instead, they use multiple blower units mounted on walls throughout a home to push the conditioned air directly into the rooms. This saves money on duct cleaning and repairs, and also gives you control over which rooms receive heating/cooling.

Fireplaces

Wait… what? A fireplace is only cosmetic, right? No, not necessarily. Although we don’t advise that you have a fireplace as your sole heating system, an efficient gas log or electric insert, or a pellet stove, can provide large levels of heat to a specific place in the home that can take some of the stress off your other systems. And, of course, they come with the benefit of coziness.

All of these heating systems require professional installation, so make the wise move and have the installers involved from the start of choosing a heater. An HVAC expert can determine your home’s particular needs for proper heating, and then match you with the right system to give you the best comfort possible. After that, the installation experts will put in your new system and you’ll be enjoying quality heat in no time at all.

Make your call about which of these heating systems in Hammond, LA will work for you to A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning. We combine the service of a large company with the personal touch of a small one.

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What Is AFUE and How Does It Affect Heating Repair?

Monday, January 20th, 2014

If you’ve spent any time shopping for a new heating system, or if you’ve taken time to inspect the furnace or boiler in your home, you may have come across the letters AFUE. What do they stand for, and do they have any effect on heating repair?

Understanding AFUE is important, and we’ll explain what those letters mean in this post. If you have more questions, contact A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning. We are available 24-hours a day with emergency heating repair in Hammond, LA.

AFUE = “annual fuel utilization efficiency”

The acronym AFUE stands for “annual fuel utilization efficiency.” It measures how efficiently a heating system burns fuel to create heat. It is expressed as a percentage measuring the amount of units of heat produced for every 100 units of fuel burned. So a gas furnace with an AFUE rating of 85% returns 85 units of heat (measured in BTUs) for every 100 units of natural gas it burns. The higher the AFUE rating, the less fuel the heater wastes.

For the sake of comparison, the AFUE rating of burning wood is 45%-55%. Mid-efficiency natural gas heaters score between 78% and 85%, while high-efficiency models can score from 90% all the way to 98%. For a gas furnace to receive the U.S. Energy Star label, it must have AFUE of 90% or greater.

(AFUE only applies to furnaces and boilers. Heat pumps use a different set of efficiency ratings.)

How does AFUE affect heating repair?

AFUE does not have a direct effect on heating repair, but it can indicate some of what you might expect from a heater. As a general rule, the higher the AFUE is on a heating system, the more complex the system. For example, a high-efficiency condensing furnace, which can achieve an AFUE rating of 98%, contains more components and mechanisms than a standard furnace. High-efficiency furnaces need to have more stringent maintenance and repairs to keep them running at their best.

However, this doesn’t mean that if you have a lower-efficiency heater with an AFUE rating in the 80%-90% range that you can go slack with getting repairs or scheduling maintenance. Make certain you have signed up for a regular maintenance program so your heater receives annual check-ups and tune-ups, and that you never let a repair need go without immediate professional attention.

Whatever the AFUE of your heater, A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning can handle your heating repair in Hammond, LA. Call us any time of the day or night for repairs, and look into the benefits of our maintenance program.

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Signs of Problems with Your Boiler

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

If you have taken good care of your boiler with regular annual maintenance visits, then you probably haven’t had much worries with it; boilers are well-known for their few repair needs and their longevity. However, no system can run perfectly, and a time may come when your boiler develops problems that can put your heating in jeopardy.

Here are some signs to watch for in your boiler that will warn you it’s time to call for professional heating repair service in Hammond, LA. Make your first call to A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning, where we have 24-hour emergency service to take care of your needs.

Signs your boiler needs help:

  • Rumbling sounds from the tank: Boilers run quietly, much more so than furnaces or heat pumps. When a boiler starts making a loud noise, you will notice it. If the tank of your boiler begins making a rumbling sound, it could mean a number of things. A broken valve might be permitting too much cold water to enter the tank, and the mixing of hot and cold water is creating the rumbling. Or the noise might indicate the water is overheating, which could be due to sediment in the tank, limescale, or corrosion. All these troubles need immediate professional attention.
  • Leaking: Any time you see leaks occurring from your boiler system, whether from the tank, the connections, or the pipes, you have to call for repairs right away. Leaks can mean a spike in water pressure, deteriorating connections, corrosion, or damage. Professionals can seal the leaks and find out what is causing them.
  • Corrosion developing: Boilers are designed to resist corrosion and rust, but the problem can still happen—especially in an older boiler or one that hasn’t received proper maintenance. If you notice rust appearing anywhere on the tank or its components, you need to call for assistance. Too much corrosion on the boiler tank often means it must be replaced.

Have your boiler repaired right away

Even problems that seem small, like a tiny leak, can threaten to ruin your boiler if they are allowed to continue. If you catch the trouble early enough, a heating specialist can usually fix the problem fast and thoroughly… so make sure you don’t hesitate to summon experts when you think your boiler is acting (or looking) strange.

A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning works hard to give our customers complete satisfaction. For your heating repair in Hammond, LA, for a boiler or any other system, call on our skilled technicians.

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Which is Better: Gas or Oil Systems?

Friday, January 10th, 2014

For many years, oil was one of the main fuel sources people used to power their heating systems: boilers and furnaces often ran from a supply of oil. Today, oil has lost ground to natural gas that is piped into homes through lines from a municipal supply. The most popular furnace and boiler models today are powered by natural gas.

Is natural gas the superior option? We definitely think so, and we’ll explain in this post the benefits of natural gas over oil when it comes to heating in Hammond, LA. For more about installing a natural gas heater in your home, or if you need repairs or maintenance, call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning… any time of the day or night.

The advantages of natural gas

  • Easy access: Natural gas comes directly into homes through pipes. You can run out of your oil supply and need to wait for delivery before you get your heating back, but you always have natural gas ready whenever you need it.
  • Less expensive: Natural gas is not only less expensive than oil, it’s often less expensive than electricity. Comparison studies have shown that it can cost up to three times more to heat a home during the winter with oil than with electricity.
  • Useful in other parts of your home: Natural gas is useful throughout a house, not just for a heating system. It can power stoves and ovens, and even some laundry machines.
  • Better for the environment: Natural gas burns “cleaner” than most fossil fuels, which means it produces fewer emissions that are toxic for the environment. And this works locally as well as globally: there’s none of the soot that burning oil can leave behind.

There is only major disadvantage with natural gas: you need to have a connection to a municipal supply. If you don’t have access to natural gas, then propane or electric furnaces (or a heat pump) are perhaps the best route to go for heating. Electricity is always available, although propane furnaces can often reach higher levels of heat. Consult with home comfort experts for your best option.

When you are researching choices for heating systems in Hammond, LA, have professionals working with you from the beginning. A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning has a staff of heating experts who will know the right system for keeping your house warm this winter and for many winters in the future. Contact us today to get started.

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Heat Pump Repairs We Often See in the Winter

Monday, December 16th, 2013

Although we usually experience mild winters in Louisiana, we still have many chilly days and chillier nights when we will need a sturdy heater keeping us warm. Heat pumps make great home heating options, since they also provide the important air conditioning we need during the summer, and can handle the level of cold during the winter without losing efficiency.

Because you’ll have more use from your heat pump during the summer when it stays in cooling mode, it’s more likely to malfunction during that time. But winter brings its share of repair issues for heat pumps as well. Here are some of the ones we often see at this time of year. If you need heating repair service in Kenner, LA for a heat pump—or any type of heater—you can rely on the 24-hour service of the professionals at A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning.

Common heat pump repairs

  • Sealing leaks and recharging refrigerant: Although people associate the word “refrigerant” with cold temperatures, not with heating, the refrigerant that runs through your heat pump is just as vital during the winter. If leaks develop along the refrigerant line, it will reduce the system’s heating capacity. A repair technician will need to find the leak, seal it, and then recharge the refrigerant level.
  • Fixing outdoor fans: Winter weather can be cruel to the outdoor unit of your heat pump, and we often have to repair damage done to the fan that draws air across the outdoor coil so it can absorb heat. If the fan breaks or develops bent blades, it could cause the system to lose its heating power.
  • Replacing broken reversing valves: The key component that allows a heat pump to switch between heating and cooling modes is the reversing valve, which changes the direction of the flow of refrigerant. It’s an unpleasant surprise for a homeowner to discover on the first day he or she needs heating power that the heat pump can’t switch functions—and usually it’s because of a broken valve. Fortunately, this is a simple fix for professionals, who will find the right heating valve replacement to match the heat pump.

Heat pump repair requires special training and tools. On your own, you wouldn’t know the correct kind of refrigerant to use to recharge a leaking unit, for example. Trust to heating professionals, such as those at A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning, to handle any trouble you may experience with your heat pump. We aim for complete customer satisfaction in all our work doing heating repair in Kenner, LA.

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Noises Your Heater Should Not Make

Monday, December 9th, 2013

During the colder months of the winter, the sound of a heating system form a part of the general “white noise” in a home: something you don’t notice much, but which serves as a subconscious and soothing background sound. When your heater makes a noise that suddenly draws your attention, you’ll probably suspect that something is wrong.

Most unusual noises are warnings that you need an HVAC specialist to investigate your heating system to see if it requires repair work. Don’t procrastinate, since the repairs will only get more complicated and expensive if you let them slide—and some might turn dangerous.

Here are a few heating system sounds that you definitely should not hear. If you do, call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning for professional heating repair service in Metairie, LA.

Heating system warning sounds

  • Booming/grumbling: If you have a gas furnace, these noises often indicate there is too much dirt along the burner, and the gas jets or pilots light cannot get enough air to ignite. You will need a professional to remove the burner unit and clean it.
  • Grinding: This sort of sound coming from a furnace cabinet is often a warning that the motors are running down because of worn parts. Usually, the motors will need to be replaced.
  • Screeching: The bearings on the motors are wearing down, possibly due to a dust infiltration. This needs attention before the whole motor requires replacement.
  • Clacking: Any noise that sounds like one component is striking against another might mean that a blower motor fan belt has come loose and is hitting other mechanisms inside the cabinet. This needs repair immediately before the loose belt causes further damage.
  • Clicking before the blower motor comes on: Although hearing a few clicking sounds as a gas furnace starts up is normal, if you hear a loud clicking about a minute and a half before the blower motor turns on, it might mean a crack in the heat exchanger—which could lead to a leak of carbon monoxide. If you suspect this has happened, shut off the gas to the furnace and call for repairs immediately.

Heating systems do not yet come equipped with artificial intelligences that can exactly inform you about a malfunction and what to do about it. However, these sounds listed above are the next best thing: when you hear them, bring in a human intelligence—a professional technician—to find out what is wrong and what to do about it.

A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning aims to deliver complete satisfaction with your heating repair in Metairie, LA. If your heater starts to warn you that something is wrong, call us.

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How Often Does My Heater Need Professional Care?

Monday, December 2nd, 2013

If you’re asking this question, you’ve already made a positive step: you know your heating system requires professional attention in order for it to work its best. Any mechanical device needs service and care, as well as repairs, occasionally. However, you may wonder exactly how often you will need professional work on your heating system.

In this post, we will give you two specific answers to that question. When you need professional heating service in Hammond, LA, call us at A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning to get the expert and personal touch that will take care of your heater.

You should schedule professional care for your heater…

  • Annually. Heating systems, regardless of durability, should have a maintenance visit once a year. Twelve months is more than enough time for a heating system to develop kinks and flaws that will begin to cause it to work less efficiently—and eventually lead to a breakdown. A maintenance visit will check, clean, and tune-up your system so it can soldier through another year with the fewest problems possible. Maintenance will also catch possible repair needs before they become serious or expand into more expensive repairs. Enroll in a maintenance program from a dependable HVAC contractor, and you’ll have your heater’s care covered every year.
  • Whenever something seems wrong. Don’t wait for any problem with your heater to get worse. The moment the heating system in your house begins to display irregular behavior—odd smells from the vents, strange grinding and clicking sounds, uneven heating, a drop in air flow, an unexplained increase on your heating bills—you need to have experts come in to inspect it. Letting any of these problems continue will lead to more expensive repairs later and a possible unexpected and inconvenient breakdown. It will also reduce the lifespan of your system.

Keep your heater in good shape for the winter

If you need repairs, or if you want to start with maintenance, act now before the weather turns colder. HVAC professionals will have busier schedules when the thermometer drops and people require heating services, so take advantage of the current slower season.

At A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning, we make it our goal to deliver you 100% satisfaction with our work. You can trust us to give your heating system in Hammond, LA quality care so it will keep working for you for many years with few repair service calls. Call us today to enroll in our maintenance program, or call us any time of the day or night for emergency services.

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