Wintertime in Covington, LA is much warmer than it is elsewhere in the country, but that doesn’t mean we don’t experience our share of winter colds and illnesses. Rainfall drops slightly in the winter months, but we still get our share of wet days, which makes an ideal breeding ground for germs and bacteria. If you want to keep your family safe and healthy this holiday season, you should consider the implementation of additional safeguards in your home”: specifically a set of UV germicidal lights in your HVAC system. You’ll be amazed at how much of a difference they make.
Professional Heating & Air Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Covington’
Install UV Germicidal Lights and Cut Down in Winter Colds
Monday, November 28th, 2016Common Water Damage in Air Conditioners
Monday, October 17th, 2016Water damage has become a pertinent topic of conversation in the Covington, LA area in recent months, with our summer flooding and the news we’ve all seen of Hurricane Matthew in coming months. Our air conditioners are durable and long lasting around here, but water damage is a threat, especially in the face of flooding or even just leaks in the roof. But water damage to air conditioners can come from more than just flooding. Water in the wrong place can short out electrical components, increase friction in moving parts and increase corrosion throughout the system. Here’s a quick breakdown of the ways water can make life tough for your A/C.
Make Sure Your HVAC Technician Is Up to the Job
Monday, September 19th, 2016With the recent flooding here in the Covington, LA area, local homeowners have been quite busy facilitating repairs. Nowhere is that more important than with your air conditioner, which needs to be functioning at its best to provide you with the healthy and comfortable environment your household needs. The right repair service is essential to ensuring that your system gets up and running again quickly. But how can you tell which service is up to the job? Here’s some key features to look for:
Tips for Programming Your Thermostat
Monday, August 22nd, 2016In the endless battle to keep your home cool during our sweltering Covington, LA summers, it’s important not to forget about your thermostat as a key tool. It controls your whole system after all, and just like the old-fashioned, VCR, people often refrain from using it because they think it’s too complicated. But the more you educate yourself about the thermostat, the more you’ll see just how invaluable it is for keeping your cooling costs down, and if yours has been around for 10 years or more, you can replace it with an up-to-date model fairly inexpensively to help you handle high monthly cooling costs. Here’s a quick breakdown of some tips and techniques to help you.
What SEER Ratings Mean for You
Monday, July 25th, 2016We often stress the importance of SEER ratings when determining which new air conditioner you should purchase. The rating is an easy way to determine the system’s efficiency, and after the power load (the amount of output the air conditioner generates), the SEER rating is the single most important factor in selecting an air conditioner. Here’s a quick analysis of what all that means for you.
Benefits of a Heat Pump
Monday, June 20th, 2016Here in Covington, LA, we’re used to relying on traditional centralized air conditioners to keep us cool during our sultry summer months. They’re an efficient and reliable system, but they’re not the only kind of air conditioner out there, and in some cases, an alternative type can be a better fit for your home. In particular, consider the benefits of a heat pump, which acts as both a heater and an air conditioner in one. It works in a manner very similar to traditional air conditioners, but with a few twists that can provide significant advantages to your home. Here’s a quick primer on how.
How to Protect Your Home from Allergens
Monday, May 16th, 2016Summers in Covington, LA mean more than just high heat. They mean high levels of humidity as well, plus a heaping fistful of allergens from pollen and similar sources. If you or someone in your family suffers from allergies, you home needs to be a haven from everything Louisiana can throw at you, and the cleaner you can keep your air, the better. there are specific steps you can take to help keep your home clear of allergens. If you’re interested, now is the time to implement them before the summer set in in earnest.
An Overheating Air Conditioner? It Could Happen!
Monday, March 14th, 2016It sounds like a paradox: your air conditioner, designed to keep things cool, runs into trouble when it overheats. But just like any other piece of complex machinery, stress and overwork could lead to certain components overheating, and all the cool air it generates won’t do a bit of good when that happens. Luckily, most air conditioners have an automatic shut-off system to prevent damage from such an occurrence, but that still leaves the issue to be resolved, and with temperatures already climbing here in Covington, LA, an overheating air conditioner could turn into a big problem very quickly. Here are a few potential causes of an air conditioner overheat for you to be aware of.
Ways to Tell You Need Duct Sealing
Wednesday, March 11th, 2015Is a small break along the ductwork in a home’s ventilation system really that major a problem? How much of an issue can a small hole be?
You’d be surprised. Any loss of the airtight integrity in the ductwork attached to a residential air conditioning and heating system can have significant consequences: it will lower comfort, place extra strain on the AC and heater leading to higher bills, and create indoor air quality issues. Studies have shown that leaky air ducts can result in an increase of 30% on heating and cooling costs for a home. If your house has damaged air ducts, you need to call on professionals to seal the air leaks. (No, you can’t do the job with duct tape. Don’t even think about it.)
For excellent duct sealing service in Covington, LA and throughout Southeast Louisiana, get in touch with A-Professional Heating and Air Conditioning. We offer a number of quality services to take care of your ventilation system—so that it takes care of you.
Because you can’t see most of the ductwork in your home, you will need to watch for warning signs that will tell you the ducts have air leaks:
- Low airflow from the vents: Leaks in ducts will cause the air pressure inside the ventilation system to drop, which will cause a reduction in the airflow from the vents. If you notice that a room feels too cold or too hot, check on the vent register in the room. If the airflow from it feels sluggish, the issue may be damaged ductwork.
- Elevated heating and cooling bills: It’s difficult to miss a 30% increase in how much it costs to heat or cool your home. When your monthly bills take an unpleasant upswing, there is something wrong with the HVAC system, and one of the likely culprits is a loss of integrity in the ventilation system. Call for professionals to find the cause and take care of it.
- Musty smells from the vents: Since the ductwork runs through enclosed parts of your home that have musty air and dust inside them, gaps in the ducts will cause this air to enter the ventilation system. If you notice musty and moldy odors coming from the vents, you may have trouble with ductwork damage.
As we mentioned before, don’t think about using duct tape to fix the problem yourself. Not only is duct tape ineffective on ducts (yes, duct tape is a misnomer), but you will have trouble even locating or accessing the duct leaks. Take the easy route: call A-Professional Heating and Air Conditioning and let our experts handle duct sealing in Covington, LA to restore your ventilation system.
Signs That It’s Time to Replace Your Heater
Thursday, February 5th, 2015No one likes to hear that their heater is at the end of its life. Unfortunately, that eventuality claims all heating systems. No matter how well you maintain your heating system, you will eventually see a day where it has to be replaced. Are you prepared to recognize that day when it arrives, however? Let’s examine the signs that indicate it’s time to replace your heater, instead of repairing it.
Repairs Increase in Frequency and Cost
Even a newer heater will incur repair needs on occasion. The odd faulty part or unusual circumstance will arise every so often that requires professional attention. As your heater gets closer to the end of its lifespan, however, these occurrences will begin to become more and more frequent and costly. It will begin to seem like your heater breaks down at least every other month, and the cost of each repair will steadily grow as replacement parts stop becoming available. Once this begins happening, it is very likely that your heater needs to be replaced.
Rise in Heating Bills
If your heating bills begin to show a consistent rise month after month, it’s a sign that something is wrong with your heating system. Normally, there should be slight variations in your heating bill as your need for heat fluctuates. As the heater gets older, however, the various parts in the system begin to wear down. This slowly decreases their efficiency, lowering the system’s heat output until it has to stay on for much longer in order to heat the same sized space. If your heating bills are getting more and more expensive for no apparent reason, you should consider replacing your heater.
Age
Age is often the number one indicator of whether or not you should replace your heater. The older a heater gets, the harder it gets to keep it in good condition. Parts go out of production, and advancing efficiency in newer systems vastly increases the benefits of replacing the old heater with a new one. If your heater is older than 10-15 years old, even if it seems to be working fine, it might be a good idea to start looking at replacing it.
If you think your heater may need replacing, schedule an appointment with A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning. We provide heating services in the Covington area.