Things that you as a homeowner can do to keep your air conditioning system running at its peak performance is to clean or replace the air filter every month.  Do not run the unit with the filter removed.  If you do, the coil becomes the filter and it is much harder to clean.

Make sure you remove any leaves or debris that has collected around your outdoor condenser unit.

If it is possible, keep the outdoor compressor unit shaded.  Air in shaded spaces is typically 5 to 6 degrees cooler than the surrounding air.  Shading can be up to 10 percent more efficient during the cooling season.

A dirty indoor evaporator coil will interfere with the unit’s ability to cool the air moving through the unit.  Warm indoor air contacting the evaporator coils will condense causing moisture to collect and drip.  In most units, a plastic pipe carries the water outdoors or to a drain.  Algae and bacteria growth can clog the pipe.  When this happens, the backed-up water can puddle and cause rust or water damage. 

Make sure you are ready when hot weather hits by calling 865.474.1511 and scheduling a tune-up.  Your air conditioner is like your car.  If you don’t perform the proper maintenance needed, you can be extremely uncomfortable and wishing you called us earlier.

With the chill in the air and the fluctuating temperatures of East Tennessee, it’s important that your heating system is operating at maximum efficiency to save money on your bills and maintain a comfortable temperature climate at your home.  The team at Rocky Top Air has many years of experience and expertise in determining where there may be a problem in your system’s operation.

Says one customer, Carole Conner, “I knew my heating bills were high, so I had Rocky Top Air come out and check my system.  They found a major leak within the crawl space underneath my home, so a lot of heat was going down there instead of into my house!  I also have a bonus room that never stays heated or cooled like the rest of my home since it’s over the garage.  Rocky Top Air discovered a major flaw in how the ductwork was routed at that end of the house, and they are going to ‘work their wonders’ with some modifications to my existing ductwork, making that room warm or cool as needed.  Other companies had told me nothing could be done, and I’m thrilled that Rocky Top Air has offered me a cost effective solution!”

Rocky Top Air will also recommend if you need a new system, and their staff is up-to-date on the benefits the newer, energy saver models can provide to help you achieve worthwhile savings.  One major benefit that sets Rocky Top Air apart from its competitors is that they offer members of their Rocky Top Maintenance Club a LIFETIME REPAIR WARRANTY on new systems!  They stand behind their work and focus toward the long-term satisfaction of their customers.

Programmable thermostats supply personal comfort through pre-set temperature levels and are generally more convenient and accurate than manual thermostats.

If you’re looking to cut back expenses, you will usually see the return on your programmable thermostat investment within one year. Programmable thermostats are also a plus for the environmentally conscious because they contain no mercury and are eco-friendly. Using less energy helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy production.

Programmable Thermostat

For homeowners who work outside the home during the day and have a different schedule on the weekend, a programmable thermostat can offer many benefits. On the other hand, if you are home throughout the day, seven days a week, then a programmable thermostat will offer more limited benefits.

Programmable thermostats can be set to adjust the temperature of a home according to a user’s schedule. The temperature on programmable thermostats can be set to change based on whether or not the home is occupied or whether residents are asleep or awake. For example, in the morning before occupants wake up, the thermostat can be preset for a slightly warmer temperature. As well, the thermostat can be adjusted for both heating and cooling seasons.

Programmable thermostats can automatically store settings and repeat those settings each day. However, they can still be manually set, overriding the programming when desired. A programmable thermostat generally allows more precise temperature management and a wider range of selections, offering a number of programming choices.

Most conveniently, it provides daily programming that allows one schedule to be used each day. Additionally, you can program your thermostat with different settings for the weekend. In fact, most programmable thermostats have a full seven-day programming ability, allowing for a different temperature schedule for every day of the week.

How much might you save?

Honeywell has introduced the Prestige™, a high-definition, full color, touchscreen, wireless-enabled, programmable thermostat. Designed for homes, the thermostat helps homeowners maximize savings by reducing heating and cooling costs.

Prestige’s patented, interview-based interface walks a homeowner through the set-up process by asking a series of questions such as “what time does the first person wake-up in the morning?” or “what time do you go to sleep at night?” The answers help the thermostat program itself – no owner’s manual needed.

Prestige’s built-in wireless technology allows it to communicate with other Honeywell RedLink™ wireless devices including the Portable Comfort Control™, a hand-held device that senses temperature in any room of the house, gives homeowners the control to adjust temperature from anywhere in the house.

Additional benefits:

• Graphic user interface displays information in an easy-to-understand format.
• On-board user’s manual provides definitions and directions for each display screen.
• Ability to customize the display in one of three languages: English, French or Spanish

When properly installed by an HVAC contractor, and used as directed, Honeywell estimates that homeowner’s can cut annual heating and cooling cost up to 33 percent – or by $200 each year – depending on geographic location.

Start saving on your heating and cooling bills today and call Rocky Top Air to install a programmable thermostat in your home at 865.474.1511.  Watch a video from the Rachel Ray show on Thermostat Wars http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/thermostat-wars/

To Give Your HVAC a Tune-Up

Every year, we make New Year’s  Resolutions to lose weight, get more sleep, and eat healthier.  However, we never seem to make those resolutions about the structural components of our house.  Do you ever hear, “I vow to weather-strip my house, give my HVAC a yearly checkup, or check for leaks in my house?”  Ur, no.

Don’t get me wrong, New Year’s Resolutions to make you healthier are wonderful, but how about giving some love to the structure who shelters you from the cold and heat

I know energy conservation is just not as sexy as discussing red hot green tips for Valentines or discussing the pleasure of amazing, down to your toes, organic chocolate.  However,  it is one of those “do I have to?” concepts that everyone has to do to reduce our energy consumption.  Your wallet will thank you.  Even so much that you will be able to afford something for your Valentine this year.

Let’s make this as painless as possible!  We already had a lengthily discussion about how to give a little heating and cooling duct TLC, right?

Move the couch.  Check around your house and look if your registers are blocked by furniture.  All you are doing is heating the back of your couch. So, move the couch that is blocking the register!

Program it, Baby.  Get a programmable thermostat so you are not cooling or heating your house like it is full of people when you are at work. According to Energy Star, a programmable thermostat can save you $180 per year in energy costs.

Change the Filter.  Don’t forget to change the filter at a minimum every 3 months. Dirt will slow air flow and increase energy costs.  My thermostat reminds me to change it.  Ask your HVAC contractor, what type of filter is best for your system.

No kinks, please  Check to make sure there are no kinks in your duct vents.  Think of when you are vacuuming and the line gets kinked.  You lose suction. Well, your ducts are no different.

Seal around the vents  When we were building, in order to obtain an energy star certificate for the house, we were required to seal around all of the vents.  Without these vents being sealed, air is lost under the floor or in the attic since many people have vents in their ceilings of their second floors.

Have your system checked  Treat your air conditioning and heating system like you treat your car.  Regular maintenance is important.  Have the HVAC system checked at least yearly.  In addition, make sure the supply and return ducts are balanced.  If there is a leak in one, this will cause building pressure to be skewed.  Also, check whether or not the duct are adequately sized for your system.

“The efficiency of air distribution systems has been found to be 60-75% or less in many houses because of insufficient and/or poorly installed duct insulation and leaks in duct systems.  Properly designed and installed duct systems can have efficiencies of 80% or more for little or no additional cost, potentially saving a homeowner $50-200 or more per year in heating and cooling costs.  Moreover, efficient duct system installations can reduce equipment size, further saving money for new or replacement equipment,” according to the Department of Energy.

A simple yearly maintenance will be worth the cost.  I am on a yearly plan with my service provider.  They come in the fall and spring to check the system.

Replace any inefficient or broken systems.  Is it time to replace your system?  Energy star has a list of tell tale signs that it is time for you to say good bye to your heating system. If your system is in need of replacement consider replacing it with an energy star approved system.  States rebates may be available.

Now, was that painful?   Let me know any other tips you might have about keeping your HVAC system purring like a happy cat.

Article taken from Green Talk on January 12, 2009 (www.green-talk.com)

• How Does the Body Regulate its Temperature?

Your body is a furnace that’s constantly generating heat.  It regulates the temperature by constantly secreting moisture in the form of perspiration, which evaporates.

When any substance goes from a liquid state to a gaseous state, it absorbs heat.  This means that, as the perspiration evaporates, it absorbs heat from your skin.  The drier the air, the more rapid the rate of evaporation and the quicker your body cools.

When it’s cold outside and the forced-air heat is running and you feel a little chilly, you turn up the heat.  This dries the indoor air all the more, causing your body to kick into a higher “cooling mode”.

The higher you turn up the heat, the drier the air becomes, the more your body evaporates and the cooler you feel.

• What’s the Lowest-Cost Way to Lower Your Heating Bills?

When you’re feeling chilly, check the indoor humidity level before raising your thermostat setting.  Raise the humidity level, and you’ll feel more comfortable without increasing the heat.

At 70F, for every 10% you increase the indoor relative humidity, you increase the “apparent temperature” approximately 1F. 

For every 1F that you reduce your thermostat setting, you save approximately 5% on your energy consumption.

This means that with proper humidification, consumers can save 20% to 30% or more on their heating costs on the coldest days and nights of the winter.  They can also be healthier and more comfortable, while extending the useful life of their home and furnishings.

Are you concerned with being more comfortable in the winter and lowering your utility costs?  Call Rocky Top Air today and save $50 on the installation of a whole-home humidifier at 865.474.1511.

This blog has information taken from Charlie Greer’s Tech Daddy

Save Money

The average family will spend over $1,300. on utility bills this year. About half of that will go to heating and cooling the home. The rest is spent on water heating, refrigeration, lighting, cooking and appliances. You can reduce your energy bills by ten to fifty percent by using a few inexpensive energy-saving measures.

Thermostats

Instead of unbundling from all your many layers when you come indoors, try keeping your house at a temperature where you will feel comfortable with a sweater on. Keep your thermostat set to 70 degrees, or lower, during the day. Set your thermostat to lower temperatures at night, or when you are not at home. 65 to 69 degrees is comfortable for most people at night. Try reducing the temperature to 55 or 60 when you are away from the house for more than a few hours. A five degree reduction in temperature setting for an eight hour time period can save you up to twelve percent on your energy bill. If you have a programmable thermostat, set it to reduce the temperature while you are away at work, and to reduce it a little less while you are asleep at night. If your thermostat is not programmable, put a little hook in the wall beside it. Hang you keys on the hook, and that will help you remember to turn down the temperature when you leave the house. You’ll also always be able to find your keys.

Ventilating Fans

Don’t overuse kitchen or bathroom ventilating fans. Turn them off as soon as they have done their job, or put them on timers to limit their operation to fifteen minutes at a time. A fan can draw out an entire houseful of heated air in about an hour.

Heating System

Keep your furnace air filter clean, clean, clean. A dirty or clogged filter can make your furnace and fan work harder, which costs you more. You’ll be warmer for less money, and breathe easier, if you clean or replace your furnace filter often. Check the filter at least once a month, and more often if you have a lot of dust. Make sure it gets cleaned or replaced at least twice this winter.

There are a lot of terms that people hear that are associated with the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) industry but do we really know what they mean?

Cooler weather is just around the corner and everyone wants to keep their homes and offices warm.  The small portable heaters are starting to show up under the desks in many cubicles.  These little heaters are typically around 5200 BTUs.  What is a BTU?  A British Thermal Unit (BTU) is the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree F.  Think of it this way.  Take one gallon (8 pounds) of water and put it on your stove.  If the water is 60 degrees F. and you want to bring it to a boil (212 degrees F.) then you will need about 1,200 BTUs to do this.

We talk about our air conditioning units in tons.  Maybe your house is a 3 ton unit.  Does that mean that it weights 6,000 pounds?  Nope.  A “ton” goes back to when people used a fan blowing across ice to cool their buildings.  One ton of cooling is based on the amount of heat needed to melt a ton (2,000 lbs) of ice in a 24 hour period.  In 1881, when President James Garfield was dying, naval engineers constructed a box-like structure containing cloths saturated with melted ice water, where a fan blew hot air overhead. This contraption was able to lower a room by 20 degrees Fahrenheit but consumed half a million pounds of ice in two months’ time.