Should I Hear Clicking From My AC?

July 4th, 2022
woman-listening

On our blog, we sometimes talk about ways you can tell if you need air conditioning repair in West Chester, OH, such as strange behavior: short-cycling, a drop in airflow from the vents, the circuit breaker tripping, and unusual odors. Strange sounds from an air conditioner are one of the major warning signs we tell customers to look out for. These sounds include grinding, mechanical shrieking, bubbling, hissing, and rattling. Oh, and clicking.

Except clicking isn’t always a sign of a problem. Let’s get into clicking from your air conditioner and when it’s fine and when it’s not.

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Signs of Leaky Air Ducts in Your Home

June 20th, 2022
duct-sealing-with-caulking

Air leaks in the ducts are a serious problem for any home. These leaks cut into the energy efficiency of the HVAC system, lead to an increase in HVAC repair needs, and harm indoor air quality. Perhaps the worst part about duct leaks is that they’re tricky to detect. The ducts in a home stay hidden from sight behind walls and in the attic. 

Fixing leaking air ducts isn’t difficult for professionals like us. We use various duct sealing methods to locate the leaks and make the ductwork airtight once more. If you need your ducts sealed, we can take care of it. But how can you know if you need this service if you can’t see the ducts? We’ll look over the major signs that will warn you of leaky ductwork.

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Great Uses for Ductless Mini Split Systems

June 6th, 2022
ductless-mini-split

If you recently looked at what’s available for residential cooling and heating, you’ll probably have run across the ductless mini split system, also known as a ductless mini split heat pump. These systems have long been popular in Europe and Japan because of how well they work with older buildings and limited space availability. Now they’re becoming popular in the US as an alternative and addition to traditional central cooling and heating systems. 

Not every home can benefit from the installation of a ductless mini split heat pump, and this is why we always recommend you come to our professionals when you’re interested in an installation. We can steer you toward the right new comfort system. 

Below are some of the situations where ductless systems can do the most good.

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Will an AC Take Care of Indoor Humidity?

May 23rd, 2022
humidity-on-window

Your air conditioning system is one of the most important appliances in your home during the summers. It’s easy to think of an AC as the solution to all the times you and your family are feeling the heat, and that includes the extra heat you feel when relative humidity is high (above 60%). But this isn’t exactly the case. Your air conditioning system does affect indoor humidity, but rarely enough that it will make a difference for your comfort.

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Are There Any AC Repairs You Can Do Yourself?

May 9th, 2022
air-conditioning-with-flowers

The straightforward answer to this question is “no.” Modern central air conditioning systems are complex refrigeration devices, and to work on them requires special training as well as tools not easily available to the consumer. 

The biggest obstacle against trying to do DIY work on an AC is the difficulty in diagnosing what’s causing a malfunction in the first place. For example, if an air conditioner keeps shutting down early (short-cycling), it could be due to a miscalibrated thermostat, leaking refrigerant, a reduction in airflow, dirty condenser coils, etc. Trying to repair a problem yourself will involve too much guesswork and too much that can go wrong. 

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AC or a Heat Pump: What’s the Best Choice for a New HVAC System This Spring?

April 25th, 2022
cool-house-hot-house

This is the best time of year to arrange for a new air conditioning installation in Mason, OH. Our weather is currently hovering around the 50s and 60s, so it’s not hot enough for you to start using your AC, and you probably aren’t facing any major heating emergencies either. You can plan to put in a new AC during this time if your current one is coming to the end of its service life (from 10–15 years) or has become just too expensive or unreliable to continue to run.

You do have more options when it comes to a cooling system installation than just a standard split system air conditioner. This season, you may wish to consider a heat pump for your house rather than a conventional AC. A heat pump is similar to an air conditioner in many ways, with the important exception that it can change the direction it moves refrigerant and bring heat into the house as well.

Is a heat pump a viable choice for your spring HVAC installation? We’ll look more into that question below.

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How Does a High-Efficiency AC Work?

April 11th, 2022
air-conditioner-money-saver

This is the time of year when many homeowners think about making changes to their central air conditioning systems. The hotter weather is on the way, and if you have an aging AC (greater than 15 years old) or one that’s costing more to run than it used to, you may want to upgrade to a new, high-efficiency air conditioning system. 

Current high-efficiency air conditioners have SEER ratings of 20 and above, whereas the standard mid-efficiency system is around 15 SEER. This can make a big difference in what you pay annually to cool your home. You’ll need to have professionals help you with choosing the unit and then take care of the installation. 

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How Geothermal Systems Improve on Energy Efficiency

March 28th, 2022

We’re proud to offer geothermal HVAC solutions for local homeowners. We install new systems, provide repairs and maintenance, and replace geothermal systems. If you’re considering going with a geothermal heat pump in Hamilton, OH for your year-round home comfort, we can help you find the best type of system and loop configuration to match your property. You might have thought that geothermal energy wasn’t in your reach, but you may be surprised!

We recommend geothermal systems for a range of reasons: they have excellent environmental benefits, long service lives, low maintenance requirements, quiet operation, and general reliability. But the benefits that attract most people’s attention to these systems is their potential for energy savings and a short payback period. 

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Mid-March? It’s Time to Think of AC Maintenance

March 14th, 2022
AC-technician

Next week brings the official end of winter. We know that this doesn’t mean the cold weather will simply stop—the start of spring often brings abrupt cold snaps and surprises. But temperatures are already warming up and starting the climb toward the summer.

For us in the HVAC business, this is the time of year for air conditioning maintenance. We encourage all our customers to arrange for a visit from one of our skilled technicians to tune-up and inspect their air conditioners to ensure they’re ready to go to work when they need to, and that they’ll do the best job through the rest of the year.

You can call us for air conditioning maintenance in Mason, OH. We recommend signing up for our maintenance program, which includes both AC maintenance and heating maintenance, as well as great membership perks like a 15% discount on repairs and priority scheduling. 

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What Can an Energy Recovery Ventilator Do for You?

February 28th, 2022

cool-house-hot-houseThe answer is: quite a lot! Energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) are special devices that professionals can install into HVAC systems to allow for better indoor air quality without the sacrifice of significant energy efficiency indoors.

Here is the conundrum that an ERV helps a homeowner face: The best way to enjoy fresher air in your house is to allow for more air circulation from outside. An influx of outdoor air replaces the stale indoor air and sweeps out numerous pollutants. But to bring in that outdoor air requires opening up windows and doors, and this isn’t ideal during the height of winter or summer. Opening up the house either brings in the heat (summer) or lets the heat escape (winter). An HVAC system must work overtime trying to maintain comfortable levels inside when the house is open like that, and this wastes energy.

How does an ERV help overcome this problem? We’ll get into that below.

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