Your questions answered: HVAC FAQs
Like any product you want to keep in good shape, HVAC equipment requires proper care in order to deliver the maximum benefits. Trained technicians can service your heating and cooling products to ensure they are working at their top potential and help prevent more pricey repairs in the middle of the hottest or coldest months of the year.
Thornberry Bros Inc in Winchester can price out individual units or multiple home comfort products for you. Call 859-414-0596 to learn more.
With two-stage heating, furnaces may run on two different levels: high and low. Since you can heat your home on the low setting most of the time, a two-stage furnace can work longer and more efficiently. Two-stage heating also operates more quietly than traditional furnaces and can provide more even heat distribution and fewer temperature swings.
Modern furnaces are developed with a variety of innovative features older furnaces don’t have. Today’s heating systems offer more even heating and are better at governing airflow. Although the air coming out of your vents may seem cooler than your old furnace, the airflow is much better and more efficient.
Another bonus of modern furnaces is their ability to integrate with other HVAC products as part of a high-efficiency whole home comfort system. When combined with a high-efficiency air conditioner, furnace blowers can more easily accommodate add-on cooling.
The Department of Energy recently raised the minimum efficiency levels for air conditions, and the standards vary by region. Contact Thornberry Bros Inc at 859-414-0596 to find the requirements for the Winchester area.
Heating and cooling make up a huge portion of your monthly utility bill. Buying HVAC equipment with high-efficiency ratings, such as SEER for air conditioners and AFUE for furnaces, is a simple step that can go a long way in reducing energy output. Beyond these ratings, also think about:
- Routine maintenance regularly having a professional tune-up your equipment will keep it operating at its highest potential.
- Adding a zoning system by focusing your heating and cooling on the rooms you use most frequently, you won’t have to pay to heat or cool areas of your home that aren’t used regularly.
- Installing a programmable thermostat the Department of Energy estimates that a programmable thermostat can reduce heating costs by up to 35 percent and cooling costs by up to 25 percent. Leave it up to your thermostat to turn down the heat when you’re not around and go back to your preferred temperature when you’re home.
Strategies to increase your indoor air quality can be as easy as vacuuming your home to something as large as replacing a new ventilation system. Overall, good IAQ has four strategies:
- Eliminate get rid of the pollutants floating in your air by cleaning your home often, particularly vacuuming the carpet, washing linens and safely storing household chemicals.
- Ventilate make sure your home is well-ventilated to move airborne pollutants out of your home.
- Clean correct air filters will ensure even the smallest particles don’t get through and are let out into your home. Germicidal lights can kill the germs that do make it through, and purification systems like the PureAir will help get rid of odors and chemical vapors.
- Monitor keep your humidity levels in check with a programmable thermostat. High temperatures and humidity levels can increase concentrations of mold, mildew, and germs. A programmable thermostat will ensure your home is comfortable without letting humidity get too high.
You might be surprised to know that air conditioners don’t technically make your home cooler; they actually remove the hot air and transfer it outside. This hot air is pushed across a refrigerant coil on the indoor unit and then is sent to the outdoor unit where it is released. Your air conditioner moves as much hot air outside as is necessary to reach the temperature you have set on your thermostat.
Minimum energy efficiency standards can vary by geographic location. Additionally, air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units made after Jan. 1, 2015, have higher minimum efficiency levels than HVAC products manufactured prior to that date. The team at Thornberry Bros Inc can help you figure out the minimum requirements for Winchester, let you know if your current equipment meets those requirements or help you find a replacement air conditioner that does.
Your systems service panel should have a white label on it, with your systems model and serial numbers at the top. M/N signifies the systems model number and S/N is the serial number.
Since equipment size needs vary by home, the best way to figure out the correct size equipment for your home is to have a technician from Thornberry Bros Inc come out to perform load calculation tests. The tests take factors such as square footage, insulation value and amount, and more into account to determine your homes unique HVAC equipment needs.
Yes, debris can affect your systems ability to function effectively. Its common for heat pumps to have frost or ice on them in the colder months, but many include defrost controls so they can work efficiently regardless of the weather conditions.
When a cooling system uses two-stage cooling, it means that there are two levels of operation. This allows the system to work most effectively since there is one level for milder weather and a second for harsher weather that demands the system to work harder. Two-stage cooling also enables slight temperature changes so you don’t experience extreme differences in temperature. Aside from better efficiency, other benefits of two-stage cooling include quieter operation and improved humidity control.
Thornberry Bros Inc carries a number of great thermostat options for your HVAC systems. The best thermostat for you will depend on a couple of variables, such as whether you want one that’s programmable or not. No matter what kind of thermostat you’d like or if you’re looking for something that can fit with a home automation system call Thornberry Bros Inc to hear about which thermostats you can choose from. Our team will help you find one that’s right for your system, your family’s needs and your budget.
A heat pump takes care of both your homes heating and cooling needs, offering you one HVAC system that can be used all year. During the warmer months, heat pumps act like an air conditioner, capturing the hot air from inside your home and transferring it outside; in the cooler months, this process is reversed. Heat pumps can be very energy efficient and may produce two to three times more heat than the energy it uses.
At Thornberry Bros Inc, we do recommend replacing both your indoor and outdoor units at the same time because:
- Today, outdoor systems are built to work with their matching indoor system for maximum efficiency. When you replace one system but not the other, you may not see the same energy savings as if you had replaced them together.
- Thanks to technological innovation, newer systems mean increased efficiency. This is true for heating and cooling products as well. While the advancements focus on greater heating and cooling efficiency, they also include benefits such as better air handling, filtering, and noise reduction.
- If your heating and cooling systems are 10+ years old, they need to be replaced. Older models have outdated technology that is likely costing you money due to poor efficiency. So by replacing your indoor system at the same time as your outdoor equipment, both your systems will provide better energy efficiency that helps you decrease your energy bills and keep your home more comfortable.
Thornberry Bros Inc can help recommend the right thermostat for you based on your home and current heating and cooling equipment. We carry a number of programmable and nonprogrammable thermostats, which can help improve the efficiency of your homes furnace and/or air conditioner. View our thermostats or give us a call at 859-414-0596 for more information.
Your HVAC equipment can contribute significantly to your monthly energy expenses. However, these costs can be decreased with innovative and high efficiency products from Lennox®. Youll want to look for high SEER and AFUE ratings when youre searching for a new air conditioner or furnace, respectively, as higher SEER and AFUE ratings signify higher efficiency products. If youre not buying new heating and cooling equipment, consider factors such as: 1. Maintenance: Furnaces, air conditioners and other HVAC equipment work more efficiently when they are regularly maintained. 2. Zoning: When areas of your home are rarely used, youre spending more money to heat or cool them to the same temperature as the rest of the house. A zoning system lets you section off different parts of your home and control the temperature by each area. 3. Programmable Thermostats: Programmable thermostats can help you decrease your heating costs by 35 percent and your cooling costs by 25 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
A zoning system lets you parcel your residence and heat or cool each part differently. While these systems function well for homes that have areas that are infrequently used, they can also be helpful in situations where you and your family disagree on the temperature in various portions of your residence. There are a variety of additional bonuses of zoning systems, such as efficiency and comfort. Browse our selection of zoning systems or give Thornberry Bros Inc a ring to see how a zoning system could benefit your home.
Broken AC unit? Furnace trouble?
We can fix that. Trust in Thornberry today.