Sep 13, 2022
Poor indoor air quality interferes with sleep quality and comfort. You could be engaging in activities that pollute indoor air without your knowledge. Here are some household habits that worsen indoor air quality in Gantt, SC:
Failing to Change Your Filter
Your HVAC air filter maintains quality indoor air by trapping contaminants that float in your home. These pollutants can trigger headaches, asthma attacks and allergy symptoms.
The contaminants continue to accumulate on your filter with time. As a result, your air filter may become blocked and unable to filter the air efficiently. Changing your filter at least once every other month will ensure your indoor air is free of contaminants.
Failing to Fix Leaky Ducts
When your HVAC system finishes eliminating heat from your indoor air, it relays the air back into your home through ductwork. Your ducts may have openings that allow air from your basement and walls to enter. This air joins the conditioned air going back into your indoor air space.
The air from your walls and basement doesn’t pass through the filter before it enters your home. As a result, it interferes with indoor air quality by introducing dust and debris.
Failing to Use Indoor Air Quality Solutions
Household cleaners contain volatile organic compounds. These compounds can trigger respiratory discomforts.
Failing to adopt modern IAQ solutions keeps these contaminants circulating in your home and reduces your comfort. A ventilator can help eliminate these compounds and introduce fresh air from outside.
Energy recovery ventilators extract heat from the incoming air and transfer it to the outgoing air. This way, your HVAC system doesn’t have to consume more energy to cool the new air from outside.
Reach out to Authorized Heating & Air Conditioning for high-quality HVAC services. We can provide you with the best IAQ solutions that will clean your indoor air.
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Aug 12, 2022
With the right whole-home ventilation system, you can keep your family comfortable while keeping your energy bills low. Installation of energy recovery ventilators is one of the most efficient and effective ways to do that in Simpsonville, SC. Here are four ways energy recovery ventilators can help improve air quality and energy efficiency inside your home:
Increases HVAC Efficiency
ERVs improve the efficiency of your HVAC system by pre-conditioning the incoming air with the outgoing air. This helps to lowers the amount of energy needed to heat or cool the air and reduces the amount of stress on the HVAC system.
Improves Moisture Control
When the air is cold, ERVs help to prevent the building from becoming too dry by introducing moisture-laden air from outside. Conversely, when the weather is hot and humid, ERVs help remove excess moisture from the humid air, thus controlling moisture levels.
Controls Lingering Odors
ERVs can improve indoor air quality by controlling odors in your home. By continually exchanging stale indoor air with fresh and clean outdoor air, ERVs can help to reduce the buildup of odors inside a home. This is beneficial, especially where there’s constant cooking or smoking, where refreshed air will help to prevent lingering smells.
Eliminates Contaminants
ERVs improve indoor air quality by reducing the number of contaminants in the air. They work by exchanging stale, contaminated air filled with pollen and dust with fresh outside air. ERVs also filter the air from outside, removing the contaminants before entering your house.
If you’re a homeowner in Simpsonville, SC, and would like to improve your home’s air quality and energy efficiency, contact Authorized Heating & Air Conditioning. We can install an energy recovery ventilator that will help meet both of these goals and improve the comfort of your home.
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Jul 9, 2022
Your air filter plays a critical role in keeping your Fountain Inn, SC, home comfortable throughout the year. Despite their importance, air filters often go neglected because they’re easy to forget. Consider these consequences of not changing your HVAC system’s air filter and allowing it to clog with dirt and debris.
Climbing Energy Costs
Allowing your air filter to clog creates an airflow restriction at the beginning of the cycle. Reduced airflow naturally causes reduced efficiency, driving up your energy costs.
Frozen Coils and Compressor Damage
When your HVAC system can’t circulate enough air, it starts straining. The first consequence is longer cooling cycles, which causes significant wear on your compressor.
When the airflow becomes restricted enough, the refrigerant doesn’t have heat to absorb. This allows it to become significantly colder than normal, freezing any condensate currently on the coils. Frozen coils tend to wear faster, not only leading to expensive repairs, but usually to needing an AC replacement.
Cracked Heat Exchanger
When it comes to furnaces, a lack of airflow through the system causes a dangerous buildup of heat. This excessive heat leads to excessive wear on the heat exchanger, eventually causing the metal to crack. Once the heat exchanger cracks, you’ll likely need to replace your furnace.
Poor Indoor Air Quality
Poor indoor air quality leads to stronger seasonal allergies, more asthma attacks and a need for more cleaning. Your air filter removes many of the airborne contaminants that can trigger these issues as your home’s air circulates through the HVAC system. Less air flowing through the filter reduces the number of contaminants it can remove.
How Often to Change Your Filters
Aim to change your air filter as soon as you can see that it’s getting clogged. This could range from as frequently as every month to as long as nine months or more, depending on the filter type. Plan to check your filter every month, and gently vacuum the intake side when you do to extend its life.
In addition to neglected air filters, many of these issues are also caused by ignoring routine maintenance. Call to schedule your heating or AC maintenance with our expert comfort advisors at Authorized Heating & Air Conditioning.
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Jun 22, 2022
Most people prefer older homes because of their exquisite details. However, these houses have outdated HVAC technology. This article discusses the five common HVAC issues that affect older homes in Inman, SC.
Aging HVAC System
An older home will most likely come with an aging HVAC system. Most systems have a lifespan of approximately 15 years. If they exceed this age, they might break down unexpectedly and fail to regulate indoor temperatures.
An old HVAC system can be quite expensive because it requires frequent maintenance and repairs. It’s important to check the age of a HVAC system before buying an older house. You can also find out whether the previous homeowners serviced the system regularly.
Outdated Thermostats
The HVAC systems in many older homes have obsolete thermostats. These thermostats lack modern controls and make your system more vulnerable to premature breakdowns.
Inadequate Heating and Cooling
The HVAC systems in older homes lack the capability to adequately heat and cool indoor air. This problem occurs due to inadequate insulation and smaller windows.
The air conditioners also lack zoning features. Consequently, some rooms become uncomfortably hotter or colder than others.
Poor Indoor Air Quality
Homeowners prioritize indoor air quality because it influences their health and comfort. Many older homes have poor indoor air quality because their walls and windows have cracks that allow pollutants to enter the house.
Furthermore, the HVAC systems don’t regulate humidity levels or filter air pollutants effectively. As a result, you and your family might experience various allergies and health issues, such as asthma.
Insufficient Airflow
Older homes have smaller windows that restrict the flow of air. Additionally, the outdated HVAC systems in these houses lack the capacity to circulate enough air around the entire house. Such a house is likely to be excessively hot and have poor air quality.
In summary, older homes encounter more HVAC problems than newer ones. This happens because the HVAC system is old and has inefficient and outdated components. Schedule an appointment with the comfort advisors at Authorized Heating & Air Conditioning for reliable AC installation services.
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May 14, 2022
The weather is warming up around Easley, SC. As such, you’re probably starting to think about the relief your air conditioner offers. However, without a seasonal tuneup, it may fail when you need it most. Consider these reasons you need to schedule spring AC maintenance:
Boost Reliability
The hotter and more humid the weather becomes, the more it strains your AC system. The checks included with maintenance ensure your air conditioner is operating without additional strain from malfunctioning components. As a result, it increases your system’s reliability when the summer heat reaches its peak.
Reduce the Risk of AC Repairs
Your air conditioner slowly loses efficiency as airborne contaminants build up on internal parts like the circulating fan. Reduced efficiency increases strain and wear on the system’s components. As a result, you’ll require more frequent AC repairs. Over time, the added strain shortens your system’s service life.
Our AC maintenance service technician will deep-clean your air conditioner to promote an extended service life and less frequent repairs. This includes your circulating fan, the evaporator coil and the condensing coil outside.
Decrease Your Energy Bills
Air conditioning efficiency is a measure of how much energy you’re expending compared to how much cooling your system offers. As the efficiency decreases, your energy bills slowly climb. The focus on maintaining your AC system’s efficiency keeps your energy consumption down. To maintain high efficiency, change your filter every month during peak cooling season.
Protect Your Warranty
Finally, most air conditioning manufacturers offer anywhere from a five- to a 10-year warranty on their AC systems. However, professional routine maintenance is often a term of keeping that warranty valid. They include this in the terms because of the amount of additional wear a lack of maintenance adds to the system.
Make sure your air conditioner is ready to take on the heat and humidity this summer. Call our team at Authorized Heating & Air Conditioning today to schedule your AC maintenance appointment with one of our expert service technicians. By doing so, you’ll stay cool this summer for less.
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Apr 11, 2022
You may want a new heat pump before you go through another summer in Duncan, SC. It would be bad for your system to break down when you most need the cool air it provides. Besides that, you probably want to reap the savings and other benefits that a new system offers. Look for the following signs that will help you choose whether to repair or replace your heat pump this spring:
Too-Frequent and Costly Repairs
Maybe your heat pump has been breaking down or continuing to run inefficiently despite repeated repairs, maintenance and inspections. This behavior shows that either the repairs didn’t address the problem or the heat pump is irreversibly worn out. Request a visit from a service technician to determine which it is.
Unusually Short or Long Cycles
To know if your heat pump runs inefficiently, time the cycles; each should last 10 to 15 minutes, and an hour should contain no more than four cycles. Short-cycling and extremely long cycles do your energy bill no favors and wear out the system prematurely. If repairs haven’t solved these issues in particular, start searching for a replacement.
Poor Indoor Air Quality
Let’s say that you’re getting regular maintenance and that you’re replacing the air filter like you should. If the heat pump is relatively new, then it would respond to this by performing efficiently and, indirectly, keeping the indoor air clean. On the flip side, a malfunctioning heat pump will make your air stale, humid and full of pollutants that trigger asthma and allergy symptoms.
For an expert replacement in Duncan, SC, contact Authorized Heating & Air Conditioning today. Our family-owned company has a wide range of products, and our service technicians will present you with appropriate options. We strive for only the best in customer service and a job well done.
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