At this time of year, your whole home air conditioning system has been operating for quite a while. You may have taken some steps to help reduce your energy usage, but there is one fairly simple step many homeowners overlook: upgrading your thermostat. Its small size belies its power in your home, because your air conditioning system can’t operate without a working thermostat. Your thermostat is the control center for your AC, telling it when to turn on and off. But today’s thermostats have far more capabilities than this, and these capabilities can offer you some important benefits.
Bartels Heating & Cooling Blog: Posts Tagged ‘West Chester’
Reasons to Upgrade Your Thermostat
Monday, September 7th, 2015What Is Daytime Heat Gain?
Monday, August 3rd, 2015The dog days of summer are definitely here, and like most homeowners, you are likely doing all you can to stay cool while keeping an eye on your energy usage. There are a number of factors that can affect your whole home cooling, and one of these factors is daytime heat gain. As you can probably guess, the term “daytime heat gain” refers to extra heat your home may take on throughout the day during the summer months. Some homes can see as much as 10 extra degrees in daytime heat gain, which is extra heat your AC is going to have to battle. What contributes to daytime heat gain? Let’s take a look.
Have You Considered a Ductless AC for Your Home?
Monday, July 6th, 2015If you are in the market for a new whole home air conditioning system, you may want to consider the installation of a ductless AC. There are a number of reasons why a ductless system can be a good fit for a lot of homes, as we’ll go over in more detail below, but for any whole home air conditioning system to work properly, it’s critical to hire a trained expert to do the work. This is where the professionals at Bartels Heating & Cooling come in. Since 1973, our NATE-certified experts have been helping customers in the West Chester, OH area with their air conditioning needs, and we can help with all of yours, including ductless cooling. Call us today and see how our specialists can help you stay cool all summer long.
Looking to Keep Your AC Energy Efficient This Summer? Schedule a Maintenance Appointment
Monday, June 29th, 2015We may have just passed the summer solstice, but things have been heating up for a while. Have you noticed that your air conditioner has been sluggish or underperforming? Then it may be time to schedule a maintenance appointment. It’s strongly recommended that every homeowner schedule air conditioning maintenance on a yearly basis, but this doesn’t mean that you don’t do it if you’ve passed the year mark. The experts at Bartels Heating and Cooling can help with all of your air conditioning needs, including professional preventative AC maintenance in West Chester, OH, so give us a call today!
3 Ways to Prevent Air Conditioning Failure
Thursday, April 2nd, 2015It’s difficult to think about when the outside air is still chilly, but warmer weather will soon be here, and your air conditioning system will be running regularly throughout the day before too long. It can be an alarming situation if your air conditioner breaks down in the middle of a hot summer day, which is why we recommend taking preventive steps now to avoid this. Follow these tips for successful air conditioning operation throughout the warmer months, and call one of our experts now for professional maintenance services in West Chester.
- Pay attention to problems – If your air conditioning system is struggling, you may be able to tell early on if you know what signs to look for. Noisy operation and slow cooling times indicates trouble. If your system has trouble starting up or staying on, it could do some damage to the compressor. Call for repairs early on to prevent parts from deteriorating any further.
- Change your filter regularly – The filter of your air conditioning system is designed for two purposes. First, it stops your fan from sucking in large debris that could damage the air conditioning unit. Second, it filters contaminants out of the air so that your family does not breathe these in. If you allow this filter to become clogged, though, air cannot successfully pass through and into the system, which may result in motor trouble or frozen coils, among other problems that could result in system failure.
- Keep your AC professionally maintained – Changing the air filter regularly is an important part of maintaining your unit, but one of the best things you can do for your system is to schedule regular maintenance visits from a professional. Professional maintenance involves checking refrigerant levels, testing the voltage, tightening electrical components, cleaning the coils, oiling the motors, and many other tasks that help to extend the life of your system. For the most part, these tasks require an expert with the proper tools for the job and the experience necessary to recognize trouble quickly.
Call the cooling experts at Bartels Heating & Cooling for air conditioning maintenance, repairs, and any additional services in West Chester and the surrounding areas.
How Efficient Is a Geothermal Heat Pump?
Friday, March 20th, 2015One of the latest trends in energy efficient heating and cooling is the use of geothermal energy. Geothermal heat pumps draw from the thermal energy in the earth to transfer heat to the air in your home for heating, and to move heat back to the earth in the summer. If you decide you want a new geothermal heat pump for your home in West Chester, OH, contact the friendly professionals at Bartels Heating & Cooling. If you’re still concerned about whether geothermal energy is worth the investment, read on.
Many people wonder how much money they will save over time. Of course, we cannot give a definitive answer, as this depends on usage, the size of your household, and a number of other factors, including the cost of electricity in your area. Geothermal heat pumps do still use some amount of electricity in order to move around the air, but this is minimal when compared to the traditional air-source split system air conditioners.
If you had an older conventional split-system AC, then you will likely notice energy savings right away. When you dig deep enough into the ground, the earth remains at a constant temperature, usually around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. This means they may be more effective in cooler weather than heat pumps which pull thermal energy from the air. Water or a water-refrigerant blend moves through an underground loop system to absorb this energy, which is then transferred to the refrigerant in your heat pump.
Furthermore, this system uses far fewer of the earth’s natural resources, which makes it a great system for those who are at all environmentally conscious. The initial cost maybe high, but over a number of years, the savings should compensate for the additional cost. But all of this is only true if you choose a professional for installation. Professional sizing and installation is a vital step in ensuring efficiency and performance. If the unit is over- or undersized, you may use up more energy than you need.
Call the friendly experts at Bartels Heating & Cooling to learn how you can get geothermal heating and cooling in West Chester, OH.
What to Check before Calling for Furnace Repair
Monday, February 16th, 2015When your furnace stops working or begins to malfunction, your first instinct is probably to call an HVAC technician to examine your system. That’s a good habit to develop, but before you call for professional help there are a few things you should check first. It is possible that your furnace malfunction is actually very minor, and something you can fix yourself. Even though you will likely need to call a professional anyway, examining certain parts of your system beforehand can help isolate and identify the problem. Let’s take a look at what you should check before calling for furnace repair.
The Thermostat
The core of any central heating system is the thermostat. It is the brain of your furnace system, which will not act without an order from the thermostat. As such, a malfunctioning thermostat can pretty effectively cripple your entire furnace. If your furnace stops working, you should always check your thermostat before doing anything else. Examine the display on the thermostat and make sure that all the information and settings are correct. An incorrect display is a sign that something is wrong with your thermostat.
The Air Filter
The air filter is responsible for protecting your furnace from dust and debris that blows in from the ducts. Though it does this job well, the filter has no way to rid itself of any particles that it collects. If not cleaned or changed out every 1-3 months, the air filter can become clogged. This restricts the air flow through the system, trapping heat inside the furnace and causing it to overheat. When this happens, it trips a device called the “limit switch,” which shuts the furnace down as a safety measure. If your furnace suddenly shuts down and won’t restart, it is possible that it overheated due to a dirty air filter. If you replace your dirty air filter, that might be all that is needed to solve the problem.
If your furnace is experiencing any sort of issue, call Bartels Heating & Cooling to make an appointment today. We provide professional furnace repair service throughout the West Chester area.
Ways to Determine That Your House Needs Duct Cleaning
Wednesday, January 21st, 2015A disturbing percentage of homeowners with forced air systems are completely unaware that their ducts need to be cleaned on a semi-regular basis. If you’re asking this question, then you probably already know that your ducts need to be cleaned, but are unsure of when to act on that knowledge. There are a few ways to determine that your house needs duct cleaning. Let’s examine some of those ways together.
You Haven’t Had Your Ducts Cleaned Before
If you have just recently become aware of the need for duct cleaning, but you haven’t had it done yet, get it done as soon as possible. Some pretty frightening things have likely built up in your ducts over the years that they haven’t been cleaned, and you’ll want to get rid of those things as quickly as possible. There’s no point in waiting until a preset time; ducts have no optimal time of year for cleaning, like heating systems do. Just get it done as soon as you can to start reaping the benefits of duct cleaning. Ducts should be cleaned every 1-3 years after the first time.
Frequent Allergy Attacks and/or Illnesses
The primary reason that duct cleaning is necessary is that all the microscopic contaminants that circulate through the air often find a home and a means of transportation in the ducts. Things like dust, pollen, viruses, bacteria, insect dander, and mold are all common pollutants that can be found in the common home’s air ducts. These pollutants are circulated throughout the house whenever the air conditioning or heating is turned on, infecting the occupants of the house in the process. If you are an allergy sufferer, or if you find that you get sick often throughout the year, then you could definitely reap the benefits of having your ducts cleaned out. That’s not to say that duct cleaning will solve all of your health problems, but it can remove a lot of the organisms that contribute to things like the common cold and the flu.
If you haven’t had your ducts cleaned in a while, call Bartels Heating & Cooling to schedule an appointment today. We provide professional duct cleaning services throughout West Chester.
Why Consider a Dual Fuel Hybrid Heat Pump Installation
Wednesday, December 17th, 2014There can be a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to any kind of home product or whole-home system. In specific to heat pumps, a common piece of misinformation is that a heat pump won’t work during the winter; this isn’t true. It is true that there can concerns about a heat pump working as it should during very cold weather – those days that are under 32 degrees – but it isn’t true that a heat pump can’t work at all. Additionally, with a hybrid heating system, you can avoid any heating capability issues with your heat pump and very cold weather. First, let’s take a look at why there’s concern around heat pumps during the winter.
It’s Chilly Out There
Air-source heat pumps provide heating by absorbing the available heat in the air, concentrating it and blowing the warm air into your home. As the temperature outside falls, the available heat in the air decreases; this can force your heat pump to work harder, making it less energy efficient and more challenged to meet your heating needs. A great solution to this is the hybrid heating system.
What Is a Hybrid Heating System?
With a hybrid heating system, you get the best of both worlds: a heat pump as the main source of heating (and cooling) your home with a back-up gas furnace. This allows you to have a secondary system to heat your home when the outside air temperature falls below 32 degrees.
How Does a Hybrid System Work?
With a hybrid system, your heat pump is furnished with an outdoor temperature sensor that works in conjunction with a dual-fuel thermostat. A set-point temperature is programmed into the sensor that tells your heating system when to switch from the heat pump to the gas furnace for heating; typically this temperature is a few degrees above the freezing mark. When the outside temperature reaches the set-point temperature, the heating system automatically switches from using the heat pump to heat your home to the back-up gas furnace. There is also a set-point temperature at which the gas furnace will switch back to the heat pump.
Benefits of a Hybrid System
With a hybrid system, you get the benefit of using a heat pump as your main source of heating and cooling. This gives you great energy efficiency, the longer lifespan of a heat pump and the gentle heating and cooling of a heat pump. The back-up heating of the system means you’ll never be cold, even on the chilliest of days.
For quality heating installation of a hybrid heating system in your West Chester home, call Bartels Heating & Cooling today to schedule a service appointment!
Some Examples of Boiler Repair Needs
Wednesday, November 19th, 2014Boilers are durable, reliable and energy efficient, which are some of the reasons why they are still popular heating systems today. But like any other mechanical system, your boiler will need repair at some point. Heating repairs should always be left to trained professionals, especially with combustion systems. Bartels Heating & Cooling has been repairing heating systems since 1973, so if you need heating repair, call us today.
Types of Boiler Repairs
Here are some of the more common boiler repairs our technicians see:
- Leaking – boilers use water to heat your home, so developing a leak isn’t unusual. What is important is to repair any leaks right away. Leaks imbalance the pressure in your system that the boiler needs to operate correctly. As a result, you may experience heat loss in that particular area. Leaks can also lead to the development of rust and create water damage, so the sooner you can have a leak repaired, the better for you and your system.
- Circulator pump problems – the way the hot water from your boiler is pushed through your system is via circulator pumps. When something is wrong with a pump, the water can’t get to the outlet to release heat. Circulator pumps can develop broken seals that cause leaks; dirt can become lodged in the pump, reducing its ability to operate; and other times the pump may be rusted and/or corroded and require replacement.
- Combustion issues – whether your boiler uses gas or oil, problems with ignition and operation can develop. For instance, dust and dirt can cover the pilot nozzle, causing the nozzle to have a reduced flame or no flame at all. You may develop a broken thermocouple or the burner may develop a crack. Whenever there’s a combustion problem, it’s imperative to have the problem fixed immediately as issues of safety can develop.
Quality boiler repair service in West Chester requires the expertise of a professional. If you are experiencing problems with your boiler, call Bartels Heating & Cooling to day and schedule an appointment with one of our heating repair specialists.