Bartels Heating & Cooling Blog: Posts Tagged ‘West Chester’

Should I Hear Clicking From My AC?

Monday, 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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Are There Any AC Repairs You Can Do Yourself?

Monday, 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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What Can an Energy Recovery Ventilator Do for You?

Monday, 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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Are There Furnace Repairs I Can Do Myself?

Monday, January 3rd, 2022

old-furnace-basementThe simple answer to this question is no. Repairing a furnace requires special training and equipment only available to licensed professionals. Attempting to tamper with a furnace without the proper tools and knowledge can damage the furnace and create serious safety hazards. 

This doesn’t mean you’re without options if you have a faulty furnace! There’s a difference between a professional furnace repair in West Chester, OH and going through troubleshooting steps. In fact, we encourage you to try troubleshooting your furnace before giving us a call for repairs. You may find out a simple solution to the problem. Just don’t do anything requiring opening up the furnace and using tools on it!

Let’s go through the basic steps of troubleshooting a faulty furnace.

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At What Point Will a Heat Pump Struggle With Heating a House?

Monday, December 6th, 2021

thermometers-high-and-lowIf you have a heat pump to warm and cool your home, or you have given serious thought to having one installed to replace your cooling and heating in West Chester, OH, then you’re likely aware that heat pumps can struggle in extreme cold weather. When a heat pump operates in heating mode, it moves heat from the outdoors to the indoors. Although there’s always some heat outdoors, no matter how cold it is, a heat pump can begin to lose energy efficiency when the temperatures fall too far. 

Is this something you need to worry about with your heat pump? At what temperature will your heat pump begin losing its efficiency?

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Repair Prevention for Your Furnace That Goes Beyond Maintenance

Monday, September 13th, 2021

natural-gas-burners-flame-furnaceIn our last post, we recommended you start thinking about arranging for maintenance for your heating system, even though it’s technically still summer and the fall weather hasn’t arrived. Maintenance is simply the all-around best service you can have done for your home’s HVAC system, and you’ll be thankful you had it taken care of early when the cold finally sets in. For one thing, it means less chance you’ll need furnace repair in West Chester, OH over the season. 

We want to focus more on repair prevention for your home’s furnace. Routine maintenance isn’t the only way you can stop damage to the furnace and avoid expensive repairs or a safety hazard. Follow us below as we delve into some more ways to stop the need for furnace repairs as well as an early system replacement.

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It Isn’t Too Early to Think About HVAC Maintenance for Winter

Monday, August 16th, 2021

dont-forget-post-itAs we’re writing this post, the temperature outside in West Chester is 82°F. Prime summer weather. Nobody wants to think about their home’s heating system at a time like this. The idea of turning on a furnace during a balmy summer day seems crazy. 

But we’re not asking you to turn on your furnace right now, only give some consideration to when you will need to have it turn on. This is the middle of August, and the official start of fall is a bit more than a month away. Fall is when we recommend our customers arrange for winter-prep HVAC maintenance. It’s not too early to start planning, since the best time to catch our technicians for this service is during the fall lull. 

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Time to Schedule AC Maintenance to Prep for Summer

Monday, April 26th, 2021

AC-technician-cleaning-unitThe weather may not be warm enough for you to use your air conditioning in West Chester, OH quite yet, but we’re already into the middle of spring and the summer heat will be here before we know it. Your air conditioning system needs to be ready to handle anything. So… do you know how you can prepare it for anything?

It’s easy! Arrange for professional air conditioning maintenance with the Bartels’ team. You can sign up for our Heating and Cooling Maintenance Plan if you haven’t already, and then schedule a convenient time for one of our technicians to come to your home and give your AC the inspection and tune-up it needs for a great summer.

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The Condensing Furnace Option for Your Home Heating Future

Monday, March 15th, 2021

gas-furnaceAs we reach the end of the winter, you may find yourself debating whether furnace repair in West Chester, OH is the best way to keep your furnace running for the next few years. Spring is a good season for upgrades and replacements to your HVAC system, so if you think it’s time to put in a new furnace, the coming months may be when to schedule it.

You’ll need to make some choices about what you want from a new furnace. Just putting in as close a duplicate to your old one misses out on some major improvements in furnace technology. For example, the condensing furnace. 

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Electric Heating: Furnace vs. Heat Pump

Monday, December 21st, 2020

heating-elementNatural gas is the most common way to heat homes in the area. But natural gas isn’t an option for all homes, and some homeowners prefer an all-electric house because of concerns over possible safety hazards from natural gas. What options do homes without natural gas have when it comes to winter heating?

There are two main ones: the electric furnace and the heat pump. Both are common, but have different benefits and drawbacks. We’ll look at these pros and cons below and help to shed more light on making the choice between the two.

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