My husband and I recently upgraded to a larger house and with larger homes comes larger responsibilities.

Our yard work has doubled, the cleaning has doubled, and the maintenance has doubled.

One area that we weren’t expecting to double but did, was our HVAC system. We didn’t realize this before moving in, but our home was so large that it needed two HVAC systems. We’d never heard of something like this, but our HVAC technician assured us that it was normal. Since there were two levels to the house, there were two different HVAC systems. This ensured that each floor was heated and cooled evenly and there was no strain on one, single HVAC system. The HVAC technician explained how homes that didn’t have two HVAC systems but were large, ended up wearing down their HVAC systems before the expected lifespan. He also said that they paid more in monthly utility costs because the various levels were competing with each other. As he explained things, it made more sense. Despite the fact that neither my husband nor I knew about home’s having multiple HVAC systems before, it was still a part of our new life. Now, we are expected to have both HVAC systems serviced twice per year and there’s more things to upkeep, just like every other aspect of having a larger home. Even though it’s more work, we’re really happy with how comfortable we’re able to keep our home and how efficient our heat and air runs because of it.

a/c workman

During my last HVAC tune up, the HVAC professional told me something I had never heard of before.

He said that the HVAC company was offering a discount for referrals.

Basically, this meant that if I referred someone to the HVAC company and they scheduled an appointment or used them for any of their HVAC needs, then I’d receive a discount for my next HVAc appointment. I thought this sounded like a great idea, because I have always been happy with the HVAC company when they service my furnace and air conditioner and I felt like I was constantly referring people to them anyway. To make the deal even easier, the HVAC professional told me that if I visited the company website, there was a tab specifically for referrals. All I had to do was enter my name, email, phone number, and address and then enter my referral’s same information, along with their HVAC service needs, and hit submit. From there, the HVAC company would handle the transaction. I thought this was a great idea! I knew several people who had been complaining about their HVAC systems, and this was the perfect way to help them without having to do the work for them. I also loved how the HVAC company was willing to pursue the client instead of waiting for them to reach out. This really helped my chance of getting a discount! Now, I’m always listening for people to complain about the heat and air in their homes so I can quickly refer them to the local HVAC company for a discount.

Quality HVAC

This Fall, I noticed a big shift in the way my HVAC system was running.

Typically, I like to hire an HVAC professional to come service my HVAC system before switching from my AC unit to my furnace and vice versa, which means I do this twice per year. This year though, my schedule got really busy and I’ve hardly had a spare moment to relax, little yet remember to call the HVAC company and schedule an appointment. During the first cool week of the year, I turned on my furnace and expected my house to be heated efficiently and smoothly like it always does. However, after running the furnace for a month, I received my utility bill in the mail and couldn’t believe how much higher it was. I typically see an increase in my utility bill when I transition from my AC unit to my furnace, but this was much higher than normal. At that moment, I decided to put all my other obligations aside and call the HVAC company to come service my HVAC system. Thankfully, they were able to send an HVAC professional over that afternoon to survey the damage. When the HVAC professional was done, he told me that it was a good thing I’d called before any serious damage was done. The air filter desperately needed to be replaced, because it was blocking the air flow and causing my furnace to run harder than necessary. Having replaced it with a new filter, he said that my utility bill should return to a normal price.

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I’ve been trying to convince my brother to get a smart thermostat for months.

I had my smart thermostat installed in my home and was loving it so much that I’ve convinced all my friends and family members to get one too.

Well, almost everyone. My brother has visited my home on multiple occasions and seen the benefits of a smart thermostat first hand, but he’s still being stubborn. I showed him the app on my cell phone that corresponds with the thermostat and how I can make changes from anywhere at any time. I showed him the charts that display how efficient my thermostat is running, and I also showed him my utility bills! I wanted him to see physical evidence on how great the smart thermostat was. I even went as far to ask him about the amount he was paying to run his HVAC system with his outdated thermostat. I think my brother would purchase a smart thermostat if it wasn’t so expensive. A smart thermostat is significantly more expensive compared to his traditional thermostat, but it saves more money in the long run by cutting back on unwanted HVAC expenses. Although I’ve only had my smart thermostats for half a year, I’ve already seen so many benefits that outweigh the expense of the smart thermostat! My brother needs to hop aboard the smart thermostat train, or he’s going to regret it later. At some point, my parents will probably buy one for him as a gift.

cooling representative

I always know when to hire an HVAC technician to service my HVAC system. It’s common knowledge that it’s best to have an HVAC system serviced twice per year, particularly once in the Spring and once in the Fall. When the pollen starts shedding and the leaves start falling, that’s when I pick up the phone and call my local HVAC company. During the fall, I have to really stay on top of my HVAC maintenance. There are a ton of trees surrounding my house, so when they all fall, I have to pick them up. At least once a week, I rake the leaves out from under my condenser unit and clear the surrounding area. In doing so, this keeps my condenser unit from becoming clogged or congested and it’s able to run smoothly. I had an issue with leaves building up on my condenser unit a few years ago and it didn’t end well. The HVAC professional insisted that I had to take better care of the surrounding condenser unit areas or I’d end up needing a brand new unit. A new condenser unit would set me back thousands of dollars, which is why I vowed to stay on top of the leaves every fall. It’s a really big task and it’s not one that I enjoy, but I’d rather spend time raking leaves instead of paying thousands of dollars on a new condenser unit when it could have been avoided. So far, I haven’t had any more issues with my HVAC system and I plan to keep it that way.

hvac duct

Where I live, the sunroom that was attached to my house was completely useless.

I bought the house thinking that the sunroom would be a great spot to relax and enjoy the outdoors without actually being outdoors.

However, up in this region, the winters are brutally cold and they last for months, so I quickly realized the sunroom was only usable during a few weeks out of the year. I knew the sunroom wasn’t connected to the central HVAC system when I purchased the house, but I assumed the HVAC treated air would linger into the room and warm it up a little. I also thought the sunlight would naturally warm the space, which it did, but not enough to enjoy it. Instead of letting the sunroom go to waste, I decided to do something about it. I contacted my HVAC technician and asked him if he could install a ductless mini split system for me. The ductless mini split system was the best way to efficiently heat the small space without having to extend my existing ductwork. It was the most economical option, but it was also the cleanest and fastest. Once the ductless mini split system was delivered, the HVAC technician came and had it installed within one afternoon. He set everything up and made sure it was running properly before he left, and he even demonstrated how to use it. Since the ductless mini split system was installed, I’m able to enjoy my sunroom during the entire year instead of only a few weeks. It was worth every penny!

cooling tech

It also doesn’t run at a gentle speed, so I feel like I’m being blasted with air even on the lowest setting

One of the unique features about my house is that there are no ceiling lights in any of the bedrooms. For whatever reason, the builders back in the 70’s didn’t think it was essential to wire lights in the bedrooms, and I didn’t realize this until I’d moved in. Not that the lack of lighting would have affected my decision to buy this house drastically, but it would have been nice to know ahead of time. Because there’s no electricity wired to the ceiling, there are also no ceiling fans. Ceiling fans are not for everyone, but they’re something that I’ve come to rely on heavily. I need the air to be flowing during the evenings because it helps me sleep better. My husband is naturally a warm person, so he tends to radiate heat and it overwhelms me to the point where I get uncomfortable and can’t sleep. A ceiling fan helps to gently cool me without affecting the temperature in the rest of the house. Along with the cool temperature, I enjoy the low hum that the fan makes. Since this house didn’t have ceiling fans, I was forced to purchase a free standing fan and place it beside the bed. I thought this would do, but it’s nothing like a ceiling fan. The air is coming from a weird angle and it’s uncomfortable. It also doesn’t run at a gentle speed, so I feel like I’m being blasted with air even on the lowest setting. I’m waiting to see if I can grow to like the free standing fan, or if I’ll need to hire an electrician to wire the ceiling fan for me.

air conditioning technician

I had the worst luck yesterday.

For several weeks, I had been gearing up to paint my living room, which was no small task.

The living room has vaulted ceilings with beautiful windows and a stone fireplace. The walls were made of old paneling that was a dark brown shade and they were super outdated. In order to bring them back to life without breaking the bank I decided to paint them. This was no easy task, I had to sand down all the walls, wipe them down, clean the baseboards, and tape off any areas I didn’t want painted. To make things worse, I had to do this with no AC! I hadn’t been having any issues with my AC prior to this, but of course, on the day I was ready to prep and paint, the AC was gone. I didn’t want to waste my afternoon, so I decided to call the local HVAC company and asked them to send an HVAC professional over right away. Thankfully, this happened during an odd time so they were able to come within a few hours. In order to waste as little time as possible though, I decided to continue with my prepwork and painting. I have never felt so hot before. When the HVAC professional showed up at my door, he must have thought that I’d been out of AC for a week by the amount I was sweating. I was so relieved to see that HVAC professional, though, because I don’t think I’d have been able to finish painting my living room with no AC.

Space heater

With the fall season arriving quickly, I decided that it was time to call my local HVAC company to come service my furnace. I don’t have a traditional electric furnace at my house, instead, I have a gas furnace. Several years ago, when my old furnace stopped running efficiently, I had to make a tough decision about how I was going to heat my home during the fall and winter months. Without considering the price, I told the HVAC company that I wanted something that was going to run efficiently, last a long time, and heat my home evenly and quickly. The HVAC professional I was speaking to recommended that I install a gas furnace over an electric one because it would give me all of those things. He was open about the price tag with me, letting me know that it was a considerable amount more than an electric furnace, but he assured me that it would pay itself off in it’s long life and efficiency. A gas furnace sounded scary to me, but he told me it was no different than running an electric furnace, it just needed a bit more maintenance. If there were any issues, I would need to call an HVAC professional right away since I was dealing with gas. The HVAC professional also recommended that I install carbon monoxide detectors so that I felt at peace. With my carbon monoxide detectors, I make a point to hire an HVAC professional at least twice per year, but especially right before the fall.

Heating and cooling provider

One of the biggest annoyances I had with my house was the lack of air ventilation in the bathrooms. There are two bathrooms and they are both poorly ventilated, but the guest bathroom is the worst. The guest bathroom has no windows, so it’s impossible for the air to escape. Whenever someone takes a hot shower, the moisture stays trapped within the walls and it starts to create mold. The master bathroom at least has a window, but that doesn’t help keep the temperature regulated. In order to save my bathrooms from mold and mildew and total demolition, I decided to hire an HVAC professional to help me install proper ventilation. The first thing the HVAC professional did was come and evaluate my bathrooms in order to give me an estimate. He recommended a few products and then he installed them for me a few weeks later. The guest bathroom already had an existing hole in the ceiling where a ceiling mounted fan was previously, but it needed updating. We replaced the old, broken one with an affordable option that would run quietly and last a really long time. The HVAC professional told me that he installed this same model in hundreds of other homes before. The master bathroom required more work, but we eventually mounted the exact same ceiling fan as the guest bathroom. Now, I can take a shower in either bathroom and not worry about mold and mildew building up from the air moisture created from the excess water.
hvac service plan