Climate Masters Blog: Archive for September, 2014

Choosing the Right HVAC Contractor for New Construction Saves You Money

Monday, September 29th, 2014

A new construction project is exciting, and you want to make sure every part of your new home or commercial property is constructed with care. But when it comes to your HVAC system, choosing the right one for your home may seem like a simple process. However, new ductwork and HVAC installation both require a professional to ensure you get the most out of your new system. Not only will this keep repair costs low later on, it can also ensure that your system is more energy efficient throughout the years. To save money every month on your HVAC system with new construction in Fruit Cove, contact the design and installation experts at Climate Masters. Here’s how choosing the right HVAC contractor in your area can save you money.

First, choosing an HVAC contractor who knows all about installation as well as duct design means you won’t have to search for and pay two separate companies for their work. Some contractors specialize only in HVAC installation. But finding a contractor who specializes in both duct design and building a new HVAC system ensures that you get everything in one place and that you have a technician who knows the ins and outs of your ducts to choose the right HVAC unit for the highest efficiency.

Second, duct design is a complex process, and, if done incorrectly, you can lose a lot of energy from month to month. Duct leaks are one of the most common sources of unusually high energy costs, accounting for up to 30% less efficiency in some homes. Choosing someone who knows about duct design means your ducts will be properly sealed and inspected, optimized for your home or building, and checked for pressure losses and potential weak points.

Finally, the right HVAC contractor can help you choose the most efficient system for your new home or commercial space based on industry ratings and the layout of your ducts. Are you in the middle of new construction in Fruit Cove, or are you still trying to find an HVAC contractor before you begin?

Call Climate Masters today! We specialize in both duct design and equipment sizing to make sure you have the right design and unit.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in New Construction | Comments Off on Choosing the Right HVAC Contractor for New Construction Saves You Money

How Does a Heat Pump Differ from a Traditional AC?

Monday, September 22nd, 2014

When you need a new cooling system, there are a lot of factors to take into account. Of course, the initial cost is a major concern for many homeowners. However, the cost of operation, efficiency, and any additional features may be of equal concern. While you can purchase extremely efficient traditional central air conditioners, one type of system that may actually give you a little more bang for your buck is a heat pump. While the name sounds as though it is a heating system, a heat pump is actually a very efficient heating and cooling system.

Essentially, there are very few differences between a traditional AC and a heat pump. Heat pumps take advantage of the same refrigeration cycle, in which refrigerant, a chemical blend that easily converts from a liquid to a gas and vice versa, moves through the indoor and outdoor unit. As it changes from a gas to a liquid at the outdoor condenser unit, it releases heat into the air. As it changes from liquid to gas indoors, it absorbs heat from your home. A fan then blows cool air through the ductwork. This process continues until the home is cooled to the proper temperature.

In fact, heat pumps have all of the components of a traditional air conditioner but with one addition, the reversal valve. With most air conditioners, the refrigerant can only move in one direction. However, the reversing valve of a heat pump activates when you switch your thermostat to “heat” mode, allowing the flow of refrigerant to change direction. Now, instead of absorbing heat from the inside to move outdoors, it pulls heat from the outside to warm indoor air. In some climates, an additional heating source is needed to supplement the heat pump if there is not enough heat in the outside air. But this is unnecessary in Ponte Vedra.

Heat pumps have cooling efficiencies that are comparable to other air conditioners, and are very efficient for heating. This is because it takes less energy to move heat from place to place than to generate heat.

When you decide it’s time for heat pump installation in Ponte Vedra, call the professional technicians at Climate Masters today.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off on How Does a Heat Pump Differ from a Traditional AC?

Signs You Need a Whole-Home Dehumidifier

Monday, September 15th, 2014

Part of the comfort you feel from an air conditioning system involves moisture control. This is because your air conditioner removes humidity as it removes heat. When there is too much humidity in the air, your AC may not be able to successfully remove enough of moisture to make things feel comfortable. But humidity does more than just make the air feel uncomfortable: it can damage your belongings and cause health issues. The installation of a whole-home dehumidifier in St. Augustine can remove the excess moisture in the air while your AC cycles, reducing the effects of high humidity. Professional installation of a whole-home dehumidifier from Climate Masters can re-balance the moisture level in your home.

Signs of Excess Humidity

There are a few telltale signs that there may be too much humidity in your home:

  • Condensation on the inside of your windows – water beads or fog on the inside of your windows indicates there is too much moisture in the air. If left unattended, this moisture may eventually rot the wood casings around the windows; mold can also develop.
  • Mold spots – mold thrives in moist environments; this can include walls and ceilings, particularly in bathrooms and basement spaces.
  • Musty odor – mold has a distinctive, musty odor. If you smell it, you most likely have mold somewhere, even if you can’t see it.

How a Dehumidifier Works

A whole-home dehumidifier removes the excess moisture from the air before it can get into in your system. How does it work? The dehumidifier fan draws warm, humid air over a cold coil, which condenses the moisture into liquid; the water is removed via a drain pipe. The now-dry air then passes over a warm coil and is added back into your system. A whole-home dehumidifier can be seamlessly added to your air conditioning system, and works as part of the system so there’s no extra managing it on your part.

Excess humidity can cause damage to your home and health problems for you and your family.

If you see the signs of excess humidity, it may be time to consider the installation of a whole-home dehumidifier in St. Augustine. Call Climate Masters today.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Indoor Air Quality | Comments Off on Signs You Need a Whole-Home Dehumidifier

Why Work with a Professional HVAC Contractor for Your New Construction

Monday, September 8th, 2014

There are few projects more exciting, or more intimidating, than new construction of a home or a commercial building. You have to consider numerous factors during all stages of the construction, and even thinking about them can make you feel overwhelmed. However, if you work with the best contractors, you’ll remove a great deal of the stress from your shoulder—and you will also end up with the final product that you first envisioned.

One aspect of a new home or commercial building that’s vital of its success is the HVAC system. You want to make sure that you stay comfortable inside your new building, especially during hot Florida weather.

For new construction HVAC design in Saint Johns, FL that will deliver you the results you want, call Climate Masters today.

Why it’s important to work with professional HVAC contractors

Putting in a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system for a new home or commercial building is about more than simply installing a heater and AC and hooking it up to ducts. The HVAC system is a major energy system that can lose or gain energy if it is installed haphazardly or sloppily. When you hire professionals, they will provide your new project with a complete heat load calculation that follows the specifications of the ACCA (Air Conditioning Contractors Association of America). This calculation determines the amount of heating a cooling load the building needs for comfort without creating an energy drain. Far more factors than just size go into this calculation: professionals use specialized software to determine locations where a building gains and loses heat, and just how much. Only highly trained specialists can do this task correctly to ensure that you have the correct HVAC system installed.

Another task where having HVAC professionals is invaluable for new construction is for ductwork design. Basic non-customized ductwork is often inefficient, and only through custom designs that will fit with your plans for your new building will you have a ventilation system that works ideally and unobtrusively.

Finally, using professional HVAC contractors will give you time and peace of mind, two priceless commodities when it comes to constructing a new home or commercial building. When you have contractors you can trust, you’ll already be halfway to the finish line.

If you are ready for installation of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system for your new building, call Climate Masters. Our specialists in new construction HVAC design for Saint Johns, FL will be glad to help you realize the final building with the comfort system that it needs.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in New Construction | Comments Off on Why Work with a Professional HVAC Contractor for Your New Construction

The Fashion of Wearing White and Labor Day

Monday, September 1st, 2014

You may have heard about the fashion faux pas of wearing white after Labor Day. In the present, this tradition is usually treated as old fashioned and a joke. Few people will criticize you for wearing white articles of clothing after the first Monday in September, or even take notice of it except to wonder why it was ever a major concern at all.

Where did this tradition of white clothing going out of fashion after Labor Day come from, and why did it fade away like colorful fabric washed in a hot load in the washing machine?

In general, white makes sense for the heat of summer. Light-colored clothing reflects away the radiant heat of the sun, instead of absorbing it the way dark colors do, so for thousands of years of human history people have preferred to wear white clothing during the hotter months.

However, the idea of white as strictly fashionable during the summer season only emerged in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries—the time when the very concept of “fashion” began to spread across the Western Hemisphere.

It was only the highest level of post-Civil War society in the U.S. that strict and often bizarre rules for fashion controlled whether someone was in with the “in” crowd. Compared to our ideas of what’s fashionable today, the Czars of Style in the 1880s were true despots. Things as trivial as sleeve length could determine whether a woman in high society—no matter her level of wealth—was fashionable or a pariah.

Wearing white during the only summer, when it was common for weddings and outdoor parties, was only of these restrictive society rules. When the U.S. government made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894, the Fashion Czars gained a definite cut-off point for when wearing white was no longer “acceptable” in the upper echelons of wealthy society.

For many decades, this rule only applied to a small number of millionaire socialites in a few big cities, but in the 1950s it reached general fashion magazines that were read around the country and started to affect more people.

But time eventually broke apart this odd rule, and during the 1970s fashion became more individual. Some fashion legends, like Coco Chanel, also purposely rejected the restriction and wore white throughout the year. Today, the “no white after Labor Day rule” is little more than an amusing gag to tease friends, and almost nobody takes it seriously.

Whatever you choose to wear after Labor Day (and if it’s white, we won’t tease!), everyone here at Climate Masters hopes you have a happy end of the summer and great plans for the fall!

Continue Reading

Tags:
Posted in Happy Holidays | Comments Off on The Fashion of Wearing White and Labor Day