Climate Masters Blog: Archive for September, 2013

How Can Dust and Dirt Cause a Need for Air Conditioning Repairs?

Monday, September 30th, 2013

After a long, hot summer in Florida, your air conditioning system might have accumulated a bit of dust and dirt. Even if you’ve regularly changed your AC’s air filter (something you should do once a month during the peak season), some debris can slip into your ducts or into the air conditioner cabinets. Aside from decreasing the quality of air in your home, an accumulation of dust and dirt can cause the need for professional repairs. For quality air conditioning repair, St. Augustine, FL, residents can turn to the experts at Climate Masters. If dirt is giving your AC grief, we can offer a solution. Contact us today for an appointment.

The ways dust and dirt can cause the need for repairs include:

Dirty condenser or evaporator coils: The two coils in your air conditioning system—the condenser outside and the evaporator inside—are vital for the heat exchange that cools your home. If they become dirty, they will lose their ability to absorb and release heat. You may experience a rise in temperature, and your air conditioner will overwork itself to compensate. Cleaning the coils is a difficult process that requires cutting and sealing the refrigerant line, and should be left to trained technicians.

Inefficient blower motor: The blower motor that distributes air and helps with heat absorption will start to work at lower efficiency if it becomes too dirty. This reduces airflow and could increase your electrical usage by 50%. The motor must be cleaned, or perhaps replaced if the problem has persisted too long.

Clogged air filter: The air filter does the job of trapping dust and dirt and any other airborne contaminants from getting into the interior components of your AC. Without regular changing, an excessively clogged filter will require professional attention because it will impede the flow of air and heighten the risk of extreme damage to motors, fans, and the compressor.

One of the best ways to keep your air conditioner free from dust and dirt is to schedule regular maintenance with an experienced HVAC company. Climate Masters offers an excellent maintenance program that gives you two annual check-ups, one for your AC and one for your heater. We aim to give you complete customer satisfaction, so if you want maintenance or air conditioning repair in St. Augustine, FL, make us your first choice.

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When Is The Best Time to Hire a Duct Cleaning Expert?

Wednesday, September 18th, 2013

Ducts are one of those hidden components of your household that quietly make life better for everyone in it. They branch out from your air conditioning or HVAC system, moving cool air in the summer time and warm air in the winter to every corner of your house. In most cases, they’re composed of sturdy materials and perform their jobs without a fuss. But over time, dust and debris can build up inside of them, necessitating a duct cleaning. In St. Augustine, FL, duct cleaning services are also necessary to deal with bacterial growth, created when moisture gets into the ducts and made worse by our sultry Florida weather.

So when is the best time to hire a duct cleaning expert? Usually when signs of dirty ducts become apparent.

Because ducts are usually located in out-of-the-way spots like the attic or inside your walls, you rarely notice when things start to go wrong. Look for subtle yet telltale signs of dust entering your household. If family members suffer from allergies, they may have attacks more often than normal. If your house seems to have a hard time staying clean, no matter how many times you dust it, there may be trouble. If you detect a strange odor coming from the ducts, there may be bacterial growth that needs to be dealt with. In the most extreme cases, you may detect a reduced air flow coming from your vents: signs that build-up has gotten so bad in the ducts that it’s interfering with their ability to circulate air.

Whenever you detect those signs, it’s best to hire a duct cleaning expert as quickly as possible. A trained service operative will undertake a duct cleaning with courtesy and professionalism: treating your home with the utmost care while providing solid, reliable cleaning for the ducts themselves. The results should not only improve your air quality, but may illuminate larger issues such as leaks or breaches in your ducts that could cost you money in higher electric bills. In St. Augustine, FL, duct cleaning services are provided by the trained experts at Climate Masters. If you’ve decided that now is the best time to hire a duct cleaning expert, give us a call. You’ll be glad you did.

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What Type of Ductwork is Right for My Home?

Tuesday, September 10th, 2013

In St. Augustine, ductwork needs to withstand the heat and humidity that comes with life in Florida. A good air conditioning system is the best line of defense against our sweltering summers and proper ductwork is ideal to getting the cool air through your home. St. Augustine is an older city, which means that a lot of houses have older ductwork (or even no ductwork at all). Ductwork can be made of multiple different types of material, depending both on the age of your home and the amount spent during its original construction.

What type of ductwork is right for your home? That depends on certain specifics.

Here’s a rundown of the most common types of ducts currently in use.

  • Metal. Metal ducts are usually made of galvanized steel, or in some cases aluminum. Metal ducts are sometimes wrapped in insulation to help maintain the temperature of the air inside of them. They can be coated with zinc to avoid mold – a significant consideration in our sultry Florida weather – and help with the cleaning process. Metal ducts are common in older homes and tend to be more expensive than flex ducting. The upside is that they are less prone to energy loss, especially if they are properly insulated and/or located in a conditioned part of the home.
  • Flex duct. Flex duct is a round, flexible plastic material, covered by insulation and usually a thin layer or reflective material. They’re easy to install and usually quite inexpensive, though homeowners ten to pay the price in a loss of efficiency. They should also be installed by a professional, since incorrect installation leaves them prone to leaks and a loss of efficiency.
  • Duct board. Duct board is quite rigid and usually lined with fiberglass. That makes them tougher to set up in houses that require a lot of twists and turns from their ductwork. On the other hand, they’re often resistant to contaminants such as dust and micro-bacterial growth. They also tend to hold energy fairly well, making your system reasonably efficient.

As always, the right type of ductwork for your home varies depending on your house and individual circumstances. The experts at Climate Masters possess the knowledge and the experience to help you make an informed choice. We serve all of St. Augustine; ductwork and HVAC services are our specialty.

Do you need to hire a St. Augustine ductwork specialist? Call us today to set up an appointment.

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Why We Celebrate Labor Day

Monday, September 2nd, 2013

We hope our present and future customers had a pleasant Labor Day this September. We know how hard you work to ensure that you and your loved ones have a good life, and we feel the same way about the work that we do throughout the year. Home comfort is our business, so you can rely on our technicians to take care of any issues that you may have. To many of us, Labor Day means BBQ, the start of the football season, and spending quality time with our friends and family. But there is much more to this holiday, and we wanted to share its true purpose with you.

Like many US holidays, the origins of Labor Day are somewhat disputed. While many cite Peter J. McGuire’s (of the American Federation of Labor) suggestion of a demonstration and picnic as the inaugural Monday, others cite Matthew Maguire, then secretary of the Central Labor Union of New York. In the wake of the massive and violent Pullman Strike of 1894, which pitted George Pullman and US Marshals and Military against workers of the Pullman Palace Car Company outside Chicago. Designated as a federal holiday by Congress and President Grover Cleveland in 1894, a mere six days after the strike ended, Labor Day has since become a way of recognizing the contribution that hard working Americans have made to this country.

We wish you all the best, and hopefully you took the time to relax, eat some good food, and take a load off.

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