Tag Archives: air condition

Furnace Fact or Myth?

Being that we work in the heating and cooling field, we have repaired a lot of furnaces and seen a lot of strange things. As we head into some of the cold-weather season, we want to remind homeowners that sometimes, they are inadvertently damaging their home heating systems by believing some common furnace myths.

Myth: Furnace filters only have to be changed once a season.

Busted! Filters need to be checked regularly and changed as needed. How often you should be changing your filter will depend on a number of factors inside your home along with the type of filter you are using. A clogged filter can cause a number of problems with your heating system and your home comfort.

Myth: Cranking the thermostat will heat up the home faster.

BUSTED! It’s unpleasant to come home to a chilly house, but turning the thermostat all the way up will not warm your house any faster. A better option would be to install a smart thermostat that can regulate the temperature throughout the day, increasing savings without sacrificing comfort.

Myth: Closing vents and registers in unused rooms will save energy.

BUSTED! A home heating system is installed to warm the whole house and closing vents and registers can unbalance the system. Closing vents can actually cause problems with your furnace. There are other ways to regulate the heat throughout your home, including zoned heating.

Protect your home heating system this season, don’t harm it by falling for common furnace myths.

Should my AC be running all the time?

Leave a reply

Your air conditioner should NOT be running all the time.

However, it depends on what you mean when you say ‘all the time’. Sometimes it’s normal for an AC to operate more frequently.

Your Air Conditioner Should Run More than Normal When…

It’s hotter outside. The warmer the temperature is outside, the longer your AC will run to get your home to your desired temperature.

Longer runs times are good in these conditions: it means your air conditioner is working the way it should.

But even then, you should still be able to hear your air conditioner turn off and on as needed.

When You Should Be Concerned

Your air conditioner never turns off. It’s literally running all the time.
Your energy bills are going through the roof, yet you aren’t operating your air conditioner any differently.
The air temperature doesn’t seem to be changing, no matter how low your thermostat goes.

If you notice any of the previous stated issues, especially the first one. It’s time for you to diagnose and fix the issue in order to have a cool home and an air conditioner that isn’t slacking.

What’s Causing Your Air Conditioner to Run All the Time?

Several things can cause your air conditioner to run all the time.

1. Air Flow is Blocked

Your air conditioner needs to be able to breathe.

If air flow to or from your air conditioner is blocked, your air conditioner is going to struggle to work. That means it’s going to keep running.

Things that can restrict air flow to your AC are:

The air filter is dirty and clogged
Ductwork leaks
Closed or blocked vents

You can test this theory by holding your hand up to an open vent. You’ll feel a cool but weak stream of air.

Turn off your AC and change the filter. Then double check for any blockages.

If you’re still not noticing a difference, you should call a professional HVAC technician to help you out.

2. Dirty Evaporator Coils

Refrigerant runs through the evaporator coils and absorbs the heat from the air in your home. When the evaporator coils are clean, this is a smooth process.

As more dirt and grime builds up on the evaporator coils, the harder it is for the refrigerant to absorb heat. All those layers create a barrier, and your AC just keeps running. Yet your home does not get any cooler.

This is something that is included in tune-ups and should be left to the professionals.

3. There’s a Refrigerant Leak

When you don’t have enough refrigerant, your AC runs all the time trying to make up the difference.

Refrigerant is never supposed to run out or need topping up. The only time it is necessary is when there’s a leak.

You’ll know you have a leak if there’s icy buildup on your AC, your home isn’t getting any cooler, or your AC hisses at you.

If you do have a leak, get it fixed as soon as possible.

4. Your AC is Old and Needs to Be Replaced

Most air conditioners that receive annual maintenance last approximately 15 years. After that you should upgrade your system.

As it ages, your air conditioner will have to work a little harder to give you the same results. But an AC that runs all the time, is over 10 years old, and needs regular repairs is just costing you money.

We recommend you talk to our home comfort specialist about getting a new air conditioner.

5. Your Air Conditioner is the Wrong Size

An air conditioner that is too small for your home will have to run constantly to keep it cool. This means more wear and tear on your AC. More wear and tear = more repairs and a shorter lifespan.

Unfortunately, the only way to solve this problem is to get a properly-sized air conditioner, which costs a lot more money.

If you’re due for an air conditioner, choosing the right installation company is the first step to avoiding this problem.

Get your AC a Tune Up

The best way to make sure your air conditioner is working as it should is to call a professional hvac service technician and treat your AC to a tune-up.

Get a thorough inspection and make sure your AC is in the best possible shape it can be in.

Reduce Allergies with your HVAC System

Leave a reply

Allergens can be a horrible pain. Itchy, watery eyes, congestion, and coughing can keep you up all night and make you miserable all day. But while you’re likely to blame pollen and other allergens outdoors, your home heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system–or HVAC, for short–could be responsible for your symptoms. Technicians who specialize in HVAC installation often find that people who complain of poor outdoor air quality should actually work on their indoor air quality.

Here are the ways that your HVAC system may be contributing to your allergy symptoms, and what you can do to make your indoor air cleaner and safer to breathe.

Improve Your Filter

HVAC systems tend to recycle the same air over and over again in order to keep temperatures comfortable. The filters in your heater or return air vent are designed to help remove contaminants like dust and pet dander so you don’t continue breathing the same nasty air. Upgrade to a HEPA-style filter with a MERV rating of at least 10 for better filtration performance.

Clean Your Filter

Even if you choose a high-quality, high-performance filter, you still have to keep it clean. Change it or clean it every 1-3 months for better, less irritating air. Clean air also contributes to a more efficient and reliable heating and cooling system. You can call one of our technicians at JJM Heating & Cooling to help you with the process of cleaning your filter.

Improve Filtration

Electronic air filters, ionizers, and air purifiers are often used to remove allergens and contaminants in HVAC systems. These filters use electricity to attract and trap particles. As with ordinary filters, look for an MERV rating of 10 or higher for a more reliable purifier. Talk to a professional for product recommendations and installation.

Clean Air Ducts

If you keep your air ducts clean, you can experience cleaner, less irritating indoor air. Give us a call, our team of technicians will be happy to help with thorough duct and vent cleaning. They’ll eliminate debris that can make your indoor air just as allergy-inducing as the outdoor air you’re hoping to avoid.

Keep Humidity Balanced

Too much or too little humidity can irritate your allergies. Very dry or very moist air can make you feel terrible allergy symptoms like headaches or eye redness. Use humidifiers and dehumidifiers to balance your indoor air to a relative humidity of around 40%, which is the recommended level for comfortable, healthy air.

Hire our professionals at JJM Heating & Cooling to help diagnose your heating and cooling systems and determine how to best keep your indoor air allergen-free.

Spring Cleaning tips for Better Indoor Air Quality!

Leave a reply

Here at JJM Heating & Cooling, our focus is on the health of your home and family. That’s why this blog is dedicated to Spring Cleaning tips that will also improve your Indoor Air Quality or IAQ. IAQ refers to the purity or pollution of the breathable air in your home.

If your home has poor IAQ, your family is more susceptible to contaminants that lead to the cause or worsening of certain allergens and asthma. Other flu-like symptoms of poor IAQ include headache, coughing, nausea, dizziness, and dryness of eyes, nose, and throat.

So throw open the windows! It’s time to spring clean with a purpose: to improve the health of the air your family breathes.

Improve your IAQ this spring

Spring Cleaning is the time to check back in with those places you’ve forgotten about, in the “out of sight, out of mind” category. Below is a list of Spring Cleaning solutions that will leave your home smelling new and your air quality improved.

Clean & think green — When it comes to cleaning products, fragrance = chemicals. In fact, that pine or citrus fresh scent we’ve come to associate with a clean home is actually just a mask for the chemicals and bacterial transfer underneath. Opt for fragrance-free or unscented products. The last thing you want is to unknowingly pollute the air with the petroleum-based chemicals in the very products you’re using to clean with!

Upgrade your cleaning supplies — Consider vapor steam cleaners and vacuums with a HEPA filter. Vapor steam cleaners disinfect and eliminate bacteria much better than traditional clothes or sponges that can transfer contaminants. Vacuums with a HEPA filter can remove up to 99.7% of allergens in a given space, especially if there is carpet or rugs in the space where there is usually an increase in the likelihood of lurking allergens. These are the most effective cleaning devices to improve indoor air quality.

Filters, and not just HVAC — To improve the quality of your air year-round, and especially when you begin to use your air conditioning unit more often in the spring and summer, it’s important to be conscious of the last time you changed your HVAC filter. It’s recommended to change your filter every 30-90 days. When using the unit consistently, replacements may be necessary more often, and the filter’s condition should be checked every 30 days.

There are several filters and screens you can check, clean, install or replace around the home that will improve the quality of its indoor air quality.

HVAC filter
HEPA filters
Dryer lint screens
Vacuum cleaners
Bathroom exhaust fan grilles

Spring is the best time for HVAC repair. You’ve used the furnace all winter, and it may need a tune-up. It also isn’t summer yet, when HVAC technicians are working harder than ever to keep that A/C on blast. To schedule HVAC maintenance this spring before the summer heat wave, contact the professionals at JJM Heating & Cooling.

Use Houseplants & Humidifiers

Bring plants indoors — Did you know bringing plants into your home is a natural way of removing toxins from the air? Houseplants are visually uplifting, while also working to filter out air pollutants. According to NASA’s Clean Air Study on this matter, titled Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement, you can achieve noticeable air purification by placing greenery every 100 square feet within any given space.

This same study mentions that about 30% of all new or remodeled buildings had varying degrees of indoor air pollution. Apartments and office units within commercial buildings can also benefit from potting some plants. Houseplants are both beautiful and effective!

Suggested air-filtering plants include:

Aloe plants (aloe vera)
Spider plants (chlorophytum comosum)
Gerber daisies (gerbera jamesonii)
Chrysanthemums (chrysantheium morifolium)
Ficus, weeping fig (ficus benjamina)
Azaleas (rhododendron simsii)
English ivy (hedera helix)

Use a humidifier or dehumidifier — Where there’s heat, there’s moisture. Where there’s moisture, there’s mildew. The best way to keep mold and mildew growth at bay is to use a humidification system. Humidity levels below 55% should alleviate any irritations you or your family is experiencing, including allergies, dry itchy eyes and skin or even bloody noses. Dry air or moist air is poor air. A whole-home humidification system that works with your HVAC system, or even a stand-alone humidifier, is advantageous in achieving quality breathable air in the home.

Tips:

Check your home for mold and moisture
Buy a vacuum with HEPA filtration
Consider an air purifier
Clean your windows inside and out
Use your vacuum attachments to tackle the walls, the fans, and the cobwebs!

Cleaning isn’t the only spring maintenance task. Don’t forget things like draining your water heater and inspecting your home for plumbing leaks and signs of water damage. Happy Spring cleaning!

DIY or Call an Expert?

Leave a reply

It happens to the best of us; we get used to that weird thing that our appliance does, or we stop worrying about the funny noise something in our home makes. However, sometimes what we brush it off or tune out something that can be part of a much larger problem. We’re here to shed light on what’s normal and what you should consider fixing when it comes to furnace repair.

1. Furnace cleaning is necessary, but you won’t always need to make a service call.

If a filter gets too dirty, it can block clean air from flowing through your home leaving your home chilly. Sometimes this means that it will kick on, but it doesn’t stay on long enough to heat. When your furnace is overcompensating to keep your home warm, it can wear out quickly or shut down completely. You should change your air filter every 1-3 months.

Tip: Turn off your furnace’s shut off fan and switch your thermostat to off when changing filters.

2. Your furnace fan should not always be running.

If you notice that your fan is always blowing, you might have one of a few problems. Your fan, when set to “auto,” should only run when your furnace is in the middle of a heating cycle. If this isn’t the case, then you might be having one of the following problems (the first two you can DIY)

Your fan isn’t on the right setting

To check if this is the problem, set your thermostat a degree or two below the current room temperature. Then check to see if after a few minutes it reaches that temperature. If it doesn’t, then your furnace may be overworking to heat up. This could mean you have a problem with heat distribution in your home. It’s easy to bundle up in that room that’s always cold or wear short sleeves in the warm parts of your house, but ignoring hot and cold spots only raises your heating bill.

Make sure your thermostat fan is set to “auto” and not “on.” The “on” switch will force your fan to run even when it doesn’t need to be. This can raise your monthly bill and waste energy by running continuously.

Your fan manual limit switch is set to “override”
Locate your fan limit switch, and check to see if the white button is pushed in. If so, then your furnace is in “always on” mode. Pull the white button out to reset your limit switch.
If the above options don’t fix your problem, then you likely have a short in the wiring of either your thermostat or your fan switch. For your safety, only a licensed professional is qualified to fix this furnace problem, so contact you local HVAC technician for your furnace repair.

3. Stop ignoring that eggy smell coming from your furnace.

Natural gas is both odorless and colorless, but to help detect gas leaks, mercaptan has been added to gas lines. When combined, mercaptan causes gas to have a rotting egg or sulfuric smell. If you notice this smell, immediately shut off your gas lines. Leaking gas is no joke! Contact your gas utility company to remedy the leak. If open flame ends up anywhere near the gas leak, you may be looking for home fire repair rather than furnace repair.

4. A strange smell the first time you turn your furnace on is typical.

It seems weird, but the musty smell you notice at the beginning of the first heat cycle of the season is dust being burnt off from inside the furnace. The smell shouldn’t last more than a day or two. As long as it doesn’t have that sulfuric scent that we mentioned before, you should be totally fine. Nothing to worry about here!

5. You shouldn’t tune out the rattling noise coming from your furnace.

Some noises are innocent, and you might come to expect them, but some sounds are an indicator of something much worse brewing in your furnace. If it’s rattling, then that could be a sign that your blower wheel is out of alignment, dirty, or has a loose screw or two. This sort of noise isn’t too dangerous and is likely something you can DIY, but letting it go on for too long can cause damage over time to your unit.

6. There is no reason you should have to frequently ignite the burner yourself.

Occasionally, a relight might be necessary – if your pilot light goes out – but once the furnace is lit, it should be staying ignited by the burner. If it’s not, then this could lead to very poor heating which will drive your utility bill up. First, check to make sure that a draft isn’t the source of wind blowing out your pilot light. If you’ve got all windows and doors closed, then you can determine if it’s your burner that needs adjustment or cleaning. Because you are dealing with something that could pose a safety hazard, you’re going to need to have an HVAC technician take a look at the burner. You wouldn’t want to inhale carbon monoxide or cause a gas leak accidentally.

While most preventative maintenance can be done by you or a member of your household, some furnace repair tasks are too dangerous for any unskilled technician to take on. Contact a JJM Heating & Cooling service technician if you have any questions about the safety of your home repairs. As always, we’d be happy to take a look at your furnace or any of your other heating and cooling units.