Cooling systems make summers more tolerable in the Palm Beach area, and to keep your system running smoothly and dependably, there are certain things you shouldn’t do to your A/C. A central air conditioner or a heat pump has a system life around 15 years, as long as it’s used as the manufacturer intended. Following are some things to avoid doing to your cooling system so it will provide long-term dependable service.

Forget to Change the Air Filter

The air filter is the first line of defense against dirt accumulating inside the air handler. If you neglect changing it, you can expect cooling costs to increase and the life of the A/C's important components to decrease. During the height of the cooling season, check the air filter monthly and change it when it’s dirty. A clogged filter slows airflow through the air handler, increasing the time it takes to cool your home.

Neglecting to change the air filter also stresses all air conditioning parts, drives up energy consumption, and may cause the evaporator coil inside the air handler to freeze. A frozen coil can burn the compressor or the blower motor out, which are disabling part failures.

Neglect Professional Maintenance

Don’t skip annual professional maintenance. Cooling systems work hard for months at a time and they do so most efficiently when they’re cleaned and adjusted by a professional at least once a season. The annual refrigerant check alone is worth the cost of the visit. Too little or too much refrigerant wears your system out faster and drives up energy consumption.

Keep Temperatures Inconsistent

It’s best to keep your home the same temperature during the day and at night. Using your A/C as a dehumidifier when temperatures are relatively mild isn’t good for it. You could save energy and increase comfort with a dehumidifier instead. A programmable thermostat can also help manage temperatures at even levels.

To learn more about things you shouldn’t do to your A/C, contact CMi Air Conditioning and Electrical. We provide top-notch HVAC services for Lake Park and surrounding areas.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lake Park, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about A/Cs and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Striving to conserve energy in all rooms doesn't necessarily involve sacrificing comfort or conveniences. It's remarkable how much energy you can save by making small investments and changing some habits around the home.

Living and Sleeping Spaces

• Use ceiling fans to increase your comfort. Fans will cut energy consumption year-round, as long as they have a reversing switch. Moving air always feels cooler because the air movement dries the moisture from your skin faster. When you leave the room, turn the fan off, since fans only provide the perception of cooling.
• If the fans also incorporate light bulbs, make sure they're CFL or LEDs to reduce the amount of heat the bulbs emit.
• Older televisions use more energy than the newer Energy Star-rated LED televisions. You can conserve energy in all rooms by plugging your entertainment and portable devices into a surge-protection power strip and turning the strip off when you're not using them.

Bathrooms

• Use exhaust fans to remove excess humidity after bathing or showering. A less humid home feels cooler, even at a higher temperature, and your A/C won't have to work as hard.
• Replace the older incandescent vanity lights with new LED lights in lieu of CFLs. CFLs tend to burn out faster when they're turned on and off frequently.

The Kitchen

• When cooking smaller amounts of food or boiling liquids, use the microwave instead of the stove. Microwaves emit much less heat. Toaster ovens also save energy when baking small amounts, since their oven capacity is much smaller.
• Use the dishwasher during the cooler nighttime or morning hours, and select the air dry setting. Always wash full loads.
• Keep the refrigerator reasonably full to save energy. If you don't store enough food in it, add water bottles or place whole grains, flour or sugar inside it. More mass inside the refrigerator helps it retain cold temperatures better. Anytime the refrigerator runs, it adds heat to your home.

The pros at CMi Air Conditioning & Electrical can help you conserve energy in all rooms with your cooling system. We've provided outstanding HVAC services for Lake Park area homeowners since 1992.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lake Park, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about conserving energy and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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It's now common knowledge that pollution isn't just reserved for large cities and smoke stacks. Experts say that the air inside the average household is usually much worse than it is outdoors. A big reason for the decline in indoor air quality is due to the popularity of air sealing. Closing air leaks is definitely a smart thing to do to conserve energy, but without proper ventilation your indoor air quality (IAQ) may be compromised. Such an environment can be detrimental to your health and your home, so it's vital you take steps to combat it. Learn more about how to improve IAQ and start breathing easier today.

Promoting a healthy living space doesn't take much effort, and most steps are relatively low cost or free to do. The following are proven techniques for cleaning up the air in your home:

• Make sure you have a high quality air filter. A good air filter will help capture more dust, debris and other pollutants. Doing so will also protect the components of your cooling system.
• Open windows. When using conventional cleaning products or other types of pollutants inside your home, open windows to ventilate the area.
• Clean mold and mildew using a bleach solution.
• Ventilate. Use fans when cooking, showering or, washing clothing in the laundry room.
• Install a whole-house ventilation system. This will help remove as many contaminants from your air as possible.
• Store paints, pesticides, solvents and other volatile organic compounds. Place these items in your garage or an outdoor storage container away from the house.
• Ventilate hearth products. Fireplaces and wood stoves need to be ventilated to ensure their indoor and outdoor intakes are tightly closed.
• Use condensing, seal combustion or power-vented water heaters and furnaces. If natural draft applications need to be used, have them tested for adequate ventilation, and make sure they stay outdoors.

For more info on how to improve IAQ, please feel free to contact us at CMi Air Conditioning & Electrical anytime. We proudly serve Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lake Park, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about IAQ and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Forced-air HVAC systems are the most popular cooling and heating systems in the U.S. When correctly sized and installed, new HVAC systems deliver much better efficiency and comfort than older models. Read on to learn the key considerations for choosing a new HVAC system.

Types of HVAC Systems

Forced-air HVAC systems use ductwork and a powerful blower to pull and push conditioned airflow from the A/C, heat pump and/or furnace through the home. With each system, air is conditioned by different means:

• Most furnaces use natural gas or propane to heat return airflow for home heating.
• A heat pump transfers heat from outside air to inside the home using refrigerant. It cools using the same refrigeration principles but in the opposing direction. Heat pumps are excellent all-in-one systems for our region.
• An A/C system works basically the same as a heat pump for home cooling, though, an A/C cannot provide home heating like a heat pump. An A/C system must be paired with a furnace or other heating system.

HVAC Efficiency

HVAC systems must be correctly sized to achieve maximum efficiency and performance. Only after an accurate cooling and heating load of your home has been performed should you select your new HVAC system. It's wise to consider lifetime costs, rather than only the initial cost of the unit. Your HVAC technician can calculate the estimated lifetime cost using HVAC efficiency ratings:

• The seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) indicates cooling efficiency for heat pumps and A/Cs.
• The heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF) indicates heating efficiency for heat pumps.
• Furnace heating efficiency is measured using the annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE).

The higher the number for all ratings, the greater the energy efficiency.

Ductwork Considerations

When installing a new HVAC system, the air ducts need to be evaluated to determine efficiency and sizing. Repairs or modifications may be recommended. After all, your new cooling or heating system can only perform as well as the ducts that convey conditioned airflow.

For more details about choosing a new HVAC system, please contact CMi Air Conditioning & Electrical today.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lake Park, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about HVAC systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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If your air conditioner is tripping the circuit breaker, it’s probably going to keep tripping the circuit breaker until you get professional service. While a tripped circuit breaker can be a random occurrence that doesn’t recur, most of the time it’s a signal indicating problems elsewhere that must be addressed by qualified personnel ASAP.

Why It Happens

A tripped breaker normally results when a device on the circuit somewhere draws more amperage than the circuit is rated to supply. In the case of other household devices, you usually have to narrow down the culprit to a particular defective device by process of elimination. However, since central air conditioning equipment typically occupies its own dedicated circuit, if that breaker trips, you know it’s the A/C at fault.

What You Can Do

Only one possible cause has a DIY solution: a clogged air filter. If the filter becomes totally clogged and obstructs system airflow, the blower motor may become overheated and draw excessive amperage, tripping a circuit breaker. Try installing a clean new filter and see if the circuit breaker trips again. If it does, it's time to call in a qualified HVAC service technician.

What A Professional Can Do

When an air conditioner is tripping the circuit breaker, you may have more serious problems. Here are a few possibilities.

• Low refrigerant is causing the system to run long or non-stop cycles, overheating the compressor and blower—both large electric motors that draw high amps—and tripping the breaker. Low refrigerant is almost always due to a leak somewhere. A qualified tech can track it down and repair it.
• Dirty coils inhibit proper heat transfer, which also overworks heavy-duty A/C components like the compressor. Coil cleaning is part of regular annual maintenance plans offered by HVAC contractors.
• Certain electrical components, like the capacitor that starts the compressor, are subject to normal wear and tear and eventual failure. Excessive amperage draw may result. This is usually a straightforward fix for a qualified HVAC service tech.

For professional service when your air conditioner is tripping the circuit breaker, contact CMi Air Conditioning & Electrical.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lake Park, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about air conditioners and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Forgetting or ignoring HVAC maintenance isn't a good idea at all—especially considering the relentless cooling load your A/C bears in the Lake Park region. Your energy bills will be higher, your comfort reduced and you'll likely spend more on HVAC repairs.

Higher Energy Bills

HVAC systems are a conglomerate of components utilizing motorized equipment, electrical components, plumbing functions, airflow dispersal and refrigeration principles. When one area of the HVAC system is ailing, it directly impacts the operation of correlating parts and drives up energy bills.

For example, if the evaporator coil isn't cleaned each year, debris buildup reduces cooling capacity and makes the blower motor work harder and consume substantially more electricity.

Poor Comfort Quality

An important step in HVAC maintenance is measuring airflow through the home and air ducts. Unbalanced airflow reduces your A/C's ability to dehumidify moist return airflow, which is an essential process for maintaining indoor comfort in our region. Semiannual HVAC maintenance helps ensure each area of your home receives adequate air supply and balanced airflow to the return grilles.

Unexpected HVAC Performance

Regular HVAC maintenance may pay for itself, and then some, by reducing repairs and by maximizing the life expectancy of your systems. You may also avoid a system malfunction during the height of the cooling and heating months. Following are just a few of the preventive maintenance checks your HVAC pro performs:

• Cleaning - The indoor and outdoor HVAC components are thoroughly cleaned, which boosts comfort, reduces system workload, prevents drain clogs and lowers energy bills.
• Diagnostics - Electrical parts, the thermostat, refrigerant charge and motorized parts are inspected and tested for good function.
• Air ducts - Finding and sealing leaks in the air ducts lightens the load on your A/C and ensures conditioned airflow reaches the living spaces.

Ignoring HVAC maintenance isn't worth the effects of higher energy bills, reduced home comfort and expensive repairs. Contact CMi Air Conditioning & Electrical today to speak with our HVAC experts to schedule maintenance or for information about our Precision Tune-Up maintenance plan.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lake Park, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about HVAC maintenance and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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When your HVAC tech comes to service your system, he or she may refer to your home's heating or cooling "load." Understanding this term, as well as the types of cooling and heating loads, is crucial for achieving comfortable temperatures in your home. 

Load vs. Capacity

The term "load" is often misunderstood as referring to the "capacity" of the heating and cooling system. Capacity is how much heating and cooling your system can deliver, whereas load is how much heating or cooling your home needs. When the capacity of the system is too small to meet the building's load, the system will struggle to heat or cool, which leads to overworked parts. When the HVAC system's capacity is too large for the building's load, the system will short cycle, run inefficiently, overwork parts and fail to dehumidify the home.

Design Load

So-called "design conditions" in our area are found in industry software called Manual J, used to calculate heating and cooling loads. Contractors base calculations on factors such as number/size of windows, the insulation's R-value, the direction the home is oriented and the home's square footage. The data is used to determine the design load, or rather, the heating or cooling needs at a specific outside temperature to achieve the required indoor temperature.

Extreme Load

Sometimes, outdoor temperatures will reach an extreme. If a system were sized to meet the load for these extremes, it wouldn't perform efficiently during the other, prevailing outdoor temperatures because it would be oversized. Load requirements are typically calculated 15 to 20 percent beyond design conditions, rather than for extremes.

Partial Load

Furnace or A/C loads are likely to be less than the design load for most of the year. When this condition, known as partial load, occurs, your system may be cycling on and off frequently even though it's the right size. That can mean discomfort for the home's occupants.

For more on types of cooling and heating loads, contact CMi Air Conditioning & Electrical. We serve Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lake Park, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about cooling and heating and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Your HVAC system uses more power than any other appliance or equipment in your home. That translates to huge utility bills during long summers in Lake Park. So whenever you have the opportunity to replace HVAC equipment, it only makes good sense to shop for appliances with greater efficiency. One way to be certain that the product you're buying is truly efficient is the Energy Star logo.

Energy Star-Rated Appliances Earn Their Keep

When you buy an Energy Star-rated appliance, you can rest assured it has met rigorous efficiency standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. The product must be tested for efficiency in an EPA-approved lab, and the results reviewed by a third party.

The EPA has also published guidelines for products that are awarded their blue Energy Star label. Since these products are often somewhat more expensive than less efficient models, the consumer should be able to earn back the difference in cost in energy savings during a reasonable length of time. The products should be in categories capable of contributing significantly to nationwide savings, such as HVAC equipment. The product should offer a level of performance and the same desirable features that consumers demand in similar products, while offering greater energy efficiency. Naturally, the products that earn the Energy Star label must also be measured and tested for performance and energy consumption.

In general, Energy Star-rated products operate 15 to 20 percent more efficiently than similar, non-rated equipment.

Energy Star Means Smaller Carbon Footprint

Homeowners who use Energy Star-rated products can also feel good about reducing the carbon footprint of their households through diminished fossil fuel use. It is estimated that in the more than 20 years of its existence, the Energy Star program has helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2 billion metric tons.

To learn more about how the Energy Star logo can guide your household into greater energy savings and reduce your carbon footprint, contact CMi Air Conditioning and Electrical. We serve Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lake Park, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about the Energy Star logo and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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A new A/C with a variable-speed air handler eliminates the downsides of a conventional one-speed blower. Traditional blower motors provide you with two airflow outputs: 100 percent and zero. When the system cycles on, you get full-blast blower output and air circulation through the vents. When the system turns off, you get nothing. This back-and-forth routine results in noticeable temperature swings as the A/C cycles on and off. It's also noisy, degrades indoor air quality and costs a lot more than the improved technology available today.

How Variable Is It?

A variable-speed air handler incorporates electronically commutated motor (EMC) technology that allows the blower to run almost continuously yet vary its speed and output over a range. Typically a variable-speed model starts gradually, at approximately 50 percent air output over a period of less than 10 minutes. The program then increases blower output to 100 percent to achieve the thermostat setting. Once the target temperature is reached, blower speed declines to a reduced output range sufficient to maintain the temperature and sustain air circulation.

Why Variable Is Better

Here are a few advantages of the variable speed air handler:

• Efficiency gets a boost: The programmable ECM technology incorporates a brushless DC motor that uses about 75 watts of electricity, which is a vast improvement over conventional air handlers that consume over 500 watts. Because the electricity consumption of the blower is a major component of A/C operating costs, this represents major savings.
• Temperatures stay more consistent: Eliminating the extreme swings of standard on/off blowers fine tunes indoor comfort, often keeping temperatures within two degrees or less of the thermostat setting.
• Continuous circulation equals continuous filtration: Each time a conventional blower cycles off, air circulation in the ducts ceases and so does air filtration. The constant output of a variable-speed blower sustains filtration and the lower output air volume improves filter performance, as well.
• Reduced output increases comfort: Lower air volume means more efficient humidity extraction at the evaporator coil. Drier air feels more comfortably cool.

Find out more about the advantages of a variable-speed air handler. Contact CMi Air Conditioning & Electrical today.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lake Park, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about variable-speed air handlers and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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You may be familiar with the significant contributions good duct design provides for home efficiency and comfort, but are you also aware that ductwork impacts indoor air quality? If the air ducts aren't well maintained and fall into disrepair, your Palm Beach County home can develop unhealthful and even hazardous indoor air quality problems.

Contaminated Air

The air ducts perform a simple yet vital function in the home. The HVAC system blows airflow through supply ducts and receives indoor air through returns. If ducts are plagued by leaks or dirt and debris, indoor air quality suffers and so may the health of your home's occupants.

For example, contaminated air in the attic, walls, crawl space and attached garage can be sucked inside ductwork through air leaks, fallen ducts and holes. The air in these spaces isn't very desirable and can pose health risks once it enters living spaces.

Combustion Gases

If you use any fuel-burning appliances or HVAC equipment, you may be aware of the potential for backdrafting. Backdrafting occurs when by-products created from the combustion process are sucked back inside the home. If leaky ducts are nearby, the poisonous gases like carbon monoxide can be sucked inside and distributed to the living spaces.

Forced Air Infiltration

The home's envelope consists of the materials that separate the living space from the attic, crawl space and outside air. Ideally, your home should be sealed up tight around windows, doors, the attic hatch and wall penetrations. If cracks and holes in the envelope exist, faulty ducts can force air infiltration by creating negative air pressure in the living spaces.

Mold Problems

Mold growth is always a concern for Florida homeowners. High humidity can be relentless, and there's plenty of food in airborne particles for mold to grow. Leaky ducts can contribute to this problem because they don't adequately handle moisture control. Humid air in the attic and crawl space compound the problem when it enters duct leaks and travels to living spaces.

For more duct and indoor air quality tips, please contact CMi Air Conditioning & Electrical today.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lake Park, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about ductwork and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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