Keeping your system maintained will lower energy and repair costs, prevent breakdowns and prolong the life of your furnace or air conditioner. Avoiding maintenance ensures a steady decline in air conditioning performance while energy use increases.

Cooling

• Upgrade to a high-efficiency air conditioner. Swapping an old, inefficient air conditioning system for a highly efficient system can reduce electricity bills by one-third. Consult with one of our technicians to make sure your cooling system is the right size and you aren't over- or under-cooling for your space needs.
• Turn up the temperature. Set the temperature above 75°  to save electricity during the summer. Every degree below this will add an extra 3-5% to your energy bill.
• Install ceiling fans. It’s best to change the direction of airflow on your ceiling fans. During the summer months, the blades should operate in a counter-clockwise direction to create a nice, gentle wind.
• Have annual maintenance performed. Annual maintenance performed on your air conditioner by a licensed technician will ensure it operates at peak efficiency while catching any potential breakdowns before they occur.
• Don't block vents in well-used rooms. Keep supply and return air vents free of objects like blinds, carpets or furniture so the air conditioner can operate efficiently and there is an even, cool air distribution.

Heating

• Upgrade to a high-efficiency furnace. High-efficiency furnaces use up to 50% less fuel than an older furnace. You can save up to 25% on home heating costs in one year. Within a few years, you'll have recovered the initial cost of replacing/upgrading your furnace. Choose a model with an energy-efficient motor that can save 20-50% of the energy necessary to continuously operate a fan motor. We can show you the advantages of replacing your old furnace.
• Have annual maintenance performed. Annual maintenance performed on your furnace by our licensed technician will help to ensure it operates at peak efficiency while catching any potential breakdowns before they occur.
• Install a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats enable you to control your home's temperature when you're asleep or away. For every 1° you lower your thermostat for 7 hours per day, you’ll benefit by saving 1% on your heating bill.
• Don't block vents in well-used rooms. Keep supply and return air vents free of objects such as blinds, carpets or furniture so your furnace can operate efficiently and there is even heat distribution throughout your home.
• Install ceiling fans. Change the direction of airflow on your ceiling fans. In the winter, the ceiling fan blades should operate in a clockwise direction helping to push the warm air from the ceiling down into the room.

Replace the air filter in your furnace regularly. Dirty air filters reduce the amount of airflow through a system and make the furnace work harder to maintain the right temperature. How often you change the filter depends on:

• Type of filter used
• If you have pets
• The size of your equipment
• Give us a call for proper guidance

No. Air conditioners control the comfort level in your home by cooling the air and removing humidity. Oversized air conditioners cool your home faster but will use more energy and will not remove humidity adequately.

If a unit is too big for your home, it will have short-run cycles. It may take a short time to cool the air but the unit will shut off before enough air blows across the indoor coil where moisture condenses into water and drains from your air conditioning system. Too much moisture in the air can lead to mold and mildew issues.

Short-run cycles also make your system start and stop more often, which uses more energy and causes wear and tear. Air conditioners operate more efficiently during long-run cycles.

The same for heating systems. An oversized furnace will warm the house a lot faster, but it will use more fuel and cause greater temperature swings in your home.

Most heating and cooling systems have a lifetime of 10-20 years. When equipment gets older, its efficiency can decrease dramatically. If you notice that it gets noisier or needs repairs more often, you have two choices. You can overhaul the heating or cooling system or replace it. Since heating and cooling technologies improve over time, a new system with newer, more energy-efficient equipment makes sense if your system is 10 or more years old. We can show you an estimated cost of a new system and a payback schedule that will show you how newer technology will pay you back with lower energy usage.

No. Replacing only the outdoor unit will lower the efficiency of the cooling unit. You can lose up to 15% of the unit's efficiency and your cooling system may fail sooner than normal. Most manufacturer warranties will be voided. Always replace the indoor cooling coil with the outdoor unit.

With no warranty coverage, a breakdown can cause significant expenses in parts, labor or both. With one of our service maintenance agreements, you avoid that unexpected expense. No warranty can guard against every problem, but we can explain the broad range of protection our service agreements afford.

High-efficiency air cleaners can remove up to 99% of the pollen and spores that find their way into the home. They also reduce household dust, dirt, smoke and other air pollutants. Your indoor air will become cleaner and fresher while reducing allergens and dust. Whole-house humidifiers can relieve the irritating discomfort of dry indoor air. Humidifiers reduce itchy skin, scratchy throats, static electricity and damage to furnishings and woodwork. Since humid air feels warmer than dry air, you will not have to set the thermostat as high to feel the comfort level you want. A lower thermostat setting reduces costs of energy bills.

Molds are part of our natural environment. Outdoors, molds play a part in nature by breaking down dead organic matter including fallen leaves and dead trees. Indoors, mold growth should be avoided. Molds reproduce using tiny spores (spores are invisible to the naked eye and float through outdoor and indoor air). Mold can begin growing indoors when mold spores land on wet surfaces. There are many types of mold. None of them will grow without water or moisture.

When humid air passes over chilled cooling coils, water condenses and drips through coils into a collection pan where it continuously drains. Problems may occur when water collects and becomes stagnant when it becomes blocked, either on the coils or in the drip pan. The pan grows mold that can infect your home with dangerous mold spores quickly. Problems also occur when HVAC ducting contains microscopic mold spores that stay continually present and blow contaminants around your home or office caused by mold in other areas of your home or office.

Here are 3 suggestions to prevent mold growth in your system:

• Preventative maintenance to ensure that the collection pan under the indoor coil is clean and clog-free.
• Ultraviolet lights are installed next to the cooling coils to kill any mold or bacteria growing on the coils or collection pan.
• Keep your ductwork clean. Use a high-efficiency filtration system to keep your HVAC system clean.

This can happen for many reasons:

• Uneven solar heat load through windows
• An undersized system
• Improperly balanced or clogged system
• Single system serving a two-story home with no zoning control

Each situation is different. Let us provide you with an onsite analysis with problem-specific recommendations. Please call Arrow Mechanical Heating & Cooling to arrange for us to see your home.