What I have learned after 43 years in the business is that a little loving care goes a long way— not only in a marriage but when it comes to your air conditioning unit too. You treat it well, and it treats you well, the golden rule of life. That’s why I strongly recommend annual maintenance for your unit and I must inform you that the entire Difloria family has voted and has chosen April as the unofficial ‘give love to your air conditioner month.’ It’s just before it gets too hot and before you keep your unit working overtime. It’s also about the time our snowbird friends are planning to fly the coop for their northern homes.

But how does one love thy air conditioner?

Well, first of all — and I know you are all doing this — is you need to change your filter RELIGIOUSLY every month or so, depending on the kind of filter you are using and whether or not you have pets in your house. If you don’t know what kind of filter you are using or this is the first you’ve heard that you have heard that you need to change your filter CALL US IMMEDIATELY. I promise not to yell at you.

You can also give love to your air conditioner by clearing any debris from around (or on top of) the outside unit. You don’t want leaves, branches or plastic bags clogging up the fan or discharge.

AND finally, one of the best ways to love your air conditioner is by having annual maintenance servicing by a talented expert at AAA Modern Air. That’s right. It’s probably a lot less expensive than you think, and can avert a major problem come September when you’re lucky if you make it from your front door to your car without dripping your body weight in sweat.

Plus, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do because you’ve read my blog this far. I’m going to give you a 10% discount on your annual maintenance call if you mention Sal’s blog when you call to make your appointment. Don’t spread that around, though; it’s just for you. And it’s only good through April 30th.

As a final note, our AAA Modern Air annual maintenance visits are thorough and comprehensive. We check your Freon which, by the way, is a hazardous substance and can pose a real problem if it’s leaking. Not trying to scare you, but it’s true— not to mention the fact that a Freon leak could freeze the evaporator coil and cause it to ice up; it can also cause the compressor to overheat. These repairs can be costly! Our goal is to keep you cool and happy. A cool and happy client is our favorite customer.

Another routine maintenance procedure is having electrical components and controls inspected, cleaning the condenser and oiling the motors. Finally, the thermostat will be calibrated and the filters will be replaced as needed.

Routine maintenance allows the unit to perform at its best which, in turn, lowers energy costs, prolongs the lifespan of your air conditioner, and ensures that the unit is operating safely.

So get to it. Show your air conditioning some loving and it won’t leave you hot and bothered.

All the best,
Sal Difloria

 The term HVAC is commonly used in the cooling and heating industry. It refers to "heating, ventilation, and air conditioning." The modern AC has undergone a great deal of changes in the last two decades. Heated air from a furnace or heat pump system or cooled air from an AC system is forced through vents or air ducts, and then distributed evenly to the entire house or building. A central HVAC system is considered the most efficient and cost effective way to cool or heat the entire home.

Unless you live in an exceptionally mild climate, the HVAC system in your home uses more energy than any other system in the home. It is a fact that nearly half of one's utility bills are due to heating and/or cooling the home. Therefore, it is only common sense that if one can upgrade their home heating and cooling system to as efficient as possible, energy costs could be greatly reduced. Fortunately, the modern AC systems have greatly improved in energy efficiency in the last 20 years. 

Another improvement of the 1990s is the whole house approach to heating and cooling. If one can combine the heating and cooling systems to work together, using the same vent system, one can greatly improve the energy efficiency of the home. It also stands to reason that by properly maintaining the equipment (including weatherization, proper insulation, and yearly inspections) your system will run more efficiently and extend the life of your system. In addition, you may be able to reduce your yearly energy bills by as much as 50%.

If you are considering investing in a new central furnace, check the ENERGY STAR® database, which has information about the most cost effective energy systems and appliances and is very user friendly.

There are central HVAC units called heat pumps that are designed to provide both heating and cooling functions. These systems are much more efficient than the older furnace systems. A heat pump can reduce the amount of electricity you use for heating by as much as 40 percent.

There are several reputable companies that provide systems; Armstrong, Bell & Gossett, Grundfos, LAARS Heating Systems, Raypak, Taco, Tekmar Control Systems, Uponor, Viessmann, Watts Water Technologies and Weil-McLain Canada. 

These companies can provide the homeowner with excellent heating and cooling systems that more than meet the Title-24 energy efficiency standards, used in many states including California. Many of these systems are also environmentally friendly and reduce toxic emissions into the air.

 Are you guilty of skipping routine AC maintenance for your air conditioner so you can do away with the fees? While air conditioners are usually built to be durable, that doesn't mean we should be complacent in servicing them regularly. Here are some benefits of regular AC maintenance to convince the non-believers. 

How an Air Conditioner Functions

Many are not aware of the fact that an air conditioner function less effectively by five percent as each year pass by without regular servicing. By having routine servicing, your air conditioner can maintain more than ninety percent of its efficiency. In the long run, you actually generate more savings via lower electricity bills and repair costs if you opt for regular AC service. Otherwise, you will be wondering at the increase in your electricity bills while your AC unit aren't performing as well as before. 

Summer

During summer, many AC servicing firms will launch promotions to attract customers. You can take advantage of the discounts or even better, sign up for an annual plan so you won't forget about the maintenance.

AC Service

Usually, an AC service would commence by checking the compressor's amp draw and cleaning of the condensing unit coils. The fan motors will be lubricated to avoid friction. Do you find yourself wondering why switching on the AC seems to make not much of a difference in lowering the temperature of the room? The coolant level of your AC may be running low, thus heat can't be absorbed effectively. As your coolant level decreases, it takes more energy to run the AC! It is advisable to check for the coolant level on a yearly basis. More coolant will be added for replenishment so your AC can continue to function effectively.

Your Part

You can play a part in the maintenance of your AC. If your AC requires filter change, be sure to change them regularly. Keep the area near the external of your AC clean so that heat can dissipated effectively.
Routine maintenance will save you from days of discomfort and frustration when your AC breaks down, especially during warm seasons. Repair costs can be substantial compared to regular servicing, so don't let yourself get caught in this situation. 

Replace or Repair

Replacing an air conditioner is expensive. It is much less expensive to maintain your air conditioner with regular AC maintenance. Over the years, making sure that your AC is working correctly will far outweigh the cost of replacement every few years.

 When there is an emergency situation, such as a temporary power outage, Spot Air can offer a most welcome solution with spot cooling and temporary air climate control options. Portable air conditioning will be in demand after natural disasters such as severe weather, hurricane aftermath and other power disruptions. Access to cooling equipment that is portable can save lives as well as keep things cool. It is calming to know that in advance of potentially disruptive circumstances, emergency commercial air conditioning equipment and systems can be put in place to provide seamless operational services in the event of widespread power outages or even for setting up of cold and hot sites for transitional operational provisions.

Spot Air can fully equip a hot site with on the spot air conditioning equipment in short order. There are many options available such as air and water cooled portable units and units that are mounted on trailers that can be leased for temporary use. These units can power any emergency configuration and range in sizes that can be from. 5 up to 25-tons each. Fleets of units can be rented for any scale of demand. 

There are a variety of spot climate control units available to shore up an emergency or a temporary site for heating and cooling. The reverse-cycle heat pump will supply much needed heating in areas of office spaces, apartments, hospitals or other large facilities that suddenly have a need. Not only are these units available for rent but they are also available for purchase for permanent heating and cooling requirements. 

There is no need to be without cool conditions in the heat of the summer because of a wide spread power outage. Plan the control center of a temporary hot site effectively by having the right size unit in place for all seasons. There are heat pumps and water cooled or air cooled units of all sizes available for lease to provide essential climate control for any type of site for the short term or the long term. The service provided by this kind of mobile, temporary spot cooling and heating equipment is invaluable to operations that must care for the elderly, the infirm, infants and newborns as well as special guests and participants of special events, production projects, construction projects, mobile labs with delicate research materials and equipment that must be kept cool, server farms and computer hubs and the list goes on. Never let a power disruption put any operation in jeopardy again, with spot climate control equipment that is readily available.

 During the hot summer days we always want our air conditioning to be working well, whether it is the air conditioning in our homes or the air conditioning system in the family car. An AC flush is a service or preventative maintenance that can be performed on automotive cooling systems to clean sludge and sediment from the hoses and drains and all parts of the air conditioning unit while checking for leaks. Cleaning the system helps prevent damage to the compressor and other parts of the system like the condenser. An AC system flush involves running a liquid solvent through, with vacuum pressure to clean the inside components of your air conditioning unit. 

Car care professionals will tell you that any time you need to open your AC system for service or repairs it is wise to have a flush as well because a clean system is less likely to have the problem recur. A clean, flushed system lasts longer so preventative or planned maintenance checklists should include this scheduled AC maintenance. From a scheduling point of view it is a good practice to schedule an AC flush in the spring so you and your AC system will be ready for sweltering days. Avoid delays by getting your service on the calendar early. When the system has been idle all winter there is an opportunity for problems to arise or to become greater if they already exist. You will save money and protect your investment, while remaining cool and comfortable. Having a scheduled flush should let your technician note any potential problems and take care of them in advance. No one wants to be waiting for air conditioning repair on days that reach into the 90's and 100's. A ruined compressor is expensive to replace.

When an your AC service is being done, the technician will run an approved solvent through the cooling system to dissolve buildup and clean out the hoses and the complete system. He will use equipment designed to run the cleaner through and then clean and remove the solvent from the system along with any debris that is found. While doing this the hoses and joints and "O" rings will be tested. In fact, during a service like this is the perfect time to look at anything that potentially fail later in the summer and get it replaced now.

A professional AC service technician is responsible for the disposal of any evacuated coolant in an approved manner when completing an AC flush.

If you want to maximize your energy savings in your home as well as reduce the expenses of ac maintenance there are a few things you can do that will genuinely save you a significant amount of money on your power bill every month.

Weather-stripping is the sticky backed rubber stripping that goes around windows and doors. People don't seem to realize that this is one of the biggest places that air gets from the outside to the inside of your home, making your home hotter or colder depending on the season. Having old weatherstripping replaced in your home is easy and you'll save on your power bill more than it costs to have it done.

Caulking is another way that you can seal your home up and help cut down on your power bill. Again, around windows is one of the places that it can help the most. Additionally around holes in the floors or ceilings, where wiring comes through there's often a small area that will allow air to come up from under the house, in through walls, or down from the attic. These holes will cause much more of a draft than you might think in your home.

Sealing your house up will do great things for your energy savings. It will cost you a little bit up front to have it done, but imagine if you could save 20% on your energy bill every month. If your typical energy bill is $100, then that's a $20 savings every month and that kind of savings isn't unheard of once you get home properly sealed. Just a simple savings like that can result in $240 dollars a year in savings, so you can see how having this type of work done on your home can pay for itself quite quickly.

It's not just saving money on your power bill either. There's also the ac maintenance that has to be done on your system and the harder you work your system, the more you'll wind up spending on that maintenance. Another way to decrease how hard your ac has to work is making sure to replace the ac filter on a fairly regular basis. Most say that you should replace them every 30 days, but this can be determined by simply looking at your filter to see how dirty it is.

  In order to determine which is the best

in your home, you must first establish the purpose of the filter in your ac. Filters are used to keep the equipment clean and reduce maintenance in order to allow for the best airflow. So, the ac filter you use, will be determined by the kind of ac unit you have installed.

The first kind of filters is the standard fiberglass "rock stopper" filter. They are between 2-3'' thick, and are generally used in furnaces, not ac units. The cost of using these filters will probably be one of the highest, due to how often they have to be changed and serviced, and electric bills will be much higher.

Aluminum mesh washable filters are probably the least efficient filters available. They allow dirt and dust to slide off the mesh easily, causing block up in your unit. Many homeowners use them because they don't have to be replaced monthly, but, they are not very effective either.

Polyster filters are 1-2'' thick, and is an upgrade to the fiberglass filter, but still not very efficient. Even if changed regularly, it will still require the ac coil to be pulled and cleaned every 4-5 years. These filters are more expensive than fiberglass, but are also more efficient.

A polyster pleated filter is sold in 1'', 2'', or 4'' thickness, and are more dense, and catch more dust particles. Their efficiency is higher for thicker choices becuase increased surface area catches more dust, allowing air to pass more easily, in turn your ac is more efficient.

A HEPA filter is generally 4'' thick and offers a much denser material than standard filters. With more pleats, there is not as much restriction of air flow; they need to be replaced every 6 months to 1 year, but unlike traditional filters, the dirtier they get the more efficient they are.

The April-Aire is a high density filter, covering more surface area, requiring fewer changes. It's a good filter with no moving parts, therefore things don't go wrong. Like HEPA filters, the dirtier they get, the more efficient.

There are also electric filters available which are very efficient, but can require service often due to the high voltage used to run them. Although they are efficient, the complications involved, should disuade buyers from purchase.