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Phone: 888 806 2552 PO Box 1891 Fax: 626 303 5677 Duarte, Ca 91010 |
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| Frequently Asked Questions Diagram of A/C system at bottom Q. Can I work on my own air conditioner? A. Yes of course! Your air conditioner is the biggest investment in machinery you have in your home. Keeping your coils outside clean, the filters replaced every month, even preventing ants from living around your outside unit are very important chores you need to do.When you have energy efficiency questions, want to know how to get savings on your utility bills, and repair or replacement needs, Horizon is there to answer all of your air and heating questions. Q. How often should filters be cleaned or replaced? A. Filters should be replaced or cleaned once a month. We recommend using replacement filters (throw-a-way) with filter dressing sprayed on the filter to make them "pick-up" dirt better. Electrostatic permanent filters, in our experience, have caused problems and we do not recommend their use. Pleated filters are wonderful, but a little expensive. You should dress this type filters too. Disposable filters should be replaced with filters of the type and size as the original filter. Q. What do rating numbers mean? or SEER A. To help consumers make informed choices, the U.S. government requires an efficiency rating of all air conditioning and heating equipment. The rating is meant to reflect the percentage of energy used efficiently. A high rating indicates high efficiency. There are various names for the efficiency ratings of varying types of equipment. Air conditioning equipment is rated by the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating, or SEER. A SEER of 10 means for one watt you get 10 BTUs moved out of your house. A btu is the heat of about one match. So we get 10 matches of heat sent out of the house at a cost of one watt. If we have a 12 seer unit we get 12 matches moved out of the house for the same cost of electricity. High SEER Pays! Heat pump equipment is rated by the heating seasonal performance factor, or HSPF. Gas furnaces are rated according to their Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, or AFUE. Q. Should outdoor units be covered in winter? A. No. Air conditioners that operate seasonally are built to withstand an outdoor environment. There is no advantage to covering an air conditioning unit during off seasons. In fact, rain helps to keep the unit clean. Ruud heat pumps operate year round and should never be covered. Q. Can I cover my outside unit to keep the sun off. A. Please don't. Unless you can put the cover 7 feet in the air, don't try to sunshade the condenser (outside unit). The cover blocks the units ability to get the hot air out. If the unit gets the hot air it just got rid of right back into it .... it overheats and cost much money for you. It could damage the unit too. Q. Should a thermostat be set to “auto” or “on”? A. When the thermostat is set to “auto,” the fan operates only when the temperature requires it. This is the most used setting. However, there are advantages to using the “on” setting. First of all, the air in the house is constantly filtered through the unit’s air filter. Secondly, the constantly circulating air results in an even temperature throughout the house. Q. Can shrubs and flowers be planted around an outdoor unit? A. Yes. However, we recommend that plants be no closer than 18 inches from the unit. This allows plenty of room for air circulation in and out of the unit. Without this room for air circulation, the unit could overheat, resulting in a premature need for service. Q. If an outdoor unit needs replacing, should the indoor unit be replaced, too? A. It is a good idea to replace the entire system when a major component of the system fails to operate correctly, and can not be repaired. That’s because Ruud, and many other brands of air conditioning and heating units are designed to operate as a complete, matched system. The efficiency rating is based on the entire system. To gain the maximum benefit of new, highly efficient technology, the entire system should be replaced together. This ensures the system is reliable and efficient . Q. How do you know what size system a house needs? A. Which system is best for a particular application is best determined by your air conditioning professional (we hope it's Horizon Service!). There are many variables to be considered......type of windows, insulation of the house, number of people in the house, etc. We will consider all of these factors in making a recommendation. Q. How about a "ballpark" estimate? A. A good budget number to work with is two to five dollars per square foot. If someone wants more money than that, they're probably overcharging. If they're willing to do it for less, then they must be using the cheapest equipment, materials, and labor available on the market. You can easily end up with a system that doesn't work right. Q. Why choose Horizon Service? A. Just as you would choose any contractor, you should ask someone who has had a system installed, ask them whether they’d recommend Horizon. Check with the Better Business Bureau. Ask us to visit your house and give you an estimate. Ask for references. Use us if we inspire your confidence. |