The Dangers of Not Getting Your AC Fixed

August 7, 2018

When the hot weather hits, we all want to switch on our air conditioners and enjoy the cool breeze in our homes. However, if you didn’t service your AC unit in spring, you might be facing a bigger problem. You might turn on your thermostat and discover that your AC unit doesn’t seem to be working properly. Maybe it is shutting off intermittently, making strange noises or not cooling your home at all. Although you know that you need to call an expert to inspect your unit, you might be tempted to ignore the problem and leave your AC running anyway. But, you need to be aware that doing so could put your entire home at risk. Here are some of the dangers of not getting your AC fixed. Air Pollution Typically a dirt air conditioner could be blowing all kinds of pollutants and allergens into your home and posing a significant health risk. You need to remember the fact that low indoor air quality exposes you and your entire family to high concentrations of harmful chemicals. This exposure could damage your respiratory system and cause other illness, especially in young children. In fact, a faulty AC unit is much...

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Should I Turn My AC Off When I’m on Vacation?

July 9, 2018

If you regularly use air conditioning in your home to reduce the temperature, you may wonder what to do about the cooling when you are expected to be away for an extended amount of time. Should you keep your AC turned on when you will not be around for several days or is it better to turn it off? Here are some tips to keep in mind to help you make your decision. Consider The Humidity Level If your home is prone to humidity problems when the air conditioning is turned off, leaving it on when you are away is best. This will help to remove moisture from the air, keeping the interior of your home from becoming musty. Humidity could also lead to odors in the home, peeling paint, and mold. Leaving the air conditioning on will alleviate these problems, helping to keep your personal space in the best of condition so you do not need to tend to any repair work or cleanup sessions upon your return. Think About Any Pets In The House If you have pets being cared for by a friend or family member in your absence, the need to keep your AC on will...

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The Importance of an AC Unit

June 6, 2018

Have you been thinking about installing an AC unit in your home or office? Are you wondering if this is a necessary expense? Air conditioners are designed to provide a wide range of purposes, and this makes them extremely essential in the workplace or home. But do you really need to have an AC unit? This article will outline several reasons why an AC unit is essential: Improves Air Quality Air conditioners are designed to maintain the perfect level of temperature and moisture and improve air quality. When you have an air conditioner, the air that will be circulated in your home will be filtered and clean. Clean air is free from excess dust, dirt particles, and bacteria that often come into your living or work space through the windows and doors. Filtered air creates a cleaner, healthier environment that’s ideal for your entire family or commercial environment where your employees spend many hours working. Everyone who suffers from asthma or allergies will be more comfortable since irritants that trigger attacks have been minimized. Enhances Human Efficiency If you have an AC unit in your home or office, human efficiency increases drastically. This is because air conditioning creates comfortable atmospheric...

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Why Is Humidity Control Important?

June 6, 2018

Humidity control is important because if you aren’t careful you can have higher than necessary energy bills. Humidity helps control the “feels like temperature,” and can make the actual temperature feel much hotter than it truly is. When humidity builds up in the home, or when there is not enough humidity, it can cause other problems, which makes it even more important to control. Comfort Controlling humidity will allow you to be more comfortable. In a room that is too humid, the body can’t evaporate perspiration. In a room that has low humidity in the winter, there is more perspiration that evaporates, leaving you feeling colder than you should. Health High humidity levels can cause mold spores to thrive and lead to health problems. The opposite, which is overly dry air, can cause sore throats and dry, cracked lips. Viruses thrive in low humidity, which means that your family members are more likely to catch colds and the flu. Dry air can make allergies and asthma worse. Home Damage Dry air can cause damage to your home, with your wood floors splitting and your furniture deteriorating. Paint and plaster can crack with low humidity levels. With high humidity, wood flooring...

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How Does Upgrading Your AC Unit Actually Save You Money?

May 29, 2018

When it comes to the overall cost of an air conditioning unit there are a few different things to consider. For starters, ac units can cost thousands of dollars if you are putting in a new system but it can also save you money. How can replacing your ac unit help save money? Lower Energy Bills Older units take more electricity to run in most cases due to the fact that they are not using energy smart technology. This means that your older unit may be driving up the cost of cooling your home each season because it has to work harder to cool your home. If you replace with a newer, energy smart air conditioning unit you can cut your bill up to half and save money on necessary cooling costs. Lower Maintenance Costs Another way that replacing your unit can save you money is in maintenance costs. As your unit ages, it is going to need more frequent repairs, the parts are going to become harder and harder to find, and you are likely going to have to call out a technician more often to repair it resulting in high fees. For the most part, newer units need...

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How Can An Energy Efficient AC Unit Save You Money?

March 15, 2018

Do you always get a sticker shock when you get your monthly energy bill? Regardless of what your financial position looks like, paying high bills is about as much fun as going for a root canal. If saving some cash sparks your interest, here is how switching to energy efficient AC unit will save you money. The energy efficiency of an AC system is measured by the SEER rating (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio). It is the ratio of the cooling output (in BTU) of an A/C divided by the energy consumed in Watt-Hours. Typically, all central AC units should have a SEER rating of 13, and be Energy Star certified at 14.5 or higher. The higher the rating, the more efficient a unit is. When you upgrade your unit from old air conditioner to a modern, more efficient model, you will potentially save a lot of energy and money. For instance, if your older unit had a SEER rating of 9, and you upgrade it to a SEER 13 (the lowest efficiency available), you will reduce your energy bill by about 28%. That means you will save up to $300 per year, depending on the cost of electricity and your...

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What To Do If Your Air Conditioner Is Not Operating Properly

July 18, 2015

It can be quite alarming to discover that one’s home cooling system is not functioning precisely as it ought to. However, before contacting a member of our team to schedule professional air conditioning repairs , there are a few things that you can check on your own. We are, of course, more than happy to handle any AC repairs that you may need. Double-checking that there is no obvious cause of your problem which can easily be righted, though, can help to avoid unnecessary service calls. If you find that there is no simple fix to your problem, then, by all means, contact a member of our staff immediately. Hoff Htg. & Air Conditioning will complete any necessary repairs promptly. 1) Check that power to the unit is on. This may sound obvious, but it is possible that a tripped breaker is behind your “broken” air conditioner. You don’t need a technician to help you reset it if this is the case. 2) Clean or change dirty air filters. You may not think that a dirty air filter is that serious of a problem. You’d be wrong in believing so, though. You see, dirty or clogged air filters can leave...

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“Rain Rain GO AWAY”- High Humidity In The Home?

July 2, 2015

Many homes are faced with the problem of having TOO LITTLE humidity during the cold winter months. However, the summer months & endless rain can pose the exact opposite problem and leave your home with TOO MUCH humidity. The problems with High Humidity: When the temperatures warm up outside you can experience too much humidity in your home. Too much humidity can cause condensation on windows, wet stains on walls and ceilings, moldy bathrooms, musty odor, and/or clammy feel to the air. Rot and structural damage can also result from extended periods of high humidity in your home. And, especially in the South, it can draw pests. Bugs are always looking for water and condensation provides bugs with the water they need. High humidity can be especially dangerous when combined with high temperatures, as it will disrupt the body’s ability to cool itself, which may lead to a heat stroke. People with heart problems or asthma are advised to be extremely careful during such conditions. Drier air provides comfort at higher temperatures, so homeowners can raise the setting on their central air conditioners thereby reducing their energy use. High humidity can even trigger allergic reactions, contribute to ongoing allergies, and...

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St. Louis’ place in air-conditioning history

May 7, 2013

ST. LOUIS • The 1904 World’s Fair in Forest Park helped make the ice cream cone famous. It also introduced to a mass audience another cooling sensation that, oddly, never got much press. The Missouri State Building, the host state’s own exhibition hall, had a large air-conditioning machine in the basement that cooled most of its rooms. The machine operated much like today’s central air-conditioning system in a typical American home — a system that has made oppressive heat such as we’ve seen this year much more bearable. “That was the first time great numbers of ordinary people were exposed to the comfort of air conditioning,” said Bernard Nagengast of Sidney, Ohio. Nagengast, an engineering consultant, said he had studied the history of refrigeration and air conditioning for four decades. He described the contribution of the World’s Fair to interior comfort in an article in 1999 for the ASHRAE Journal, a publication of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers in Atlanta. His evidence is from the pages of an old trade publication, called Ice and Refrigeration, that discussed and explained the system in 1904. “That’s the only detail I have ever been able to find,” he said....

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