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Residential HVAC Best Practices

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A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system represents a substantial capital investment for your family, so it’s critical that you get the most value from your HVAC budget. Whether you’re in the process of planning a new HVAC installation, or you’re looking for ways to optimize the performance of an existing system, following these three residential HVAC best practices to ensure your system is prepared to serve your family for years to come.

Correctly Size Equipment

HVAC equipment is designed and optimized with specific heating and cooling loads in mind. Ensuring your infrastructure is built to maintain ideal temperatures for the size of your home is critical to getting the maximum value from your system. While undersizing equipment may save you money upfront, your HVAC system will struggle to maintain an ideal temperature and end up running more frequently than it should. That ultimately leads to premature equipment failure and higher energy costs.

At the same time, oversized equipment generally costs more to purchase and operate, so while it won’t have to work as hard to maintain a specific temperature, you end up paying for more than you need. Whether you’re retrofitting existing equipment, or you’re deploying a new system, check that your residential HVAC contractor makes the necessary load calculations to size a system that’s optimized for your home.

Optimize Ductwork

Even with the latest HVAC equipment, your system will underperform if air is running through old, inefficient ducts. Taking the time to ensure air ducts are properly sealed and insulated can quickly pay for itself by saving you money on energy bills. Plus, your system won’t have to work as hard to heat and cool your home. By ensuring proper airflow throughout your home, you’re not only creating a more comfortable environment year-round; you’re also maximizing indoor air quality.

Prioritize Ongoing Maintenance

In an ideal world, you’d be able to install an HVAC system and forget it about. Unfortunately, in our less-than-ideal world, maximizing the value of your HVAC infrastructure requires a more hands-on approach. Your ongoing HVAC maintenance plan should include:

Replacing Filters

At the very minimum, you should plan on replacing HVAC air filters at least once a season (every three months). Dirty filters not only lead to poor indoor air quality; they also constrict airflow, resulting in less efficient HVAC performance.

Following Manufacturer Maintenance Schedules

Just about every manufacturer provides a recommended maintenance schedule to ensure your equipment continues running at peak performance during its serviceable life. Some manufacturers even require proof that you’ve followed the recommended maintenance schedules to honor warranties following a failure.

Make sure to understand and follow these recommended maintenance schedules. Working with a residential HVAC service partner can simplify this process because they’ll keep track of maintenance schedules for you.

Making Proactive Repairs

If your HVAC provider suspects a component is on the verge of failing, it’s always advisable to go ahead and replace the part. Choosing to wait until a component completely breaks before replacing it can lead to more critical HVAC problems, damage other components, and shorten the lifespan of your system.

How the HVAC Experts at Garrison Can Help

If your family wants to get the most value from your HVAC budget, contact the experts at Garrison today. While we understand the temptation of waiting until it breaks to spend money on your HVAC system, we’re here to show you how adopting a proactive approach can save you time, money, and frustration in the long run.

 

How to Decide Between Residential HVAC Repair and Replacement

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You most likely spent a considerable sum on your home’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and you want to maximize the value of that investment. Unfortunately, no matter how much you spend on your HVAC system, you’ll eventually encounter problems as parts break down and equipment fails. When this starts happening, it’s essential to understand when it’s time to replace your system or when HVAC repair services can get you by for a little longer.

In this post, we’ll help you understand the factors you need to consider when it comes to choosing between HVAC repairs and a complete replacement.

When to Replace HVAC Equipment

When deciding if it’s time to replace an HVAC component, consider these factors:

Equipment Age

Every aspect of your HVAC equipment has an expected serviceable lifetime. The lifetimes include:

  • Furnaces: 15-20 years
  • Air conditioning units: 10-15 years
  • Heat pumps: 15 years

If your equipment has been failing with increasing frequency, and it’s beyond these estimated timeframes, you should seriously consider replacing them. Once HVAC equipment has gone beyond these lifespans, repairs only last so long until they fail again, so you can quickly end up paying more to keep a unit alive than you would by investing in a new system.

Rising Energy Bills

When equipment starts breaking down more frequently, temporary repairs may get it back up and running for the time being, but that doesn’t mean it will be running at peak efficiency. In fact, breakdowns often indicate less than optimal performance and often result in spikes in energy bills. If you’re noticing rising energy bills and your equipment has gone beyond its anticipated lifespan, it’s likely time to replace the equipment. While a replacement comes with higher upfront costs, these costs are frequently offset by the energy savings you’ll experience with the latest, energy-efficient technology.

Continuous Running

If you’ve been making repairs to your HVAC infrastructure, and you notice that your system seems to run non-stop to match your preferred thermostat temperature, it’s generally time to make some replacement. When your system is continually running, it’s no longer optimized for your home’s heating and cooling loads. At that point, it’s time to invest in new equipment that matches your space. Plus, new equipment immediately improves indoor air quality while keeping your family comfortable year-round.

When You Should Repair Your HVAC

Generally, if your equipment is fewer than 10 years old and you haven’t encountered any earlier problems, you should plan to make the necessary repairs. While there are exceptions to this rule, it’s relatively rare that more up-to-date HVAC equipment needs to be replaced. In these circumstances, it’s often the fault of the manufacturer or a lack of HVAC maintenance that leads to premature failure.

Your HVAC Service Experts

If you still need help deciding between repairing or replacing your residential HVAC system, contact the experts at Garrison today. We’ll work with you to help you better understand your options, so you can make a decision that saves money and maximizes the value of your HVAC investment.

 

South Florida HVAC

Commercial HVAC Repair vs. Replacement

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Determining whether to repair an HVAC system or replace it with a new one is a common dilemma. Sometimes in the HVAC industry, customers feel a technician has pressured them into buying a new system because they presented no other options. Conversely, technicians sometimes find themselves repairing an ancient system many times because business owners don’t realize replacement is an option. It’s important to weigh the decision to repair or replace your commercial HVAC system and to make sure you consider the following factors:

Age of Your System

Most commercial HVAC systems have a lifespan of 15-20 years, so if your system’s age falls into that range, you may want to consider commercial HVAC replacement rather than repairs. Of course, your business’s repair budget should be taken into consideration as well, as should the way your heating and air conditioning currently operates. If you have a 16-year-old system that needs relatively inexpensive repairs every once in a while, you may opt to stick with repairs for now and wait a few more years before you have a new HVAC system installed.

Maintenance Costs

Take stock of how much time you or the commercial HVAC company you partner with spend on reactive maintenance, such as equipment repairs, versus preventative maintenance, such as routine maintenance checks. If you’re spending more time on reactive than preventative maintenance, it’s probably time to consider replacing your system.

Repair vs. Replacement Costs

When considering HVAC repair or replacement, you can remember a simple rule of thumb: If your repairs cost more than 50% of the cost of a new HVAC installation, you’re probably due for a replacement. Other repair vs. replacement calculations include getting a replacement if the repair costs more than $5,000, and whether the cost of your repair multiplied by your system’s age is higher than the cost of a new system. Whichever calculation you decide to use, following the numbers is definitely a solid basis for your decision.

Signs of Deterioration

Does your duct system leak often? Does your HVAC unit make a lot of noise when it runs, or do does it randomly shut off? Does the system suffer frequent breakdowns? These are just some of the signs that may tell you it’s time to replace your HVAC system. If you want to stick with repairs, your system may need them more frequently, and that may interrupt its operation and maintenance. This could interfere with the heating and cooling in your office, and in your facilities, which could affect your products as well as your employees and customers.

Consider System Upgrades

Before you invest in commissioning a new system, you should consider upgrading specific parts of your system that have problems. At Garrison Mechanical, we can replace your system with a new one, but we can also replace individual parts, which will save you time and money on repairs, and could help extend the lifespan of your current HVAC system. The parts we can replace include air handlers, evaporator and condenser coils, pumps, motors, fan coils, chillers, and cooling towers. Upgrades give you a third option so your repair or replace decision isn’t so limited.

Let Us Help You With Your Decision

When you partner with Garrison Mechanical, we do our best to meet your needs every step of the way, and that includes when you’re considering replacing your HVAC system. We can work with you to understand your business’s HVAC system, and we provide a wide range of services, including commercial HVAC installation and replacement. Contact us today, and our team of experts will help you determine whether you should repair or replace your system.

HVAC Maintenance | Air Comfort Corporation

5 Signs of Commercial HVAC Issues

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We’ve all become familiar with the sound of the thermostat clicking on, but what about those strange sounds and symptoms you may notice developing over time? When should you be concerned, and when is it time to call an HVAC contractor to address the problem? In this post, we’ll break down five of the most common commercial HVAC issues and how you can pinpoint them.

Rising Utility Bills

If you’ve noticed that your utility bills have been consistently rising even after adjusting for the time of year and climate, your HVAC infrastructure may be to blame. If your HVAC equipment requires more energy to run, there’s likely a deeper issue that’s causing it to run less efficiently. Fortunately, you probably won’t need to replace the whole system. Most often, a few energy efficiency upgrades can curb rising your utility bills, quickly delivering a full return on investment.

Your System Continuously Runs

If you’ve noticed that your HVAC system continues running throughout the day without pause, the load on your system is higher than it can handle. Your system is having to work around the clock to maintain a temperature that it either wasn’t built to handle or can no longer manage. A piece of critical equipment may be outdated or broken. Either way, if your system runs continuously to maintain the temperature you’ve set it at, it’s time to call a contractor to pinpoint the source of the problem.

Your System Trips the Breaker

If your heating and cooling systems consume so much power that it repeatedly trips the circuit breaker, you probably have a deeper electrical issue. An HVAC contractor can help you pinpoint the root of the problem while ensuring that electrical problems don’t lead to more critical system failures later on.

Noisier Operation

You’ve probably become so used to the sound of your HVAC system operating that it’s become background noise. If you notice any unusual noises like rattling, squeaking, grinding, or banging, your place of business is either haunted – in which case we can’t help you – or your HVAC system may require maintenance or repairs. Sounds like vents contracting and expanding in cold or warm weather, however, are no reason to be concerned unless they seem to be impacting the performance of your system.

Strange Smells

If you notice unusual smells emanating from air vents or your air handler unit, you’re likely dealing with an underlying issue like mold, moisture buildup, or a leak. Distinct smells like sulfur or rotten eggs may be signs of a gas issue. Either way, an experienced HVAC contractor can pinpoint the root of the problem and take corrective issue as quickly as possible. When it comes to your heating and air conditioning systems, unusual smells should never be ignored.
Proactively Address Potential Issues

If you want to proactively address potential issues before they turn into critical problems that require extensive repairs, contact the experts at Garrison Mechanical today. We’re here to help you with everything from the latest energy-saving upgrades and minimizing energy bills to pinpointing the root cause of that strange noise.