Articles about Orlando Plumbing, Septic Pumping, A/C Service - (407) 293-2642

Air Conditioning Repair Service in Orlando / HVAC Installation & A/C Unit Energy Saving Tips

The average home spends over $1,500 annually on energy bills. A/C Unit - Heating and cooling makes for as much as half of a home’s energy use. The EPA provides important recommendations for energy-efficient equipment, including proper sizing, quality installation and maintenance.



Frank Gay Air Conditioning Service is the #1 HVAC Contractor in Orlando, FL

HVAC Equipment Maintenance

Dirt and/or neglect to your air conditioner unit are the #1 causes of heating and cooling system failure. One of the most important steps you can take to prevent future problems and unwanted costs is proper air conditioning system maintenance. Keep your A/C heating and cooling systems at peak performance by 1. cleaning and/or replacing your air filter about once a month, and 2. having a contractor do annual season check-ups.

Operating Costs for Air Conditioning System Units / Heat Pump

Like many other appliances, the cost of your indoor heating & cooling comfort system includes not only its initial price, but also the ongoing costs of operation and maintenance. This means that the cooling and heating equipment and controls that you select today will continue to impact your finances for as long as you live in your home. That's why investing in a high efficiency air conditioner system makes sense.

A/C System Efficiency Ratings / Seer Rating for HVAC System Units



A high-efficiency HVAC system means lower electric bills month after month. While a high-efficiency rated AC cooling and heating system may cost a little more up front compared to a less efficient system, you'll recover the price difference in a very short time. High-efficiency systems also save our energy resources. You'll have the satisfaction of helping to protect our environment. That's a savings benefit us all.

SEER RATING - Your Air Conditioning cooling system efficiency is rated in the SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio). This measurement of an air conditioning or heat pump system’s energy efficiency takes into account the cooling efficiency of the system under various weather conditions. SEER is determined by dividing the total cooling provided during warm months (in BTU’s) by the total energy (watt-hours) consumed during the same period. We recommend a minimum SEER of 11.

Programmable Thermostat for Air Conditioner Unit

A programmable thermostat is recommended for individuals and families who are away from home during set periods of time throughout the week, allowing them to use less energy without sacrificing comfort. Programmable thermostats offer the most energy-saving potential for your home and, unlike older manual thermostats, contain no mercury. Through proper use of your thermostat, you can save about $100 every year in energy costs.

In order to increase your energy savings, it’s important that you. Keep the thermostat set at energy-saving temperatures for long periods of time, such as during the day when no one is home and through the night. Some qualified thermostats come with four programable temperature settings for typical weekday and weekend routines.
Resist the urge to override the pre-programmed settings. Every time you do, you use more energy and may end up paying more on your energy bill.
Set the “hold” button at a constant energy-saving temperature when going away for the weekend or on vacation.

Install your thermostat away from heating or cooling registers, appliances, lighting, doorways, skylights, and windows, and areas that receive direct sunlight or drafts. Interior walls are best.

Water Heater Repair for Pros or for DIY'ers?

See this guys problem...

Orlando Water Heater Repair

You may recall from an that I had some water heater trouble. I paid a plumber $90 to press the reset button on the water heater.

At least it fixed the water heater.

For a few days.

Then the water got cold again. But I knew what to do – go press the reset button.

Ahh, hot water again.

Then the water got cold again. Reset button… still cold water.

Hmm… circuit breaker?

Ahh, hot water again.

After a few days of pressing the reset button and resetting the circuit breaker EVERY SINGLE DAY, I decided something must be wrong. The water heater should not trip the circuit breaker (or blow the fuse). But I already spent $90 on this problem and I was not going to make it $180.

I looked up instructions on the internet for how to fix an electric water heater. They looked simple enough. And they worked!

All I spent was about $30, and now I will share the wealth of knowledge with you.

Before I fixed the water heater, I was intimidated by water heaters. All I had heard before was horror stories about how so-and-so’s water heater exploded and blew the room to smithereens. So I had avoided them and feared them.

But they’re not that bad – nothing to fear. It is just a big bucket of water with two resistors and two switches. (for non-engineers, replace resistors with heaters)

Note: These steps are for electric water heaters. I still fear gas-fired water heaters.

All I had to do to fix it was find which resistor or switch was bad and replace it.

www.frankgayplumbing.com

The resistor is a heating element and the switch is a thermostat. I looked up the model # and stuff for the heater and found it had two heating elements of 4500 watts each. Lo and behold, the local big-box store had a set of two elements and two thermostats, and it was only slightly more expensive than a single heating element.

I bought the set because then, no matter what was wrong, I would have what I needed.

The symptom I was experiencing was that the water would be hot but not for very long. All the how-to sites said that meant the upper element was bad. If the lower element had been bad, I should have had not-so-hot water but more of it.

The amount of heat remains the same:
upper element = concentrated,
lower element = diluted.

If you’re a non-engineer and still reading this – don’t worry, it gets easier.

Now on to the steps. If you want pictures, come back for the next installment of writing about this water heater project.

Step 1: Find the bad element. WAIT! Turn off power to the heater. Then find the bad element. This is the trickiest step, so come back for more details in Part 2.

Step 2: Drain the water out of the tank. Believe me, it is a lot harder if you skip this step. Note that the water supply should be turned off before you start this step.

Step 3: Replace the bad element.

Step 4: Fill the tank back up and turn power back on.

Step 5: Run the water for a while because you will have stirred up sediment and your water may be gray or cloudy for several minutes.

And that’s all there is! How to fix your water heater in five easy steps!

It took me about 15 minutes for step 1, 3 hours for step 2, 1 hour for step 3, and 45 minutes for steps 4 and 5. That’s a total of 5 hours, not including time at the store buying parts.

Step 2 took a long time because I had to do it twice. Learn from my experience – if only the upper element is bad then you don’t need to drain the tank all the way. Do it in half the time by draining only half the tank.

Step 3 took a long time because the element was very stubborn. So stubborn, in fact, that it gets in own blog post (Part 3).

If you are having problems with your Water Heater Repair Service in Orlando and you need some help call     Frank Gay Plumbing - (407) 293-2642

Posted 12:01 PM September 30, 2011

Air Conditioning Repair Made Easy & A/C Maintenance Tips

Central air conditioners have two separate components: the condenser and the evaporator. The condenser unit is usually located outside the house on a concrete slab. The evaporator coil is mounted in the plenum or main duct junction above the furnace.

Most central air conditioners are inter-connected to a house's forced-air distribution system. Moreover, the same unit, blower, and ductwork used for heating are used to distribute cool air from the air conditioning system. When a central air conditioner is running, hot air inside the home flows to the furnace through the return air duct. The hot/warm air is moved by the blower across the cooled evaporator coil in the a/c system and is then delivered through air ducts to cool the house. When the air conditioner works but the house doesn't cool, the problem is probably in the distribution system.

Together the evaporator and the condenser are sealed shut. Therefore, a professional air conditioning service technician should be called for almost any maintenance other than light routine cleaning. Central air conditioners should be professionally inspected and adjusted before the beginning of every cooling season. However, don't let your a/c unit maintenance end with this annual checkup. While there are not many air conditioning repairs you can do by yourself, there are some specific hvac maintenance tips you can follow to keep your air conditioner system operating at peak efficiency all the time.

Caution: Before doing any work on an air conditioning system, make sure the power to the system, both to the condenser and to the evaporator assembly, is turned off.

1. How an air conditioner works (for those of us without an engineering degree)

2. What are the components (parts) in an air conditioner?

3. How to size an air conditioner system

4. How do you fix an air conditioner?

5. Refrigeration service

6. How to install an air conditioner

7. Where to buy parts and accessories?

8. Tools needed for repair and maintenance