Professional Heating & Air Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Ponchatoula’

Why Should I Upgrade to an Air Conditioner with a Higher SEER Rating?

Monday, April 4th, 2016

If you’re in the market for a new air conditioner, now is the time to buy. Spring has arrived in Ponchatoula, LA, and that means another sweltering Louisiana summer can’t be far behind. Replacing your air conditioner now gives you the time to perform the operation according to your timetable instead of scrambling to perform an installation in front of an oncoming heat wave. A new air conditioner requires you to carefully evaluate a number of different factors, not the least among them is a SEER rating. The term stands of Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, and it measures how effectively your air conditioner uses energy. You should always buy a new air conditioner with a higher SEER rating than your old one. Why? Here’s a quick set of guidelines.

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Why You Shouldn’t Wait for Heating Repairs Even at the End of Winter

Tuesday, March 17th, 2015

As we approach the end of winter, most of us will start thinking less about the heating systems in our homes and more about turning on the air conditioning systems to keep everyone in our households cooled down through another warm Louisiana summer. But we can still expect to rely on heating in Ponchatoula, LA for a bit longer, as well as during occasional spring cold days, so it’s important that we don’t forget about our homes’ heaters during this time. Especially if they show signs that they need to have repairs done.

If you believe that your heater, whether a furnace or heat pump, has a malfunction, you should never delay schedule repairs just because warm weather is around the corner. Pick up the phone and call A-Professional Heating and Air Conditioning as soon as possible, and our expert technicians will see that you have the necessary repair work done.

But why should I bother with repairs now? Why not wait for fall?

There are a number of good reasons that you should always have repairs done when malfunctions crop up. If you have a gas-powered furnace, the #1 reason is safety. Gas furnaces are built today with safe performance uppermost in mind, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore repair issues. The best way to keep a gas furnace from creating health hazards due to toxic and combustible gas leaks is to have any repairs done promptly. It’s not worth taking the risk.

However, even if you have an electrically powered heating systems, it’s important to have repairs done s soon as you can arrange them. You will still need your heating system at points during the spring, and if you don’t have the necessary repairs taken care of, there is a much higher chance that the heater will completely break down, leaving you scrambling for emergency service to fix it. The unit will also drain additional power to operate and result in unnecessarily inflated bills.

Also keep in mind that a heating system that operates with faults will age must faster because of the additional stress placed on it. If you keep running the heater, you will start shortening its lifespan. The most expensive “repair” you can have done for a heating system is to need to replace it early. To see that this doesn’t happen, always move fast to have any repair work done.

A-Professional Heating and Air Conditioning offers emergency repairs for heating in Ponchatoula, LA any time of the day or night. You can trust to our skilled technicians to find the problems in your heater and have them fixed so you are always ready for cold weather.

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Sounds that Indicate Commercial Heating Issues

Monday, February 16th, 2015

A commercial heating system contains a lot of different components, all of which, unfortunately, may fail someday. However, with proper care and maintenance, most commercial heating systems should last over a decade with little trouble provided they receive the proper care and maintenance. Part of this maintenance is scheduling regular visits from commercial specialists for a tune-up. But you should also take care of your system by paying attention to any signs that your commercial system is in trouble and by calling for repairs immediately when you spot a problem.

Your heating system sometimes alerts you to trouble with the various noises that failing parts make. Some parts will sound off when they’re in a state of disrepair, and while it may seem to be only a minor inconvenience in some cases, you should always call for repairs immediately.

  • Humming – Even though your business’s heating system most likely runs on gas, there are many electrical components that must all be in top shape in order to operate. The fans in the furnace pull in indoor air in order to move it past a heat exchanger so that warm air can move through the vents in your home. The fan motor can run into a number of troubles due to a dirty filter or over-exhaustion. And when the motor suffers, you may hear a faint or obvious humming noise from the ducts or from the unit itself.
  • Rumbling Noise – Chances are, the heating system in your office is most likely located pretty far away from where business actually takes place. Most larger businesses have packaged heating and air conditioning systems located right outside of the office or on the rooftop, so you may not be able to hear noises from the unit. However, if you happen to hear a low rumbling noise, it could mean that gas burners are dirty, resulting in inefficient heating.
  • Banging – Loud banging or rattling noises could mean fan trouble. If a fan blade is loose, or if the fan motor is in trouble, you may hear a banging noise that echoes all the way through the ducts and into the building.

A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning has technicians who are specialists in commercial HVAC in Ponchatoula. Call us today for quality service from a name you can trust to schedule your next appointment.

 

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How Can a Zone Control System Help With Heating?

Friday, November 7th, 2014

Staying warm and comfortable doesn’t necessarily go hand-in-hand with energy efficiency, but with the installation of a zone control system, it can. Fall offers a great window of time to upgrade your system, and the trained technicians at A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning can help you install any upgrade to your heating system, quickly and effectively. Professional installation is the key to gaining the benefits of any upgrade, so call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning today!

How Does a Zone Control System Work?

There are several steps involved with the installation of a zone control system. First, you will work with your technician to designate the zones in your home. Zones can be individual rooms, floors or a group of rooms. Once the zones are designated, motorized dampers are installed in your supply ducts. These dampers are connected to a main control panel that manages the opening and closing of the dampers. Each zone is equipped with a thermostat, which is also connected to the main control panel, so that the set temperature in every zone can be maintained.

How Does Zone Control Help with Heating?

  • Better energy efficiency – with a zone control system, you use only the heating you need. A zone control system allows you to turn heat off in areas where it’s not needed, and focus on heating only the areas where you do need it. This kind of control helps to reduce your energy usage, which results in better energy efficiency.
  • Customized comfort – instead of fighting over the thermostat setting for your whole house, you can set each zone’s temperature as you want it. This allows for better comfort throughout your home.
  • Less stress on your system – when your system has to work hard to achieve the temperature set on your thermostat, it uses more energy. With a zone control system, the heating is broken down into manageable zones, some of which may not need heat. Less operation of your system helps reduce the overall level of stress on your system.

Comfort and energy efficiency are always important during heating season. If you think a zone control system can benefit your heating system and home, schedule your heating appointment in Ponchatoula, LA with your A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning expert today.

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How Can I Keep My Heater as Reliable as Possible?

Friday, October 31st, 2014

Having heat on the coldest of days of winter is one of the things you expect from your heating. While there’s no way to guarantee that you’ll never experience issues with your heater, there are a few things you can do to help retain the reliability of your system throughout the winter season. Knowing you have help on hand 24/7 can go a long way toward relieving worries around potential heat loss, so if you do experience problems with your heating this winter, call the people you can rely on: A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning.

Ways to Keep Your Heat Going

Here are some suggestions on how to keep your heating as reliable as possible this year:

Schedule Annual Maintenance

Every season that your heater operates, a layer of dirt and dust accumulates, along with other general wear and tear. Without annual maintenance, this layer of dirt and dust, along with other issues, continues into each season afterward, reducing performance, energy efficiency and the lifespan of your system. Scheduling annual maintenance is an easy way to make sure that your system runs optimally each season, and for a long time.

Make Needed Repairs

Are you ignoring the signs of problems with your system, such as strange sounds and odors or poor performance levels? Making needed repairs as soon as possible allows your system to operate as it was made to; not making repairs forces your system to work under stress, which can lead to even poorer performance quality and a potential breakdown. Operational problems worsen with time, so make needed repairs when they occur.

Take Care of Ductwork

Your ductwork is an important part of your heating system, and when it is faulty you can experience high energy bills, poor indoor air quality and decreased comfort. It is recommended that ductwork is cleaned every 3-5 years, and if you see any signs of faulty ductwork, you may want to consider duct repair, replacement or sealing.

No one likes ineffectual heating, and by using some of the suggestions outlined above, you can help yourself and your heating system this year. Have questions? Call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning and schedule your heating service in Ponchatoula, LA with one of our HVAC experts.

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Is a Ductless Mini-Split a Good Option for Heating?

Friday, October 24th, 2014

That depends entirely on what you’re looking for. Ductless mini-split systems have a few pretty good advantages over more traditional systems, but they also aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Read on to find out if a ductless mini-split is right for you.

Distinguishing Features

Unlike a lot of other heating systems, ductless mini-splits are installed on an outer wall. The outside part of the unit absorbs thermal energy from the surrounding air, while the inside unit circulates warm air into the room. Essentially, ductless mini-splits are heat pumps. The difference between them and other heat pumps is their lack of ductwork to distribute air. A ductless unit will only heat the room that it is currently installed in.

Advantages

The first advantage you should know about ductless mini-splits is that they are remarkably energy efficient. The unit only has to heat one room, so it doesn’t have to waste a great deal of energy heating up the rest of the house before reaching the target temperature. This can save a lot of money on heating bills.

By eschewing ducts, the ductless system also avoids losing any of its heat in transit from the unit to the room. Duct systems lose between 20 and 30% of their heat on average to duct leaks, so avoiding that issue is a significant advantage.

If you’re using multiple ductless systems in your house, you will have the unique ability to set different temperatures for each room. Each ductless mini-split is operated by its own thermostat, allowing each member of your house to set a temperature for their room that is most comfortable for them.

Disadvantages

The biggest strength of ductless systems is also their greatest weakness: you can only heat one room at a time per unit. If you have a smaller space you want heated, or you plan on using multiple units, this isn’t really a problem. For larger houses, though, it’s something you should consider.

Ductless systems also tend to be very prominent, needing a lot of wall space for installation. Some may find this an eyesore.

If you’re looking for someone to install a ductless mini-split system for you, call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning. We install heating systems throughout Ponchatoula, LA.

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