Archive for A/C
Is Cleaning and Servicing My Air Conditioner Needed Every Year In MN?
Posted by: | CommentsThis is an easy one. Yes it is!
I know that spending money in these economic times is not fun. Especially on a piece of equipment that you use maybe 3 to 4 months a year in Minnesota. However, it is the fact that we live in Minnesota that makes it even more important to have your air conditioner serviced every year.
Your air conditioner works by cooling refrigerant that circulates between a coil that sits in ductwork above your furnace and the condenser that sits outside your home. The idea is that heat is removed through this process by the big fan in the condenser and the coils in the condenser. Blockage of the fan or the coils causes a reduced air flow which does not allow the refrigerant to cool which causes the a/c to overheat and shut down or not reduce the heat in your house.
One of the ways Minnesota has an effect on your air conditioner is a result of cottonwood trees. Cottonwood trees start shedding in May or June. You probably don’t see the trees but, see cotton like floating things which make it look like it is snowing. These tend to get sucked into the outside of the a/c condenser covering the tiny coils. Leaving the coils covered will have a huge impact on the effectiveness and life cycle of your air conditioner. Even brand new air conditioners are effected by this. The condenser will be starved for air and you can actually feel how hot the air is if you put your hand above the a/c condenser.
Another way MN has an effect is the little amount of time you use your a/c. The most demanding use of the a/c is when it turns on. In Minnesota, this happens a lot. The air conditioner will come on and cool the house and then shut off many times. Unless we are in the 90′s and humid the a/c is not required to run non stop. We are just the opposite of states located on the west coast or southern part of the country. In those states the furnace behaves like our air conditioners if they have a furnace. It is very important that you have the proper refrigerant in your a/c. Proper refrigerant levels will help protect the compressor when it is turning on and does not have any fluid moving. Sort of like engine oil in your car. Proper refrigerant levels will also prevent the coil inside the house from freezing up which prevents cooling and could cause water leaking into your furnace. (This is another subject totally as to why this happens.)
The third way MN has an effect, is the air flow that is going over the coil can cover the coil with lint, dust or anything that the filter in your furnace that runs 6 or 7 months of the year doesn’t catch. Cleaning this coil will help the efficiency of your a/c by making the metal exposed to the air flow instead of being covered in a blanket of lint and dust.
So in review, YES, is the answer to Is Cleaning and Servicing My Air Conditioner Needed Every Year in MN. It is important that you have the following done every year:
- Have the condenser that is outside your house cleaned.
- Check refrigerant levels and pressures.
- Have your A coil that is in your home and sits above your furnace check or cleaned.
You will save big money if you do this every year in the spring by hiring a contractor while they are running specials. Or an even better deal is signing up for maintenance plan like our Service Partner Plan.
At Minneapolis Saint Paul Plumbing Heating Air, we can help you decide the best solutions for your home. Give us a call or email us for more information.
Happy Cooling!!!
How Do I Save On Plumbing, Heating, Air Service In MN? We Have 5 Ways.
Posted by: | CommentsDo you find making much needed home repairs taxing or frustrating? In a large sea of “Best Value” and “Lowest Price” it may be confusing to pick a service company that is sincere and offers quality work. We are not going to talk about limited time offers and restrictions that may apply, we are just going to give you the facts, plain and simple, and let you decide if we are the company for you.
- Quality Service
Minneapolis Saint Paul Plumbing Heating Air is owned and operated by a family, just like yours. We have been in the plumbing, heating and air conditioning business since 1918. With our combined experience , our company has over 100 years of knowledge. We are experts in residential installations and will thoroughly explain the diagnosis before we make any installations or repairs. We want you, as a homeowner, to be able to make an informed decision after we present your options to you.
Our plumbers and hvac technicians come from diverse backgrounds and each one has an impressive skill set. We are proud to say that we believe in lifelong learning and we require our technicians to attend training courses each week to learn new skills. We actually pay them to learn how to serve you better. Everybody wins.
Our plumbers and technicians wear a professional uniform and follow appearance standards so that you cannot mistake them for anyone else when they show up at your door. We do background checks on all of our technicians as a safety precaution. We understand as homeowners that it may be frightening to let someone you do not know into your home. At Minneapolis Saint Paul Plumbing Heating Air we would not send anyone to your house that we would not be comfortable letting into our own homes.
2. Quality Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning Products
At Minneapolis Saint Paul Plumbing Heating Air we do not believe in installing poor quality equipment or practicing “planned obsolescence”. There are some companies out there who will complete the job with the absolute lowest material and labor costs so that they can enjoy the highest profit possible. We are not one of them. We will only sell you high quality, long lasting parts, and they will be installed in the most professional manner. We want your repeat business legitimately, not because a product we sold you had a short life. It is important to us that our customers give positive recommendations about our company to other potential customers. In order for that to happen, we take care to deliver to our customers the products and experience that they deserve.
3. No Hidden Fees
Another benefit of choosing Minneapolis Saint Paul Plumbing Heating Air is that we do not charge extra for overtime. We have been known to work odd and late hours to ensure that our customers’ systems are repaired in a timely manner. We do not want you to sacrifice comfort for quality. We understand how upsetting it can be to go without modern conveniences like plumbing, heating, air conditioning, especially when looking out for the well being of your family. So, we will not expect you to pay a dime more than you would during conventional office hours. We will even work around your schedule.
4. Guaranteed Fixed Pricing
After diagnosing your system, we provide a fixed, guaranteed price for the repair or installation. No tricks. No gimmicks. There will be no surprises or hidden fees. Our prices take into account all the costs of operating a business, from servicing our trucks, to building operation fees, employee salaries, benefits, and more. Our prices are carefully calculated and never arbitrary. We believe in the right prices for the right quality.
5. Community
Minneapolis Saint Paul Plumbing Heating Air is a proud member of the Nexstar Network, Service Roundtable, BBB, ACCA and actively participates in conferences, trade shows, and other educational events. The purpose of attending these events is to network with other service companies to determine best practices. We also attend to learn about cutting edge products that will benefit our customers. If there is a product out there that will improve your comfort, save you money, or make your life a little easier, we will be the first to tell you all about it.
We also firmly believe in giving back to our community. We support the Ronald McDonald Homes of the Upper Midwest and the Animal Humane Society. Through service and monetary giving, we help these great organizations that help people and animals in need. We believe the best measure of a company is not what they claim, but their actions towards their customers and their community.
Contact us if you have any questions or would like to know more about saving money with Minneapolis Saint Paul Plumbing Heating Air.
Looking For A New Air Conditioner Or Furnace? Make Sure Size Is Correct.
Posted by: | CommentsI received a call yesterday from a homeowner who had a new air conditioner installed by another HVAC contractor in his Coon Rapids, MN home. He was concerned that it was not keeping his main level cool and his basement was freezing. I asked him if a heat calculation was done one his home to make sure the air conditioner was sized correctly. He said something that I hear far too often from homeowners who have other hvac contractors perform new installs. His response was “I don’t know.”
The homeowner had a rambler with older windows and a big patio door in a room that faced south. He said he was unable to get the temperature on the main level to a comfortable level. He had a 2000 sq ft home with a 2 ton a/c. While this may have been the right size for a a 2 story house with new windows it is not satisfying his application. That is why a heat calculation on all new installations is critical.
A heat calculation that is prepared by the person performing an estimate is a best practice procedure. Some cities including St. Paul and Minneapolis require it before approving a permit for install of furnaces and air conditioners. A heat calculation is used to see how much heating or cooling your house needs based on many calculations including, size of home, windows, levels, duct runs, insulation factor.
In this instance, the house had a long run of duct work due to being a rambler. The air is not reaching the ends of the house. Another example of this would be a 4 level split. The a/c may need to be larger due to the longer duct run and the need to increase the blower to push the air. The faster the air moves the less cooling is coming out of the vent. This results in the need of a larger a/c unit and coil to make sure the air gets to the cool level that is required.
Bottom line is that a heat calculation is needed to take into account exceptions to the perfect install. Ask the salesmen who are visiting your home if they are preparing a heat calculation. If they say no ask them how they will arrive at the right size equipment for your home.
Comfort consultants from Minneapolis Saint Paul Plumbing Heating Air will always do a heat calculation on your home before they will decide what is best for your application.
Call or contact us online if you would like to have one of our consultants provide you with a free in home estimate.
When Needing Plumbing Service In MN, Does Drive Time Matter?
Posted by: | CommentsA recurring question that I hear our customer service reps receive is, “Where is your office?”. I catch myself asking why does it matter? I then remember that for a number of plumbing, heating and air companies it does matter to the customer. That is because they have drive time to the customers location included in their time and material calculation. This means that when they quote the price for the first hour it means you may only get 15 minutes in house because it took him 45 minutes to get there.
At Minneapolis Saint Paul Plumbing Heating Air, we don’t believe when you need a plumber or hvac technician for an emergency service call you should worry about where the plumber is coming from. You have enough concern and you don’t need to start thinking how much the cost will be just to have him drive to your house and how much time he will have to look at your issue.
There are a number of plumbing, heating and air companies like Minneapolis Saint Paul Plumbing Heating Air that now have a flat fee for coming to your home and accessing your needs no matter where you live or where the techs last call was. This way you know what the cost will be to have your plumbing, heating or air conditioning service need addressed and options for the fix or need.
Give us a call when you have a service need for your home. We will come out for one low fee and give you options for the repair or remodeling need.
My Air Conditioner Is Running. Why Am I Still Hot and Sweaty?
Posted by: | CommentsYou just come home from work or you have been outside working away in the yard or playing at the park. You could have sworn that you had the air conditioner switched on, but it is hot, humid or both in your house. This is a very frustrating situation that can turn a good day into a not so good day.
The 3 big reasons for this situation are:
- Undersized Air Conditioner Condenser
- Over sized Air Conditioner Condenser
- Frozen Evaporator Coil or A Coil
If your air conditioner is running and you are getting warm air instead of cool air, you probably have a frozen evaporator coil. This coil sits in the duct work above your furnace. The coil becomes frozen when there isn’t enough freon or refrigerant in the system. A leak in the system is the most common cause of this problem. Having a licensed HVAC company check for a leak and fill your a/c system will solve this problem.
A bigger problem is when you are getting cool air and it is too hot or humid in the house. You then have two questions to answer.
- Does the air conditioner run all the time?
- Does the air conditioner run and then shut off after a short period of time?
If you answer yes to the first question, your a/c is probably undersized. This can result from remodeling and putting on additional square footage. Another reason is that too small of a central air unit was installed.
The problem you will have is that the only time it will stop running is when the outside cools down. This does not happen until much later in the day in the summer. Your utility bill will overheat just as much as you are.
If you answered yes to the second question, then your a/c is too big. You will usually feel this by the dampness that is in the air along with the cool in the air. The air conditioner is not running long enough for the humidity to be sucked out of the air. You will get cool, but it will not be a comfortable cool.
For a comfortable and cool summer, have your air conditioner checked by a licensed HVAC contractor like Minneapolis Saint Paul Plumbing Heating Air. You will have the the comfort of mind that you are ready for a hot and humid summer in Minnesota.