Smart Thermostat Facts

If you own an older home, you must understand that they come with some idiosyncrasies of their own.

Some of those things can be solved while others simply have to be accepted or managed.

I have been in my house for just over 5 years now. And there had been an HVAC situation that I just couldn’t figure out. Initially, I thought it was just me. We moved to the north and it was my first time experiencing a serious winter. The heater ran nearly non stop that first winter. The heating costs were extreme that first year but the house never seemed all that cozy. I quickly learned that, especially with an older structure, it is imperative to have a sealed up home. This keeps much more of that gas furnace heating inside the house and really lowers the heating costs. The second year was better. But in another way, it was still sort of the same in one part of the house. A section of the house is always colder in the winter and warmer in the summer. I thought this might be due to the fact that it’s sort of the end of the house. The HVAC professional told me that while this was a factor, it had more to do with the addition of some interior walls. The HVAC technician suggested that I use room to room ventilator fans to equalize the HVAC heating and cooling. I did just that and inserted these small fans in the adjoining walls in that section of the house. Now, it’s much, much better because the heating and cooling air flow is now balanced.

 

a/c repair

I remember how incredibly thrilled and proud we were when we bought this house. My wife and I had spent a lot of years in rental spaces dealing with loud neighbors and insufficient heating and cooling. It took us until we were almost 35 to afford the down payment on a house. And that took every cent we could scrape together. The seller initially didn’t want to replace the HVAC equipment as part of the sale. But when we were willing to walk away, he changed his tune. The heating and cooling unit he chose was not anywhere near top of the line. Yet, it was new and would be sufficient. Surprisingly, that original HVAC equipment went nearly 20 years. Of course it had help given the fact that we made sure the HVAC system received regular HVAC maintenance. Still, given the mediocre level of heating and cooling equipment we had, I was glad to have gotten that much use out of it. So when the HVAC technician told me that the heat pump was on its last legs, I was eager to get about replacing it. To that end, I asked the HVAC contractor from our HVAC company to come out to my house to help me. There is just so much information out there about just what sort of quality heating and air equipment is best to utilize. But once the HVAC contractor came out, he was able to cut through most of that flood of heating and cooling information. With the help of the HVAC contractor, we now have high quality HVAC equipment that will be a draw if we decide to sell the house. Or this quality heating and air system we now have will keep us comfortable for a long time to come.

 

New HVAC systems

I get it, it’s about keeping the environment safe

When I came home from work the other day, the house was a little bit overheated. I went to the HVAC vents to see if they were putting out cold air. Sadly, the air was lukewarm and I knew something was going on with the HVAC system. I checked around and then went outside to the A/C condenser unit. When I was looking at the connections, that’s when I noticed there was a refrigerant leak in the line. I knew since there was a leak, all of that refrigerant was probably empty and my cooling system was not able to perform as it should. I called the HVAC company right away and soon enough I was there speaking with the HVAC professional. He was able to repair the leak and then he got to work refilling refrigerant to my cooling system. I was really thankful to have frosty air in my home again, but it was kind of expensive to get that taken care of. I honestly wish I could do a repair like that on my own so I don’t have to pay these HVAC professionals so much money. Unfortunately, they say that only the professionals are permitted to handle refrigerants because you really have to know what you’re doing. I get it, it’s about keeping the environment safe. You don’t want to spill a bunch of refrigerant all over the place. I suppose I could go to night school or something and get my HVAC certification, but I’m not sure if I would want to do this work for a living.
air purification system

Wifi thermostats are definitely the way of the future with HVAC technology.

With these impressive thermostats, you are able to control your temperature control settings from any device that is able to connect to your wifi.

You can also adjust your temperature control settings on the internet from virtually anywhere on the planet. Some people who have not used these smart thermostats believe that it’s unneeded technology, but I really have to beg to differ. Picture yourself on vacation relaxing on a tropical beach and your heating system fails back at home. With a traditional thermostat, there would be no way for you to know that there is any issue with your heating system. This would result naturally in frozen pipes that end up bursting. This will cost you a small fortune to have such a mess fixed. With a new wifi thermostat though, your thermostat will alert your phone to this development and you’ll actually have the chance to do something about this problem with your heating system breaking down. You can easily call the HVAC professionals and grant them access to your property while you are still there at your tropical getaway resort. On top of being able to know what’s going on with your HVAC system all the time, the wifi thermostat even saves you big money on the energy bills. This is easily why smart thermostats are the way of the future and everybody should at least consider investing in one. I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical before I bought one of these thermostats, but it totally changed my life in a good way.

a/c worker

I thought it was really strange when I delivered a couple of pizzas to this huge mansion.

• The guy who took the pizza started having a conversation with me.

He asked me if I would like to come in and hang out for a minute. I wasn’t really busy so I went inside. The first thing I noticed was the heating coming from the floor. I asked the man if he had radiant heated floors in the whole place, and he said he did. He took me to a place that looked just like a movie theatre and said he had some of the latest movies. I thought I should get going, but he insisted. We were watching the beginning of this movie and the next thing I knew, the boss was calling me up and asking if I was coming back to work. I told him I got caught up at a customer’s house and I explained that it was strange. The guy ended up sharing some pizza and gave me the biggest tip I ever had received, $500. After that, I just told my boss I was going to take off the rest of the night. I kind of made a new friend. I couldn’t believe how nice the guy was and we had drinks and talked. We even played some COD on his gaming system that was connected to the movie projector. I had never played that game on the big screen before, and it was a great time. The temperature control settings were perfect with the radiant heated floors, and I had a wonderful time. I never would have thought I’d make a new friend just by delivering a pizza.

Heat pump repair

I have been working as a housekeeper at a hotel for about a year now. For the most part, I don’t mind the job, but sometimes I get creeped out. There is this particular hallway that entirely seems to be haunted. I honestly never even believed in ghosts before I started working at this place. In the beginning, I thought the A/C system in one of the rooms was too high, but then I learned that it was at 71 degrees. For some reason, the room was extremely freezing. I have seen too many things though in my time working here. I have seen people in the corner of my eye, but when I look nobody is there. I have always seen chairs rolling around the room at times. I even have been in rooms where the temperature control would change without anybody messing with the thermostat. I could only assume that the spirits in the hotel learned how to manipulate the temperature control settings. I alway tell my boss that I don’t want to work in that hallway, but sometimes I still get stuck working there. I don’t like that spooky feeling I get and I know when a room becomes freezing suddenly, it’s usually because there is a spirit in the room or one has cranked up the A/C system. Honestly now, if i still have to continue working in the haunted section of the hotel, I’m going to have to get a different job. I just don’t like having to deal with that kind of thing in my life when I have enough stress already.

Smart HVAC

Ensure your thermostat’s settings are correct at all times

The Covid-19 pandemic changed how business is done. It forced everyone to raise their guard against viruses by wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and upholding high standards of personal hygiene. However, you can’t be too careful, especially as a business owner. When customers walk into your commercial space, you can’t tell who is infected or not by looking at them. Therefore, to ensure all your customers are safe, you have to keep your HVAC unit at its optimum working condition. This will ensure your clients have clean, breathable air when they visit your commercial building. If you have an HVAC system in place, replace your system’s air filter frequently. Upgrade your old filters with new UV or HEPA filters. This high-quality filter removes a significant amount of contaminants from your indoor air, leaving you with cleaner, breathable air. Schedule regular HVAC preventive maintenance to diagnose and fix all weaknesses in your HVAC system. These procedures also expose wear and tear in your system, allowing the HVAC professional to replace the damaged HVAC parts with better parts. Do not strain your HVAC equipment by overworking it. You also have to encourage your customers to observe the Covid-19 protocols set by the concerned authorities. This minimizes the chances of having infection in your premises which could then be circulated through your HVAC system. Use the latest HVAC technology to clean air, distribute air and ventilate your home. Ensure your thermostat’s settings are correct at all times. Better yet, install a smart thermostat that adjusts to changing the indoor temperature to maintain the ideal indoor climate in your business premises. Additionally, it would be best if you talked to an HVAC professional for more ideas on keeping your HVAC system working at its optimum efficiency during the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Cooling tech

When I took a new job across the country, I had no choice but to drive my car on a long road trip.

If I wanted to have my car in my new home, my only other choice was to pay for shipping.

Honestly it’s cheaper to pay for gas and accommodations while driving it personally across the country. I couldn’t believe it cost more to have the thing shipped to me in a truck, but that’s what prices are like these days. Some people would have enjoyed the four day road trip, but I didn’t. I don’t like highway driving to begin with, even in places where I know the roads and have been on them for years. If you can imagine my discomfort with driving on the interstate in my hometown, you can’t begin to fathom how terrified I was on my cross-country road trip. I had to drive defensively for close to 10 hours each day. Then I had to find hotel accommodations along the way so I had a place to sleep at night. Unfortunately, I hate hotels to begin with and had quit staying in them years ago after a bad experience with a moldy air conditioner. I wish that my experiences on the road trip were better, but they weren’t. Most of the hotel rooms were poorly cleaned and smelled like spilt beer and pet dander. They also had terrible air conditioners, with one not working at all. I had to be moved to a different room that night after I had already settled into the first one. I was about to fall asleep when the air conditioner made a strange noise and then stopped working altogether.

Heat pump repair

I have had a host of varying jobs over the years, with some being harder than others.

My first job was working a dishwasher in the kitchen at an assisted living facility in my hometown.

Although I was making just over minimum wage at the time, I was so proud of the money I was earning at the age of 15. My parents were proud of my hard work ethic as well. When I got older, I had a summer job taking photos of youth sports for a local newspaper. Although some of my job was spent at home in front of my computer, most of the work had me out at sports games in the afternoon and evening hours taking photos of young athletes. It was a fun job while it lasted, but unfortunately many of us know now what happened to countless local newspapers across the country in the years since. Although I work in the insurance industry now, I spent much of my 20s as a repair technician for an electrical company. I had a work truck that I used everyday, but it had a few mechanical issues from the jump. The air conditioner wasn’t working when I was issued the truck and it took several months for me to get the boss to fix it. I spent two months during the spring season without a/c in my work truck and it still drove me crazy. My cousin is an HVAC technician and he said that his truck’s air conditioner stopped working last year and his boss still hasn’t fixed it. I can’t imagine working everyday in a physical job and not having air cooling in your work truck.

 

indoor air quality

Hindsight is always biased, and I don’t blame the people who are poor and can’t afford supplemental heat of any kind.

After seeing so many people without power during ice storms, I have decided to get myself better prepared for the upcoming winter season later this year. The first and most important part is having an evacuation plan and route in place if temperatures get close to zero and the power manages to go out. This was always part of my preparations in the past, but this year I purchased a wood stove to keep me warm if I lose power. I still have an evacuation plan for serious emergencies, but most of my winter preparations this year involve chopping and storing firewood. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people in Texas this year who didn’t have a plan in place if temperatures hit record lows and the power grid goes offline like it did. Some people left to stay at family members’ houses, but others were stuck in their homes with no power, heat, or running water. There aren’t nearly as many people in Texas with backup heat sources as there are in northern states. Some could have at least bought storm generators for these kinds of emergencies, but those aren’t cheap. Hindsight is always biased, and I don’t blame the people who are poor and can’t afford supplemental heat of any kind. That’s in part why I got a wood stove after years of praying that my storm generator would be enough in an emergency situation. Now I have ample firewood every year in case the worst ever happens. I will even give some to my neighbor if I have a surplus, which might be the case this year. I went crazy with the preparations after close calls last year.

 

Geo heat pump