3 Must-Haves for Heating Repair Companies

Being a home owner can be incredibly stressful, especially when things go wrong unexpectedly. When things go wrong with your heating system, it can be a huge headache.

It may be tempting to go for whichever company is the cheapest, or the quickest. However, it's actually better for your wallet, your heating system, and your sanity, to take your time and find the best HVAC company for your needs. They'll do better work that will last much longer. Here are a few things to look for:

Great Service
One of the biggest things when working with any company is their level of service. You can learn this through reviews online or by word of mouth. Whoever works on your heating system will be in your home while they work so you want to make sure you're comfortable.

Versatility 

In addition to their service, you'll want to make sure that what they offer is versatile. They should be well-versed in anything and everything with heating systems. Not only does this make them better at their job, but they'll also be able to handle any bumps along the way with efficiency.

Safety

This may be the most important thing when looking into companies to help you out. They should follow all federal and state regulations. This may seem like a given, but it should still be said. Not only should their work be done correctly to keep you and your family safe, but the company should also be committed to keeping their employees safe as well. That's the mark of a fantastic company.

We encourage you to contact us with any questions and service needs you may have. We look forward to hearing from you!

Energy Efficiency Guide for Summer

With summer in full swing and at least a few more weeks of hot, sunny days on the horizon, it’s more important than ever that your home is as energy efficient as possible in order to keep you and your family cool and comfortable without causing your energy bills to skyrocket. There are many ways in which you can make your HVAC system and home as a whole more energy efficient this summer. Continue reading for a few of our top tips on energy efficiency.

·         System maintenance: If it’s been over a year since you’ve had your HVAC system serviced, now is the time! An inspection and overall maintenance can help your system to run at peak performance, saving you money and keeping your home cool.

·         Clean air filters: The air filters in your HVAC system should be cleaned or replaced at the start of every new season, sometimes more often depending on your system usage. When your air filters are dirty, your system is forced to work harder in order to push air through your vents into your home. Keeping your air filters clean can go a long way in keeping your system running at maximum efficiency.

·         Keep clean: Keeping your home clean is an easy way to increase energy efficiency. When dust, pet fur, and other allergens are eliminated from the air, furniture, and linens in your home, they are less likely to get caught in ducts and air filters and slow down your system. Frequent vacuuming and sweeping can go a long way towards eliminating these allergens, and an air conditioning expert can also help to clean your ducts.

·         Energy audit: A home energy audit can alert you to where energy is being lost in your home and the changes you can make in order to make your home more energy efficient. Our team is proud to offer energy evaluations in order to help you make your home as comfortable and healthy as possible.

For more information on energy efficiency or to schedule a home energy audit in Tilton IL, click here to visit our website.

Why We're Here

Most of you don’t call us just because you feel like chatting (unless our moms are reading this blog). Most of you get in touch with us because you have something on your mind. We’re glad that you do.
We want to know whatever problem you’re experiencing with your home comfort, because we want to help solve it. That’s why we’re here. It’s to serve customers who want to be comfortable indoors, who want to breathe clean indoor air and who want to save on their energy bills.
We’re part of the air conditioning and heating industry for a reason. And it’s not because we’re afraid of hard work. This kind of residential contracting work that takes us into attics, basements and all other parts of the home on really hot days can get quite messy. But that is not a problem for us.
In fact, we like knowing that we’re going to make your life better and a lot more comfortable by the time we’re done with our service or installation. After all, it sure does feel great to restore someone’s air conditioning system on a very hot day – and see the relief on their face when they feel the relief in their cool home.
So, if we can ever be of service to you, be sure to let us know. We’re happy to help.

What About My Warranty?

Most heating and cooling systems will come with a warranty whenever you purchase a new system. The length of coverage ranges depending on the system and you can even extend them sometimes when your coverage is almost up. Warranties are great for those unforeseen repair needs, especially if your system is only a few years old.

But did you know that your warranty could be voided if the manufacturer determines that neglect of maintenance was the cause? Just like you would get an oil change or tune-up on your car, your heating and cooling system needs this same attention. You don’t want your car’s transmission to blow up just like you don’t want your heater to stop working this fall. Especially if you’ll be stuck with the full bill because it could have been prevented with a tune-up.

Unfortunately sometimes, we’ve just got to learn, but we have come up with a few ways to help you avoid this trouble with “How to Avoid Lessons Learned the Hard Way.” How to Avoid Lessons Learned the Hard Way Take a look; it could save you a lot of money in the future.

Is Your Computer Room Too Hot?

A single tablet or laptop is not going to do much to warm up a room. But, when you have a computer room with several desktops that your whole family uses, you can expect it to have a noticeable impact on the temperature. It is especially easy for a room like this to get quite uncomfortable when each computer is on and being used. If your air conditioning system is not doing the trick, you may not have enough ducts going to the room. Fortunately, you can fix this by hiring an air conditioner contractor to install an extra one.

Keep Hardware Temperatures Down
One reason that it is so important to keep the temperatures of your computers down is to protect the hardware. This is especially concerning if you enjoy playing games that put your computer hard at work, which drastically increases hardware temps. An air conditioner that manages to cool down the computer room will extend the life of these components.

Stay Comfortable in the Room
If you love your computer for being able to play games, watch movies, and socialize, you may feel rather disappointed when it gets so warm in the room that you have to leave. Installing a new air duct is the perfect solution that will allow you and your family to stay comfortable any time they are in the room!

Enjoy Better Air Conditioning Balance
When you are determined to keep the room cool without an extra air duct, you may end up spending a considerable amount of money on your electrical bill to make this happen. The imbalance created by one room that routinely overheats will require you to set the thermostat to a substantially lower temperature than you need for the rest of the home. Installing a new air duct is a reliable solution for your computer room dilemma.

Call Blackie’s today for more information on air conditioning in Urbana, IL.

Prepping Your HVAC System for the Cold Season

Your HVAC system is one of the most important aspects of your home come winter time. A well maintained heating system will keep you and your family warm and comfortable through the chilliest months of the year, so it's important to take a few steps to keep your system running efficiently! Here are a few things you should do to prep your HVAC system for the cold season:

Have Your Furnace Inspected: The last thing that you'll want to deal with this winter is an outage in the middle of a blizzard! To ensure that your HVAC system is working efficiently and can carry you through this winter season, it's a good idea to have a professional heating contractor come out to inspect your furnace. They can address concerns that you may have and perform any preventative maintenance that they see fit.

Clean or Replace Filter: It's important to keep the filters in your HVAC system clean throughout the year (we recommend cleaning them monthly) in order to keep clean air flowing through your home. Before it gets too cold, make sure to clean your filter and replace it if necessary. Doing so will help your HVAC system to run efficiently and cost-effectively.

Check Your Vents: If you've moved anything around in your home in the last few months, now is the time to check and make sure that nothing is blocking your air vents! Air should be able to flow freely through each vent in your home. Here's a tip: if you have unused rooms in your home, close those vents so that other rooms may receive more warm air without having to adjust your thermostat!

Check the Thermostat: It's probably been a while since you've adjusted your thermostat, so you'll want to make sure that it is working properly and that the batteries do not need to be replaced anytime soon. If you're still using a dial thermostat, you make want to consider upgrading to a programmable one. They are more accurate and allow you to set your thermostat for when you are sleeping or out of the house.

Interested in learning more about your heating system in Danville, IL? If so, contact Blackie's today to schedule an inspection.

Why Your Air Conditioning Drops the Temperature but Not the Humidity

Humid air is like a sponge that's loaded down with water and simply can't absorb any more moisture. This means the body's natural "AC system" which relies on sweat evaporation for cooling stops working, which leaves you feeling hot and uncomfortable.

Humidity does other things besides cause discomfort. It promotes mold growth and increases the levels of dust mites in your home, which can adversely affect your health, especially if you have allergies or respiratory problems such as asthma. This is why your air conditioning system must remove humidity as well as lower the temperature. But what if you’re otherwise perfectly functioning AC lowers the temperature but not the humidity? Below are two possible reasons why you have a humidity problem with your AC system:

Your Air Conditioner Is Too Large

An oversized air conditioner can quickly cool down your home well before the temperature of its cooling coil (evaporator coil) gets cold enough to remove the humidity in the air. It normally takes 10 to 15 minutes of continuous running for the coil temperature to drop low enough to condense water vapor. An oversized AC never runs long enough for this to happen. Instead, it runs in short bursts. To find out if your AC is short-cycling, pull out a stop watch and time it. If your air conditioner has always run this way, it's probably oversized.

Your High-Efficiency AC Unit Can't Handle the High Humidity in Your Area

According to the Consumer Protection Division of the Comfort Institute, some of the high-efficiency air conditioners cut cooling bills by trading off the unit's ability to remove humidity. That is, they can drop the temperature but can't remove humidity like the old units could.

If you live in a dry area such as Arizona, then this won't affect you. However, consumers living in areas with high humidity will find that their air conditioners fail to remove enough of it. The humidity can get high enough to even promote mold growth. The manufacturers of these units failed to understand that there's more to comfort than air temperature. The consumer is also forced to buy a separate dehumidifying system which consumes the energy saved by these high efficiency air conditioners.

If the above doesn't apply to you, then your air conditioner in Danville, IL may have issues requiring adjustment or repair. If so, give Blackie's a call today!

What About My Warranty

Most heating and cooling systems will come with a warranty whenever you purchase a new system. The length of coverage ranges depending on the system and you can even extend them sometimes when your coverage is almost up. Warranties are great for those unforeseen repair needs, especially if your system is only a few years old.

But did you know that your warranty could be voided if the manufacturer determines that neglect of maintenance was the cause? Just like you would get an oil change or tune-up on your car, your heating and cooling system needs this same attention. You don’t want your car’s transmission to blow up just like you don’t want your heater to stop working this fall. Especially if you’ll be stuck with the full bill because it could have been prevented with a tune-up.

Unfortunately sometimes, we’ve just got to learn, but we have come up with a few ways to help you avoid this trouble with “The Importance of Your Annual Tune Up.” Take a look; it could save you a lot of money in the future.

Cost of Comfort

With the economy the way it is and rising natural gas costs, we have to try and find a balance of cost over comfort. That’s why being energy efficient is so important these days because it can save you a lot of money on your energy bills.

At Blackie's Heating and Air Conditioning, we have several ways to check your system to make sure it is running at optimal performance and keeping more money in your pocket. There are also some small things that you can do to cut down on energy costs. Change your HVAC filters monthly during peak heating and cooling seasons. They only cost a few bucks to replace and a dirty filter makes your system work harder and longer. You can also look for any leaks around your windows or doors that could be letting the heat escape.

If you want to know more about what to expect come this cold season, read our free report “Predicting the Cost of Your Home Heating.” You can see more about the costs of natural gas and a way to cut down your energy usage by 20% from last year.

Season of Change

Fall is quite the season of change. The weather is cooler and the leaves are changing; it’s a sight to see. Sweaters and jackets are becoming a must and pretty soon we’ll be breaking out the scarves and gloves. Holidays are just around the corner and things are about to get busy.

During this busy season it’s easy to forget things you have to do. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was someone who could just come in and do it all for you? Do the grocery shopping, the cleaning, the yard work and anything else you can think of. While we may not be able to do all of those things for you, we can get your home comfort system ready for this weather change.

It may not even be something that crossed your mind, but it’s something that you should get checked off your list. If your system has given you trouble in the past, or you just want to get it tuned up, we want to help. Just call or email and let us know.

Connecting the Dots to Your Call

When we get a call or email from someone in asking for service or repair on an air conditioning system, that means we’ve done something right. And we’ve got an opportunity to do something even better.

Here’s what I mean. When we get a call from someone who invites us into their home, there are several reasons why we just got that opportunity. One, we advertised in a way that increased your trust in us. Two, we performed a past service for you that made your home more comfortable. Or three, someone you know told you to give us a call.

Now, when we get that call, we get to come to your home – an honor indeed. Whether we provide service on your air conditioning and heating, or install a new system, this is our chance to exceed your expectations so that you’ll want to call us the next time you need us.

Frankly, we don’t know a better business strategy than developing strong relationships with our customers. So we’re sticking with that one.

Of course, others choose a different strategy. And you’ll hear from them too. This is why we hope you’ll take a look at this free report, Who Should You Trust to Check Your Home Systems?

The Value of a Secret

Secrets are tricky things, aren’t they? Depending on the subject (surprise party vs. hazardous waste) and who it is about (relative vs. major corporation), a secret can be a fun event bonding people together or it can go to the other extreme where a bit of information left untold has the potential to be dangerous to your health.

Everyone has secrets both big and small and we are no exception. Don’t be too alarmed. Our secret is not as scary as hazardous waste; and one thing is for sure… Whether we are referring to people or companies, the truth will come out eventually.

Why, then, do so many companies leave out information their customers need to know in order to make informed decisions? Money, of course, and maybe power and definitely a concern for their reputation.

We are just not interested in being a company with secrets. To learn more about a big secret the heating and air conditioning industry has been keeping, read “Have You Heard theDark and Dirty Secret…about Your Home Comfort System?”