For those of you who have already received whopping electricity bills this summer, thanks to the merciless mercury levels on the thermostat, we have four strategies to help you save on summertime cooling costs. All in Favor of Fans Sure, it might seem obvious, but a few well-placed stand up, desk, or — better yet — ceiling fans work wonders to circulate air throughout your house as well as keep down your summer electric bill. Combining forces between fans and your AC unit helps regulate temperature without pushing your AC unit, or those bills, to the max. Get with the
Read More
How Smart Landscaping Supports Your AC System All Summer
Landscaping is more than just for looks. Strategic choices, regarding what to plan on your property and where, can seriously enhance your home’s energy efficiency – stretching those hard-earned dollars spent on cooling your home. Shrubs and bushes can help you beat the heat this summer, provided you understand proper placement for optimal, cost-effective cooling. Here are a pair of smart landscaping moves, a one-two punch, to get you started and support your AC system all summer… Position Plants Carefully It’s no secret that dark colors attract the sunlight. If you have a dark-colored roof, your home is absorbing a
Read More
Ditch the Window Unit: How to Choose an AC System this Summer
Depending on the size of your home or office, relying on a window air conditioning unit this summer might not be adequate. In that case, ditching the window unit and choosing a new AC system might be your best bet. Here’s a quick look at some common AC window unit issues and the case for central air conditioning. AC Window Units Woes Good in a pinch, air conditioning window units can prove problematic for the following reasons: they can be noisy and have a tendency to emit less than pleasant odors into your home. Moreover, dust and debris that build
Read More
Freon R22 and its Replacement, Puron R410A
You may know that air conditioners need refrigerant to make cool air, and you may know that this is sometimes called freon. It’s actually known as R22, and the name “Freon” comes from DuPont’s name for R22. Freon is considered a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), which contributes to ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere. Since 2010, new air conditioners have been manufactured with new standardized R410A, also known as Puron. What does this mean? It means, hopefully, better news for the environment, for one. R410A does not contain chlorine (and instead has fluoride), which will reduce the damage to the ozone if
Read More
Should you buy a basement dehumidifier?
We’ve told you there’s plenty of signs that can crop up that show you that you might need a dehumidifier. Sometimes a dehumidifier can be placed in the actual home, but many people place dehumidifiers in the basement (if they have one) and it solves many issues for them. Why (and how)? When a basement is moist — and most basements are, let’s face it, they’re basements — this can translate to real moisture problems inside of your home. While everyone knows that heat rises, so does moisture. Think about the water cycle and the evaporation portion of it. Moisture
Read More
Average HVAC Costs for Homeowners
Whether you’re a new homeowner or you’ve had a home for a long time, you may dread calling your HVAC technician when you have an issue. You just don’t know if this is the time you may be needing a furnace repair or some other big dollar problem. You may be Googling your way through the internet right now to try to get an idea of how much your repair would costs at best and at worst. Never fear! We’ve collected some of the average HVAC costs for homeowners courtesy of information provided by HomeAdvisor.com Keep in mind that every
Read More
What are the most common AC repairs?
You may be wondering “what’s wrong with my air conditioner” as the warm weather starts to ramp up. Maybe it’s not cooling air as quickly as it used to, or it’s making a strange noise. Whatever your issue may be, we can help. If you need air conditioner assistance, contact Home Air Plus today. Common Problem: Refrigerant Leak In order to keep things cool and create cool air, an air conditioner needs refrigerant liquid like a car or a, you guessed it, refrigerator. If this liquid begins to leak out of one of the lines or seals, this can drastically
Read More
Think Spring: It’s Time for AC Maintenance!
While we might be struggling with intermittent snow right now in NH, when warm weather hits, usually it hits hard. Ninety-degree weather and blazing sunlight is just around the corner. It’s not too early to start thinking about the health of your air conditioning system. Why bother with an AC tune up? The big question is does anyone bother with an AC tune up, and why should they? There are a lot of answers to this question, but the easiest is that spending a little money now on an AC tune up can help you save loads during the sweltering
Read More
5 Warning Signs Of A Failing Furnace
No one likes to be told that their furnace needs to be replaced. Often times we spring for repairs and repairs and repairs, our furnace “nickel and diming” us every chance it gets. How can you know when you need to just replace it rather than repair a part of it? Is there a way to know for sure if you have a failing furnace? Weird Noises Do you hear clunking, rattling, buzzing, or any other variation of a noise you may not have heard before? If you start hearing strange noises when your heating system is running, it might
Read More
5 Signs you Need a Dehumidifier
Everyone’s heard of a dehumidifier, but when do you actually need one? Chances are, if you are seeing these signs, you may be scratching your head on what to do. Having excess humidity in the home may not feel so bad for you physically, but it can cause all kinds of havoc in your home. 1. Mold Spots that Won’t Go Away You keep getting moldy areas in your house, and no matter how you clean them, how many times you do it, or with what, they keep coming back. Mold is a great indicator that something in
Read More
Air Quality and Humidifiers.
