5 Ways to Beat Your Air Conditioner Costs

Our Air Conditioning Unit is the one to eat up our most of the power and budget consumption. But, with little smartness, one can really cut down the cost on the air conditioning cost. Have a look to know more.

There is no surprise to the fact that about 17% of Americans household energy expenses are rooted deeply in cooling costs. This is because when the heat season gets there, it become difficult to bear that immense heat and hence the Americans remember to turn on their air conditioners on to full blast. Hence, the sound of the air conditioner seems like your bank account drying up.

So, if you are too among those who keep on spending a bundle on their energy bill, possibly it's time to get some tips! 

Adjust Thermostat Settings 

Appropriate Thermostat settings can aid you a lot when it comes to beating down the air conditioner cost. Setting your thermostat on a very low temperature force it to work extra hard in order to keep the area cooled off. Hence, a standard temperature for indoors is around 78 degrees. Luckily, these days a very significant technology called a “smart thermostat” is available that automatically sets the temperature to a higher setting at night or while you’re gone. So, if you want to save your unit from extra work and your wallet from the extra expenses, this is the probably the best way. 

HVAC Maintenance 

Annual maintenance is very useful for your air conditioning unit! If you find that your unit is bogged down, leaking or freezing up, maintenance is the only reason. Hence, it’s always good to get a routine checkup of your unit to make sure everything is working as it should without you having to be concerned about.
 

Let humidity set your AC pace

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the AC fan speed should be set on high, excluding extreme humid days. Set the speed on low on humid days. The slower air movement through the air-condition equipment eliminates more moisture from the air and will improve comfort in your home. 

Smaller the Better 

It’s not always necessary that a central air conditioning unit is the best answer in summers as they consume extra energy cooling down a small area. Hence, examine the area that needs to be cooled and then decide whether you’ll need a bigger unit or not.

Air Filters 

There isn’t the need to stress on the importance of cleaning out your AC unit filtration system. Whether it’s your small room air conditioning unit or a central air conditioner, if you want to keep the efficiency of your AC unit to the maximum, cleaning out your air filters is really crucial. If you find it troublesome to clean the filters, get help from a professional. Remember, cleaning will need to be done more often during the summer months, especially when you’re using it a lot.

So, with these simple but great tips you can save on your air conditioner

Five Ways HVAC Contractors Should Leverage Twitter Today

Social media sites have always been a way for the businesses to leverage huge branding and related profits. Adding to the list, TWITTER too has become a great platform for people to showcase their business and earn huge. Let’s see, how the HVAC contractors can reap extreme benefits from Twitter. Stick around!!!

There’s no surprise to the fact that Twitter - the micro blogging tool, has nearly 200 million users now, which records over 65 million Tweets per day and handles over 800,000 search queries. But, you might get surprised to know that approximately 60% of Twitter users make at least $60k in household income, according to the Quantcast. 

Probably, thousands of ideas might have popped in your head. Which is quite obvious? Twitter has become a mandatory part of every business owner’s online marketing strategy. But, the reality is, most contractors don’t give it the required attention.

So, if you are one of those “non-believers”, here are five simple Twitter tactics that you can leverage instantly to take your online marketing to the next level.      

1. May be the most powerful for search - Real-time search is crucial these days. Google, for instance, has initiated integrated real-time results, which include a special search trick that pulls results from Twitter and Facebook. This means that as more people use real-time search, they could find you ONLY if you distribute your relevant content over Twitter (and Facebook), or if customers share your blog posts, reviews, articles, and videos over Twitter.

To make Twitter work at its best, the contractor should share lots of educational information. Hence, adding an HVAC-focused blog to your website strategy may be your best step.

2. Follow what people are saying about your competitors – Competition can always lead you to heights and profits, if taken in a right way. For this, you need to learn about your competitors. Here, Twitter can help you! You can learn about what your competitions are doing on Twitter – both what people talk about them and how are they responding. For instance, just go to Twitter search and type your competitor in the “to” field to know about them.

3. Track your target keywords - Twitter search has an advanced search option allowing you to follow a specific search phrase within an X mile radius. Once you set your search (for instance, “furnace repair” with a 15 mile radius of zip code 44114 Cleveland), you can click on the RSS button to subscribe to receive updates every time someone from that location uses those exact keywords.

4. Follow your customers – If you follow your customers, they’ll surely follow you back. Whether you’re commercial, residential or both, you should follow them regularly. By following you back, they are opting in to receiving your tweets. You should find ways to connect your social media strategy with your customers in many ways (Twitter, Facebook, Community Sites, etc.). There is a service called ‘Flowtown’ that can tell you about your customer’s social media accounts they have.

 5. Use a Twitter Management Tool - Staying updated on Twitter search using only Twitter can be difficult.  Try using a free Twitter management tool like Tweetdeck, Tweetgrid, or HootSuite. Setting up Twitter searches is easy with these management “dashboards” and you can easily monitor your twitter with a bit of training.

Generator Safety Tips to Prevent Winter Outrages

If seasonal power outrages are hindering your business continuity, standby generators are an inevitable requirement or you!  While these generators are convenient, you still need to follow some standard precautions in their installation and maintenance. So, have a look and learn more about it.

Winter is already here in major parts of North America. The snow has already started falling in some zones and is right around the corner for others. Among those experiencing the most severe winters, regions in mid-west, north and east are included. These regions can suffer power outages making even everyday life tough for many.

Winter storms, in addition to causing deaths generally end up creating variety of issues with the electrical power supply. These can even result in black out for days or weeks. This causes the local economy and organizations to suffer without power. Daily routines get affected on the residential side since most routine activities are dependent on a reliable power source. On the business front, it can be distressing, both physically and monetarily for a company.

To avoid devastations or loses, we have come up with a few useful tips you should follow. Check them out.

• Pre Winter Weather Planning:

Inspections - Standby Generators must be examined before each winter season. You can use a check sheet to mark each individual item, including battery cells, battery specific gravity, coolant levels, etc. to be inspected so that a record of the inspection can be maintained.

Maintenance – You should have a maintenance schedule, which should be completed before the occurrence of any Winter Weather Event. The most important parts of generators are keeping the coolant heaters/block heaters running, making sure the batteries are still good, and the oil heaters maintained. To ensure optimal performance, cleaning, polishing and treating the fuel tank is a must.

Supplies – Ensure the availability of inventories like lubricants, batteries, fuels, coolant and spare parts. A battery warmer and coolant heater can also be great in extreme climates. For outdoor installations, a snow hood can be a choice. 

Backup Plan – What will you do if your Standby Generator fails to start?

• During Winter Weather Events:

Accessibility - Make sure to keep a pathway open for an outdoor installation to your generator. 

Inspections - Keep a check on your Backup Generator. Also, increase the rate of the Standby Generator equipment examination.

Repairs - Keep a track of the start and run durations of your generators. Preparing a document to record any issue or repairs can be useful. 

Using the Generator – For your generator to work well, it is important to keep it warm. For this: 

 
• Block the radiator temporarily to assist in warm-up. Blocking the radiator will limit air from the fan. 
• Running the engine idle will keep the engine compartment warm.

• Post Winter Weather Preparation:

Proper maintenance of the generator is also important after the winter season gets over. This ensures longevity of your generator. 

Review Documentation – It’s now time to collect information and check what worked and what didn’t work according to your Winter Weather maintenance plan and update it accordingly for future. 

Maintenance – Here you’re required to execute the scheduled maintenance, which includes oil change, filter replacements, coolant change, and so on. This will help you in preparing for the summer season challenges before it arrives.

With these safety and maintenance tips, you can ensure that your generators run well and can withstand any weather…without creating any issue.

Top Reasons to Install a High Velocity HVAC!

Day by day HVAC concerns are getting popular among the homemakers who desire for a comfortable life. The reason being, these heating and cooling system decides how comfortable the weather will be inside your home. Hence, if you need better air conditioning, you need a high velocity heating and cooling system.

A small duct, heating and cooling system with high-velocity airflow which fits well with your architectural limitations is termed to be a high-velocity HVAC system. The best thing about these modular systems is that they move cool air throughout your home at a much faster speed than those regular HVAC systems. The reasons behind, they exert a force which creates multitude of air currents distributed evenly and that too in a much shorter period of time. Find out some more reasons to install a high velocity HVAC.

No special home alteration required:

If you are living in a traditional style home, you must be aware of the problem one faces here. They don't have a centralized heating or cooling system. Moreover, it is too difficult to go for significant renovations in them.  It forces the tenants to rely on options like baseboard radiators and in-window air conditioning units.  And there is no doubt that these solutions are hard to manage.

But, this is not the case with the flexible ducts, which are used with high velocity heating and cooling system. They can be easily installed and at any location. You can fix them through the existing holes in the walls and floors too. Neither they are noisy nor do they create a mess like the older ones.

Creates a less drafty space:

Another common problem on faces with traditional air conditioning units is the drafts. They push a huge amount of air into a room at once, leading to uneven temperature. And if your rooms are spacious, the problem gets severe. The solution is with the high velocity heating and cooling systems. They are perfect to cool a room evenly. Operating on a suction system it develops a gentle stream of air, which circulate the air throughout the space.

Cut down electricity usage and leakage:

Generally, the rating of conventional HVAC system is measured according to the standardized ratings such as the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (S.E.E.R.). But, what problem occurs with these is that they are based on the equipment used for heating and cooling only. This means, the distribution system is not counted. Moreover, the conventional systems produce more leakage due to presence of hot attics and larger ducts. There are greater chances for cracks and slits, which is negligible in high velocity systems. They make less use of electricity and less amount of space.

Flexible installations

One of the major benefits you enjoy with a high velocity heating and cooling system is that you don't need any specific huge metal unit, large, bulky ducts to be fitted in your residential or commercial building. Having small outlets, these systems have been designed to go with the aesthetic of every. It fits well in every situation.

In all, if you want to get your building heated and cooled efficiently, that too without a loud, intrusive installation, a high velocity heating and cooling system is all you need!