Category: Energy Efficiency

How to Avoid Needing Furnace Repair

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Furnace repair can be very expensive and cause quite a headache for homeowners. It is very important for the longevity and efficiency of your furnace that you keep the system maintained properly to avoid a big breakdown at the worst time.

So how do you prevent running into issues with your furnace and needing furnace repair? The best way is to schedule annual furnace tune-up with a heating and air conditioning professional. Although this may have some cost associated with it, you save 5-10% in energy costs each year by ensuring your furnace is operating at maximum efficiency, and your furnace technician will be able to catch small problems before they become big ones.

Another small step to assist in the avoidance of furnace repair is to change the furnace’s air filter regularly and clean it once every month. Many furnace repair technicians have reported that as many as half of their furnace repair calls are caused by dirty motors. Keeping a clean and fresh filter can prevent these breakdowns and save you money.

If you choose to do your furnace maintenance on your own, remember to proceed with caution. Remember that you are working with an appliance that runs on flammable materials and has the potential to be very dangerous. Generally speaking, you shouldn’t perform any maintenance on your own furnace that is more involved than changing the filter.

If you do happen to run into issues that may need furnace repair, before you call for assistance, make sure to check these simple fixes to avoid an unnecessary service:

  • Check to make sure the thermostat is set at the right temperature.
  • Check to make sure all registers in the house are open and not blocked by furniture.
  • Check to see if the pilot light is on. If it is not, follow the instructions on the furnace to get it going again, but take the safety precautions VERY seriously. This can be dangerous if not done correctly. If your pilot light goes out often, you may have a larger problem that needs to be addressed by a technician.
  • Check to make sure the circuit breaker is on.

Greening Up Your Home Starts With the Sensible Use of Air Conditioning

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

In the Charlotte area of North Carolina, summer is hot and humid with temperatures averaging in the mid to high 90s. Air conditioning in this part of the country is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. That said, however, it’s important to try and “green up” your home and save money by minimizing use of your air conditioner. Here are some ways to do this:

  • Dress lightly if it’s hot, and set the air conditioner to a little higher temperature.
  • Use an indoor fan along with your air conditioning unit to disperse the cooled air through your home more efficiently.
  • Never set the thermostat to a colder setting when first switching the air conditioning unit on. It’s not going to cool your home any quicker. In fact, it will increase energy consumption and could cause the air conditioning unit to freeze over.
  • When it’s cool in the morning and night, open the windows and doors. Your home will stay cool for a while, depending on how well it’s sealed and insulated. When it starts getting hot, turn on the air conditioning until after the sun has gone down. Then open the doors and windows again to let the cool air in.
  • To cut down on extra heat, close the blinds on the west, east and south-facing windows. Better still, install shade screens or exterior shades to block the heat before it even gets into your house.
  • If your air conditioning unit is old, consider purchasing an Energy Star rated model. You can save between 10 and 14 percent of your energy costs.

Heat Pumps Have Proven to Be the Perfect Solution for Many Homeowners

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

With so many heating options on the market, it’s little wonder that homeowners are often unsure which are best. Should you consider buying one that has more features and offers higher efficiency, or should you stay with the system you’ve already got?

If you’re considering a heat pump system, you can save a lot of money on installation even if you don’t already have a heat pump in your home. With summer cooling and winter heating ability and the capacity to utilize the existing ductwork in homes, heat pumps are proving to be the perfect solution for many homeowners.

Heat pumps are actually simple pieces of equipment. Heat pumps draw warmth from the air of one environment and deliver it to another environment. When you use your air conditioning with your heat pump, the heat pump removes the warmth of indoor air and pumps it outdoors, leaving your home cool and comfortable. It’s the same technology used by your freezer and refrigerator to keep food cold.

When heat pumps are used as home heating systems, they work in reverse to warm your home. A full system can switch back and forth between cooling and heating modes. In winter, the heat pump draws hidden warmth from the outdoors and pumps it indoors.

Heat pumps can heat and cool a home without the aid of furnaces and air conditioners in moderate climates. In more extreme climates, they work in conjunction with furnaces and air conditioners and decrease the amount of energy needed for heating and cooling.

If Space Is a Priority in Your Home, Mini-Split Air Conditioning May Be the Way to Go

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Having the correct air conditioning system in your home greatly improves your quality of life. However, when you’re in the market to buy one, there are many variables to be taken into account. Because buying an air conditioner isn’t something you do every day, the procedure can be quite daunting.

You might think that one air conditioning system is exactly like the next, but there are significant differences between the various systems. When making a choice, you’ll want to be sure that the system you buy is large enough for your home, but not so large that it inflates your energy costs unnecessarily.

If space in your home is at a premium, or if you have a fairly small area to cool, a ductless split air conditioning system may be the best choice. Known as mini-splits, they comprise an indoor unit that can be placed on the wall of an individual room, and an outdoor compressor.

The indoor unit is linked to the compressor by a refrigerant line that supplies it with coolant. Installation is a lot less invasive than the ducted systems utilized by other larger types of air conditioning set-ups. This means that mini-splits can fit into smaller spaces than a lot of traditional air conditioners.

In addition, the indoor units of mini-split air conditioners each have their own thermostat, so the temperature can be controlled in each individual room. The different people in your household can choose the temperature they prefer. Mini-split air conditioning is also cost-effective because you do not have to cool the entire home.

A Solar Heating System That Breaks New Ground in Home Comfort

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

The SunSource solar heating energy system from Lennox brings a new dimension to home comfort that goes way beyond obtaining power from the sun. Helped by roof-mounted modules, it converts sunlight into actual electricity, which can be used to run your air conditioner or heat pump while reducing your cooling and heating costs by up to half.

This solar heating system uses abundant, free solar energy to not only generate electricity to heat and cool your home, but it can even provide sufficient electricity to power your appliances, lights and more. The system is affordable, expandable and incredibly uncomplicated. This illustration shows how it works:

Innovative features of the SunSource solar heating system:

  • Select heat pumps and air conditioners from the Lennox collection can be modified with simple upgrades to act as platforms.
  • The condensing units meet or surpass the Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for energy efficiency. When used in conjunction with just 4 solar panels in a whole-home energy system, they can lower cooling and heating bills by up to 82% percent.
  • Up to 15 solar heating modules can be added in the future or at the time of installation.
  • You can use your broadband connection to send online performance information for each module to a 3rd party website where you can see how the system is working.
  • You get 24/7 access to real time data that shows the system’s status, environmental benefits, energy production, and carbon offsets. This monitoring system is free for five yearsVisit our Solar Solutions page for in-depth information about the SunSource system. If you live in the Charlotte area of North Carolina and would like to find out more, contact us to speak with a solar specialist today.

Different Options for Heating Your Household

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Household heating is an important part of the infrastructure to all houses. Even in the south, where the winters are mild, homes are likely to need heating for part of the year. So what are the options for household heating? We are going to look briefly at 3 types: electrical resistance heating, furnace heating, and heat pumps.

Electrical resistance heating is almost 100% effective in turning electricity into heat; that being said, the electricity used must be generated through the burning of fuels at power plants, and then transported to the heating system in a home. This process is usually only around 30% effective. Thus, electrical resistance heating is used more often in places that don’t require extensive heating for long periods of time. For places with greater heating demands, furnaces are usually more efficient.

Furnaces burn fuels such as oil or gas in heating a household. The older models were around 50% efficient (meaning 50% of the heat generated through the burning of the fuel is used in the heating of the house; the rest is lost). Newer furnace models are up to 98% efficient. In places with colder climates, furnaces are generally preferred for the heating of a building, be it residential or commercial.

Heat pumps are the third option for heating (and, in this case, cooling) your household. Heat pumps use electricity to move heat against its natural flow from a warmer place to a colder place. In the winter, for example, a heat pump would move any warmth from the cold outside to the warmer inside. They do not generate heat but only move it. Heat pumps are usually used for heating in more moderate climates and can be 30-40% more efficient than an electrical resistance heater.

Tips Versus Myths of Household Heating

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Heating your household (and the money it costs to do so) is a topic of much discussion between all sorts of people; as such, it is expected that some myths will arise through all the conversation. We know how myths work: what one person hears will be relayed to another, possibly even changing slightly, so on and so forth. So then how do we know which little tips to trust? Which are misleading?

One very common myth is that leaving the thermometer set at a constant, modest temperature will save money and energy. The reasoning is it takes more energy to heat or cool an area to a temperature than it does to maintain the temperature. This is generally not true; it is indeed better to set back your thermostat a few degrees when no one is home, for example.

A tip is to actually install a programmable thermostat, so it can regulate the activity of the heating and cooling systems depending on the time of day and whether someone is home or not.

Another myth (misconception may be a better word) is that using an electric heating system is more energy efficient than a fuel powered furnace and would save you money. Homes using electric heating are getting their power from fuel-burning power plants, which because of the size and distance are likely even less efficient than a household furnace.

If you are dissatisfied with the energy consumption of your home heating system, a tip would be either to convert to solar energy panels, or to a more modern, high-efficiency furnace, which can be up to 98% efficient. Call Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical today to learn how we can help with your home comfort needs.

Common Culprits That Call for Furnace Repair

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Of course there are any number of things that necessitate furnace repair, certain problems occur much more commonly than others, as well as range from minor to potentially dangerous. Knowing what to look for can be helpful both in deciding how to proceed with the furnace repair process and also to help you communicate more effectively with your furnace repair technician.

One of the first things to check when your furnace fails to start is the thermostat. A faulty thermostat will not allow the furnace to recognize the need to start heating. The good news is a broken thermostat is also one of the more simple problems to have repaired.

If the furnace turns on, but one or two of the rooms of the house are not receiving air, the problem is likely to be in the air ducts themselves. Perhaps one or more of them are broken or have become blocked. This problem can become more difficult when the air ducts are in places difficult to reach.

If your furnace is lit, but none of the rooms are receiving air at, the problem could be the blower or the circulating fan. This problem will definitely call for a furnace repair. The blower takes the air from the cold rooms, runs them through the heat exchanger, warming the air, and then sends the warm air back into the house. A disruption in the flow of air can also cause overheating in the furnace itself.

Clogged, dirty, or blocked air filters can also cause problems and lead to furnace repair. It is essential to have clean and clear filters through which the air may move freely. Restricting the flow of air can cause unnecessary strain on the system and increase energy consumption. However, this problem is more an issue of maintenance. Make sure to clean your filters at a very minimum of once every three months during the use of the furnace; more often would be even better. Caring for and getting routine maintenance for your heating system will help prevent the need for furnace repair in the first place.

9 Benefits of Converting to Solar Power Panels

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

As you can surely imagine, the benefits of converting to a system using energy produced by solar power panels can be enormous. If you are tired of relying on traditional power usage and being subject to the rising costs of traditional power, perhaps converting your house to solar energy panels is a viable option for you. Here is a short list of benefits you may experience.

  • Though there is an initial cost of converting to solar power, the net investment is relatively low.
  • The amount of money you pay for electricity in the long run will likely be greatly reduced.
  • Using solar power panels will give you independence and security from rising oil and fossil fuel prices.
  • Energy produced from solar power panels is coming from a renewable source; as long as you have the equipment to harness the energy, there is no end to it.
  • There may be federal and/or state tax incentives available to you for converting to solar energy. Talk to a professional technician in your area to find out details.
  • The system is expandable, so you may initially choose only to have some of your power system reliant on solar power panels. For example, you could set up your home power system, so only your heating and cooling is solar powered; heating and cooling can account for 70% or more of the average household energy usage.
  • With a grid-tie system, which most systems are, it is possible to produce more energy than you use, and the excess energy goes into the power grid. In such a case, your electric company may actually pay you or give you a credit on your bill.
  • The value of your home will be appreciated with the installation of a solar power system.
  • Energy produced through solar power panels emits no pollution.

What to Know Before Furnace Repair

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Updated: October 2023

If you have a furnace, chances are one day you will find yourself in need of furnace repair. When that day comes, it will be a good idea to know a few basics about the furnace you are using at home. This way, you will be able to communicate more easily with any technician who will be helping you in your furnace repair.

First thing’s first: you need to know what type of furnace you have. Modern furnaces are usually referred to by their efficiency of heat use, and whether they use propane (less common) or natural gas (more common). You may also have an oil heating system. Most older furnaces have an efficiency of 50-60%, while newer furnaces can range anywhere from 80-100% efficiency. When speaking of efficiency, we are saying how much of the generated heat will go into the actual heating of the house, and how much will be vented away to the outside without having been used. When looking at furnace repair, you may hear some discussion about the efficiency of your furnace.

It’s also helpful to have a basic knowledge of the parts and setup of your furnace. As you will most likely not be doing the actual furnace repair (a certified technician should absolutely be called), a simple familiarity with some of the major terms will be sufficient:

  • Gas line – Where the gas enters the furnace from an outside source.
  • Shut off valve – Stops the supply of gas to the furnace.
  • Pilot light – Small burning flame which stays lit and serves to light the burners.
  • Electronic igniter – Electric alternative to a pilot light. Does not stay lit, lights the burners much as a spark plug.
  • Burner – Where the gas is ignited in order to provide heat for the household.
  • Heat exchanger – Area inside the furnace which the burners heat up. Air moves through the heat exchanger in order to become warm.
  • Blower and circulating fan – Takes cooler air out of the house, moves it through the heat exchanger (where it becomes warm), and pushes back into the house.
  • Ducts – The ventilation through which the air travels around the house and back to the furnace.
  • Filter – Screen designed to take dust and small particles out of the air circulation, helping both to improve air quality and to keep the furnace clean.
  • Flue pipe – Removes to the outside of the house carbon monoxide and any other exhaust produced from burning gas. Older furnaces often vent through the chimney; newer, more efficient furnaces do not produce as much exhaust and, therefore, may vent through a small, independent pipe.