Category: Furnaces

The Variable-Speed Blower Motor: An Impressive Component of Furnace Efficiency

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Your heating system includes a blower as one of its primary components. If you’re considering an upgrade, it’s worth exploring how a variable-speed blower motor can increase your home comfort and savings.

To learn more about variable-speed blower motors for your home’s heating system, call the Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical team at [phone] or contact us online!

What Is a Variable-Speed Blower Motor?

Variable-speed blower motors are a revolutionary step forward in air-circulating technology. These powerful motors vary the speed and output depending on the environment’s temperature, ultimately providing the most energy-efficient means of controlling airflow throughout a space.

A variable-speed blower motor is an energy-efficient alternative to traditional single-speed motors. Single-speed motors run at one fixed speed, regardless of the temperature outside or the workload of your HVAC system. Contrastingly, variable-speed models can adjust their speed depending on conditions to conserve energy while providing optimal comfort in your home.

Variable-speed blower motors offer more significant energy savings, even heating and cooling, better humidity control, and quieter operation than traditional air blowers. With variable-speed blower motors, you can be sure that your space is comfortable no matter what season it is or what time of day!

Variable-Speed Blower Motors Enhance Home Comfort

When a furnace blower can function at a variety of speeds and do so continuously, it enables you to benefit by:

  • Upgrading home comfort: Variable-speed technology allows the furnace blower to cycle at a lower speed, whereas single-speed systems can provide just one speed: high. But the weather doesn’t always require high speeds, with the furnace blower blasting hot air throughout the home. Milder winter weather in the Charlotte area often demands minimal heat, and variable-speed systems can respond to those needs with precise heat delivery. Adjusted speeds also provide even more heat throughout the day, helping you avoid alternating hot and cold zones that conventional blowers generally deliver.
  • Boosting energy savings: By distributing exact amounts of heat daily, you’ll save energy because you’re not wasting energy with a system that’s always on high speed.
  • Increasing indoor air quality: With a variable-speed blower, you can run your fan continuously to circulate air through your system’s filter more often and improve your home’s indoor air quality.

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Variable-Speed Blower Motors Drive Savings

The motor boosts energy savings, and variable-speed technology uses a more efficient motor that consumes less electricity to operate. If you want to use your furnace blower to enhance indoor air quality by allowing it to run all day long, you’ll need a high-efficiency motor, like an electronically commutated motor, to accomplish this task without breaking the bank on energy consumption.

You can gain considerable advantages, namely comfort and savings, by upgrading to a heating system with a variable-speed furnace blower motor. For more information or to ask our experts a question, contact Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical today! We’ve been serving the Greater Charlotte Area as a local family-owned company since 1972.

Why Choose Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical?

Acosta is the team to call if you’re looking for a reliable and experienced heating, cooling, and electrical company in Charlotte, NC. We have been serving the community since 1972, and our family-run business has a long-standing reputation for quality workmanship and customer service. Our technicians are background-checked and drug-screened, so you can rest assured knowing your family is safe when they come into your home. We service all brands of equipment, and our highly trained professionals are courteous, on time, efficient with their time, and receive ongoing training to stay up to date on the latest technologies.

If you want peace of mind with your next heating or cooling project — big or small — contact Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical today at [phone]!

What to Do When Your Furnace Is Not Working

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Technician troubleshooting HVAC system with multimeter and wiring, emphasizing furnace maintenance and repair services in Charlotte, NC.

If your furnace is giving you trouble and you’re unable to keep warm, it’s essential to have someone you can trust to resolve the problem promptly — someone like the team at Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical. Of course, getting help with your furnace or other HVAC or electrical equipment means understanding that there’s a problem in the first place, so you know it’s time to make a call.

Today, we’ll look at the symptoms of a troubled furnace and what it might mean for your system.

If you’re looking for help in the Charlotte, NC, area, don’t hesitate to contact Acosta online by calling 704.665.5998 now! We’ll be glad to figure everything out for you.

Signs That Your Furnace Isn’t Working

While some furnace issues are rather obvious—if no air is blowing at all or that air is ice cold—others can be more subtle. Be sure you don’t leave any of these issues to linger until it becomes a bigger problem—or leaves you cold on a freezing night.

  • The system no longer keeps you at the temperature on your thermostat
  • Strange noises or smells from your system or ducts
  • Constantly needing to relight a pilot light or flip an electrical breaker
  • Short-cycling, where the system turns on and off and on and off without hitting temperatures
  • Changes in humidity or indoor air quality

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Troubleshooting Your Furnace

Check if your thermostat is turned off or try resetting your digital thermostat.

Often if your furnace starts acting poorly or not acting at all, the issue can be tied back to your thermostat rather than the furnace itself. Make sure your thermostat settings are correct, and if you have a digital thermostat, try a full reset according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Check your electrical and gas lines by testing other appliances that use them.

Problems with your furnace can also track back to the energy it uses—electricity and possibly gas. If a breaker is flipped or other electrical appliances on the circuit aren’t working, you have your culprit. Similarly, if you have a gas furnace and other gas appliances aren’t working right, you know what’s wrong.

Change the filter.

If you haven’t changed the filter in a while, it’s straightforward for it to be blocked entirely up to the point that air can’t flow through your system. Of course, even without that blockage, if it’s been that long, go ahead and change your filter—it’s good for your system and indoor air quality!

Check the exhaust and intake vents to make sure they’re not blocked.

Physical obstruction of the airflow of your furnace isn’t just a matter of filters. Intakes and vents can be blocked by duct and debris—or maybe someone just moved something in front of the intake and stopped the whole system.

Dirty furnace filter being cleaned with a vacuum, highlighting the importance of regular maintenance for HVAC systems and indoor air quality.

Choose Acosta for Emergency Repair

If your problem extends beyond simple thermostat resets and clogged filters, reach out to the experts at Acosta and get help as soon as possible. Quick action can save you a lot of discomfort and money in the future by getting ahead of breakdowns and severe damage resulting from a system in disrepair continuing in that state.

Contact us online or call us at 704.665.5998 to request help in Charlotte, South Charlotte, Waxhaw, and the surrounding areas!

Top 5 Reasons Everyone Is Switching to Gas Furnaces

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

As a homeowner, you have many options for how to regulate the temperature in your home. At Acosta Heating and Cooling, we want to help you make sure you’re choosing the best option. Here are some basic reasons for removing your electric furnace and replacing it with a gas furnace:

  1. Gas furnaces are much more efficient at heating your home with less energy usage, meaning your utility bills will be lower.
  2. Gas is a less expensive form of energy than electricity.
  3. Gas furnaces can heat a home quicker than an electric furnace.
  4. Gas furnaces are able to create a higher temperature in the home.
  5. Using a gas furnace is more environmentally friendly. Since coal is used to generate much of our country’s electricity, it is not as clean as the emissions produced by natural gas.

Gas Furnaces in Charlotte, NC

For each of these reasons listed above, we highly recommend switching to a gas furnace or installing a gas furnace for a newly built home. There are many financial, environmental, and operational benefits to making this change.

We also recommend having annual inspections and maintenance completed when the temperature starts to drop to ensure that everything will be functioning appropriately once it’s necessary. During inspections, have your home checked for adequate insulation and proper humidity levels as well. This will help determine if your home is leaking air, and maintaining the correct humidity level will reduce the risk of your furnace developing rust. Another important way to prepare your furnace for winter is to change the filter and clean around the filter. Making sure that you remove dust or any other build-up will improve airflow. To find out more, contact us today!

Finicky Furnaces: What to Do if Your Furnace Starts Having Problems in Winter Time

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

The good news is that in the middle of winter, furnaces are pretty reliable. However, chances are if your furnace is going to break down it will happen right in the dead of winter and probably in the middle of a snow storm! Have you ever thought about what you’d do if you were stuck in the cold with a malfunctioning furnace?

Furnaces that have been poorly maintained are more likely to malfunction. If your furnace suddenly breaks down, you can stay warm until you get help with some of these tips:

  • If you have one, fire up the fireplace. As long as your chimney is in good shape, burning a log or two will help you keep warm throughout the night.
  • Let as much sunlight in during the day as you can so that the sun can naturally warm your home. At night, close your curtains to keep some of that collected warmth in.
  • Close off unused rooms and focus on heating only a few rooms. Furnaces that are malfunctioning may at least be able to heat one or two rooms well enough until you can have your furnace serviced, but asking a malfunctioning furnace to heat a whole house might be too much to ask.
  • Bake some cookies! Turning on the oven will help you heat up the house as well as provide you with the bonus of delicious baked goods to keep the cold at bay.

Furnace Repair in Charlotte, NC

Furnaces can be finicky. That’s why it’s so important to have them regularly serviced and maintained. If your furnace is giving you trouble, call us at Acosta Heating and Cooling in Charlotte, North Carolina. We’re experts at installing, maintaining, and repairing furnaces in residential and commercial buildings and provide 24/7 emergency service. Call us today to have a technician come and look at your furnace!

Furnace Installation, Charlotte, NC

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Arguably one of the best inventions of the last century is the indoor furnace. While our not-too-distant ancestors used wood-burning stoves and coal to heat their homes, we have the ability to heat every room as warm as we would like with the push of a button! Although your Charlotte, North Carolina home isn’t likely to see sub-zero temperatures this winter, that doesn’t mean your furnace won’t see any use. Those long nights and short days can be very chilly without a properly functioning furnace. If your furnace isn’t likely to last one more winter, now is the time to look at Acosta Heating and Cooling for your furnace installation needs.

Our technicians have years of experience to help you select the furnace that will meet the needs of your home. While there are some calculators available to help you determine the size and style of furnace you need, if you calculate wrong, it can cost you considerable amounts of money on your utility bills that you could otherwise save. Our technicians will help you select, size, price and install the furnace that will be right for you. While electrical furnaces are rare in Charlotte, we are knowledgeable in both electric and gas furnace installation processes.

When you are looking for someone to install a quality furnace in your Charlotte, North Carolina home, look to us at Acosta Heating and Cooling. Check our website for online service requests or call our office to make an appointment. Fall is the perfect time to make sure your furnace is in good condition– let us help you with your furnace installation to keep your holiday season toasty warm!

When You Need Air Conditioning or Furnace Repair, We’re on Standby 365 Days a Year!

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

At Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical in Charlotte, North Carolina, we don’t take a vacation! We are ready for furnace repair or servicing (or any other HVAC problems) 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Because we are a service company, we have highly trained professionals who are on standby 24 hours a day. Even if it’s Christmas Day, we’ll be there for you.

Furnace Repair in Charlotte, NC

One of homeowners’ biggest fears is that contractors who work in their homes will destroy things or make a mess. Not us! We guarantee that we’ll leave your home better than we found it. If not, we’ll gladly pay to have your entire home professionally cleaned. That’s how confident we are.

Our air conditioning and furnace repair technicians are the best in workmanship, attitude and skill. We run extensive criminal background checks before employing anyone, and we also carry out random drug testing. We promise that our technicians will treat your home with respect and complete the job with precision and speed. They will wear floor-savers, clean up when they are done, and will be personally responsible for your total satisfaction.

Our air conditioning and furnace repair workers are polite and courteous and won’t use foul language inside your home or anywhere on your property. When they have finished, if they haven’t performed in accordance with these standards, we will extend your MSA (Money Saving Agreement) to include an extra visit at no charge. We do ask, however, that you tell us about your dissatisfaction on the same day that furnace repair, or any other job, was completed.

Repair Your Furnace to Keep Warm All Winter

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

All furnaces are not created equal. Some will sputter through the cold winter season and put out just enough heat to keep you from freezing to death, while others keep you plenty toasty, but at a utility cost that breaks the family budget! If you have an antiquated furnace, it just may be a good idea to have a professional take a look at it to see if some repairs could help. Often a furnace repair or even a replacement can actually pay for itself with the savings on your heating bill.

The best time to have your furnace checked out is in the summer or early autumn – in other words, before you actually need it. The reason for this is that many heating companies will offer discounts during that time. The other reason is that the last thing you want to happen is for it to fail in the middle of a winter storm when you might not be able to get someone to help you right away.

A heating professional will check out a number of things on your furnace. They will check the thermostat to make sure it is operating correctly and cycling the furnace appropriately. They will check out the venting systems to determine if there is any wear that needs to be addressed.  A serious problem is when there are wires that are frayed and thus a fire hazard, so having a professional check out and repair your furnace system could actually save your home and your life.

If your furnace is quite old or needs some costly repairs, a professional will be able to advise you on the cost to replace the furnace and how much of that you can recoup from lower heating costs from that point forward. In recent years, furnaces have been developed that are so efficient, they can cut your costs by hundreds of dollars each year.

Neglecting your furnace can be expensive and hazardous, so whether you choose to just have your furnace serviced and/or repaired to save some money or you opt to replace your furnace, the best way to get started is to call a furnace repair professional before winter.

If you need furnace repair in Charlotte NC or would simply like more information, contact us at Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical. We provide quality HVAC products & services at affordable rates. Give us a call today!

Signs of Needing Furnace Repair

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Furnace repair can be a very expensive part of life. It is important to catch the signs early, so you avoid a catastrophe and an even more expensive mess. Here are 7 signs that can help you realize whether you need furnace repair or not:

  • The prices of your gas and electric bill are going up. Furnaces lose efficiency with age, and this can increase exponentially if the furnace has not been properly maintained. This causes your furnace to work harder for the same amount of output while using more energy and eventually causing your gas or electric bills to rise. The money you pay the gas and electric company every month could be used to pay for new furnace.
  • Your furnace is multiple decades old. The life expectancy of a furnace is between 16 and 20 years. Any longer than this and your furnace is probably close to its end.
  • No matter what the thermostat says, you are still uncomfortable. Your furnace may lack the ability to properly distribute the air in your home, making some rooms warmer than others. Also your thermostat may need replacing.The furnace is making strange noises. Furnaces tend to make strange and loud noises near the end of their life. This could be a sign that the furnace is about to give.
  • Members of your household getting sick. As furnaces get older, they run the risk of getting damaged and cracked. This can cause carbon monoxide to leak into your home undetected and cause harm to your family. Symptoms include disorientation, nausea, and flu-like symptoms. It is highly recommended that everyone have a carbon monoxide detector installed in each living area of your home. If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, or if your carbon monoxide detector goes off, get out of the house immediately and do not go back in until the area has been inspected by professionals and proven to be safe
  • Yellow burner flame instead of a blue burner flame. A yellow burner flame might be a sign that your furnace is producing carbon monoxide. This is very dangerous to the members of your household.
  • Dirty or dusty home. Old furnaces cannot properly moisturize and clean the air inside of your home.

If you see any of these signs, you should consult with a professional to see about furnace repair or replacing your furnace.

In need of furnace services in the Charlotte metro area? Call Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical today at 704.665.5998 or contact us online!

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.