Thermostat Control

A house that is slightly cooler than the outside feels far more comfortable than you might think. Relative temperatures can go a long way. So when it’s 100 degrees outside there is no need to try to create a 60 degree environment inside. 77 or 78 degrees Fahrenheit is only slightly above ideal room temperature and can be plenty comfortable when it’s far hotter outside. Your AC system will not need to work as hard to maintain that kind of temperature.

• Use Digital Thermostats – they are more accurate and can be programmable to set different temperatures for certain times of the day.
• Dial down your thermometer a couple degrees at night – cooler evening temps make for a better sleeping environment and it easier for your system to bring temperatures down a bit more in the cool night air.
• Dial it up a few more degrees for times of the day when there is usually nobody home. A cold house does not keep you cool if you’re not there.
• Don’t position heat-producing appliances, such as televisions or lamps, near the thermostat. The added heat can fool your thermostat, causing the unit to run longer than necessary.

Cranking your Thermostat Way Down DOES NOT Speed Up How Fast your House Cools Down!!

Don’t do this. It does not work. AC units only have two settings – off and on. When your thermostat detects your house has warmed too far past your setting the AC unit kicks in and will run until the thermostat detects the house has cooled enough. Cranking it farther than usual means it just runs the same but probably for longer since you’ll have a tendency to forget to turn it back up, meaning you’ve let it run too long and consumed more energy than you needed too.

Central Air Conditioning Maintenance

The central AC unit is the largest energy draw. Old and poorly maintained equipment draws far more energy.

• Replace old air conditioners with a modern high efficiency Energy Star unit – they use a lot less energy (up to 40%)
• Choose the right size air conditioner – too small a unit will struggle to keep up and run constantly, too large a unit will cool your home too fast and frequently be turning off and on while not doing enough to reduce humidity.
• Check the air filters on your AC system – replace them on schedule. Dirty and clogged filters cause the system to work harder, using more energy.
• Schedule a yearly maintenance with your HVAC contractor to ensure your units are running at peak efficiency.
• Keep your air conditioner out of the sun – install on shady side of house or at least have it protected by shrubs or a partial wall or fence

Reduce Solar Heat Inputs

The sun will heat any object it shines upon and that includes the inside of your home. These tips will help reduce solar heating as well as save your flooring and furniture from fading.

• Close curtains on windows facing the sun
• Install thermal liners on your curtains – they reflect more of the heat back out the window
• Install window tinting on sun facing windows – residential tint film is designed to cut UV rays substantially
• Plant trees and shrubs around your house – their shade will help keep the house cooler
• Paint your house a lighter color – darker colors absorb solar energy, lighter colors reflect it away
• Make sure your attic is properly ventilated, your roof absorbs a lot of heat. Vents in the eaves allows hot air to escape. Consider adding a ridge vent or attic fan.

Reduce Other Internal Heat Gains

Besides the sun there are many things and activities around the home that produce heat.

• Turn off pilot lights on gas furnaces and fire places – you don’t need them during the summer
• Cook outside – It’s summer, enjoy the BBQ as much as possible on hot days
• Install compact florescent bulbs, they produce a lot less heat than incandescent bulbs
• Turn off appliances – even unplug them. Many TV’s, CD players, satellite TV receivers, stereos, cell phone chargers and other electronic devices draw power and give off heat even when turned off.
• Keep your fridge and freezer full – more food in your fridge and freezer means it won’t warm up as fast when the door is open. Also all that thermal mass stays cooler longer and the fridge does not have to work as hard to keep it cool. When the cooling system is running on your fridge it is producing warm air in your home.
• Take shorter showers and vent off the warm moist air – open a window while showering.
• Reduce clothing dryer use – hang clothing outside if you can. Don’t use the dryer during peak daytime temperatures, instead use it early morning or in the evening. And keep that lint trap clean!
• Don’t use the dryer setting on your dishwasher. Instead open the door and let them air dry.

Divide your House into Zones

Large buildings employ zoning to more efficiently manage cooling and heating. You can do the same in your home. Most modern central air systems will employ automated zone control systems. Some home systems may employ two or three different central ac units each cooling a single floor of the house. If your system does not have these sorts of zone controls built in you can try these tips.

• Have your HVAC contractor install zone dampers into your air duct system.
• Close off empty and unused rooms – close doors, windows, curtains and vents. There is no need to cool this space as much as the rest of your home.
• If your central AC uses separate thermostats for different floors (or zones) of your house, adjust temperatures according to usage patterns in those parts of your house.
• Use small room AC units in your more lived in areas (living room, bedroom). You can let the rest of the house remain a few degrees warmer, reducing central a/c use which can offset the costs of the extra unit.

Keep the Air Flowing

• Use fans – they circulate the air around and moving air help your bodies natural air conditioning (evapo-transpiration) work better.
• Turn fans off when you’re not in the room. Moving air cools your skin, moving air with no skin nearby cools nothing, it just eats electricity, and the fans’ motor is producing a little bit of heat.
• Re-Arrange your furniture – make sure chairs and sofa’s are not blocking air flow from your HVAC vents.

Reduce Humidity in your Home

Ridding your house of excess humidity will help make your family feel more comfortable. You may even be able to set your air conditioner above 78 degrees when using a dehumidifier combined with fans. Your body can stand a couple extra degrees if the air is drier and moving around.

• Use a dehumidifier to take water out of the air- turn it on when the temperature rises.
• As mentioned above (reduce internal heat gains), minimize showers, baths and boiling water while cooking to reduce humidity inputs into your home.

Insulate and Plug Air Leaks Around your Home

Trap cold air inside as much as possible. Letting it leak outdoors mean you have to cool more of it to replace those cold air losses.

• Weather-strip, seal, and caulk leaky doors and windows and install foam gaskets behind outlet covers.
• Seal air ducts – leaky ducts mean you push less cool air to where you need it. Have your AC contractor test and seal your duct work.
• Increase attic insulation – insulate your attic to at least R-30.
• Use kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans sparingly – you’re pumping out your cool air.

Watch Out for the “Rebound Effect”

If you follow many of the tips in this article you will certainly reduce your energy consumption and save money. Depending on where you live and the size of your home those savings could be hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year. A nice chunk of change for most anybody. Be careful though not to simply use the money you save to buy more energy consuming devices or turn your AC down a few degrees thinking you can now be cooler while spending the same as you did before. In energy and conservation economics this is known as the rebound effect.

Got any more energy saving tips related to air conditioner usage? Leave them in the comments below.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to knock a particular home warranty company or person within. This was written as a glimpse of what goes on with home warranties and how it effects the home owner. Our experience of home warranty companies might not reflect what happens in other areas of the country.

As contractors, when we first start out learning the trade, it is drilled into us to never talk bad about other contractors or anyone else in the industry. However, it is very difficult for us as air conditioning professionals to be in the business of serving people while experiencing all the negative that surrounds home warranties and stay completely silent about it.

False Sense of Protection

Most consumers first get a taste of a home warranty because it was sold with their home when they moved into it. They then renew every year with the assumption of when something goes wrong with their home, it will be covered. Homeowners pay a service fee (deductible) the first time a service provider is dispatched by the warranty company to make a repair.

Every week we get many calls from uncomfortable homeowners who have a home warranty and they are in a panic. Most have been without air conditioning for 3+ days because the home warranty company and the approved contractor they recommend to come out can’t get to them for several days.

The devil is in the details.

Home warranty companies are not on the consumers side (nor the contractors side). They are NOT in business to spend money. They are simply an insurance company looking to protect their interests and reduce claims.

On the home warranty contract, there is some very fine print. Most of it states obvious reasons that a claim would not be approved. But a lot of people don’t see the deeper motives and issues surrounding their business model. Here are some helpful points you should consider before moving forward with signing a home warranty contract.

If you keep in mind the true cost of the warranty (contract premiums, deductibles, time spent on the phone arguing, delays and lack of quick resolution, dealing with less than stellar service companies, the fine print, agent kickbacks), you might want to rethink how to spend your hard earned money.

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Re-authorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 was signed into law December 17, 2010. Section 25c tax credits (the official name of the energy tax credits) are available to taxpayers who make energy efficient retrofits to their homes. The tax credits are extended through 2011, but at a significantly reduced value compared to the previous tax credits of 2009-2010.

Starting on January 1, 2011 and through December 31, 2011, an eligible homeowner can claim 10% of the costs, capped at $500, for the installation of qualified energy efficient improvements, subject to certain limits.

Under the new law, for HVAC, the maximum a homeowner could claim is $300 for a qualified central air conditioner or heat pump, and $150 for a qualified furnace or hot water boiler, and $50 for any advanced main air circulating fan. Those 3 add up to the $500 maximum.

Beyond the change to the tax credit values, the new law will increase the qualifying standards for natural gas hot water boilers, propane hot water boilers, oil furnaces, and oil hot water boilers to 95% AFUE. The qualifying standards for natural gas furnaces and propane furnace remain at 95% AFUE.

The qualifying standard for central air conditioners and heat pumps, which were modified by the Stimulus bill in 2009, are not changed. Therefore, a central air conditioner must meet or exceed 16 SEER and 13 EER; and an air source heat pump must meet or exceed 15 SEER and 12.5 EER and 8.5 HSPF, in order to qualify for the tax credit.

Finally, the new law reinstates the lifetime credit caps, which disqualify any homeowner who has claimed more than $500 in Section 25c tax credits since January 1, 2005, from any further credits.

Qualifying HVAC Equipment Tax Break Down:

• Central Air Conditioners: 16 SEER and 13 EER = $300 credit
• Heat Pumps: 15 SEER and 12.5 EER = $300 credit
• Natural Gas Furnaces: 95% AFUE = $150 credit
• Advanced Main Air Circulating Fan: ECM Blower = $50 credit

Information on the process for applying for the tax credits can be seen here.

Source: ACCA
Houston Air Conditioning & Heating -  2011 HVAC Energy Tax Credit

You’ve probably seen the ads that promise a “Complete Air Conditioning or Furnace Tune-Up for $19.95″ and you’ve probably wondered things like:

“How can companies offer air conditioning & heating tune-ups for $20, $30 or even $40″

OR

“Wouldn’t it cost more than that just to drive a service truck to my house?”

Well guess what? It does!

The answer is, many customers end up paying a lot more in the end than that low, hard-to-resist advertised price…

There are some honest companies that use a low price to attract new customers. They’re willing to do a great job and take a loss on their first contact with you in the hope that you’ll continue to use them again and again. There’s nothing wrong with that.

But some companies have a different agenda. Some offer the ridiculously low priced tune-up and then send a “technician” to your home to perform a very basic clean and check. That tech is trained to up-sell you on often unnecessary repairs or even a complete replacement of your system. At best you end up with a shoddy “tune-up”. At worst, a big repair bill.

Our Tune-up is different. When you call us, we’ll send a NATE certified technician to your home for a complete and thorough tune-up that will ensure your system is in peak operating condition. If we discover any problems, we’ll quote you an up-front price from our price book and even offer you a seasonal guarantee. We can’t do what we do for $19.95, but we can promise you a fair price for an honest service.

Save this coupon and take $5 off our Clear Advantage Membership that includes 2 seasonal tune-ups (one for your air conditioner and one for your heater)

Copyright © 2010 Service Roundtable ®

With passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, consumers can upgrade to more energy-efficient HVAC equipment and save on their energy bills now, and also save on their taxes next year. The new law makes important changes to existing tax incentives for homeowners who make qualified improvements of higher efficiency HVAC equipment.

(For more information on how higher efficiency equipment can save you more money, please see our previous post here.)

Houston Metro Residents should contact us about applying this tax credit to new HVAC equipment. Outside Houston contact your local HVAC contractors.

Residential Tax Credit Details

For qualified improvements, homeowners may be able to claim tax credits equal to 30% of the installed costs (up to $1,500).

• Furnace to qualify 95% AFUE
• Boiler to qualify 90% AFUE
• A/C to qualify 16 SEER + 13 EER
• Heat Pump same as A/C plus HSPF 9
• Water Heater energy factor .8 (tankless)

Please ask your comfort adviser for details on qualifying equipment.

• The new tax credits are retroactive to January 1, 2009, and expire on December 31, 2010. The $1,500 limit is for all improvements made during the two year term, not $1500 each year.

• Per-Appliance Caps Removed – Homeowners may use the entire $1,500 tax credit limit on a single qualifying improvement. The previous per-appliance caps that limited the homeowner to just $150 for a high efficiency furnace or $300 for a high efficiency central air conditioner or heat pump have been removed.

• Lifetime Limit Removed – Homeowners that previously claimed tax credits in 2006 or 2007 are eligible for the full $1,500 limit.

• Expanded Geothermal Tax Credits – Homeowners who install geothermal heat pump systems may be able to claim up to 30% of the installed costs in tax credits in the year the system is placed into service. The $2,000 tax credit limit has been removed. The geothermal tax credit has a longer term, from January 1, 2009 and expires December 31, 2016.

• Consumers should be aware that the $1,500 limit applies to many types of energy efficient home improvements, including windows and doors, roofing shingles, and insulation. You can use the $1500 on just HVAC improvements or on a combination of above home improvements.

Frequently Asked Questions About the New Tax Credits

Can a homeowner claim $1500 in tax credits for improvements made in 2009 and again for improvements made in 2010?
No. Taxpayers may only be eligible for a total of $1500 in tax credits for improvements made in the combined two year period of 2009 and 2010.

Can a homeowner use the entire $1500 limit as a credit toward the installation of one appliance?
Yes. A homeowner may use the entire $1500 in tax credits for installing a single appliance, such as a qualified furnace, air conditioner, heat pump, or hot water heater.

What happens if the 30% of the installed costs is less than $1500?
The homeowner can “bank” the the remaining available tax credit for other qualified improvements. Any single installation that costs more than $5000 will instantly reach the $1500 limit.

Does the tax credit apply to the cost of the equipment or equipment plus labor?
The tax credit applies to the installed costs of the qualified equipment, which includes labor.

How will a taxpayer claim the credit and receive their money?
In the past, the IRS has directed taxpayers to use Form 5695, Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit. Taxpayers are not required to file anything more than the form, but are instructed to keep records of their installation.

What’s the difference between a tax credit and a tax deduction?
As a tax credit applies against the taxpayers’ liability. A tax deduction applies against a taxpayer’s income, lowering the adjusted gross income and possibly moving the taxpayer to a lower tax bracket. Tax credits have a greater benefit to a taxpayer.
With a tax credit, if the taxpayer owes $2000, in taxes, their liability is reduced to $500. If they owe nothing, they can expect a $1500 refund.

What if the homeowners already claimed $500 in tax credits in 2006 or 2007?
The “lifetime caps” that used to be in place have been removed. Any previous claims do not count against the current $1500 tax credit limit.

Can a homeowner claim the credit for improvements to a second home?
No. The tax credit is only available for improvement to the taxpayer’s primary residence.

Can a small business that operates out of a townhouse and installs residential equipment in a commercial setting claim the credit?
No. The tax credit may only be claimed by taxpayers on their personal income taxes for improvements to their primary residence.

What other types of energy efficiency improvements qualify for the tax credits?
Homeowners may be able to qualify for the tax credits if they make qualified improvements to: windows and doors including skylights, storm windows and storm doors; roofing including metal and asphalt roofs; and insulation. All of these improvements qualify, but homeowner may only claim $1500 in total for any improvements.

Will every homeowner definitely qualify for the tax credit?
No. Each taxpayer’s situation is different. Please consult with a tax professional if you have questions regarding your tax situation in regards to these new credits.

It’s hard to find good news for your wallet these days, but these new tax credit changes can help you keep your cool in terms of both comfort and savings!

But the Financial DOOM & GLOOM in the News Got You Down?

LET US BAIL YOU OUT!

Save 12.5% on a New Air Conditioning System, RIGHT NOW!

That’s right! We’re easing the strain on your wallet by offering a significant discount on all new central air conditioner installations. Same goes for heat pumps, air handlers, even gas furnaces.

**UPDATE!** Take advantage of this offer before it ends, and we’ll also include a new digital thermostat with your system at no extra charge!

Don’t Wait! This Sale Ends in 2 Weeks

Contact Us Today and tell us you need a bailout package.

Energy Savings Too!

The technology in today’s heating and cooling equipment makes for highly efficient energy use. The Trane units we sell are the industry leaders in efficiency. You will enjoy added savings on your monthly utility bills. The average savings are 30% and can go as high as 60%. That adds up to a lot of money, every year.

What Credit Crisis?

We have two financing providers should you need to make a purchase on credit. Both are still actively taking finance applications and approval rates are normal.

Weathering the Financial Storm

At Clear the Air we are well positioned to ride out the credit crunch and any oncoming recession. As a leading central A/C dealer and contractor in the Metro Houston market we have excellent purchase agreements with our suppliers and can ensure our products will continue going out.

We will always be the company that is here to service your home comfort system and continue to service manufacturer warranties, as well as back our installation guarantees.

Take advantage of this Bailout Sale now. By the time the dust settles in the stock markets this sale will be over.

Give us a call at (281) 992-7866 or click to our contact page and send an email.

Note: With passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, homeowners may be able to claim tax credits equal to 30% of the installed costs (up to $1,500) if you upgrade to more energy-efficient HVAC equipment. For more information on these HVAC tax credits, click here.

So how old is your A/C system?

In 2006, a federal regulation mandated that central cooling systems had to have a minimum S.E.E.R. (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) rating of 13. Up to that point, the minimum rating had been 10. So what does that mean to you? Basically, the higher the SEER rating, the more energy efficient the central air conditioning unit and the less electricity you’ll need to cool your home. Even 6 year old systems are considered grossly inefficient by today’s energy efficiency standards.

According to Consumer Reports, “A central air conditioning unit rated at a 13 SEER uses up to 30 percent less electricity than a 10 SEER system. With higher energy costs predicted in many parts of the country, consumers will have that payback on the unit much quicker with less electricity being used.” Considering that going from, say, a 10 S.E.E.R. system to something like a 16 S.E.E.R. could save you an average of 50-60% on your electric bills, a new high-efficiency system can pay for itself a lot more quickly than you might think.

Also, a new system is going to be quieter, as well as simply make your home more comfortable. And finally, a new high-efficiency cooling system is going to add significantly to your home’s resale value.

You worked hard for your money all last year. If you are anticipating a tax refund, consider making an investment in your family’s comfort and your home’s value.