The average American household spends $900 annually on energy bills, half of which comes from heating and cooling costs, according to ENERGY STAR. It’s true –  we spend a lot on heating and cooling our home. This season, try these heating and cooling energy saving tips and learn more about how Douglas Cooling & Heating can help you save money on your HVAC repair in Birmingham.  

Heating and Cooling Energy Saving Tip #1: Check Your HVAC Filters Monthly

With cooler weather setting in, your heating and cooling system kicks into higher gear to keep your home comfortable. That’s why during these heavy-use months it becomes especially important to check your furnace’s air filter once a month. A dirty filter slows the flow of air through your home. This makes the system work harder and use more energy.

To keep your system running efficiently, now is also a great time to schedule your annual professional HVAC system tune-up.

Heating and Cooling Energy Saving Tip #2: Insulate Your Attic and Air Ducts

Another common area for heat to escape your home is through the attic. Ensure the space has enough insulation. It’s a good heating and cooling energy saving measure. It keeps warm air inside — and you more comfortable.

An additional energy-saving tactic is to seal and insulate air ducts. This especially impacts ducts in your attic or crawlspace. This often improves your HVAC system’s efficiency by as much as 10 percent, according to ENERGY STAR.

Heating and Cooling Energy Saving Tip #3: Invest in a Smart Thermostat

If you still have a manual or basic programmable thermostat, it may be wise to invest in a smart thermostat. It’s called “smart,” which means it “learns” your temperature preferences after a couple weeks of manual programming. Based on these household rhythms, it automatically adjusts to energy saving temperatures when you’re asleep or away.

Heating and Cooling Energy Saving Tip #4: Protect Your Windows and Doors

Outer walls, windows and doors are the most common areas for heat to escape your home. Per ENERGY STAR, save you up to 10 percent on your heating bills when you seal air leaks. Caulk around your windows and install weather stripping on doors.

For windows, hang quilted or thermal curtains. To maximize your energy saving, keep them open on windows with direct sun exposure. This is usually on the south side of the house. Let sunlight heat the room, then close them at sunset to trap heat indoors and keep the cold glass covered.

Heating and Cooling Energy Saving Tip #5: Add a Humidifier for Extra Heat

Especially during the winter months, air inside your home becomes dry. A humidifier adds moisture to the air in your home. This makes it feel warmer and retain heat better.

This allows you to feel comfortable even when your thermostat is set at a lower temperature. Houseplants also increase humidity in your home.

Heating and Cooling Energy Saving Tip #6: Get an Energy Audit

Most utility companies offer free energy audits. A professional from the company visits and performs an assessment of your home. An energy audit detects air leaks and identifies insulation problems with a blower door test.

He or she also finds leaks or problem areas you’ve missed with tools such as an infrared camera. This identifies points of heat loss in your home. Once addressed, you can improve overall energy efficiency.

Heating and Cooling Energy Saving Tip #7: Use Ceiling Fans to Circulate Heat

If you have fans, you can strategically use them to keep warm air moving through rooms in your home. Fans set to run counter-clockwise pull hot air up. Change their direction to clockwise and push heat along walls and down to keep rooms warmer.

Heating and Cooling Energy Saving Tip #8: Call Douglas Cooling & Heating!

Don’t spend more money warming your home this winter than necessary. Call the friendly service pros at Douglas Cooling & Heating to schedule a system tune-up. We’ll make sure it’s running as it should. We’re also happy to talk about more heating and cooling energy saving ideas.

For example, if your heat pump or furnace is older, or provides an AFUE of 80 percent or less, it may be time to upgrade. Heating and air technology have come a long way and the more efficient, the more money you save.

Interested? We’re happy to provide a free estimate. We also offer finance options to keep your household budget intact. Call us to improve the safety, comfort and energy savings in your Birmingham home today!

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Gas furnaces are a godsend to stay comfortable in your Alabama home all winter. They have lots of parts, however. If a problem ever arises it could stem from anywhere in your system.

Lucky for you, if you ever experience any of the issues common to gas furnaces, your heater may have a simple fix.

Gas Furnaces Problem: Furnace Won’t Start

This issue has many likely culprits. The most simple is your furnace might not be turned on or your thermostat not set to “heat.” It’s okay! It happens more than you think! Other issues include a faulty thermostat or circuit board.

Solution: Check the wiring connections. If you have a battery-powered thermostat, check if it needs fresh batteries. If neither fixes your problem, you may have a bad thermometer. You can check using an electrical multimeter to see if a circuit is complete.

Your next step is to call an HVAC technician. He or she can check if your furnace has a bad main circuit board, and if so, replace it.

Gas Furnaces Problem: Blower Won’t Shut Off

It’s likely the fan switch on the thermostat is set to “on.” Relays in the control board are stuck in the closed position, so the blower has a constant supply of electricity. Or you have worn contacts in your thermostat. These contacts which control power to the furnace may be at fault.

Solution: An easy thing you can try is first to turn the fan switch on thermostat to “auto.” Next, have an HVAC technician replace the thermostat or control board.

Gas Furnaces Problem: Furnace Keeps Shuts Off Early

If your furnace burner lights but the furnace shuts off soon after, it may be a dirty furnace filter. It might also be a broken flame sensor or a failing thermostat. Call an HVAC technician to diagnose.

Solution: Clean or replace your furnace filter. If your furnace continues to shut off, you may need to replace your flame sensor or thermostat.

Gas Furnaces Problem: Furnace Runs but House is Cold

If you have the proper-size furnace for the size of your home, it should keep your home warm no matter how cold it gets. If it runs constantly but fails to keep your house warm, it’s likely due to your filter or air ducts.

Solution: You may have a dirty filter. It may be the wrong type of filter for your furnace. This sometimes restricts airflow throughout your home. Your filter could be installed backward. All of these issues have pretty simple fixes. Your furnace’s manual should list the proper size for your unit.

If none of those suggestions remedy your cold air issue, you may have a leak somewhere in your air ducts, in which case you’ll need to have it sealed per Energy Star recommendations.

Gas Furnaces Problem: Furnace Makes Loud Noises

Any extra noise gas furnaces make are most often the result of old age or a broken part somewhere in the unit. It may also be a lack of maintenance.

Or, if you have a single-stage gas furnace which continuously runs on high capacity, it may just be the nature of your unit. These types of gas furnaces tend to be loud.

Solution:  Clean or replace your furnace filter — dirty ones can cause whistling. Otherwise, no matter what noise your furnace makes, your next best bet is to call an HVAC technician to help you diagnose and fix the issue.

It’s likely a part needs to be fixed somewhere. You may need a blower motor replacement. It’s possible your furnace cabinet leaks or ductwork near the furnace is loose.

We Can Help You Solve Your Problems with Gas Furnaces

Don’t sweat it if after trying any of these troubleshooting ideas your gas furnace still doesn’t work — the friendly expert HVAC technicians at Douglas Cooling & Heating have seen just about everything.

They can help you get your heat back up and running in no time. Call us to schedule a service call if you experience any issues common to gas furnaces.

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If your new year’s resolution this year is to save money, live healthier, or embrace new technology, great news — upgrading to a new heating and air system in your Alabama home can help you achieve all those goals and more.

Best of all, the friendly expert HVAC technicians at Douglas Cooling & Heating are here to assist your home’s HVAC system. We’re excited to help Birmingham heating and cooling perform at its best for another year.

Need more proof a new heating and air upgrade is a great idea in 2019? Read on for more benefits to an HVAC system upgrade this year.

New Heating and Air Saves Money on Energy Bills

The average HVAC system has a lifespan of about 15 years. If you can’t remember the last time you upgraded your home’s HVAC equipment or know it was at least longer than a decade, you’re a good candidate for investing in a new, more efficient heating and air system.

In addition, consider this: the Department of Energy reports homes heating and cooling their homes with high-efficiency models save up to 30 percent on their energy bills.

With those savings, it won’t be long until your investment in your family’s comfort starts paying for itself.

Breathe Easier with New Heating and Air Systems

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans spend an average of 90 percent of their time indoors. If you have an inefficient heating and cooling system, it adds up to a lot of exposure to allergens and other harmful particles in your home.

With a new high-efficiency heating and air system this year, rest assured your home feel more comfortable. The air you breathe will be cleaner, too.

High-efficiency systems come equipped with filtration systems and variable speed motors to provide constant purified airflow throughout your home. This is a major plus for allergy and asthma sufferers.

Add better ventilation throughout your home and everyone breathes easier.

Live in a Quieter, More Comfortable Home

If it’s been more than a decade since you updated your home’s clanging and banging HVAC equipment you’ll be amazed. The sound of a new heating and air system made with high-tech sound-absorbing materials will be music to your ears.

That’s because they’re so quiet and built for their intended purpose — for you to feel heating and cooling comfort, not hear it.

Integrate Smart Devices into Your Home

If your HVAC equipment is fairly new, you can still improve the comfort in your home.  

With smart thermostats, for example, you can program and control an efficient heating and cooling schedule from anywhere.

Change the settings with the tap of a button on an app on your smartphone. You can even set it to make automatic adjustments based on the weather forecast and your family’s preferences and schedule.

Improve Your Home’s Heating and Air System This Year

Make 2019 the best year yet for your home’s HVAC system. Call the pros at Douglas Cooling & Heating to guide you on the best options for enhancing your home with new heating and air equipment today. We’re also indoor air quality experts! We’re available for free estimates and finance options to improve your Birmingham home or business.

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Heating and air systems have many components which function together to deliver comfort to your home. For heating, the air handler is an important component of a heat pump system which delivers warm air throughout your home.

Learn how air handlers function with heating and air systems and see why this equipment is so vital to the heating process. If you have questions or need service for your Birmingham, Alabama-area home’s air handler, call Douglas Cooling & Heating today.

What Is an Air Handler in an HVAC System?

An air handler looks very similar to a gas furnace, except these two pieces of equipment function quite differently. Like a furnace, it uses a blower and fan to circulate air into the home.

While air handlers are available with supplemental heating, their primary use is not to generate heat, like a furnace.

Air handlers pair with split system air conditioners or heat pumps. Their main function is to circulate the conditioned air into your home. It connects to the home’s duct system to circulate air. The air handler is the indoor component of the split system and is paired with the outdoor component.

Air handlers look like a big metal box similar to a furnace. They contain a blower, filter compartment, heating or cooling elements, sound attenuators and dampers.

Do I Need an Air Handler for my Heating and Air System?

If your Birmingham, AL area home is equipped with a heat pump, an air handler is a must. The air handler’s job is to move air heated by the heat pump into your home for warmth – without it, your heat pump really wouldn’t do you much good.

New air handler technology offers features such as variable speed blower motors to adjust air speeds and save energy based on your home’s heating needs. This helps you cut heating energy consumption.

Air handlers improve air circulation in the home, benefitting indoor air quality. With an air handler paired with your heat pump, you’ll experience fewer pollutants and allergens inside your living areas.

As a result, your family breathes easier and copes with fewer respiratory illnesses.

Matching Air Handlers for Heating and Air

For best performance and efficiency, indoor and outdoor split system units should be properly matched. These heating and air components are designed to work together, and when one unit isn’t the right fit for the other, performance and efficiency will suffer.

It’s always smart to replace your air handler and your outdoor unit at the same time to ensure a matched heating and air system.

If you purchase a new high-efficiency air handler and do not replace the outdoor heat pump or air conditioner, your new air handler will not offer the efficiency levels you expect.

Non-matching units create more operating stress on the system, driving up energy costs, increasing wear and tear, and causing earlier breakdowns.

Heating and Air Professionals in Birmingham

Get the right air handler your heating and air system needs when you work with Douglas Cooling & Heating. Our NATE-certified technicians are happy to answer any air handler questions you may have.

We want to help you find a perfectly matched heating and air system to deliver the comfort your household needs. So, are you ready to get comfortable? Call Douglas!

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Just like all heating systems, heat pumps experience issues throughout the year which require HVAC troubleshooting to fix. Solve simpler heat pump issues with HVAC troubleshooting. If necessary, engage our NATE-certified heat pump technicians for the diagnosis and repair of more complex issues .

Douglas Cooling & Heating has compiled this HVAC troubleshooting for heat pump guides to help you quickly solve your simple heat pump issues and restore comfort sooner without the service fees.

Professional HVAC Troubleshooting for Heat Pumps

If you are not comfortable performing any of the HVAC troubleshooting steps below or your heat pump problem is more extensive, always call Douglas Cooling & Heating for professional help.

Our NATE-certified heat pump technicians are trained to diagnose and repair all heat pump issues. We also provide preventative maintenance to help you care for your Birmingham home’s heat pump and avoid performance issues such as the ones discussed below.

HVAC Troubleshooting for Heat Pumps

Heat pump won’t turn on

• Check the thermostat to make sure settings are correct (heat when heat is required, cool when air conditioning is required). Set the temperature either a few degrees higher than room temperature for heating or a few degrees lower for cooling, which should initiate a heat pump cycle.
• Check power sources to the thermostat. Change batteries if battery-powered. If hardwired, check the circuit breaker box. Is the breaker powering the thermostat tripped?
• Check power sources to the heat pump. Check the on/off switches located near your indoor and outdoor units. Have they accidentally flipped? Finally, check the home’s circuit breaker panel. Is the breaker powering the heat pump flipped?

Heat pump isn’t producing enough heating/cooling

• Make sure all registers throughout the home are open and all vents unblocked.
• Check your air filter. Change it if it’s clogged and restricts airflow.

Heat pump freezes up

• If the heat pump’s defrost cycle is not melting ice accumulated on the unit, turn off the system for HVAC troubleshooting.
• Check the air filter for clogs and replace it if needed.
• Inspect air vents throughout the home and make sure they are not closed or blocked.
• Try to gently remove any ice built up on the coil. Do not use tools which could damage the unit.
• Pour warm water slowly over the ice to melt it.
• If gutters above the unit are allowing water to empty onto your heat pump, reroute the flow of water away from your heat pump.

Heat pump makes loud noises during operation

• Loose cover panels often cause rattling noises during operation. Check all panels to the unit. Securely tighten all screws.
• Inspect ductwork if possible for loose sections which may cause noise during operation. You may be able to seal or tighten these sections yourself, or call Douglas Cooling & Heating for professional HVAC troubleshooting.

Douglas Cooling & Heating – HVAC Troubleshooting Experts in Birmingham

For professional HVAC troubleshooting of your heat pump issues, contact Douglas Cooling & Heating today to schedule heat pump service. Our NATE-certified heat pump technicians are available 24/7 to diagnose and repair your home’s heat pump to improve performance and keep your home at comfortable temperatures year-round.

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Winter getaways to visit family or simply going on vacation is a staple for many Birmingham, AL area homeowners. Before leaving, you’ll run through many steps to keep your home safe while you’re away – is your heating and air system on the list?

Your heating and air equipment, when set properly, will help keep your home safe even when its unoccupied. Douglas Cooling & Heating tells you how to use your systems to protect your home so you can enjoy your winter vacation care-free.

Heating and Air Care for Winter Vacation

Before you leave for winter vacation, follow our heating and air system to-do list to ensure the safety of your home and HVAC equipment while you’re gone.

Schedule preventative maintenance for your heating and air equipment

Even after you’ve started using your heating system for the year, it’s not too late for preventative maintenance!

A preventative maintenance tune-up will work to ensure the system is operating properly, while you’re home and while you’re away. This protects against unexpected breakdowns when no one is home to discover them.

Schedule heating and air repair

If your heating system struggles to keep up with demand, makes unusual noises, or experiences other performance issues, call Douglas Cooling & Heating. Have our NATE-certified heating and air technicians take care of these problems before you leave town.

This helps prevent the issue from snowballing while you’re gone, leading to a costlier repair and extensive damage.

Check and change your furnace filter before you go

Before you leave town, inspect your air filter to see if it’s ready for a change. Change the filter if caked in gray dirt and debris.

Why change your air filter before vacation? If your furnace or heat pump operates with a dirty air filter, it could overheat.

When this problem goes undetected while you’re gone, the issue persists and could cause serious damage to your heating and air system.

Set your thermostat to about 50 degrees while you’re away

Do not completely shut off your heating and air system while you’re gone in the winter! If you have a programmable or smart thermostat, use the hold or vacation feature. This temporarily interrupts programmed or learned schedules over the course of your vacation.

This temperature set point prevents frozen pipes while you are gone. It also keeps any animals staying home comfortable and safe.

Setting your thermostat back to about 50 degrees decreases your energy bills for the period and prevents heating your home while it’s unoccupied.

According to the Department of Energy, turning back your thermostat seven to 10 degrees for periods of 8 hours a day from their normal settings can generate an energy savings of up to 10 percent each year.

When you return, be sure to increase the temperature gradually. Flipping the thermostat from 50 to 72 is not good for your equipment.

At Home or Away, Douglas Cooling & Heating is Your HVAC Contractor

Using your heating and air system properly while you’re away will keep your home safe from damaging low temperatures. If your heating or cooling system requires repair or replacement this winter, contact Douglas Cooling & Heating right away!

Our NATE-certified technicians perform reliable installation and repairs to keep your home comfortable throughout the winter months.

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