Heating and Cooling Unit or Home Mechanical Hero?

As an Alabama resident, you have more options for heating and cooling needs than traditional air conditioners and furnaces. Heat pumps offer efficient heating and cooling year-round. Let’s determine if heat pumps are a viable option for your home.

How Heat Pumps Work

A heat pump provides both heating and cooling year-round using a mechanical-compression to cycle refrigeration. The refrigerant can be reversed to supply hot or cold air to your home. Heat pumps are comprised of the outdoor unit, similar to an air conditioner and an indoor air handler. A compressor circulates the refrigerant as it travels between the indoor and outdoor units.

A heat pump works by continually moving warm air from one location to another, depending on the season. Heat energy is present in all air, including cold air. During the winter, a heat pump extracts heat from outside and transfers it inside your home. It does the opposite during the warmer months by pulling heat out of your home and releasing it outside.

Types of Heat Pumps

Heat pumps come in a variety of options, depending on your needs and the fuel source. All options collect heat from one location to another. The most common heat pump is an air-source heat pump. It transfers heat from the air outside or inside your home. Air-source heat pumps deliver close to three times more heat energy to a home than the energy it consumes.

The second type of heat pump is a geothermal heat pump. These are sometimes referred to as GeoExchange, ground-source, water-source or earth-coupled. Geothermal heat pumps use the temperature of the earth to heat or cool a home.

They pull the heat from the ground or water to warm your house or cool it. Geothermal units last longer and perform more quietly. They require less maintenance and are unaffected by the outside temperature.

Absorption heat pumps are the third option. Their power source uses natural gas, solar-heated water, geothermal-heated water or propane. Natural gas is the most common source for absorption heat pumps.

Referred to as gas-fired heat pumps, they use an ammonia-water absorption cycle to heat or cool a home. First, the ammonia condenses in one coil to release heat and reduce the pressure.

Second, the ammonia evaporates to absorb the heat. Third, the ammonia releases into the water. Lastly, the heat source boils the water and removes the ammonia.

Why Heat Pumps Are a Great Option For You

Heat pumps move heat instead of generating it, which offers more energy efficiency when heating or cooling your home. Typical air-forced heat pump units use electricity, so fuel consumption isn’t an issue when heating your home in the winter.

As you can see, heat pumps are best for homeowners who live in a moderate winter climate, such as Alabama!

Need more help to decide? Call and ask questions of our professional staff. A member of our sales team can visit your home, take the appropriate measurements and perform the necessary calculations. He or she will prepare recommendations for you and can connect you with financing if necessary.

Ready to purchase or upgrade? Our NATE-certified technicians will expertly install your heat pump and show you basic care. Contact Douglas Cooling & Heating today and bring this home heating and cooling hero to your squad. We are your HVAC repair, service and installation experts.

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A Job Well Done Deserves Appreciation

Summer is coming to a close, which means your air conditioner deserves a much-needed break. Unfortunately, you can’t treat it to a spa day. You can, however, tune-up your air conditioner, which thoroughly cleans it and preps it for next summer.

Your cooling system performs non-stop during the summer months and accumulates excessive wear and tear over the season.

When you maintain your cooling unit at the end of summer,  it will be ready to go when you need it. Schedule preventative maintenance on your air conditioner to preserve warranties and catch problems early.

Your heating system also benefits from routine maintenance before the cold weather hits.  Call Douglas Cooling & Heating to schedule service for your furnace or heat pump and be ready when the temps drop.

Benefits of Air Conditioner Service

The components of your cooling system are likely to experience natural wear and tear over time. Maintenance or tune-ups help reduce unexpected and expensive HVAC repairs in the future.

Relax knowing your air conditioning will reliably perform. Other benefits of routine service are:

• Your Air Conditioner Will Last Longer. The average lifespan of an air conditioning unit is between 10 to 15 years. With routine maintenance and tune-ups, your air conditioner may last 15 to 20 years. The cost of annual maintenance and service check-ups throughout the summer months is worth it when you compare the price of a replacement.
  
• Fewer HVAC Repairs. When your air conditioner has a clogged filter or ductwork, it compromises the airflow. When cool air is restricted from moving through your home, your air conditioner works harder to achieve ideal temperatures.
  
  Maintenance catches existing problems early and correct them before they are expensive to fix. Your air conditioner doesn’t require as many repairs when serviced regularly.
  
• Healthier Indoor Air. Air conditioners work hard all summer long to provide you with cool temperatures. During operation dirt, dust and other debris accumulate on the inside.
  
  When an air conditioner is serviced, the inner components are cleaned, and the air filter is replaced. Your indoor air quality improves when allergens, pollen and pet dander are kept out of your AC unit and its filter.

Don’t Forget About Your Heating System

After showing your cooling system some appreciation, your furnace or heat pump needs to be ready to handle the coming colder weather. Preventative maintenance in the fall is the perfect option for your heating system. A NATE-certified technician inspects for damaged components, clears away debris, and diagnoses any potential problems.

Douglas Cooling & Heating offers three types of maintenance agreements, which offer repair discounts and pricing deals. We provide the best heating and cooling service throughout Birmingham and the surrounding areas.

Show your air conditioner how much you appreciate its efforts and book a tune-up. Go a step further and invest in a preventative maintenance agreement for your furnace or heat pump.

You will enjoy increased performance and lower energy bills when your HVAC system is inspected and cleaned regularly. Call Douglas Cooling & Heating today!

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Labor Day May Have Passed – It’s Still Hot in Alabama

Even though school is starting and your adventures are coming to an end, your air conditioner still needs to perform. Alabama experiences hot weather into fall, which means a tune-up on your air conditioner needs to be a top priority.

It’s easy to lose track of time and forget to schedule maintenance before summer arrives. It’s not too late to improve your air conditioner’s performance.

Douglas Cooling & Heating offers service on air conditioners, including preventative maintenance plans, tune-ups, HVAC repairs and upgrade options. We will inspect your cooling system and ensure its working efficiently long after summer is finished.

We offer financing options and free estimates when a replacement air conditioner is necessary. Call Douglas Cooling & Heating for a comfortable home for the end of summer.

Help Your Air Conditioner Push Through

A regularly-maintained air conditioner performs efficiently. It keeps you cool without blowing up your energy bill. Know the warning signs something is wrong with your air conditioner before it’s too late:

• Strange Noises: An air conditioner, especially newer energy-efficient models, are designed to perform quietly in the background. They aren’t supposed to draw attention to themselves, so when loud noises are noticed when air conditioners start up, operate or shut off, something is wrong.
  
  If you notice clanging, banging, shrieking, grinding or rattling noises, don’t hesitate to call Douglas Cooling & Heating immediately. Any strange sounds you hear are signs your air conditioner needs help ASAP!
• Expensive Energy Bills: If you notice your energy bill keeps getting higher and higher each month, the problem might be your air conditioner. Dirty air conditioners experience airflow issues on a daily basis.
  
  Dirt, dust and other debris accumulate inside your air conditioner and clog your air ducts. Restricted airflow forces it to work harder to supply cold air around your home, which means it expends more energy trying to cool your home.
• Foul Odors: When your AC unit is running, pay attention to the smells floating throughout your home. If you notice weird smells, such as rotten eggs, mildew or a burning smell, call Douglas Cooling & Heating.
  
  Every smell points to a different problem and our NATE-certified professionals can diagnose and correct it.

Upgrade Your Air Conditioner

If your air conditioner is close to 15 years old and you are experiencing lots of repairs, consider upgrading to a more energy efficient unit. A new cooling system is an investment while the added expense pays off in the long run. You will notice lower energy bills and better performance when you retire your old inefficient AC unit.

Douglas Cooling & Heating offers several options for your cooling needs within different budgets. Achieving energy efficiency in your home is easy with our help. Quick and easy free estimates are available from an online form.

We will send a team member to your house to perform an in-home consultation. We will assist you with financing options so you can enjoy the comfort and safety you deserve!

Don’t hesitate to schedule a tune-up on your air conditioner before the summer ends. You will enjoy cool air and lower energy bills when you seek help from our NATE-certified technicians. Call Douglas Cooling & Heating today to schedule service or find out more about upgrading to a more energy efficient air conditioner.

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Muggy and Mold? Nope

Most people associate allergies with springtime, but allergies run throughout the year. The summer keeps things hot and moist, which can spell disaster for allergy and asthma sufferers. Hot and humid weather also causes air conditioners to struggle.

Humidity is where things go wrong. Healthy humidity levels in a home are between 30 and 50 percent for most of the U.S. In Birmingham, a realistic level with air conditioners is closer to 50 to 60 percent. When the levels go well above, your home becomes a breeding ground for all sorts of allergens.

Although air conditioners are designed to remove moisture from the air, they can’t remove all of it. They struggle when the humidity levels are high. Many people use air purifiers, ultraviolet light, and high-efficiency filters with their air conditioners.

However, when allergens take hold, it’s a nightmare to eliminate when the moisture in your home is too high. Let’s review how dehumidifiers work with air conditioners to control ideal humidity levels and reduce allergens in a home.

Allergy Symptoms Occur When Humidity is High

Humidity allows several different allergens to grow and thrive inside your home. Small and poorly ventilated areas, such as bathrooms, laundry rooms or small kitchens, are prime spots for moisture to accumulate. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, high humidity might be the problem:

• Sneezing
• Difficulty breathing or constant wheezing
• Itchy, watery eyes
• Stuffy nose
• Skin irritations and rashes.

Mold and Mildew are Eliminated

Damp areas in your home create the ideal environment for mold and mildew to grow and spread. Those who suffer from allergies or asthma experience similar symptoms when mold or mildew are present in a home.

A whole-home dehumidifier stops mold and mildew from growing in your home and air conditioner. By controlling the moisture indoors, dehumidifiers work smoothly with air conditioners to create the ideal humidity level to stop mold in its tracks!

Prevents Dust Mites from Spreading

Dust mites are nasty microscopic organisms that feed off dead skin cells. They live and grow in bedding, upholstery and mattresses. When homes are too moist and hot, dust mites reproduce rapidly.

They are a common indoor allergen trigger for asthma and allergy sufferers. Keeping your home’s humidity level below 50 – 60 percent will prevent dust mites from surviving and spreading throughout your home.

Controls Moisture in Every Corner

Portable dehumidifiers only alleviate the moisture in a set space, while whole-home dehumidifiers work with air conditioners to control humidity throughout entire homes.

As your air conditioner operates, the dehumidifier removes the excess moisture in the air before circulating it through the air ducts. By removing moisture from the air-conditioned air, you experience less damp spots throughout your home.

Increases Air Conditioners Efficiency

Air conditioners can remove some moisture when the humidity is low outside. However, installing a whole-home dehumidifier with your air conditioner increases its performance and efficiency throughout the summer.

Moisture can accumulate inside air conditioners when the humidity is high, which can interfere with the inner components and force units to work harder to deliver controlled temperatures throughout homes.

By reducing moisture inside your air conditioner, your unit will operate smoothly and experience less wear and tear when the heat is high outside.

Reduce moisture by pairing dehumidifiers with air conditioners, which will increase the performance and efficiency of cooling systems. You will feel healthier and experience less allergy and asthma symptoms when your home is dry.

Contact Douglas Cooling & Heating to learn more about our dehumidifiers or schedule installation today!

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Strategies to keep you comfortable

Summer is hitting its high points this August, which means your home needs to be ready! Instead of lowering the thermostat and raising your air conditioning bills, try more energy-efficient methods. The first step toward lower energy bills is scheduled maintenance with one of our NATE-certified experts at Douglas Cooling & Heating.

For more great suggestions to try on your own, keep reading!

Create a Wind-Chill Effect

Ceiling fans and portable fans are an energy-efficient option to keeping your home cool. Fans themselves don’t create cold air. Instead, they help distribute and recirculate air-conditioned air in rooms.

By moving cold air around, the sweat on your skin dissipates and creates a wind-chill effect. You will feel several degrees cooler without touching your thermostat, even during the hottest time of the day.

If you are looking to save more money on your air conditioning bills, try to raise your thermostat a few degrees while your fans are in motion. You will hardly feel or notice the difference and still enjoy cool temperatures throughout the day.

Just remember to turn the fans off when no one is in a room to enjoy the effect; otherwise you aren’t helping your air conditioning bills.

Create More Shade Indoors

By using your blinds and shades over your windows to block direct sunlight from entering your home, you create shade without even trying. This is especially useful when the sun is at its highest point, when your home is the hottest.

When a room is adequately shaded, it can lower the temperature in a room by a few degrees. This keeps your thermostat from kicking your AC on and helps reduce your air conditioning bills on a daily basis.

Landscape Wisely

Planting trees or shrubs around your home, especially on the south and west sides in front of windows, can create additional shade outside. You can block the sunlight from entering your home, and the extra vegetation absorbs the heat on your exterior walls and roof.

Planting bushes, shrubs, or trees around your exterior unit is another option to save on your air conditioning bills. The exterior unit needs to release heat after it’s moved to the condenser. The extra shade allows the outside component to exhaust the heat and cool off throughout the day.

Check Thermostat Settings

If your thermostat is set at the same temperature all day, every day, you are wasting a good amount of energy and racking up high air conditioning bills. The best option is to install a programmable thermostat to program settings based on your schedule.

Program your thermostat to turn your air conditioner on when you are home and want to experience more comfort. When you are asleep or away from the house, turn the thermostat back up by 5 to 10 degrees.

Not only does this lower your air conditioning bills every month, your cooling system will get a chance to rest. This reduces excess wear and tear on your unit.

Lowering air conditioning bills doesn’t require you to make huge changes in your home, just simple tasks. You won’t sacrifice your comfort and you will save money, which can go towards a last-minute vacation this summer.

Contact Douglas Cooling & Heating preventative maintenance or installation of a programmable thermostat for your home.

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