If you have a two-story home and the second story is heating up too much, it can take a toll on your family's comfort and your energy bills. Fixing uneven cooling like this is challenging because heat naturally rises up to a second story. The issue can be amplified by: Incorrectly-sized or aging equipment. The [...]
Sunrooms and screen rooms are popular with Eastern North Carolina homeowners for good reasons: they extend a home's living space while providing shelter from rain and protection from mosquitoes and other pests. Since these spaces are often a converted porch or addition, rather than part of a home's conditioned envelope, they can become unusable when [...]
Summer has arrived and it is humid and hot, which leaves us all trying to stay cool whenever possible. The good news is that you can survive the sweltering heat by following these simple tips: Schedule Bi-Annual Maintenance Tune Ups All HVAC systems need regular maintenance tune ups regardless of the age of the unit [...]
During the school year if there's no one home on weekdays, you likely have your thermostat programmed for energy-saving temperature setbacks in the daytime. When the children are home over the summer break, though, you'll have to make changes to your usual HVAC schedule. Here are some factors to consider to help you maximize your [...]
July 17 is National Air Conditioner Day, commemorating the invention of the modern air conditioner by an engineer named Willis Carrier in 1902. Interestingly, Carrier didn’t set out to cool the inside of buildings. He was hired to design a system to lower humidity inside a large printing plant in Brooklyn, New York. Carrier’s invention [...]
As temperatures rise and flowers are in full bloom, it's a great time to break out the patio furniture and barbecue grill. Before you make your guest list for summer parties, however, it pays to consider how you'll keep guests comfortable without straining your air conditioning system. Here are important tips for keeping guests cool [...]
An A/C freeze on a hot summer day is not a sign that your unit is producing too much cold air. When the air conditioner’s indoor evaporator coil turns into a block of ice, that’s evidence of a maintenance issue or malfunction that may inflict serious damage to critical components like the system compressor. [...]
The development of refrigerants safe for use in air conditioners during the 1920s paved the way for dependable home comfort. Today, refrigerant remains the lifeblood of any air conditioner or heat pump. Here are some fast facts to know about household refrigerant: The chemical has the rare property to convert from a frigid vapor that [...]
If cooling issues are to happen in your home, they’re most likely when your air conditioner’s pushed to its limit. Most residential air conditioners are designed and engineered to produce adequate cooling up to 95 degrees outdoor temperature. Here in Eastern North Carolina, our average daily high temperature in the hottest months of July, and [...]
Here in North Carolina, summer’s the season when mosquito repellent is a good idea outdoors. Measures to avoid bites include limiting time outside—particularly in the a.m. and late afternoon/early evening hours—wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts, as well as applying mosquito repellent to exposed bare skin. Inside your house, you have an additional ally that [...]
