Signs Your Heat Pump Needs To Be Repaired

How to keep your Furnace from Collecting Dirt and Dust

When the cold weather hits, one thing you want to know for sure is that your furnace will work reliably and efficiently. It’s important to keep up with the maintenance on your furnace so that it will be in peak condition when you need it to keep you warm. What you may not realize, though, is that something as simple as dirt or dust can cause major issues with your furnace.

Dirt clogs your air filters. The filter is an important part of your furnace because it keeps contaminants out of your system. If dust and debris get through the filter, they can damage your furnace’s components. If the filter is doing its job, though, it needs to be changed about once a month during the heating system, because otherwise it will become clogged and restrict air flow. Restricted air flow makes your furnace work harder and wear out faster.
Dust and debris in your furnace can cause a burned-out motor. Dirt that gets into the moving parts of the blower motors can cause them to burn out and need replacing. When dirt and dust get into the burners, they can’t draw oxygen to light the jets as easily. Then, too, the jets can’t easily transmit heat to the combustion chamber if they’re dirty.
A dirty furnace is a less effective furnace. Dust across the heat exchangers causes them to transfer less heat. This forces the furnace to run longer to reach the right temperature, which can cause the whole system to wear out more quickly than it should.
That weird odor you smell could be dust in your furnace. Dust that collects on the heat exchanger and in the air ducts when the furnace is not in use can cause a smell once it’s turned on again. If the problem is simply a matter of built-up dust, it should disappear within a few hours. If it doesn’t, change the air filter. If it still persists, it could mean something else, like a problem with mold somewhere in the system. If the smell is more like burning plastic or electrical parts, see if you can spot a foreign object in the registers or ductwork. If that doesn’t seem to be a problem, call in an expert to help you determine what’s wrong.

How can you keep dust, dirt, and debris out of your furnace? The main thing you can do by yourself is to change the air filters. It’s also smart to have your air ducts cleaned from time to time, and have your system serviced every time there’s a change of seasons. Whether you need routine maintenance, duct service, or replacement or repair of your heating and cooling system, you can trust CJS Heating and Air to handle the work for you. We believe in transparency and professionalism, so you’ll know the detailed price before we ever get started, and our team will work hard to make sure you’re satisfied. Our techs are screened, background checked, tested and trained, and our service is dependable and backed up with a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee. To learn more about us, please visit our website, chat with a friendly representative, or give us a call with any questions you might have. ]]>

Get Your Heating System Ready for Winter

Winters here in Ohio can be downright bitter. You want your heating system to be prepared when the first freeze hits! Here’s what it takes to get your heating system ready for winter. Schedule Professional Heating Maintenance Many homeowners make the mistake of ignoring their furnace until something goes wrong. However, by scheduling heating maintenance at the beginning of winter, you can:

Avoid emergency repairs
Extend the life of your heating system
Reduce energy bills
Improve indoor air quality
Boost home comfort

Heating maintenance includes cleaning various components, checking safety controls, measuring carbon monoxide levels, lubricating moving parts, making minor repairs and adjustments, and much more. There’s no better way to get your heating system ready for winter. To maximize the benefits of annual heating maintenance, consider signing up for a CJS YES Club membership. In addition to yearly furnace and air conditioner inspections, you enjoy discounts, priority service, and a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee. Make Other Preparations After the visit from your heating technician, take these additional steps to prepare for the upcoming winter season:

Replace the furnace filter. This is a task your heating technician should take care of during routine maintenance, but remember to change the air filter once every one to three months throughout the winter or as directed by the manufacturer.
Tidy up around the furnace. If you stored anything near or leaning against the furnace during the summer, move it to a different location now. Keeping combustible objects away from the heating equipment prevents creating a fire hazard.
Switch the thermostat to heating mode. When the furnace kicks on for the first time, pay attention to the way it operates. There might be a slight musty or stale odor at first, but once the furnace has run for a few minutes, everything should sound and smell normal.
Upgrade to a programmable thermostat if you don’t already have one. This helps to lower costs and reduce energy waste by only heating the house when people are home.
Clean the air registers. Ensure heated air flows smoothly by vacuuming dust and cobwebs from return and supply registers. If it’s been a while since you had air duct cleaning performed, consider scheduling this service before winter gets underway.
Install a whole-house humidifier if you don’t already have one. This reduces static electricity buildup, makes your home more comfortable and reduces heating bills. If you already have a humidifier, clean it and change the evaporator pad to get it ready for another winter.
Test your carbon monoxide detectors. The risk of CO poisoning increases in the winter when you close up your home tightly and rely more on combustion appliances, including your gas furnace and water heater. Testing your carbon monoxide detectors once a month gives you peace of mind that they’re working correctly.

To schedule heating maintenance or other furnace services in Columbus, OH, please contact CJS Heating and Air.]]>

How to Lower Your Summer Cooling Costs

When things start to heat up outside, you stay comfortable by hunkering down in your nice, air-conditioned home. Unfortunately, central air is notorious for generating excessively high electricity bills. Use these tips to lower your summer cooling costs without losing your cool.

Set the temperature as high as possible: If you dress in long sleeves and long pants and keep the thermostat at 74 degrees, you’re wasting energy and money. Dress for the season and turn up the temperature as high as you can without feeling uncomfortable. 78 degrees is a reasonable goal.
Run the ceiling fan: If 78 degrees feels a bit warm, turn on a fan to create a “wind chill effect.” This makes the room feel 4 degrees cooler while consuming about 98 percent less electricity than the air conditioner.
Install a programmable thermostat: Do you spend all day at work? There’s no need to cool a vacant house. If you don’t already have a programmable thermostat, install one and set it to 82 degrees while you’re gone all day to save 5 to 10 percent on your cooling bills. The automatic recovery feature restores a comfortable 78 degrees before you get home, allowing you to maximize energy savings without sacrificing comfort.

Block the sun: Solar heat gain is a major contributor to high cooling costs. Keep the sun out by blocking the windows. Drapes and blinds prevent direct sunlight from shining in, while window films reflect heat before it transmits through the glass. You can also plant trees or install awnings to shade south- and west-facing windows during the heat of the afternoon.
Seal up air leaks: Hot summer air wafting into your home is enough to raise your cooling bills significantly. Air sealing keeps conditioned air inside where it belongs for improved comfort and lower energy costs.
Decrease interior heat gain: Your air conditioner must also counteract any heat generated within your home, so refrain from using the stove, oven, dishwasher, clothes dryer and other heat-generating appliances at the hottest times of the day.
Replace the AC filter: A clogged filter restricts airflow, forcing your AC to work harder and increasing your cooling costs. Replace the filter every month (or as recommended by the manufacturer) to keep the air flowing and your utility bills under control.
Tune up your air conditioner: The same way a car requires oil changes to get the best gas mileage, your AC needs routine maintenance to run at peak performance. Tune up your air conditioner every year to prepare it for an efficient summer.

Upgrade to a high-efficiency cooling system: When the time comes to replace your AC, choose one that has earned the Energy Star rating. This ensures more efficient performance that will reduce your utility bills for many seasons to come.

For more information about lowering your summer cooling costs, or to schedule air conditioning services in Columbus, OH, please contact CJS Heating and Air. ]]>

Spring Maintenance for Your Heating and Cooling System

Along with spring cleaning, maintenance for your heating and cooling system is a very good idea during this time of the year. Getting a tune-up helps make sure your unit is not only clean, but functioning properly for the seasons to come. If you get a professional checkup, you can feel good about your heating and cooling having everything it needs to get you through the calendar year in comfort. Homeowners can take some preventive steps to make sure their units are working to capacity, such as basic cleaning and testing. Professional service gives you that additional close look to make certain there are no problems cropping up you are unaware of, and to keep things running smoothly. The team at CJS Heating and Air is pleased to share what a heating and cooling company can do for you at this time of year in terms of maintenance.

Professional heating and cooling maintenance

Not only can professional service help keep your heating and cooling systems running right, but it can save you money, as well. If your unit is in need of any minor tweaks, it’s likely to run more efficiently afterward. Let’s take a closer look at two common maintenance tasks all heating and cooling systems should have done periodically for them to function at their best.

System tune-up
- Professional maintenance service can be considered a tune-up of sorts, where the service staff will examine the components of your unit and see if everything is working as it should. In addition, tasks such as changing the air filter and checking for leaks will be performed to make sure things are clean and ready to go when you need to dial down your temperature.
Duct cleaning service
- Duct cleaning is something many people overlook, but it’s an important part of heating and cooling maintenance. Spring can be a good time to have this done, as the temperatures are generally moderate. If you haven’t had this service performed in a while, you may want to consider it, as it can improve air quality and, in some cases, airflow, as well.
- How often you should have your air ducts clean varies. Timing can depend upon numerous factors, such as pet ownership, recent remodeling work, and family members who may have allergies. A professional service should be able to look at your ducts and let you know if you need them cleaned or not.

Stay ahead of AC repairs!

One of the best reasons to have spring maintenance service performed is that it can help prevent expensive repairs down the line. Professional inspections often catch small problems before they grow, and just as importantly, before the situation becomes an emergency. The last thing anyone wants is a nonfunctional heating or cooling unit when the temperatures are very cold…or very hot. Be aware that companies typically get busy at the beginning of each summer and winter season as people turn their units on for the first time and have issues with their systems. If you’re considering spring maintenance for your heating and cooling system, be sure to schedule an appointment early, before the weather heats up. Contact CJS Heating and Air for spring maintenance!]]>

Cost of Keeping an Old Heating & Cooling System

The decision to replace your old heating or cooling system is not an easy one. The sticker shock alone is enough to make anyone think twice about upgrading. Your heating and cooling systems may be over 10 years old, but they still work just fine, so why spend the money? Then, the inevitable happens. It’s mid-January and your heating system decides to call it quits. You immediately call out a technician and they give you a rundown of your options: repair or replace. The repair is less expensive than the replacement, so you may be inclined to go with Option Number 1, but take a look at some of these potential costs of keeping your old heating or cooling system before you make a final decision.

The safety of you and your family

Materials have a tendency to break down over time, even if you take pristine care of your heating and cooling systems. Repairing old systems with new parts is not always a good idea. For example, if your 15-year-old furnace has a cracked heat exchanger, poisonous carbon monoxide gas could work its way into your air supply. You could try replacing the heat exchanger, but repairing the core of an older system that includes a lot of other components that are likely to fail or leak within a few years is a risky gamble. In this case, investing in a new furnace will actually protect your family from harm.

Your utility bills

Recent advances in technology have drastically improved the energy efficiency of heating and cooling systems. Before repairing your old system, you should find out its Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) number. This number measures the percentage of fuel that is converted to heat rather than being lost through inefficiencies. A 20-year-old system may only have an AFUE of 70%. The minimum AFUE number today is 80%, which means that replacing your old system with a new one will burn 10% less fuel and save you up to 10% on your energy bills. There are systems that have AFUE numbers of up to 97%, so your new high-efficiency model may end up paying for itself.

Maintenance and repairs

It’s no secret that older heating and air conditioning systems will likely require more repairs. The average lifespan for a forced-air furnace system is 10 to 20 years while an air conditioner usually lasts 10 to 15 years. If you are constantly calling out technicians to tweak or repair your heating or air-conditioning unit, you have probably spent more than the replacement cost would have been. A general guideline to follow when it comes to repairing vs replacement: consider replacement if the equipment is beyond three-quarters of its life expectancy and repairs will cost more than one-tenth of the replacement cost. Keeping your old air conditioning or heating system may save you money in the short run, but you will most likely end up spending a lot more in the long haul. For accurate inspections and honest efficiency assessments, contact CJS Heating and Air today! Set up a professional inspection for your current system by calling (614) 388-9241 today!]]>

Cleaning Inside Your Air Conditioning Made Easy

Air Conditioning Care Tips

The summer season is about to arrive, and now is the time to tackle air conditioning and furnace problems that could be affecting the performance of your HVAC system. Before the start of the summer months, you should be sure to clean out your furnace filters. With services from a company that offers furnace repair near Dayton, you can make sure that your air conditioning and HVAC systems are clean and ready for seasonal use.

Three Easy Care Steps

To help you maintain your system between professional services, let’s take a look at three easy ways to clean inside your air conditioner.

Remove and Wipe Down the Covers Clean Inside an Air Conditioner

Your air conditioner condenser unit is a large, square shaped appliance that is located on the exterior of your home. During the winter months, the exterior covers of the condenser can get covered with dirt, grime, and other types of debris. To restore the clean appearance of your condenser unit and improve its overall performance, you should take the time to routinely remove and wipe down its cover using a soft cloth.

Wash the Reusable Filter

Many of today’s air conditioners are equipped with reusable filters, which can be washed and reused many times. After you have taken off the exterior covers from the air conditioning condenser unit, you will be ready to remove and wash its air filter. To safely wash your air filter, it is possible to simply dunk it in a bucket of warm, soapy water. Once the filter has completely dried, it can be put back into place.

Vacuum the Condenser Coils

Using your household vacuum, you can help your air conditioner achieve the deepest level of clean. Once you have placed the hose attachment to your vacuum, you will be able to easily vacuum out your air conditioner’s condenser coils and other interior spaces. The vacuum will remove leaves, grass clippings, and other types of debris that could be clogging up your system and affecting its performance.

Easiest Ways To Clean Inside An Air Conditioner

Remove and Wipe Down the Covers Clean Inside an Air Conditioner Your air conditioner condenser unit is a large, square shaped appliance that is located on the exterior of your home. During the winter months, the exterior covers of the condenser can get covered with dirt, grime, and other types of debris. To restore the clean appearance of your condenser unit and improve its overall performance, you should take the time to routinely remove and wipe down its cover using a soft cloth.