May Internet Special

$300 off A New
Mini-Split System

The Mitsubishi Mini-Split is a ductless system which is much more efficient and runs much quieter than a window unit.

The ideal way to cool an enclosed porch or a one room addition to your home.

Offer ends May 31, 2008

Energy Savings Tips from TECO

The local electric company (in Tampa it's called TECO) is the only industry I know of which advises customers on how to use less of their product.

You can see TECO's energy savings tips here. In Tampa, there are still a few homes which have old gas furnaces. When we have a service call for a broken-down furnace, we usually recommend that it be replaced with a conventional air handler and electric heat. This will improve airflow and remove safety concerns (like carbon monoxide and fire) inherent with furnaces. The new electric heat will provide enough heat for what they call here in Tampa "winter".

TECO also has a rebate program to encourage customers to purchase high efficiency systems. a customer can get $275 if he replaces his old straight cool system with a new 14 SEER or higher heat pump. Replacing an old heat pump will get you $125.

Your local electric company may have a similar program.

The Future of Refrigeration

Update of this post.

R-22 is being phased out earlier than expected. According to the EPA, in 2010 production of R-22 will be decreased by 75% of 1989 production levels.

Now most of that reduction will be taken up by the fact that all new central air systems will be using R-410 by 2010, but consumers who currently own an R-22 system need to be prepared for the gradual scarcity of R-22 as production is decreased by 90% in 2015 and is completely phased out by 2030.

It is very important that, if you are in need of a new central air system that you insist that your contractor quote a system with the new R-410a refrigerant.

If youn have an R-22 system, be sure to have it checked for leaks and have those leaks reparied

The Benefits of Top Performance

I received a phone call from a customer who wanted to know the age of the central air system we in installed in her home.

"This will be easy", I thought. "I'll just pull the invoice from our file."

The invoice wasn't there. Our current customer files only go back to 2000, and it seemed that our customer's system was older than that. So I climbed up into our attic and found the pre-2000 invoices in a box.

Our customer's system was installed in December 1998. The average life expectancy of a central air system is 12-15 years, and this one was nearly 10 years old, and remarkably, had never broken down and shows no sign of doing so. I can look at two reasons for this fortune:

1) The customer invested in quality filters and changed them reqularly. This is the air conditionig equivalent of brushing and flossing each day. Good filters will help keep your indoor coil clean which helps with indoor air quality and efficiency.

2) This system had reqular tune-ups and inspections under out Top Perfomance Program. We see this system twice a year, so any minor issues get resolved before they become major ones.

Doing this will not guaranty a long life for your system, but the money invested in a regular maintenance program will help your air conditioner run at Top Performance for a long time.