Some ways other companies oversell new air conditioning systems.

1. Coil with normal rust

2. Coil with hole that allows air to blow through

The tech./ salesman shows it to you and asks “what do you think of that? “   Many customers respond with “that looks bad” or “is that bad”?

Truth is that it looks worse than it is.  The steel plate on the end of the coil...called a tube sheet is not critical... if it mostly rusted away it is not likely to be a problem because:  behind it is an aluminum fin that would keep air from bypassing the coil.

Their claim:  “The average life of air conditioners is 8 years”.     The truth:  ASHRAE... the engineering association of air conditioning collected info that says that the average life of heat pumps is 12 years and the average live of air conditioners with electric heat is 15 years.  Same for a gas furnace with an air conditioning coil on top... average 15 years.       My statement:  I see a wide range both sides of average.   When a system is near 10 years old or more  I would be reluctant to put much money in repairs.   And systems that have many repairs are not like new,  but rather, had a hard life.

The second photo shows a potentially problematic rust hole.  The rust hole at the bottom left of that coil might allow air to bypass the coil and splash water out of the drain pan causing a water leak.   For that customer the water leak problem went away when we cleared the drain pipe.

Jay Hoover,   Integrity Air

Cracking down on unlicensed contractors

TAMPA - Tampa police say they are arresting dozens of unlicensed contractors who go to home improvement stores to find their victims.


Officers say they've made 50 cases since June. They say contractors are approaching people at stores like Lowes or Home Depot, and offering services without a license.

Police say to beware of working with unlicensed contractors.

"If you've got a guy doing electrical work at your house, and he doesn't know what he's doing, your house can catch fire, people can die," said Joe Gonzalez, a licensed plumber supporting the investigation.

Police advise that consumers get a license number from the contractor, check with the better business bureau, and ask to see the contractor's insurance certificate.


Integrity Air is licensed and fully insured.  You can check the licensed of a contractor here.  You can see the TV news report here.

A Few Tips on Energy Conservation from Jay Hoover

Manufactured Homes

Most manufactured homes are set up with flex ducts from a package unit outside. Those flex ducts can be easily damaged by critters. mostly rats and cats ( they like air conditioning where they live too).  A good thing about the package units are that their tops can be easily removed to clean the indoor coil.

Indoor Airflow

If a room is pressurized from air coming in but has no easy path back to be recirculated the pressurized room will blow air out any leaks in the envelope. Air will be made up through other leaks nearer the return.  The solution is to open interior doors or pay for duct upgrade.

When a house is unoccupied and air conditioned the interior doors should be left open. This is irrelevant if there is a return duct in every room. These are not common though required by code for new construcion for about 5 years.

Ceiling Fans & Recessed Lights

Ceiling fans are okay if they are turned off when one leaves the room. I have been called by more than one customer to check the central air (who have been advised by an energy expert from the power company to turn off the ceiling fans when they leave the room) and they are on in all those unoccupied rooms. I hear that it uses $5 ea per month to run them constantly.   Also, the air circulating by an uninsulated surface like a window can add heat gain in summer.  Recessed lights can be leaky.

Clothes Dryers

Clothes dryers exhaust about 150 cfm of air...more than most bathroom or kitchen exhausts. If installed in a conditioned space that is a lot of conditioned air leaving the house. A solution includes opening a window in the laundry room if available. This lets outdoor air get pulled into the dryer and exhausted outdoors. Without opening the window the comfortable house air will be exhausted. The slight vacuum created will cause outdoor air to leak in the house, unfiltered and create a load on the air conditioning. If the dryer vent on the outside is near the outdoor unit of a/c the lint from the dryer will restrict airflow at the a/c inlet raising elec use of the a/c.

Tree

A tree to shade the outdoor unit can be good for energy savings. Leaves may need to be cleaned out from inside the outdoor unit and raked away from the coil inlet. bushes can inhibit inlet air if not cut back.

Air Handler Causes Fire

Having your central air conditioning system on a maintenance program like Top Performance may have been able to prevent this.

Tampa, Florida - Tampa Fire Rescue responded to a house fire on West Nassau Street in Tampa.


TFR tells us the initial investigation into the cause of the fire indicates there was a problem with the electrical system going to the central heat and air conditioning unit in the attic.


According to officials, fire crews managed to stop the flames from consuming the home. Still, the house is moderately damaged, no loss estimate is yet available.

No injuries were reported.

Florida Energy Star Residential HVAC Rebate Program

The program starts Monday and lasts till the end of the year or the money runs out.  A local TV station has a report here.

There are a lot of hoops you need to jump through in order to qualify, most of those answers can be found here.

Summer tips for air conditioning care.

One of our local TV stations gives some advice on caring for your system.

Tips to save money with your central air system

From the Tampa Tribune.

The two tips I would start with is to invest in quality filters and change them every 30 days, and to have Integrity Air give your system a checkup before it gets too hot.