HVAC & Plumbing Blog | Carolina Climate Control - Charleston

How Often Should I Change My HVAC Air Filter? (And More Filter Questions Answered)

April 20th, 2021

Are you about to install an HVAC system in your new home? Or are you looking to update your old one? No matter the circumstance, you need regular HVAC maintenance.

Among the many different parts that make up an HVAC system, the air filter is one that plays a crucial role. The air filter helps clean the air that circulates through your HVAC system.

Unfortunately, 82% of Americans fail to change their air filters regularly. This results in a myriad of problems that affect both the HVAC system and your health.

Hence, the question — how often should you clean or replace your HVAC air filter?

Continue reading below as we discuss changing air filters and other common questions.

The HVAC Air Filter: How Often Should You Change It?

How often should you change an HVAC air filter? There is no exact answer to this question because of certain factors. Replacing your air filters depend on the type of filter you’re using.

If you use affordable fiberglass filters, you need to change them every month. You can go for slightly more expensive pleated filters which can last up to six months before replacement.

The size of your filter also matters as well as the number of people in your household. If someone in your home is asthmatic, you should replace your air filters more often.

Therefore, if you’re using pleated filters, replace them every six weeks if someone in the family is asthmatic. If you have pets, you should change your air filters roughly every two months.

What Happens If You Don’t Change It?

As we mentioned earlier, failing to replace your air filters can lead to problems. What if you don’t consistently start changing air filters?

A common issue is that your AC will have to work harder to achieve the indoor temperature you want. This is because all the dirt, dust, and debris in the air filter will restrict airflow through the HVAC. As a result, you can expect your monthly energy bills to soar.

In line with the HVAC’s performance, a dirty filter will also affect your comfort. Your HVAC system may struggle until it no longer gives acceptable heating or cooling.

Failing to replace your air filters can also lead to them collapsing. All the dust and debris will accumulate after months of zero replacements. In turn, the dust will build up and create a load that may be too much for the filters to handle. When your air filters collapse, they may create a gap. With that gap, air will just move around without getting any filtering.

In some cases, they can even damage other parts of your HVAC. This may lead to hundreds of dollars dedicated to repairs.

Health Concerns

Apart from the impact on your HVAC, failing to change your air filters can also pose health hazards. For starters, your family will experience poor indoor temperature. This is something you shouldn’t take for granted, especially during summer and winter.

You may also see more dirt inside your home. If your child is asthmatic, the dust can trigger asthma attacks.

You may experience frequent sneezing and coughing. This may be due to the dust and contaminants coming out from the HVAC. This may come with accompanying headaches, dizziness, and itchy eyes.

When it comes to long-term effects, you may develop various respiratory diseases. In some extreme cases, people develop heart disease and even cancer. Long-term exposure to poor indoor air quality can greatly affect your health.

What’s Your Next Move?

When dealing with old and ineffective air filters, there is no better move than to replace them ASAP. To do this, you must first identify the specific filters that need replacing. You can do this manually by opening up your HVAC system.

However, you may not have the right tools and experience. You may also be too busy or you don’t feel too confident tinkering with your air conditioners. In this case, your best bet is to call a trusted HVAC professional.

Consider replacing your old air filters with a different filter type. If you’re using cheap fiberglass filters, upgrade to pleated filters that last longer.

If you wish to take things to the next level, you should look into products offering air purification. One excellent example is the HALO-LED Whole Home In-Duct Air Purifier. This product works as your proactive air-conditioned treatment.

The in-duct air purifier treats and cleanses every cubic inch of space that your AC covers. It uses the REME-LED technology that effectively reduces all sorts of airborne contaminants.

Apart from dust and allergens, it reduces molds, bacteria, viruses, and smoke odors in the air. As for the other features, it comes with automatic self-cleaning ionizers. It also has unlimited cycling capabilities.

More Tips to Boost Indoor Air Quality

On top of replacing your old air filters, you need to incorporate these practices in your home. Firstly, try to limit your plants outdoors as much as you can. Keeping plants indoors contributes to mold formation.

Try to keep your house as clean as possible. Vacuum your rugs and carpets regularly. Do this once or twice a week. Make sure to use a vacuum cleaner that comes with a HEPA filter.

Clear your rooms of clutter. This is one of the fastest ways to trap dust and other particles indoors.

Make sure you clean and replace your drapes and bedding regularly.

Let’s Change Your Air Filters, Today!

Knowing when to replace your air filter is an important part of HVAC maintenance. It ensures your HVAC system’s top-notch performance and saves you from spending. This includes repairs and medication.

If changing air filters is something you cannot perform, we can provide a helping hand. We can replace and install a new HVAC air filter and save you from the trouble. Request an estimate and let’s work on your HVAC, today!

AC Leaking Issues? Here’s What Could Be Causing The Problem (And What To Do About It)

April 13th, 2021

Why Is My Air Conditioner Leaking Water?

It shouldn’t be doing that, so if you find puddles of water around your unit, there’s something wrong with the system. However, before you pick up the phone, you may be able to take care of the issue yourself—even if you aren’t much of a DIYer.

We’ve put together this guide to help you figure out what’s causing your air conditioning leak and what you should do next, so let’s get started!

The First Things to Do If Your Air Conditioner Starts Leaking

If you spot any water around your air conditioning unit that shouldn’t be there, don’t leave it alone. A few puddles of water might look harmless, but the damage could lead to some dangerous problems if you don’t fix it right away. Make sure you follow these steps before poking around your HVAC system.

Turn Off the Unit

Go turn off your air conditioner. The extra water might be leaking into the electrical components, which could put you at risk of getting shocked, damaged the unit, or even start a fire in your home.

Odds are, nothing like this will happen. However, it’s always better to stay on the safe side when it comes to the safety of yourself, your house, and your family.

Find Out If There’s a Refrigerant Leak

Your air conditioner uses Refrigerant (a type of gas) to help make the air cool, but if it leaks out of your unit, it can also be dangerous. As the Refrigerant leaks, it can cause ice to form on the evaporator coils, which can then melt and spill water on the floor.

Because of this, it’s easy to mistake Refrigerant leaks as a different type of leaking problem if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Some of the signs of this type of leak include:

Warm air coming out of your air conditioner
Higher-than-normal electric bills
Poor airflow
Cooling the house takes a long time
Symptoms of Refrigerant poisoning, such as headaches, nausea, or dizziness

Refrigerant is mostly odorless. However, you may be able to smell a slight sweet or chloroform scent coming from your air conditioning unit.

If you think you have a Refrigerant leak, don’t try to handle it yourself. Breathing in too much of this gas is bad for your health, so you should call a professional HVAC company instead.

Call a Professional

Don’t have a lot of time to spend on household projects? Don’t know a lot about HVAC systems or how they work?

You don’t have to try to diagnose and repair the problem yourself. While DIY fixes might be enough to solve plug the leak (in some cases), schedule a maintenance visit with a professional ensures you get your unit working again faster and without any hassle on your part.

Don’t hesitate to call a professional if you know you’ll need the help.

Why Is My Air Conditioner Leaking? Common Problems (And What to Do About Them)

If you want to take a look at your air conditioner yourself, these are the places you should check first. With the right tools and know-how, you may be able to repair the leak yourself. However, there are some repairs you should leave to the professionals for the safety of yourself and your unit.

1. Broken Condensate Pump

A broken condensate pump won’t be able to pump away the extra moisture that gathers inside your unit. You can test the pump by finding the condensate pump and pouring a cup or two of water in it. Turn your unit back on and watch to see if the pump gets rid of the water.

If it doesn’t make sure the pan is tilted toward the drain. This is a simple fix that can solve the problem (and it’s an especially likely culprit if your window air conditioner is leaking water).

The motor might be damaged if the condensate pump still can’t get rid of the water. In this case, you should call a professional to find the exact problem and repair it.

2. Blocked Drain Pipe

Another reason water might start leaking from your air conditioning unit is that there’s nowhere else for it to go. Over time, the drain pipe can fill up with things like dirt or mold, forming a clog.

Check both ends of the drain to see if there is a blockage. If you can’t see one, it might be farther down inside the pipe.

Next, all you have to do is use a drain cleaning tool to pull the clog out of the pipe. After this, the leak shouldn’t be an issue anymore.

3. Damaged Seals

Your air conditioning unit has several seals. As the unit ages, the seals can become worn out or damaged, which can cause leaking. Depending on the location of the broken seal, you may be able to buy a new one and replace it yourself. However, if the seal is in a hard-to-reach area, it’s a better idea to let a professional take care of it.

4. Dirty Air Filter

Dirty air filters restrict the amount of air that flows through your unit. This means not as much air is hitting the evaporator coils, which can cause them to freeze over with ice. That ice will then start to melt, and the drain pipe might not be able to handle all this extra water.

Make sure you clean or replace your air filter often to prevent this from happening.

Plugging up Those AC Leaks

Did you try following the tips above but are still stuck asking, “Why is my air conditioner leaking?” It’s time to call a professional HVAC technician.

Don’t hesitate to set up a maintenance appointment with our team at Carolina Climate Control. We will take a look at your unit, find the problem, and make sure all the water stays where it’s supposed to stay!

Planning A Vacation Away From The Lowcountry? Here’s The AC Setting You Should Use

March 30th, 2021

Roughly 6 out of every 10 Americans took a vacation during 2017. At the same time, about 75% of all of the homes in the United States have air conditioners.

This means that many Americans are facing the same question every year: what AC setting should I use while I’m on vacation?

Your first instinct might be to simply turn your AC unit off so that you can save energy and money while you aren’t in the home. Actually, though, this is probably the wrong choice unless you live in an incredibly mild and dry climate.

What’s the right AC setting when you’re away on vacation, then? Let’s take a look at everything you need to know.

Vacation AC Setting: Why Do You Need to Use AC When You’re on Vacation?

While it might be obvious to you why you would want to leave the heat on if you last for a vacation in the winter, it might not be so obvious why you would keep the air conditioning on during a summer vacation. One of the things that your AC does during the summer is that it helps to reduce the level of humidity in the air. Here are some of the issues that can occur if you completely turn your AC off when you leave the house for an extended period of time.

Mildew and Mold Growth

If you turn your AC off before a vacation, you might come home to find some unpleasant musty scents in the air. This is because your air conditioning helps to dehumidify the air in your home in addition to keeping your home cool. If the humidity gets about 50% in your house, there is a good chance you will start to see mildew and mold growth.

Mold and mildew can grow on all kinds of surfaces, including carpet, insulation, wood, and food.

Electronics Damage

If the humidity levels indoors exceed 60%, it is possible that some of the components of your electronic devices could start to malfunction or breakdown. Considering that, for many of us, we have invested quite a bit into our electronics, it makes sense to protect them even when you aren’t home.

Structural Damage

Indoor humidity can also cause structural damage. This includes warped wood flooring, peeling paint, splitting or cracking plaster, and swelling doors and window frames.

Pets

Lastly, if you are leaving a pet at home, you’ll want to make sure to leave the thermostat on a comfortable AC setting. It is possible that you will need to set it for a lower temperature than you would if you did not have pets in the house. You’ll want to check with your veterinarian about what the most comfortable temperature would be for your pets while you are away.

What AC Setting Should I Use While I’m on Vacation?

It can be incredibly tempting to just turn your AC off when you go on vacation. Why wouldn’t you want to save some money on your cooling bill when the house is empty? However, as discussed above, you will not want to expose your home too high levels of humidity or heat while you are gone.

As a general rule, you should not set the indoor temperature setting to any higher than 84° when you are away during the summer and the outdoor temperature is in the 90s. This will help you to save some money on your cooling bill while also ensuring that your home is not damaged by humidity and extreme heat.

Before you leave your home, you can close the curtains in order to help reduce the strain on your AC unit. This can help to keep your home cooler by blocking the afternoon sun.

You’ll also want to make sure that your thermostat fan is set to “auto” rather than “on.” If you simply leave the fan on, it means that it will run constantly. This means that you will likely spend more money than you want to on your cooling bill while you are on vacation. By leaving it on auto, your air conditioner will no to only run when it needs to, which can help you save money and conserve energy.

Which Types of Thermostats Are Best For When You’re on Vacation?

One of the benefits of having a thermostat with Wi-Fi is that you can check and adjust the temperature remotely. This means that if you left in a rush and were not able to program your thermostat, you can do so while you are on vacation. This also allows you to check and make sure that a house sister didn’t make any unnecessary adjustments to the indoor temperature setting.

Are you wondering if it’s worth it to upgrade to a smart/Wi-Fi thermostat this year? Check out our article on the topic here.

Is It Time For You to Get a New Thermostat?

Having a thermostat you can control remotely is a great way to never have to worry when you’re away on vacation. Whether you’re worried that you forgot to change the AC setting or you want to check up on where your house sitter is keeping the thermostat, you don’t have to worry and wonder anymore.

These thermostats come with a number of convenient features. For one, these thermostats gather usage data to start programming themselves around your habits so that you always have a comfortable AC setting in the summer and a cozy house in the winter!

Is it time for you to get a smart thermostat? If so, contact us to get a free estimate today!

How To Tell If Your Lowcountry Home’s Indoor Air Quality Is Below Standard

March 23rd, 2021

Indoor air quality is one of the most important aspects of a home, but it’s not something most actively think about. People spend approximately 90% of their time indoors, so it’s essential to have the best air quality possible.

What problems do you need to look out for? What can you do to improve the quality of air in your home?

What Impacts Air Quality in the Home?

Indoor air quality is how we measure how clean or polluted the air in any given space is. Outdoors, it is much easier to tell when air quality is poor. You may notice an odor or even see particles floating in the air. Weather apps often let you know when the quality is poor, making it easy to plan to avoid less-than-ideal air conditions.

Air quality is slightly harder to identify in the home, especially as we spend so much time indoors and gradually become “nose blind” to any smells that may indicate poor air quality.

Indoor air quality is impacted by a wide variety of factors, including the following.

Appliances
Home building materials
Open windows and doors
Moisture
Dust
Lack of airflow

Any or all of these can be factors if you suspect the quality of air in your home to be decreasing.

Dangers of Poor Air Quality

Poor air quality might seem like a small issue, but over time this can cause major, sometimes life-threatening, problems. Common pollutants include pollen, mold, dust, lead, asbestos, carbon monoxide, pesticides, smoke, pet hair, and other airborne allergens.

Anyone living in a home with poor air quality is potentially in danger. However, the elderly, the very young, and those with compromised immune systems are especially susceptible. People who suffer from asthma and other cardio-respiratory illnesses are more likely to suffer from a lack of quality air.

Symptoms may be mild and result in a small headache or eye irritation. If left untreated, poor air quality may cause cancer in some extreme cases.

Common Signs of Poor Indoor Air Quality

Now that we know about the dangers of living in a home with poor air quality, it’s important to be able to identify common signs that the quality is less than ideal.

1. Unpleasant Smell

Have you ever walked into your home after a few hours away and noticed a less-than-pleasant smell? Does the air feel stagnant and stale? Pest infestations, debris buildup in ducts or drains, stagnant air, and dust on surfaces can all cause undesirable smells.

If your home’s air systems are working well air should be flowing and constantly circulating around the home. This helps reduce the possibility of moisture buildup and prevents unpleasant smells.

Want a simple trick to tell if your air is circulating properly? If you can still smell last night’s dinner you cooked a day later, you need to get your system checked.

2. Cold Symptoms That Linger

Poor air quality symptoms are often misdiagnosed as a cold or flu. Symptoms including coughing, sneezing, runny nose, irritated eyes or throat, and dizziness are also indicators of poor air quality.

Write your symptoms down and take note of how long they last. If these symptoms linger for a week or more, it might not be a cold you’re suffering from. It’s important to pay attention to where they are the most severe.

Are your symptoms better when you leave the house? Are they worse in the morning after spending all night breathing polluted air? Or are your symptoms worse at work? You need to know where your symptoms get triggered to determine whether it’s your home’s air quality or somewhere else.

3. Dust Buildup Around Vents

Take a close look at the air vents around your home. Is there a layer of dust on any or all of them? You may also notice a layer of dust on nearby surfaces. This is a common indicator the level of air pollutants is high in your home.

Next, you’ll want to check the air system’s filter. If dust accumulates heavily one month after replacing it, you probably have a higher-than-normal amount of dust and other pollutants in your home.

Unfortunately, if you have dust buildup, you might also experience mold buildup, especially if your air is stagnant. Air that doesn’t circulate well often holds more moisture and can create conditions that invite mold and mildew to invade.

How to Improve Indoor Air Quality

Even the cleanest of people experience poor indoor air quality. Whenever you suspect this is happening, it’s best to check for the above signs. Once you establish that you do in fact have this problem, there are several things you should do as soon as possible.

Get Your Ducts Inspected

The simplest way to tell if you have clogged air ducts is with an inspection conducted by professionals. When you notice dust accumulation, stale air, or dirty filters, schedule an inspection to get to the root of the problem as quickly as possible.

Invest in Effective Air Purifiers

Air purifiers are an effective solution for cleaning the air inside homes or businesses. They sanitize the air of pollutants including pollen, allergens, and toxins. There are many different types to choose from based on your needs.

In-duct air purifiers clean the air from the source inside your system while LED air purifiers use light to eliminate pollutants. No matter which type you choose, you can use this tool to keep the air in your home much cleaner without having to lift a finger.

Replace Filters Often

To stay ahead of any problems, it’s best to check your filters once a month. This allows you to notice when the filters need changing and when it may be time for your system to be cleaned by a professional.

Do You Feel More Prepared?

Staying safe and healthy is a number one priority, especially during these unprecedented times. Keeping your indoor air quality clean is essential. If you think your house will benefit from a professional cleaning, schedule a consultation with a local heating and air company today.

Need other HVAC upgrades or repairs? Don’t hesitate to reach out with any other questions or concerns relating your heating and air conditioning system.

AC Replacement: What To Do When Heating and Air Bills Start Adding Up

March 9th, 2021

You’re sitting on your porch enjoying a mild spring day when you hear a humming sound coming around the corner of the house.

After a little investigation, you realize it’s coming from your heating and air conditioning system. If your first reaction is “here we go again”, it might be time to step back and assess whether a repair is worth it.

At some point, an HVAC repair starts to be a case of throwing good money after bad. Having your technician fix the humming sound may be a small job, but over time, those small repair bills add up to a big chunk of change.

If you’ve looked at your spending and realize too much of your budget is going to HVAC repair costs, what should be your next step? You can get a good 12-15 years out of a system here in Charleston with proper care and maintenance. But you can only hold off an air conditioning replacement so long with repairs before replacing parts is less efficient than replacing the system.

Here are a few items to consider if your repair bills have grown and you’re wondering about HVAC replacement instead.

Age of Your HVAC

All your calculations start with how old your system is. If it’s less than five years old, not only will a repair be in your best interest, it should be covered by your warranty. Where things start to get murky is when parts of the system fall out of warranty or when it passes age 10. We say murky because some repairs truly are minor and worth doing. These include easy fixes like a worn fan belt or a clog in the condenser.

But once your unit starts needing repeated or frequent repairs, investing in a new one becomes the smart choice. If you’re calling us out every few months, especially for emergency repairs during the hottest and coldest times, those AC bills add up.

One common repair for older units refrigerant refills, especially if the system develops a leak. Unfortunately, an older system is likely to use Freon or R22 refrigerant, which is no longer in production due to environmental concerns. That means the cost to recharge your coolant is on the way up.

Systems installed before 2010 are most likely to still be using it, while new ones have switched to Puron or R410A refrigerant.

Energy Bills

It’s probably no surprise to anyone that here in South Carolina, we have one of the highest average electric bills in the country. Even though our price per kWh is lower than the average, we make up for it through consumption. This results from a combination of hot summers and electric heating.

While newer systems are more efficient, that efficiency drops over time. This could be the cause if you’ve started to notice your air conditioning bills going up despite keeping up with proper maintenance. The loss rate goes up the older your equipment.

As a result, you should take into consideration how much you’ll save by investing in a new system beyond reducing your repair bills. Replacing a system that’s at least 10 years old can save you 20-40 percent on AC costs every summer.

Repair Cost

Obviously, the cost of a repair has to be weighed against the cost of a new system. But several factors come into play when we talk about the actual repair cost.

How long do you plan to stay in your current house? If you’ll be around to enjoy the benefits of a new system, it makes sense to go that route rather than apply repair band-aids.

Then there is the repair frequency and how much you’re spending in a year. While each repair might only be a couple of hundred dollars, once you’re spending more than $500 annually on repairs, it’s time to do some calculating to see if it’s worth continuing to do those repairs.

A clogged drain line by itself doesn’t justify replacing the system, but it can be a tipping point if you’ve had numerous other repairs.

Doing the Math

Two different calculations give you an objective measure to help you decide whether to make a specific repair or if it’s time to start shopping for a replacement system. These are useful if the single repair is a more expensive one like replacing the condenser coil.

Start with a rule of thumb measure to give you a quick idea. This formula takes the cost of the repair and multiplies it by the age of the system. If you get a number higher than 5,000, the repair is likely not worth doing.

As an example, your air conditioner is 8 years old and needs a $500 repair. That multiplies out to 4,000, so it’s likely worth it. But a 13-year-old system needing the same repair gives you 5,200, so you should be leaning toward replacement.

The second bit of math compares your repair to the cost of replacement. Pick the system you’re most likely to purchase and halve the cost. If the repair comes in at more than that, it’s too expensive.

Is It Worth Doing That HVAC Repair?

When a small part breaks, a repair makes sense when your HVAC system is newer. It’s a no-brainer to shell out $600 for AC repairs rather than $6,000 for AC replacement. But as your system ages, HVAC repair becomes the more expensive option as more and more parts begin to break.

If you think it might be time to consider a heating and air replacement system, contact us to get a free estimate or talk about your HVAC financing options. We install hundreds of units a year around the Lowcountry and can help you make an informed decision.

3 Reasons To Upgrade To A Smart/WiFi Thermostat In 2021

March 2nd, 2021

When digital thermostats debuted in the 1980s, there were a lot of buttons and directions involved to program them to cool the house the way you wanted.

As a result, most people never bothered to try. (This was the era of the blinking VCR clock, after all.) Thirty years later, they still weren’t trying as only about 12 percent report ever programming their systems.

So, it’s understandable if you’ve been putting off a thermostat upgrade because a smart thermostat sounds a little intimidating. Fortunately, the wifi thermostat has evolved a lot in the past decade, becoming much easier to use and the hub of a smart home.

Adding one to your Lowcountry home allows you to take the most advantage of the efficiency of your HVAC system. Here are just a few of the benefits of a smart thermostat to consider if you plan to upgrade.

1. Convenience Features

Set-and-forget worked okay in the first programmable versions as long as your schedule was consistent time-wise. But as our lives have become less predictable, a smart thermostat has evolved to learn your preferences and set a flexible schedule for you.

It usually takes a week’s worth of usage data for a smart system to start programming itself around your habits. It learns your schedule as well as temperature preferences to determine when to run the system.

Remote sensors in different rooms allow you to balance hot and cold areas of the house. Because the thermostat connects to sensors around the house, it doesn’t make temp decisions solely based on the air in the vicinity of the control. Some sensors can even be set to tell if someone’s in the room or if it can go ahead and turn the air off in that room.

You can also take advantage of geofencing, which is when the app on your phone lets the system know you’re on your way home. The smart thermostat can be set to wait to adjust temperatures until it gets that notification to minimize the amount of time it runs the heat or AC.

We love the Trane ComfortLink II as a great example of how a smart thermostat can accomplish all this. The ComfortLink can detect temperature and humidity and adjust the compressor and fan speeds in real-time. You stay comfortable without having to get involved.

Given time, your thermostat will be programming itself and you can go back to forgetting about it.

2. Remote Control

By definition, programmable thermostats are smart, but to get the most out of them, you need to make sure you get one that’s WiFi-enabled. That’s the difference between a smart vs WiFi thermostat, although you’ll see the terms used interchangeably.

Smart means the thermostat can learn over time to adjust to your habits, while WiFi has the additional benefit of allowing you to connect remotely to control it through an app. This remote control is one of the biggest benefits of a smart home.

As your thermostat learns your patterns, it might know that you always come home late on Tuesdays. If your regular schedule changes and you’ll be home earlier, you can use the app to change the temperature manually so the house is comfortable by the time you arrive.

Smart thermostats increasingly come with direct connections to a smart home hub like Alexa or Google Assistant. This allows you to request temperature changes with verbal commands. You can have the system warm-up your studio space so it’s cozy when you’re ready to work.

Our example Trane ComfortLink II can even serve as your smart home hub through the built-in Nexia Bridge. You can use it to remotely monitor and control the temperature on a zone-by-zone basis with your phone, tablet, or computer.

With a WiFi link as part of your system, you can control it from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection.

3. Money-Saving Insights

We all love saving money, and it tends to be a big factor in why our clients upgrade their HVAC to more efficient systems. After all, the average home spends half of its energy bills just on heating and cooling. Adding in a smart thermostat improves your ability to heat and cool efficiently.

That’s where the smart part comes into play because saving money and using less energy is all about figuring out when to make adjustments. And with sensors and zones, the system can even decide where makes the most sense.

Most smart thermostats can log equipment use and temperature data to let you track and manage energy usage. Some can be set to send you reminders for service or air filter changes.
All of these are great for helping you estimate future energy costs and see how efficiently your equipment is operating. This means you’ll also see if it suddenly stops being so efficient.

The Trane ComfortLink II provides diagnostic data through the Nexia Diagnostics system and dashboard. Not only will it highlight any issues, but it can also alert us here at Carolina Climate Control so we can schedule a visit to check on it before anything breaks, and you’re left sweating.

Get a Smart Thermostat Upgrade

Today’s smart thermostat learns your preferences and anticipates your needs while managing your HVAC to deliver the most energy efficiency. It handles everything for you for maximum convenience while still allowing you complete control no matter where you are.

If you’d like to upgrade your thermostat in 2021, give us a call to talk about the Trane ComfortLink or other smart thermostat. Our Charleston customers find it a great way to optimize the performance of their systems and one of the best smart home devices to invest in.

Have An Ancient Air Conditioner? How To Get A Free Upgrade In 3 Easy Steps

February 23rd, 2021

Before we know it we’ll be well into our hot, humid season here in Lowcountry, and time is running short for the opportunity to upgrade your home’s HVAC system before those muggy temps hit our area.

That short upgrade window is especially important for homeowners with older, prehistoric systems, as the odds about whether your system will make it through the summer are against them.

If you’re one of those Lowcountry homeowners with an ancient heating and cooling system — and in dire need of an upgrade — here’s how we can get you a FREE (or discounted) system upgrade if you act fast in the next 6 days.

1. Find Your HVAC System’s Model & Serial Number

The first thing you’ll want to do is track down your HVAC system’s make/model and serial number — make/model would be the manufacturer (Trane, Ruud, Carrier, etc.) and the model of the unit would be type of unit (usually a combination of numbers and letters). The serial number should be located at or near the same location that you find your make/model information on the unit.

If you need assistance finding your make/model or serial number, feel free to contact us and we’ll try to help you track it down.

2. Take A Few Quick Pictures Of Your System

Next, take a few pictures of your system — nothing fancy, but make sure at least one of the pictures includes the make/model and serial number information you’ve found in the first step above.

3. Enter Your System’s Info Into Our Prehistoric Comfort Contest

With your system’s information and pictures pulled together, visit our Prehistoric Comfort Contest 2021 page and submit your details using the form on that page.

If your system happens to be the oldest out of all of the contest entrants, we’ll contact you during the first week of March to schedule you free system upgrade!

If you’re not the winner of the contest, you can still win big!

The next 20 qualified contest entrants with the next oldest systems will receive a 15% discount on a new system upgrade.

Contest entrants are flowing in, so be sure to submit your system on or before March 1st to make sure you get your chance at a free HVAC system upgrade in 2021!

What To Look For When Choosing An AC Repair Company In The Lowcountry

February 16th, 2021

It’s a Lowcountry version of Murphy’s Law: the AC will go out on the hottest weekend of the summer. A good HVAC system gets about 12-15 good years in our area.

But rising temperatures put extra strain on your AC, which increases the risk that something will break. Regular maintenance and service go a long way to keeping your unit in top shape to handle the heat, but sometimes, parts just give out.

If you don’t already have an HVAC company in the Lowcountry, you need to find one fast. With so many options for AC repair in Charleston, and beyond, how do you choose?

Don’t let the pressure of getting your AC up and running as fast as possible cause you to skimp on doing proper research and homework. You need a contractor you can trust to do the work quickly and correctly.

Here’s what you should be checking on and asking when assessing contractors for HVAC repair in our area.

Making a List

You need to first start by compiling a list of AC repair companies that make the grade in terms of service, quality, and cost.

The best place to begin is by asking for referrals and suggestions from others you trust. These might be friends, neighbors, or coworkers, or you might post in your neighborhood Facebook group or on NextDoor. Don’t forget to ask about anyone to avoid as well.

You can gather other names by searching online for “air conditioner repair Charleston SC”, for example. This should give you most of the companies that work in your area. Online directories like the Better Business Bureau and Yelp might add others to your list.

Checking It Twice

Once you have a list of contenders, spend some time checking them out to make sure they’re professional. This includes visiting their website and social media and reading reviews of them online. You should see reviews if you look at the BBB, but know that Google reviews are hard to fake and are thus more reliable.

A few questions you’ll want to answer during your initial search include:

How long have they been in business?
Do they have a proper license and insurance?
Can they do weekend and off-hours work?

Even if you got their name from a close friend or relative, take some time to talk to references if you can, especially if you think a big repair job is required. Ask about their service performance and whether work gets done on time.

Evaluate and Estimate

If you aren’t needing emergency work done, take some time to check your choices closely. Get the company out for an estimate if possible and get a written, itemized version of the estimate or proposal before you commit to anything. You should sign a written estimate before work starts that specifies cost, model and part numbers, and other details.

Use that estimate to compare against others you receive. With the extra detail in the estimate, you can see whether everyone is selling you the same service and parts. Any large variances should send you back to ask more questions to make sure you’re getting the right solution to the problem.

While you have the contractor there, be sure to quiz them about the specifics of their warranty and guarantees. You want to know what services they cover and whether it includes labor or only parts. Make sure you understand how long they last and what they promise to do to make a situation right.

Also make sure you ask about manufacturer warranties, especially on bigger parts. These are separate from those of the contracting company, so you want to ensure you understand how they work in concert with each other.

Avoid Bad Contractors and Scams

If you do your homework, you’ll be at low risk for hiring a sketchy contractor. But it’s good to be aware of the signs that you might be about to be taken for a ride.

A big red flag is if a contractor wants all the money for a job upfront, as they could take off without ever doing the work. You should also be skeptical if they give you a super-low price offer but put a time limit on it.

Speaking of super-low prices, be wary of those as well. It could be that they’re planning to put used parts in your system or haven’t accounted for all the work needed. You could get a big surprise on the back end after the work is completed.

Any contractor that can’t provide you with their license info or hesitates on giving you a written estimate should also trigger warning bells. Putting a lot of pressure on you to commit to doing a big job right away without getting a second opinion is another bad sign.

On the opposite end of that is a contractor whose contract has so much tiny fine print that it looks like a college dissertation. You want a thorough contract, but one with that much content is sure to include a lot of loopholes that aren’t to your benefit.

Get the Best AC Repair in Charleston, SC

When the temperature goes up and your air conditioning goes down, you want to get it fixed as quickly as possible. But taking your time in selecting an air conditioner repair service can save you money and headaches in the long run. A reputable and quality company guarantees work done fast and well.

If you’re looking for AC repair in Charleston, SC, you can count on Carolina Climate Control to help get you cool. Contact us to schedule an appointment with one of our technicians for repair or service.

How SEER Ratings Work And How To Check Your HVAC System’s Rating

February 9th, 2021

That blazing Lowcountry summer will be here before you know it, bringing the steady hum of air conditioning systems with it.

Because we run our AC a lot around here, energy efficiency helps keep us cool without burning up our wallets.

A SEER rating helps you compare systems to see that you’re getting an efficient one. It’s one of the primary factors in choosing your HVAC, along with picking the correct size.

But just what is a SEER rating? What does it mean, and how can you tell what you have? Let’s take a look at this important number.

What is a SEER Rating?

SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. It’s a number comparing the cooling output of a system over a typical season to how much energy it uses. Since these ratings were adopted and standards set, energy consumers have saved trillions of dollars.

You calculate the SEER rating over an entire cooling season – spring, summer, and sometimes the cooler fall and winter seasons around here – using a constant indoor temperature and outdoor temperatures from 60 degrees to over 100 degrees.

A SEER rating is a maximum efficiency rating. It works a little like your car’s gas mileage. You might get 24 mpg on the highway, but only 18 mpg if you’re stuck in city traffic.

The same goes for your AC. If you’ve seen the ENERGY STAR stickers and wondered what a 13 seer rating is, that’s the minimum SEER a unit can be manufactured with today and the numbers to up to 25. The higher the number, the more efficient the unit.

Recommended SEER

In recent years, HVAC efficiency standards have been changed to account for the different climates nationwide. This sets a minimum SEER rating that can be sold in a region. South Carolina is part of the Southeast region. Since we use our AC a lot more than other regions, we have a higher minimum SEER at 14.

Where To Find Your Rating

So just what is the rating of your current unit? Along with age, this can tell you if it’s worth it to consider upgrading to a new system now that you know what a high SEER rating is and what is considered low.

Look for the yellow and black energy guide sticker on the side of the condenser. If the sticker is still there, you should see the SEER rating in large numbers.

If you don’t find it there, it might be recorded on the air handler or indicated at the beginning of the model number. For example, XC21 followed by other numbers would mean a SEER of 21.

Time to Upgrade?

Now that you know what is a SEER rating, also know there is no magic number to tell you what a good SEER rating is for your home. If your unit is more than 10 years old, you’re likely to benefit from a new system as the standards have been raised quite a bit since your system was installed. Also, there are numerous tax credits and other incentives that can reduce the cost if you upgrade to a higher SEER system.

Heat Pumps vs. Furnaces: What You Need To Know For Your Home In Charleston

January 27th, 2021

Even with our moderate winters here in Charleston compared to the rest of the US, temperatures dip down far enough where having a reliable heating system is definitely a necessity.

Though we’re already past our historical coldest day of the year — January 17th — overnight lows can stay quite chilly through March and April, so having that heating system you can rely on is important even moving into our warmer seasons.

That said, which type of heating system is going to be that reliable source of heat for you and your family in Charleston?

Back in 2019 we jumped head first into this question in our heat pump vs. furnace showdown and even offered an alternative heating solution that many Lowcountry homeowners have opted for.

As we all are well aware 2 years can be quite a long time (especially with a year like 2020 we just had) so let’s get reacquainted with our Lowcountry heating options and see which type may work best for your home in Charleston.

Heat Pump Advantages & Disadvantages

Simplifying things a bit from our original blog post mentioned above, heat pumps — generally speaking — look and function pretty much the same as any air conditioning system you may have installed in your home.

Unlike a typical central air conditioner, however, a heat pump can function in the winter to provide heat to your home. It does this by transferring ambient heat from the outside air into your home — essentially reversing its summertime operation (moving warm air in your home to the outside).

This is obviously a huge advantage for many homeowners. One system to install, one system to maintain and one system to provide year-round comfort.

This advantage does get diminished when temperatures dip far below normal lows, when there is little-or-no ambient warmth to draw from outside to warm your home. Well designed HVAC systems may come with a backup heating source (like the heating options found in many modern air handlers), so you may be alright if that is the case.

Temperatures rarely, if ever, dip low enough to cause heating issues with your heat pump, so that’s why they’re so popular here in Charleston.

Furnace Advantages & Disadvantages

Having a dedicated furnace, as you might imagine, means always having a dedicated heat source when temps get cooler in the Lowcountry. Furnaces produce heat by passing electricity through coils or burning some type of fuel, like gas, oil, wood or wood pellets.

Needing that extra fuel to heat your home can obviously mean additional and/or larger bills when you’re running your furnace in the winter.

The additional parts, equipment and maintenance that go with having a furnace can mean more things to worry about as well, especially if you have an older one installed in your home.

Other Heating Options In 2021

When we reviewed heat pumps above, we singled out the “typical” heat pump many homeowners have installed — the models that look pretty much the same as any other central air conditioning system you may see around the Lowcountry. Like those central air conditioning systems, they still very much rely on your home’s ductwork to move heated air into your home.

What we didn’t mention are the ductless heating and air conditioning options you could install in your home.

Ductless mini-split HVAC systems are a great option for reliable heating as well as cooling, just like the more traditional heat pumps, but don’t need your home’s ductwork to distribute heated air. They can be installed individually in rooms or other areas, to allow your family to make more personalized heating adjustments depending on where they are in home.

As many Lowcountry home have more and more issues with their ductwork (flooding, duct availability, etc.), ductless heating solutions can be a great, reliable heating option for your Lowcountry home.

Whichever route you choose for your primary heating source in your Lowcountry home, be sure to discuss your project with your local heating and ac company to make sure you get the best heater installation possible.

Carolina Climate Control Blog