Jeffersonville, IN | VanKleef Heating & Air Conditioning

Author: Rosie Baker

  • What You Don't Know Can Kill You; Dealing With Carbon Dioxide

    air conditioning repair Louisville While you might be thinking about finding a Southern Indiana or Louisville area Air Conditioning Repair Shop to get ready for the spring and summer season, new seasons also get us thinking about other home maintenance issues.
    Did you know that carbon dioxide in normal amounts is an odorless, colorless, tasteless, gas that is naturally emitted by plants, animals, and humans? It’s common in the functioning of every day life. Unfortunately, at higher levels, this gas can be toxic.
    When carbon dioxide seeps through doors and windows from the outside and becomes trapped inside, the gas cannot dissipate. Instead, the gas rises to higher levels of toxicity and affects every day functioning, which can produce a poisonous, deadly outcome.
    The problem we face is that most people are not aware of the side effects of carbon dioxide poisoning and mistake them for common health problems like fatigue, the flu, and high blood pressure. Muscle twitching and headaches may be brushed off as a common occurrence, but as carbon dioxide reaches higher, more deadly levels, nausea and dizziness become overwhelming and eventually muscle twitching and asphyxiation can occur, resulting in death. As carbon dioxide increases, oxygen decreases, hampering proper flow to your brain, which eventually becomes fatal.
    Although carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring gas, it can be unnaturally present due to excessive levels emitted from stoves, space heaters, clothes dryers, or improperly vented fireplace flues.
    To guard against this deadly gas:

    • Make sure all gas-burning appliances are properly ventilated
    • Keep gas levels regulated and checked
    • Use a mechanically ventilated system for exhaust
    • Regularly test CO2 levels and have anything excessive flushed out

    Home testing can be done in a couple of different ways. You can buy a kit at your local home improvement store that assesses carbon dioxide levels and allows you to instantly know the results so that they can be promptly rectified. Certified home inspectors are properly trained to detect this type of danger and are worth the investment for peace of mind.
    Although carbon dioxide makes up only 1% of our atmosphere, it can account for 100% of family disaster if not properly and promptly addressed and treated. VanKleef Heating and Air Conditioning repair professionals, in Southern Indiana and the Louisville Kentucky area can help you keep your home safe from disaster. (812) 280-0510

  • Should you turn the HVAC system OFF when gone?

    I was recently asked on a Google+ discussion if you should turn your air conditioner OFF when gone. Plenty of room for disagreement even among the professionals. When taking a purely energy conservation viewpoint, you’ll definitely save when using setback periods. However, we buy these HVAC systems for comfort. How comfortable is an 80*F home after climbing from your 65*F car and the 50*F vents blowing on you during your commute? Not really comfortable.
    Programmable Thermostat
    There’s a simple solution to help – a programmable thermostat with dehumidification capabilities. Research shows use that humans are most comfortable when the humidity is 40-60% and the indoor temperature is 68-78*F. A home at 78*F and 50% humidity has the same comfort feel to most people as a home at 70*F and 60% humidity.
    What about dehumidification? Let’s consider the function of an HVAC system in cooling mode. It’s purpose is to cool and remove moisture. If you’re in a deep setup, then the AC won’t be running. If it’s not running, then it’s not removing moisture. So, the programmable thermostats can also dehumidify. They do this by cycling the system for 10 minute periods when there is no active call for cooling.
    With that, I recommend a setback similar to the EPA (Energy Star):http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.showProductGroup&pgw_code=TH and http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=thermostats.pr_thermostats_guidelines.
    Keys to the savings: setback period should be at least ten hours and 7*F (heating) and 4*F (cooling). Read the footnote on the second link.
     

  • How to Choose a Furnace that Best Suits Your Needs

    Louisville furnaceYou may be looking to replace a sluggish furnace in your existing home or you may be ready to install one in a new home for the first time. Either way, there are some important facts that can help you decide which furnace may be the best fit for your home. Let’s start by examining the two major types of furnaces.
    The Two-Stage Furnace
    Based on its name, the two-stage furnace is geared to operate the major elements of the furnace in two different ways. First, this type of furnace will change the burn rate of natural gas, or BTUs (British Thermal Units, a unit of energy) generated. Most of these systems will also change the speed at which the blower fan blows, lowering the speed during the first stage and raising it during the second stage.
    The two-stage furnace actually runs on a lower amount of BTUs and runs longer in order to keep your home more comfortable by decreasing the temperature swings when the system shuts off and turns back on.
    The advantage most people see in this system is in a more consistent temperature while the system is running. Energy savings is not a real advantage to this type of furnace.
    Modulating Furnace
    This type of High Efficiency furnace operates with more intensity and also reduces the temperature fluctuations, produces a more consistent indoor temperature, is quiet in operation, and utilizes annual fuel consumption up to 98%. Because fuel is used more efficiently, energy use is reduced and so is cost.
    This type of gas furnace combines a modular gas valve with a variable speed blower and is able to adjust automatically, continuously regulating the amount of fuel burned based on the thermostat setting. These systems can maintain a temperature within a half-degree of the thermostat set point.  Standard systems can swing between 4-6 degrees.
    Because of its variable speed blower, the temperature slowly ramps up and down providing quiet and efficient air distribution while reducing overall utility consumption.
    Being informed can help you choose the furnace that can best accommodate your home’s needs and keep you toasty warm this winter season. Contact VanKleef Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. with any questions you have about your furnace. We are here to help.
    image courtesy of York

  • Why’s My Coil Freezing?

    Well, it’s about to get hot in the beautiful Kentuckiana area. VanKleef Heating and Air Conditioning can assist.
    When it gets hot, some of you will experience a frozen coil. The big line between the indoor and outdoor units is covered with ice. If you remove the coil panel, you would see a big blog of ice there as well. Next step is a big puddle of water under the furnace when you stop the unit from running.
    So, what causes a frozen coil? Two things primarily cause it: low load and low refrigerant (R-22, R-410a, Freon, Puron, etc.) charge.
    Low load. What is that? Well, it’s usually a dirty filter. That is why it is important to change your filters once a month. You can regulate this by one of your monthly bills. For instance, when you pay your cell phone bill, change your filter in your HVAC system.
    The other cause: low refrigerant charge. Now, you may be thinking “when the refrigerant charge is low, the house gets hot. How can this possibly freeze the coil?” Well, here’s the answer.
    Low refrigerant charge reduces the pressures of the indoor coil. The lower pressure corresponds to a lower temperature of the refrigerant as it enters the coil. The freezing process starts there. As the system runs and runs and runs, the ice builds and builds. It does take some time to build this ice block.
    So, what causes a low charge? Two choices again: a leak or improper charge. All systems come charged from the factory with enough refrigerant for a 15′ lineset (the copper pipes between the units). The installing contractor has to add a certain amount of refrigerant for each foot of copper. If not, you’ll get a frozen coil when the unit runs long and hard in the first heat wave. The second would be if you have a leak. Replacing the Freon without fixing the leak would be like putting gas in your car knowing you have a leak, driving around and wondering why you are using so much gas. We can inspect your system, fix the leak and replace the Freon all in one call.
    Well, I hope that you now understand a little better about the causes of a frozen evaporator (indoor) coil. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Love to help you with questions 812-280-0510 – Werner VanKleef

  • Why We Carry Quality Products

    York HVAC productsYou may have heard this saying by Zig Ziglar: You cannot make it as a wandering generality. You must become a meaningful specific. It may not say exactly what we are thinking but it’s close enough.
    Service is king in this industry and one of the ways we can serve our customers best is by not being generalists. We want to carry products that we trust and stand by, and products we know inside and out. By specializing and having a specific product line we can insure that we know every detail about the York Product line, and that is good news for the consumer.
    We also offer Trane, Lennox, and other products that we are equally product to offer to you.
    It is rare when a business puts service as its highest aim, but that is our aim. We want to serve our customers and we are proud to carry all of our various products.
    For instance, York has been in the business for 130 years, and that may be even more rare. Partnering with a company like that instills confidence and you can trust they are staying at the forefront of technology and are leaders in the industry.Johnson Controls manufactures all York products and they are in the fortune 25 companies and understand quality control in their product line. They are the only HVAC manufacturer than can boast 100% assembled in the U.S. factories.
    We are proud to partner with each of the listed companies. If you have any questions about comparing product lines, we would love to sit down and talk with you about your needs commercial or residential. We can help you make the right decision.
    image courtesy of york.com