It’s never a good idea just to ignore a problem that occurs in your air conditioning system. Quick response to problems is ideal for limiting the damage they can cause and preserving the health of your air conditioner. There are some problems, however, that really can’t wait for you to find a convenient time to have them addressed. If you notice any of these 3 problems with your air conditioner, turn it off immediately and call a professional as soon as possible. Otherwise, you may find yourself replacing the whole system.
Roznovak's Services Blog
3 Air Conditioning Problems That Require Emergency Repair
April 13th, 2015How a Clogged Air Filter Can Damage Your Furnace
April 6th, 2015Many homeowners may not know this, but every furnace is equipped with an air filter installed in the blower return duct. This air filter is a small, simple part of the system. It’s no surprise that it escapes the notice of many homeowners, who don’t often have any reason to thoroughly examine the inside of their furnaces. Small though it may be, the air filter is actually a vital part of keeping your furnace healthy.
Let’s take a look at how the air filter keeps your furnace safe, and what can happen if you neglect it.
The Air Filter
There are a lot of particles that circulate through the average home that, if they were to infiltrate the furnace, would damage it. Things like dust, pollen, mold, and the like could wreak havoc on the system if they were allowed to blow directly into it. So the air filter is installed to catch all of these particles before they can enter the system. As the air flows through the filter, any contaminants being blown along become trapped in the fibers. The air itself passes through the filter and into the system.
The one problem with the air filter is that it needs to be cleaned or replaced every 1–3 months. If this is not done, the air filter will become so clogged with particulates that it restricts the air flow into the furnace. That’s when problems start occurring.
Short-Cycling
Restricted air flow into the furnace will cause the temperature to rise until the system overheats. This activates the limit switch, which shuts down the system as a safety measure. When the furnace cools off enough to restart, the clogged air filter causes it to overheat again and be shut down again. This continuous on/off cycle is called “short-cycling,” and is extremely damaging to the furnace. The strain of turning itself on and off constantly puts the furnace at an increased risk of breaking down, as well as shortening its lifespan. If you notice your furnace short-cycling, turn it off immediately and call us to schedule a repair appointment.
If you have any problems with your furnace, call Roznovak. We provide heating installation and repair services throughout Austin, TX.
Why You Need to Have Your Air Conditioning Checked Before Summer Starts
March 30th, 2015There’s a pretty wide variance in the way people treat their air conditioning systems.
Some people just install them, hope for the best, and only call for repairs when the entire system breaks down. Some people make sure to pay close attention to the way their air conditioner behaves, so they can catch problems before they have a chance to extensively damage the system.Finally, some people supplement their vigilance with regular professional maintenance. If you aren’t part of the last group, you should be.
Let’s take a look at why you need to have your air conditioning checked before summer starts.
Cost Benefit Analysis
The main reason that people avoid scheduling preventive maintenance for their air conditioners is that they don’t believe it’s necessary. Why spend the money to have a professional check out the system if there’s nothing wrong with it? The flaw in that line of reasoning is that, while there may not be anything apparently wrong with your system, there could be plenty of developing problems inside it that aren’t outwardly visible. Not all air conditioning problems have obvious symptoms. Usually, the only way to identify these problems is to physically check the part that’s starting to malfunction. Preventive maintenance is the only way to identify and fix these issues before they have the chance to get any worse.
Why Spring Maintenance?
If a system does have any problems or vulnerabilities, they are most likely to be brought out by increased stress. Summer is the time when your air conditioner sees the most use, which makes it the time when your system is most likely to break down. Spring maintenance is a way to make sure that your air conditioner is in top operating condition, right before it is put under the most stress. Now is the time to make sure that your air conditioner is up to the task of keeping you cool all summer.
If you haven’t had preventive maintenance done on your air conditioner this year, call Roznovak. We provide air conditioning maintenance throughout the Round Rock area.
The Benefits of Commercial Duct Cleaning
March 24th, 2015Ducts are an important part of any centralized forced air system. This is especially true for commercial HVAC systems, which employ much larger and more complex ductwork than residential properties do.
The ductwork in your building is responsible for keeping you and your employees comfortable, by transporting fresh air from your heating and air conditioning systems. Unfortunately, ductwork can also harm those inside a commercial property if it is not properly maintained.
Let’s take a look at one of the harms that can occur due to poorly maintained ductwork, and what you can do to prevent it.
Airborne Contaminants
The air inside the average commercial building is infested with millions upon millions of microscopic airborne contaminants. Things like viruses, bacteria, dust, mold spores, and insect dander are all commonly found floating through the air in commercial and residential buildings. These contaminants tend to be pretty loosely dispersed, which prevents them from having any serious health effects on those in the building.
In the ducts, however, these contaminants are given a safe haven in which to gather. The level of pollutants builds up in your ducts over time until a forced air system is turned on, at which point the entire building receives a concentrated blast of them. This makes it more likely for the building’s occupants to suffer allergy attacks and illness.
Duct Cleaning
In order to address these contaminants, it’s a good idea to schedule commercial duct cleaning for your building at least once every one or two years. Duct cleaning is where your HVAC company removes any and all contaminants that may be lurking in your ducts, either through vacuums or manual cleaning or both. Duct cleaning significantly improves the indoor air quality of your business, thereby improving the health and quality of life of everyone inside.
It can also improve the efficiency of your HVAC system, by revealing any leaks or other issues that need to be dealt with. If your ducts haven’t been cleaned in a while, you could most certainly benefit from scheduling a duct cleaning today.
If you’d like to know more about the specifics of duct cleaning, Call Roznovak. We provide commercial duct cleaning services throughout the Austin area.
How to Avoid the Need for AC Repair
March 18th, 2015Our days are warming up, and many of you may have already turned on your air conditioning systems to help stave off the early spring heat. We use our air conditioners for a lot of the year, so taking some steps that can help you avoid the need for A/C repair in Austin is always a good thing for our local homeowners.
We’ll outline more of these steps below, but if you are experiencing any issues with your air conditioning, call the people you can count on: Roznovak.
Step 1: Don’t Ignore Strange Sounds
Let’s be honest: no homeowner looks forward to air conditioning repair. But ignoring strange sounds or poor performance doesn’t make the problems go away, and will most likely make the problems worse. And just because your system is still operational doesn’t mean that there isn’t a problem; it just means the problem hasn’t become serious enough yet to result in breakdown. So what kinds of noises are we talking about? Buzzing, banging, popping, really anything that sounds of the ordinary. When you hear anything strange, call for help.
Step 2: Change the Air Filter
As far as individual components go, your AC’s air filter is probably one of the least complicated ones in the entire system – but that doesn’t mean it can’t cause problems. A clogged air filter can seriously restrict the air flow in your entire system, causing any number of systemic problems to develop. But there’s an easy solution to this: change the air filter every 3 months. Replacing your air filter every quarter helps keep your AC healthy and eliminates the problems that can develop from a clogged air filter.
Step 3: Schedule Annual Maintenance
Maintenance is a full tune-up for your air conditioner, and spring is the perfect time to schedule it. Why schedule maintenance? During a maintenance appointment, your system is thoroughly inspected, components are cleaned and adjusted, and all moving parts are lubricated. The technician will also test for performance, and if any existing or developing problems are found, you’ll be alerted. Maintenance helps keep your system in good working order for the whole cooling season.
Have further A/C repair questions about your Austin air conditioning system? Call us today!
Signs That You Need Air Conditioning Repair
March 10th, 2015Air conditioner problems are a bit harder to diagnose than heater problems, at least for the untrained eye. There are a few symptoms that cross over. Lack of heating/cool air is a pretty obvious sign of trouble, for example. However, there are a lot of problem indicators that are specific to air conditioners. So, if you want to keep your air conditioner in good condition it’s a good idea to learn these unique indicators. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Ice
Air conditioners are supposed to keep your home cool, but there are limits to how much they can lower the temperature and still operate correctly. If you see ice on your air conditioner, it’s a sign that something has gone wrong. This can be caused by dirt on the coils or a low refrigerant level, both of which can lower the temperature below what it should be.
Once the ice has formed, it prevents the coils in the air conditioner from successfully drawing heat from the air. This causes your air conditioner to actually lose cooling ability, and can damage the coils on top of that. So, if you see ice forming on your AC, call for repairs.
Short-Cycling
Short-cycling is when your air conditioner keeps rapidly turning itself on and off during operation. This is an extremely harmful effect that can be caused by a few different factors. The compressor could be malfunctioning, which results in irregular pressure in the refrigerant line. The problem could also be located in the thermostat, which may have a faulty temperature sensor. Regardless of the cause, however, the behavior itself places the air conditioner under an extreme amount of stress. If the cause isn’t found and treated by a professional, you may have to replace part or all of the system.
Air conditioning repair is a broad topic, and not one that we can entirely cover in this post. If you suspect that your air conditioner might be malfunctioning for any reason, call Roznovak today. We offer air conditioning repair services throughout Austin, TX.
How Does a Heat Pump Heat?
February 27th, 2015Heat pumps are rising in popularity as people come to realize the extent of the benefits they provide. Their construction and method of operation allows them to provide a heat output equal to that of more traditional furnace and boiler systems, but with only a fraction of the cost. They’re both energy efficient and safe. How do heat pumps actually accomplish this feat? Read on to learn about the inner workings of heat pumps, and how they can provide such substantial advantages.
Heat Pump Anatomy
A heat pump is actually very similar to an air conditioner in terms of construction. There are two units, one installed inside the house and one outside. These units are connected by a conduit that allows them to share power, refrigerant, and any other resources necessary for operation. The most important part of this infrastructure is the refrigerant line, which is what makes it possible for the heat pump to actually move heat from one location to the other.
Heat Pump Operation
A heat pump is constructed similar to an air conditioner because it actually operates very much like an air conditioner. However, while an air conditioner will leech heat from the air inside the home and vent it outside, the heat pump does the opposite. When the thermostat calls for heat, the outside part of the heat pump begins to evaporate refrigerant using a coil inside the casing. This process makes the refrigerant gas into a heat sink, drawing the heat from the surrounding air and into the coil. The refrigerant gas, now holding the heat from outside, then travels down the refrigerant line and into the inside unit, where it is condensed back into liquid. This releases the heat to warm the air being circulated through the house.
Heat Pump Benefits
The way in which heat pumps heat makes them extremely energy efficient, because they don’t rely on any sort of fuel combustion to operate. All a heat pump needs to warm a home is thermal energy from the surrounding air and electricity to run on. Not only is this more efficient than heating systems like furnaces and boilers, but it is safer as well. Combustion systems produce a number of extremely toxic gases, which need to be vented outside of the home to prevent injury or death. Heat pumps don’t need these extra safety measures, because they don’t produce any toxic byproducts.
If you’d like to know more about heat pumps, call Roznovak. We provide heat pumps throughout Taylor, TX.
Ways that a Humidifier can Improve Your Health
February 20th, 2015When people hear about humidity, it’s often discussed as a bad thing. If there is high humidity during the day, it can feel as though you’re slogging through a swamp every time you go outside.
Humidity can make you feel sweaty, sticky, and just gross in general. So, why in the world would you actually want a device that increases the humidity in your house? Well, it turns out that a little bit of humidity is actually very good for your health. Let’s take a look at how your body interacts with the humidity in the air, and how a humidifier can improve your health.
Humidity and You
Humidity, determined by the level of moisture in the air, serves a number of important roles for both plants and animals. However, there must be a balance for humidity to be beneficial to life. If humidity is too high, it makes it harder for your body to cool itself by sweating. This is why you feel like you just got out of a pool during humid days; your body is sweating more than usual to try and correct the balance.
If humidity is too low, however, it can have much more negative effects on your body. Most of the human body is liquid, and contains a number of protective membranes that need to be moist to work properly. If the air around you is too dry, the membranes in your sinuses dry out. This causes them to crack and bleed, as well as drastically reducing their ability to protect you from infection. In areas with consistently low humidity, like deserts, people tend to get sick far more often because their bodies’ defenses are weakened. Low humidity can also be caused by using forced air heating systems too much, like during the winter season.
Humidifiers
Humidifiers are devices that emit water vapor to increase the humidity in the air. They are used to correct the balance of humidity in your home, by compensating for both natural and artificially low humidity levels. If you find yourself suffering from extremely dry air, we highly recommend that you consult a professional about purchasing a humidifier. If you do use a humidifier, however, be sure to keep it clean and well-maintained. Remember that humidity that is too high can cause a whole host of other problems.
If you think you may need a humidifier in your home, call Roznovak. We provide humidifiers throughout the Taylor, TX area.
Valentine’s Day: Pagan Revelry, Clandestine Marriage, and 14th Century Poetry
February 14th, 2015What do you think of when you think of Valentine’s Day? Perhaps rushing off to the stationary store after work to choose the perfect card with which to express your feelings towards a loved one? Dinner reservations at a fancy restaurant? Roses, dark chocolates, and other gifts and confections? Whatever Valentine’s Day may look like to you, chances are that it is a far cry from the history surrounding this holiday – or at least we hope so. Here are a few interesting facts about this most romantic of holidays, from your friends here at Roznovak’s Services.
The fact of the matter is that there is no definitive history as to how Valentine’s Day came to be. There are a few different saints with variations of the name Valentine, for example. One of the most prevalent legends, and one certainly in keeping with the romantic nature of the holiday as we know it today, pertains to a priest serving during the 3rd century in Rome. Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II, who believed that young men made for better soldiers if unfettered by marriage, it was illegal for young men to marry. A true believer in love, Valentine would marry young couples in secret. Until, at least, he was found out, and met a very unpleasant end for his crimes.
Like many of our modern holidays, Valentine’s Day can also be traced back to pagan ritual. Lupercalia, as the pagan festival is known, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, a god of agriculture. As is often the case with Roman celebrations, the details of this celebration are unfit to detail here. Suffice to say that, while there is certainly a touch of the amorous in the proceedings, the festival was a far cry from what we associate with Valentine’s Day today.
How, then, did our modern version of Valentine’s Day come to be? The answer may lie in, of all places, 14th century poetry; particularly, in the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer. Famed for his Canterbury Tales, Chaucer may well be the very first writer to associate Valentine’s Day with romantic love, in the manner of which we are familiar with it today. His The Parliament of Fowls details the dream-vision of a narrator consumed with the idea of romantic love and the natural order of finding a mate. Valentine’s Day is mentioned by name a number of times, as the narrator witnesses a parliament of eagles vying for the hand – or, perhaps more aptly, the wing – of a mate.
Whatever you may think of the holiday’s sordid and convoluted history, we here at Roznovak’s Services hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day with the special someone in your life.
Problems from Dry Air in Your Home
February 9th, 2015You’ve probably heard someone complain about the humidity levels in the air at least once before. “Humidity” refers to the amount of moisture in the air. A measurement of humidity indicates the percentage of water vapor in the air at any given point. So, 100% is the maximum amount of water vapor that the air can hold, but most people describe themselves as being most comfortable at around 30-50%.
When the humidity levels are too high, sweat cannot evaporate from your body as easily as it normally does. This is why it feels so hot and sticky in humid areas. Besides that, high levels of humidity can result in a whole host of problems, from water damage in the home to mold growth to illness. But did you know that low humidity can be just as problematic?
If the people in your home suffer as a result of dry air in the wintertime, the friendly technicians at Roznovak recommend hiring a team of experts to install a humidifier in your home that works with your HVAC system to help moderate moisture levels. Without it, you may experience some discomfort or even damage to the home.
- Itchy, Dry Skin – Perhaps the most noticeable effect of dry air is the dry feeling it leaves on your skin, and perhaps even some itchiness and chapped lips. If you find yourself running to the store for lotions and balms to relieve discomfort frequently, it may be time for a humidifier.
- Prolonged Illness – It seems that every time a character in the movies or on TV is stuck at home with a cold or the flu, a standalone humidifier sits by their bedside. This is because dry nasal passages are not only irritating during a cold; they also affect your body because it will take longer to heal with dry membranes. But a whole-home humidifier benefits you over a standalone model because if one person in the home is sick, the rest off the family is probably soon to follow. A whole home model can help prevent illness for the rest of the family.
- Damaged Floors and Furniture – Wood furniture and floors may actually crack and wear away over time in areas of extremely low humidity. Drywall can also crack, and paint may begin to chip.
Call Roznovak today to speak with professional installers who take the time to set up and test whole home humidifiers in Roundrock with the utmost care.
