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Have Pets? Here’s How To Maintain Your A/C

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We always have and always will love our pets, but that doesn’t mean we have to get used to the chores that they create!

Pet fur can become a real problem inside of homes inside of Arizona, particularly when it comes to the impact that it has on your air conditioning unit. HVAC machines may be big and bulky pieces of equipment, but they can be sidelined by even the smallest of airborne particulates. Whether you have a beautiful Maine Coone or a couple of rowdy dogs, the fur and airborne debris they leave behind may be wreaking havoc on your home.

Today, we are going to take a closer look at how you can prepare your HVAC system for a lifetime with pets. By enacting just a few of the following tips, you will get to enjoy a home that smells cleaner, feels fresher, and is equipped with a longer-lasting, healthier HVAC system.

Get Used to Changing Air Filters

Did you know that your HVAC system has a set of air filters that need to be regularly changed? It’s true! These filters act as a barrier to allow your HVAC system the ability to operate efficiently. By catching airborne pollutants and protecting your ducts from their appearance, your HVAC system can last longer while reducing potential airborne dangers.

Clogged filters can become a regular and recurring issue in homes throughout Arizona. Air will have trouble passing through these dirty filters, which will cause your system to work harder to produce the same conditioned air. As a result, components downstream in the system are impacted by complications that can cause a spike in energy use.

A standard HVAC filter will effectively capture insects, hair, and animal dander. You can discuss even better quality air filters for smaller particulates with a technician from One Stop Heating & Cooling. During your conversations with an HVAC technician, focus on upgrading to filters with higher MERV numbers. The higher the MERV rating, the better the filtration offered by the filter.

Clean Grilles and Vacuum Registers

Your HVAC system is a convoluted machine with many moving parts, though it is often the overlooked components that need help the most. Cleaning your HVAC registers and grilles may be left in the dust while you focus on potentially more important areas, but don’t forget to clean them eventually. The vents that process air into your living space can be filled with dust, hair, allergens, and other debris. Remove and wash your grilles and registers with soap and water before adequately drying everything. Once these components have been completely dried, they can be reinstalled for continued use.

Schedule Routine HVAC Maintenance

A little bit of maintenance can go a long way toward preventing future issues. Most air conditioning technicians and HVAC manufacturers would suggest scheduling at least a yearly tune-up before spring to prepare your system. If you have pets, and most of us do, these tune-ups may be required on a more frequent basis. Pet hair and dander can break down your system by reducing its efficacy, raising energy costs, and reducing your comfort.

To avoid the natural degradation of your HVAC system due to time and heavy use, consider getting into the habit of scheduling routine air conditioning maintenance check-ups. Technicians from One Stop Heating & Cooling will swing by to completely assess and clean each component of your HVAC unit, including the filters, refrigerant, electrical connections, ductwork, condensate system, and blowers.

Consider a New HVAC System

The shelf life of a traditional HVAC system can be between 20 and 40 years with proper upkeep and maintenance. If you live in an older home without a history of HVAC maintenance, consider opting for a complete AC installation and upgrade. New systems have been made for the market to better accommodate homes with multiple pets or larger animals. Energy-efficient HVAC systems can better help your home remain comfortable while reducing your energy bill at the same time.

One Stop Heating & Cooling is proud to offer a variety of financing services for customers on approved credit. Is now the right time to replace your HVAC system?

Call One Stop Heating & Cooling Today!

One Stop Heating & Cooling is a family owned and operated business based out of Phoenix, AZ. Established with a focus on quality customer service and expert craftsmanship, One Stop Heating & Cooling is proud to offer sales, service, repair, and installation for HVAC systems, air conditioning units, and other indoor air quality products.

One Stop Heating & Cooling promises

  • 24 / 7 Emergency Services
  • Free Estimates
  • Residential & Commercial Services
  • Honest, Reliable, and Qualified Technicians

To schedule your HVAC service or to inquire after financing for a new HVAC installation, reach out to One Stop Heating & Cooling today to schedule the services that you need, tomorrow!

The Differences Between Air Ventilation, Filtration, and Purification

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Understanding Your Air Handling Options

Modern HVAC technology offers a variety of methods for maintaining the cleanliness and healthfulness of your air. Three primary approaches include air ventilation, purification, and filtration. Let’s take a look at the main features, limitations, and benefits of each.

Ventilation: Air Exchange and Circulation

Pushing air around your home doesn’t automatically make that air any cleaner. If you constantly breathe the same old stale indoor air, you might actually get better air quality by going outside. Air circulation only improves air quality when you have a means of replacing the old, stale air with new, fresh air. Properly-installed, well-designed mechanical ventilation systems can make this possible. A mechanical ventilation system uses fans and ducts to pull cleaned, filtered air into the home while also pushing “used” air out. Bear in mind, however, that this very basic level of air cleaning may not be sufficient for your needs; nor can it prevent the infiltration of germs.

Filtration: Pulling Particles Out of the Air

Filtration works by setting up a physical, permeable barrier to airborne particles. Particles smaller than a particular size may pass through the filter, while anything larger gets stopped by the filter material. This straining process can provide much cleaner air for anyone sensitive to dust, dander, mold, pollen, and other common irritants. Less dust in the air also means less dust on your air conditioning coils. (Coils that get clogged with dust simply can’t operate efficiently.)

Many standard HVAC air filters do little to block any but the largest particles, which may prove beneficial only to your air conditioning components. For filtration that also helps to preserve your health, look into MERV-16 or HEPA filters, which can block particles as small as 0.3 microns.

Purification: Killing Contaminants Before They Cause Trouble

Air purification focuses on killing any germs that may infiltrate a home’s HVAC system. This makes them a natural complement to filtration systems, which may stop the majority of germs but still permit the tiniest one to remain airborne. Air purifiers work their magic by implementing either of these two technologies:

  • Ultraviolet light – Some air purifiers expose incoming air to UVC radiation (the most toxic and destructive type of UV), killing viruses and bacteria.
  • Photocatalytic ionization – This air-scrubbing technology adds a chemical catalyst to the UVC component in an air purifier system. As the UVC kills the germs, the catalyst produces chemical changes that reduce them to CO2 and water.

An air purifier may offer more air cleaning power than your home and family actually need. Some models also produce UVC radiation at frequencies that result in the production of ozone (which you don’t want in your home). If you choose this solution, ask your HVAC installer about recommended makes and models.

Which Approach Makes the Most Sense for Your Needs?

Even after examining the various pros and cons of each home air handling solution, you may still wonder which of them to install in your home. The ideal scenario, of course, would involve installing all three of them. In reality, though, one or two of these options may be all you need to tackle a pressing air handling concern or challenge. Let’s examine some specific factors that might influence your decision.

Health Considerations

Do you or your family members suffer from a respiratory condition, poor immune system, or extreme sensitivity to allergens? If health concerns dominate your air handling questions, your primary goal is to keep those particles away from your loved ones. This means starting with air filtration and purification. This “one-two punch” can strain out all but the tiniest particles while also killing viruses and bacteria. Some products actually incorporate both of these functions into their design.

Home Considerations

Your size and style of home may affect what kind of air handling devices you require. For example, if you live in a particularly snug little home with little natural air circulation, your first goal may be to get that air moving better with the aid of mechanical ventilation. It’s also possible that you simply need a better ventilation system that your home currently employs. Faulty installation or poor design can actually cause a ventilation system to make air quality worse instead of better. If you’re seeing lots of dust, your current system is probably just pushing dirty air around.

Whether your home’s air needs ventilation, purification, filtration, or any combination of the above, ask One Stop Heating & Cooling for assistance. We can evaluate your current setup, note any particular complications you might want to address, and install the ideal components to keep you breathing freely.

 

The Importance Of Your AC Filter

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Your AC Filter Matters — and Here’s Why

When you think of the critical components that make up your air conditioning system, heat pump, or furnace, you probably envision the compressor, condenser, evaporator, and other major parts. However, you shouldn’t neglect a much less impressive yet equally important piece of the puzzle: the air filter. HVAC air filters contribute to your system’s energy efficiency, help to prevent breakdowns, and can even safeguard your health and the health of your loved ones. Let’s examine this unsung hero of the HVAC system to see exactly why and how it makes such an enormous difference.

The Role of the AC Filter

You can think of your AC filter as the “gatekeeper” between your living space and your air conditioning or heating system. This ordinary-looking rectangular frame filled with cloth, paper, or spun fiberglass sits just inside the vent grille that leads to your ductwork. Air that has already gone through the system’s healing and cooling processes proceeds down the duct and through the permeable material of the filter on its way into your room.

The AC filter’s job is to catch any tiny particles of unwanted airborne substances in its fibers. This filtering action effectively cleanses the incoming air to make it safer and more pleasant to breathe. It also helps to keep your floors and other surfaces free of dirt and dust.

When (and How) Good AC Filters Go Bad

Since the particles trapped by AC filters remain embedded in the filter material, these filters get dirtier and dirtier over a period of weeks or months. The more debris the filter collects, the less efficiently it can push air from the HVAC duct into the living space. Any air that does make it through may still contain particles that the dirty filter can’t catch or hold onto.

An AC filter must fit into its enclosure precisely to do its job. A poorly-fitted air filter may leave areas of the duct opening unguarded, allowing dirty air to pass directly into your home.

AC Filter Problems Can Promote Health Problems

A dirty or otherwise malfunctioning AC filter doesn’t just leave you with dusty floors and furniture — it can also pose a threat to your health and wellness. Household air naturally collects a variety of allergens, including pollen, pet dander, mold spores, bacteria, metallic particles, lint fibers, and cigarette ash. Without an efficient means of filtering out these contaminants, you could experience chronic allergy symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, runny nose, watery or itchy eyes, sneezing, and headaches. You may also run a greater risk of respiratory infections or asthma.

AC Filter Problems Affect HVAC Performance

If your AC filter can’t function properly, neither can the rest of your HVAC system, or at least not very long. The dust and debris that doesn’t get trapped by the filter may float back into other components of the system. This can contribute to mechanical breakdowns or loss of mechanical efficiency over time.

If your HVAC doesn’t quit altogether, you may end up paying higher utility bills than you should to achieve the desired temperature in your home. A clogged air filter will obstruct the flow ofc cooled or heated air, forcing you to run the system harder than normal to enjoy a comfortable home.

How to Help Your AC Filter (and Your HVAC System) Do Its Job

Fortunately, a malfunctioning AC filter is the simplest and most cost-effective HVAC problem to correct. Get into the habit of changing your air filter periodically. How often you change an AC filter will depend on what kind of filter you have. A run-of-the-mill cardboard-framed AC air filter can usually go 30 days before it needs replacing, while some high-end filters may continue to function for up to six months before they get too clogged to continue. Ask your AC service technician for advice on changing your particular type of filter.

Measure the dimensions of the space that accommodates your air filter. You want to purchase a size that will sit flush within the space, with no gaps to permit unfiltered air passage.

If you have known allergy, asthma, or other respiratory problems, you may want to purchase a HEPA air filter instead of a standard AC filter. HEPA stands for “High Efficiency Particulate Air.” These specialized filters are rated to remove up to 99.7 percent of airborne contaminants over 0.3 microns in size.

Last but not least, don’t forget to schedule periodic AC system inspections. If your air filter is contributing to a problem, you want to spot and fix that problem sooner rather than later.

Whether you need to fix a problem produced by a neglected air filter or you just need advice on the right kind of air filter for your system’s needs, we can help. Contact us today so we can discuss your situation and schedule a time to look at your HVAC system.