FAQ

We recommend twice a year. You should have a cooling tune-up and a heating tune-up. Heating and Air Conditioning units are like any other piece of machinery; you must have them maintained to maximize their performance, efficiency, and lifespan. Our maintenance agreements take the worry out of that, sign up now!

Normal cooling settings are 72 degrees – 78 degrees
Normal heating settings are 68 degrees – 72 degrees

You should always set your thermostat to the highest possible setting that is comfortable for you in the summer, and the lowest comfortable setting in the winter. Doing this will maximize your energy savings as on average every one degree of temperature change is equal to about 10% energy savings.

Properly programmed thermostats can save you money on your utility bills and eliminate continual manual adjustments. Some models such as the iComfort and Honeywell Prestige lets you set your home’s temperature from anywhere in the world, using a smartphone, tablet, or laptop!

Yes, set your fan counterclockwise for summer months to help blow cooler air down your way and clockwise in winter months at a low speed to help circulate air upwards and then throughout the room without blowing on you for a “cooling” effect.

There are many reasons why your utility bills may be high, here are some reasons why your heating and cooling are costing you.

• Your home is not properly insulated. You have may have poor windows, minimal wall and roof insulation, etc… All these things prevent your home from blocking out the heat and cold from outside. A house that is not well insulated will always be more difficult to heat in the winter and cool in the summer.
• Your system is not properly maintained. Poorly maintained units do not run efficiently and will cost you more to operate.
• Your filter is dirty and not changed often enough. A dirty filter restricts airflow and causes your unit to run harder and therefore use more energy.
• Your system is old and inefficient. New systems are simply more efficient and use less energy to operate than old systems.
• You have an oversized unit. Having a unit that is too big for your home will cause short cycling of the unit. The unit will come on and cool the house rapidly while drawing a lot of power. It will then shut off for a short while, turn on for a short while, shut off for a short while, and so on. This short cycling process draws more energy than would be drawn under the normal operation of a properly sized unit. The system on start-up takes about five minutes of operation to achieve full capacity and efficiency. Short cycling also does not allow the system to dehumidify properly.
• You have undersized ductwork. Undersized ductwork chokes the system and causes the unit to work harder to move air. This extra work results in more energy consumption.
• You adjust your thermostat too often throughout the day. Increasing and decreasing the temperature throughout the day while at home causes a great loss in energy efficiency. Your air conditioning unit functions best when it is left in one setting. This allows it to cycle properly and runs at maximum efficiency.

You should inspect your standard filter monthly and change it if necessary.

A gas heat furnace typically uses natural gas or propane to create a flame that heats metal heat exchanger plates inside the furnace. Air from the home is then blown over these hot heat exchangers and is then returned as warm air to the house through ducts.

• A heat pump runs off 100% electricity. It is simply an air conditioner running in reverse. To supply warm air to the home, the unit reverses the normal refrigeration cycle and now transfers heat from the outdoor air to the inside of the home through the refrigeration inside.
• A gas furnace will supply slightly warmer air to the home than a heat pump.
• The price of electricity and gas as well as the characteristics of the application determine which type of unit will be best for you. It’s best to discuss this topic with a Kalins Indoor Comfort Sales Comfort Advisor.

SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. It is an energy efficiency rating for air conditioning units. The higher the SEER rating, the more efficient a unit is.

Btuh stands for British Thermal Unit Hours. It is a simple measurement of heat. One BTU represents the quantity of heat necessary to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.

AFUE stands for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. The AFUE number represents how efficiently a furnace converts fuel to energy. The higher the AFUE percentage, the more energy-efficient or fuel-efficient the furnace. The U.S. government’s established minimum AFUE rating for a furnace is 78 percent.

Your furnace smells because dust has accumulated on the heat exchanger inside the furnace. The smell is the dust being burnt off.

We don’t recommend this. Covering the outdoor unit will trap moisture around the unit and eventually cause it to rust.