D'Spain Sales and Service Blog : Archive for the ‘Air Conditioning’ Category

How to Get Zone Cooling in Your Home

Monday, April 13th, 2015

It can be challenging to meet your entire home’s cooling needs with a single thermostat, particularly if you have a multi-story home or one with specialized architecture, such as floor-to-ceiling windows. One of the best ways to achieve the kind of cooling you want space-by-space is to consider the installation of zone cooling, also known as zone control. There are two ways to install zone cooling in your Boerne, TX home: install a ductless system or install a zone control system into your ductwork. 

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Why You Need to Change Your AC’s Air Filter

Thursday, April 2nd, 2015

Any air conditioner in a place that can grow as hot as Helotes, TX will do an enormous amount of work during the year. To make sure that an AC works at peak energy efficiency and lasts for as many years as possible, it must have the stress and strain from all the work that it does lessened through regular maintenance.

Most maintenance jobs require an HVAC technician. Arrange to have a full inspection and tune-up for your air conditioning system from a professional each spring. However, there are a few maintenance steps you should take over the summer while the AC runs on a regular basis. One of the most important is to routinely change the air filter, or clean it if the AC uses a permanent filter.

Call D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. to arrange for spring maintenance for your air conditioning in Helotes, TX. Our technicians will help show you how to take care of changing/cleaning the air filter during the rest of the season.

Why this job is so important

The air filter on your air conditioner isn’t there to protect your indoor air from contaminants, although it does help with this a little. Its real purpose is to keep particles in the air from the return vents from entering the AC and damaging its components. During regular operation, debris such as dust, lint from furniture and carpets, pet hair, and pollen will become trapped in the filter. After a month of steady work, an air conditioner will have a congested filter. Unless the filter is changed or cleaned to get rid of the debris clogging it, it will cause the airflow into the system to drop dramatically.

There are a number of negative consequences to this:

  • Low airflow will force the AC’s mechanical components to work harder, raising operating costs.
  • Less warm air across the evaporator coils may cause them to start to freeze.
  • The airflow from the vents into the rooms will decrease, leading to a drop in comfort.
  • Contaminants may break through the clogged filter and damage the AC.

Changing the filter or cleaning it is a simple task, and you should do it each month during warm weather. Ask your D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. technician to show you how to do this during the spring maintenance visit. You can rely on us for all your needs for quality air conditioning repair in Helotes, TX.

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The Benefits of Air Conditioning Maintenance

Wednesday, March 25th, 2015

The warm weather has already started in Texas, and of course it will only grow hotter as we draw nearer to the summer. Now is the perfect time to assess the situation with your home’s air conditioning system. Is it ready for another rough summer season when it will need to work long hours through the day keeping your household cooled down? Are you worried that it might suffer from repair problems, begin draining excess energy, or even fail entirely? There is only one way to know for certain that your AC has the best preparation possible, and that’s to arrange for regular maintenance.

D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. offers Service Club Membership to help you take care of your AC with annual maintenance each spring. (The club also provides heating maintenance in the fall.) Give us a call today to get started with that all-important air conditioning maintenance in Bandera, TX that will help see you have a worry-free summer season.

Here are some of the ways you’ll benefit from AC maintenance:

  • Few repairs—probably none! – During maintenance, a technician will search for spots where the AC is wearing down and in danger of developing malfunctions. The technician will take care of the cleaning and adjustments that will avoid triggering a repair need. You can expect to encounter the minimum amount of repairs for your AC thanks to regular maintenance.
  • Money-saving performance – Each year an air conditioner goes without maintenance will cause it to lose performance and cost more to run. If you keep up with yearly maintenance, you can expect the system to retain 95% of its energy efficiency through most of its life.
  • Peace of mind – You don’t want to worry that every time you turn on your air conditioner during a hot summer day that it will stutter and then fail to turn on. But there is a high chance that this will eventually happen to you if you neglect regular inspections and tune-ups for your AC. A yearly maintenance check will give you the reassurance that your air conditioning system will make it through to the fall.

It’s easy to arrange for air conditioning maintenance in Bandera, TX. Call D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. and ask about signing up for our Service Club. In addition to two precision tune-ups each year, you’ll receive other bonuses, such as discounts and 24-hour appointment guarantees. Get a head start on the summer today and arrange for AC maintenance.

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When Is the Best Time for New Air Conditioning Installation?

Wednesday, September 24th, 2014

Your air conditioner is nearing the end of its life and you know it will soon need replacement. But if you think it may still be able to run for a little while longer, you may worry about spending money unnecessarily on a new unit. This is an understandable concern, and many homeowners are not quite sure when is the right time to say goodbye to their older air conditioner. In this guide, we’ll tell you some of the signs to look for when deciding whether to replace your system, and why these signs mean that now may be the perfect time for air conditioning installation.

  • Old Age: Unfortunately, any AC will fail at some point, and the best predictor is sometimes the age of the unit. Check with your manufacturer for the most accurate estimate of how long your unit is meant to last. In general, units over ten years old are far more likely to fail.
  • Frequent Repairs: If it seems like you’ve called a technician for repairs again and again, there is a chance that the components of your system are simply too worn to function as they should. This means you may end up replacing part after part, which will be more expensive than replacing your entire unit now.
  • High Energy Bills: A final indicator that it’s time for your unit to go is high bills. When your energy bills spike unexpectedly, it could mean wear and tear on your system is causing it to fail, particularly if you have an older unit.

If any of these signs lead you to believe it’s time for replacement, don’t wait to call a technician. Older air conditioners are inefficient and at a much higher risk of repairs and breakdowns. Besides, broken down units are often more costly to replace, and you don’t want to risk a sudden failure when you need it most.

The best way to determine whether or not your unit needs replacement is by talking to a specialist, like the friendly technicians at D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. When you have questions about air conditioning in Helotes, TX don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and talk to one of our experts today!

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How Air Conditioners Work

Monday, August 25th, 2014

Whether you own a heat pump, central air unit or ductless mini split, they all share a common purpose: to cool your indoor space. When you adjust the thermostat on a hot afternoon, you want to make sure that your cooling system responds. But how does it respond? Although you may have long enjoyed the comfort and convenience of your air conditioner, you may be wondering at where that cool air comes from, if not from a block of ice. The process is complicated but having a basic understanding of how air conditioners work is useful. It may help you catch a problem before it becomes a major issue.

The fundamental process behind many of the most popular refrigeration systems, from central air to walk-in coolers is more or less the same. It involves the transfer of thermal energy by means of a refrigerant cycle. Let’s start with a standard central air split system, so-called because it splits the system into an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. Packaged units (wherein all components are housed in the same quarters) are more popular in commercial applications. Let’s begin with the compressor, which is a pump located in the outdoor unit along with the condenser coil. It takes the low temperature, low pressure gas fresh from its interaction with your warm air in the evaporator coil and it pressurizes it. This radically increases the temperature and pressure of the gas so that it can disperse this thermal energy as it goes through the condenser.

As its name suggests, the condenser coil and blower fan work in tandem to cool this gas, thus turning it into a liquid. It has lost a significant amount of thermal energy originally taken out of your indoor air, but not enough to cool your air. In order to drop the temperature further, your liquid refrigerant enters an expansion valve where it is depressurized and cooled dramatically. It is now primed for cooling purposes. It heads indoors where it circulates through the evaporator coil. The interaction between the cold refrigerant in these coils and your warm indoor air extracted from your living space is the key to the cooling. The refrigerant absorbs the thermal energy of your air and cools the air in the process. Your cooled air is then distributed throughout your home.

If you’d like some more information about our air conditioning services in Boerne, TX, then don’t hesitate to give us a call today.

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Common Cooling Problems in Boerne, TX

Monday, August 18th, 2014

Does your AC make a strange noise during operation all of a sudden? Have you noticed that your energy bills have never been higher? Does your AC fail to respond to the thermostat adjustments? There are a number of things that can go wrong with such a large and complex system, and only a professionally trained technician can ensure that your cooling system is diagnose thoroughly and then fixed properly. Still, there are some common cooling problems worth mentioning, if only to help you identify that you have a problem in the first place. As soon as you notice something wrong, make sure you alert a professional. Catching the problem early on its development is the best way to avoid serious damage.

Keep an eye out for the following issues.

  • Strange or loud noise. If your AC makes a sound that you’ve never heard before or it seems particularly loud all of a sudden, then there’s probably something wrong with it. Don’t hesitate to call on a professional to diagnose it. If it’s a grinding noise, your blower motor might have dried-out bearings; if it’s banging, then there could be a loose component somewhere within your air handler or ductwork.
  • High energy bills. A spike in your energy bills can occur for a number of different reasons, but it’s always cause for concern. If you find that your energy bills are much higher than normal, then you likely have an efficiency issue such as an air or refrigerant leak. Low refrigerant can cause problems all over, and airflow issues do not go away on their own.
  • AC fails to turn on. If you find that your AC fails to respond to your call for cooling, then it could be a problem with the capacitor, which is a small electric device responsible for jumpstarting your AC whenever you need to turn it on. You may also have a problem with your existing thermostat. Before you call, however, reset the circuit breaker and your thermostat to see if that takes care of the problem.

Cooling problems are a hassle, but solving them is easy when you rely on the technical expertise of our specialists. Call us today to schedule air conditioning repair in Boerne, TX with our staff.

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Energy Efficient Cooling Tips

Monday, August 4th, 2014

When the summer sun begins to bear down on your home or commercial space intensely, then you need to make certain that your HVAC system is equipped to combat that thermal energy with an efficiency cooling cycle. As you know all too well, cooling costs money, and making sure that your AC is in good working order is important not only for performance, but also for energy efficiency. Improving your energy efficiency is not just about reducing the load on your electrical grid and thus on fossil fuel consumption for environmental reasons; it’s also about saving bucks. In today’s blog post, we’d like to look at some energy efficient cooling tips that you may find useful this cooling season.

  • Routine maintenance. If you’ve never hired an air conditioning maintenance service, or you can’t remember the last time you did, then it’s probably ripe for a tune-up. This cost-effective service is a great way to ensure that your system is optimized for cooling. During the inspection, cleaning and adjustment, we look closely at the system for signs of damage, and we also remove dust and debris from the coils that can result in increased energy consumption. There are numerous benefits to be had from regular tune-ups, but energy efficiency is certainly a major one.
  • Dress appropriately. This may seem common sense, but it’s worth keeping in mind as you go through the summer. By dressing appropriately for the outside temperature indoors, you can likely raise the thermostat ever so slightly, which can result in substantial savings in the long-term.
  • Enjoy a cold beverage. Break out those ice trays and pour yourself a glass of lemonade. Consuming cold drinks can cool you down on those hot days, and the cooler you feel, the more you can save on your energy bill by adjusting the thermostat accordingly.
  • Install ceiling fans. Ceiling fans are not just for spaces without comprehensive HVAC systems. They are an excellent way to boost energy efficiency and to improve the comfort of your living space. By circulating cooled air that tends to remain close to the floor, a ceiling fan may be just what you need to become more efficient without sacrificing comfort.

Call our technicians today to ensure that your home cooling remains energy efficient and reliable in Boerne, TX.

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Choosing the Right Air Conditioner for Your Home in Boerne, TX

Monday, July 28th, 2014

Well, what’s it going to be? Do you want energy efficiency or performance? Year-round heating and cooling or a powerful dedicating cooling machine? Ducts or no ducts? Ground-source or air-source heat pump? If you’ve already begun the process of researching the various systems that are available for installation in your home, then you may be aware of the sheer diversity of systems on the residential market. While it’s good to have options, it can also make the process of selection stressful as you’re apt to want the best possible system for the size and layout of your home as well as for your budget. It’s best to consult with a professional early on, so you can eliminate those systems that would be too expensive, not powerful enough, or impossible to install on your property.

Choosing the right air conditioner for your home means weighing your options carefully. You have to decide what’s most important to you and you absolutely must make sure that your new system is appropriately sized. Here are some things to think about.

  • Cooling capacity. All air conditioners, no matter what make or model, have a cooling capacity that gives you a sense of what they’re capable of. This is often given in British Thermal Units (BTUs), and it’s imperative that your living space be properly matched to an air conditioner. While you definitely don’t want a system that is too small, you also don’t want a system that is overly large. Improperly sized systems lead to inefficient cooling, poor performance, and even increased risk of repairs as your system short-cycles or struggles to cool your home.
  • Ductwork. If you’re at all hesitant about ductwork in the home, whether for reasons of indoor air quality or energy efficiency, then you don’t have to compromise. Ductless mini splits are quickly gaining in popularity for their efficiency ratings and versatile cooling capacity.
  • Cooling and heating? Another consideration that you may want to keep in mind is that several cooling systems can also handle your heating duties during the winter. Considering our relatively mild winters, this is often a great benefit. Heat pumps as well as ductless mini splits work this way.

Let our expert technicians find a system that’s right for your home. We offer professional air conditioning service in Boerne, TX and the surrounding area. Call us today.

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