D'Spain Sales and Service Blog : Posts Tagged ‘Bandera’

What Is a GFCI Outlet?

Monday, September 7th, 2015

Like all other systems in the home, residential electrical systems have come a long ways since their inception. One of the problems with older electrical systems is that many were never grounded properly. Ungrounded electrical outlets and connections can be very dangerous and cause serious harm to both the inhabitants of a home and the home itself. Newer homes – those homes built in the 1970s and forward – typically have grounded outlets, but many houses built prior to that do not. A grounded outlet is a special type of outlet known as a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) and it helps keep your home and you safe from electrical shock.

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Ways Zone Control Is Good for Both Heating and Cooling

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015

Have you gotten so frustrated with the battle over the thermostat that you’ve considered putting a lock box around it? Finding a single setting to make everyone in your home happy is pretty much impossible – but not when you have zone control in your home. A zone control system allows everyone in your home to enjoy the temperature of his/her choice in each zone, ending the battle over the thermostat and taking the stress off your HVAC system as the thermostat switch goes up and down. But to understand how a zone control system helps both your heating and cooling, you need to understand what the system is and how it works.

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The Advantages a Ductless Air Conditioner Can Offer

Monday, August 3rd, 2015

Have you been circling around the idea of installing a ductless air conditioning system in your home, but aren’t sure if it is a fit for your home? Let us give you some help. While you should always work with a trained professional when deciding on the system you’d like, it’s important to know ahead of time how the system works and what it can offer you. As such, here’s a general overview to give you some of the facts about ductless cooling systems:

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Why a Load Calculation Is Critical for a Successful AC Installation

Monday, July 13th, 2015

When you go shopping for a pair of shoes, you check the box for the right size, correct? It’s the same when you install a whole home air conditioning system: if you don’t have the right-sized system, you won’t get the cooling you need. You may have heard that you only need to know the square footage of your home to determine what size AC you need, but this simply isn’t true. What you need is a load calculation, and the experts at D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc., can help you with this.

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Types of Carbon Monoxide Detectors for Your Home in Bandera

Monday, June 22nd, 2015

Combustion may be the last thing anyone in our area is thinking about with the summer heat, but if you use any type of gas or propane appliance in your home, such as a stove, clothes dryer or hot water heater, you have combustion happening. One of the dangers of any kind of indoor combustion is the development and leaking of carbon monoxide (CO). CO can be a killer, and one of the main reasons for this is that CO gas is undetectable to human senses. It is odorless, tasteless and invisible, which is why it’s called “the silent killer.” One of the best ways to protect yourself from CO poisoning in Bandera, TX, is to install a carbon monoxide detector in your home.

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Do I Need to Upgrade My Fuse Box?

Monday, May 18th, 2015

As surrounded by technology as most of us are, it can be hard to believe that there are still homes that operate with a fuse box rather than an electrical panel. If you are a homeowner with an older home that still has a fuse box instead of circuit breakers, it is definitely worth your while to consider upgrading to an updated electrical panel for a few reasons. The main question we get is, is it necessary? Technically, no, it isn’t, but there are several factors that will make clear it’s in the best interest of you and your home to do so.

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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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Some Benefits of Improving Your Outdoor Lighting

Wednesday, March 4th, 2015

Does the outside of your home seem drab, gloomy, dim? Perhaps you should call for professional electricians to improve the outdoor lighting around your home. There are a number of excellent reasons to call the electricians at D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. to work on your outdoor lighting in Bandera, TX. Here are a few of them:

Increased use of recreational areas

In a place with warm weather like Texas, you should be able to enjoy outdoor patios, verandas, balconies, and pools during most of the year. But unless you have excellent outdoor lighting, you will get significantly less enjoyment out of these areas, especially during periods of with short days. The fun shouldn’t stop when the sun goes down.

Safety

The walkways and stairs around the outside of your property can present potential hazards for residents and guests, who can suffer from injuries. If you have children and elderly people who require assistance living in your home, it is ever more important to see that your house’s exterior has quality lighting for its walkways.

Security

Studies have shown that criminals are far less likely to target a well-lit home than one with dim lighting. A well-designed lighting scheme from professionals that avoids harsh areas of darkness between lighted areas will also remove places where unwanted intruders can hide, helping to keep your home and family protected.

Increase Property Value

If you think that you may sell your home at some point in the future (possibly the far off future), improved outdoor lighting will do a tremendous amount to increase the home’s “curb appeal” and raise its market value. Better outdoor lighting is a less expensive way of giving your home a fresh outdoor appeal than a large scale remodeling.

Your home will simply look better

Finally, with an excellent outdoor lighting scheme, you will have a home that you will enjoy looking at and feel proud of. It’s a more subjective benefit, but it may be the most important one of all.

If you would like better outdoor lighting in Bandera, TX, you only have to let us know. D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. has the electrical services that you need for the best home lighting possible, and we can help you save energy as well with LED light installation. Call today to set up an appointment.

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Signs That You Should Consider a Humidifier

Wednesday, February 4th, 2015

You’ve heard people complain about humidity in the summer, often remarking about the hot and sticky feeling it leaves on the skin. Humidity is characterized by the amount of water in the air. We say that the relative humidity is high when the air contains a lot of water vapor (and the most it can contain is 100%). High humidity is problematic because when there is too much moisture in the air, sweat cannot easily evaporate from your skin, which makes you feel warmer even when the weather is otherwise temperate. Inside of your house, moisture can collect and may lead to dangerous levels of mold and mildew.

Luckily, air conditioners take care of some level of humidity, and you can install a dehumidifier in the home to offset the problem of excessive moisture in the air. But did you know that very little moisture in the air is often just as alarming for some homeowners? Low levels of humidity can cause a few different problems for your home and your health, but you can install a point-of-use or whole home humidifier when you experience any of these common issues.

  • Dry Skin and Chapped Lips: Dry air equates to dry skin, chapped lips, and even bloody noses. You may be spending a ton of money on balms and lotions, and feel exasperated by the discomfort you experience every day.
  • A Cold that Just Won’t Quit: If you have a cold that just won’t seem to end, the lack of moisture in the air certainly isn’t helping. When your sinuses are dried out, your body can’t recover from a cold as quickly as it should.
  • Cracked Furniture and Peeling Paint: One of the most surprising effects of low humidity is the possibility that your furniture, walls, or floors could be ruined. If you notice damage on wood floors and furniture, cracks on the wall, or peeling paint, humidity control may be vital.

At D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc., we recommend whole-home humidifiers over portable options so that your entire home and each family member is protected during a dry spell. Call our team of technicians today to schedule installation or repairs for your humidifier in Bandera.

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Ways to Tell You Need Electrical Wiring Repair

Tuesday, January 13th, 2015

We count on electricity for just about everything, which is one of the reasons why it’s so important to make sure that the wiring in your home is safe and effective. Because wiring is hidden in your walls, there isn’t any way to see the actual wiring and if there are any existing problems with it. To be able to tell, you need to look for some telltale signs of electrical problems in your Bandera home. The electrical experts at D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc., have put together a list of signs that can indicate you may need electrical wiring repair:

  • Burned-out light bulbs – are you changing light bulbs in certain fixtures too frequently? The average light bulb should last about 6 months, so if you are changing bulbs far more frequently, you should call an electrician.
  • Dimming – do your lights dim when another appliance is turned on? This can indicate that your electrical system becomes imbalanced from a power surge each time that appliance is turned on. These kinds of overloads can cause damage to other appliances so it’s important to have an electrician review the problem right away.
  • Shocks from appliances – shocks from appliances are dangerous and usually indicate that an appliance is not properly grounded. All electrical appliances need to be grounded safely and correctly, so if you are getting a zap each time you use your coffee maker, call for assistance.
  • Burning smell – burning smells are serious and should be treated as such. Burning smells indicate that an electrical outlet or wire has become too hot and has actually started to burn. If you smell burning from any kind of outlet or your electrical panel, call for help immediately.
  • Charring/discoloration – if you see charring or discoloration around any kind of electrical outlet, do not use it and call for help. The charring indicates that a small fire has actually erupted and has left a mark.
  • Constantly tripping breakers or fuses – fuses or breakers that won’t stay on can indicate several things, but they all add up to one thing: an electrical problem. Faulty fuses or breakers can be replaced, but if an appliance or system is drawing too much power, or there is something wrong with your electrical panel, it’s much better to allow an expert to detect and repair the problem.

Electrical problems do not improve with time and typically become worse. If you are in need of quality electrical services in Bandera, call D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. today to schedule an appointment.

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