The A/C Guy of Tampa Bay Inc. Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Tampa’

“Fan Only” vs. “Air Conditioning”: What’s the Difference?

Monday, April 19th, 2021

In our last post, we explored a topic that’s always popular with homeowners: ways to save money. Specifically, how to lower the cost of cooling a home in the summer. It’s not hard to find ways to reduce how much you use your AC, and our technicians can help out with installations like dehumidifiers and high-efficiency ACs.

We didn’t touch on one way to lower AC costs in the last post, which is “fan only” mode. We’re going to address it here because it’s not exactly a way to save money, but it’s something important to know about.

Tags: Air Conditioner Repair, Tampa
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The Trick About Electric Furnace Efficiency Ratings

Monday, January 25th, 2021

For homes that don’t have a natural gas connection, an electric furnace is one of the most common options for central heating. Even for some homes that do have natural gas, electric furnaces can offer several advantages.

But when people are shopping around for a new central heating system, they might feel confused regarding the energy efficiency of furnaces. The trick is that the efficiency ratings for electric furnaces look different compared to gas furnaces, even though they use the same measurement: annual fuel utilization efficiency, or AFUE.

We’ll explain below how to understand the AFUE of an electric furnace vs. that of other types of furnaces (including gas, propane, and oil).

Tags: Electric Furnace, Heating System Installation, Tampa
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How Long Can You Expect Your Heater to Last?

Monday, January 11th, 2021

You don’t want to replace a valuable central heating system in your home until you’ve gotten all the possible useful years of service out of it that you can. That’s just the basic logic of any important appliance. But how long will that heater in your house last? When can you expect to call us to schedule a heating replacement?

There is no one answer we can give you, because not only do different heaters have different life expectancies, but other factors such as use and maintenance come into play. We can make several generalizations that may help you if you’re currently on the fence about the future of your heating in Tampa, FL.

Tags: Heating System Replacement, Tampa
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Why Is My Heat Pump Only Sending Out Cold Air?

Monday, December 14th, 2020

One of the nice features of heat pumps is that they easily switch between heating and cooling modes. You don’t need to make changes to the heat pump itself when you need warmth from it after months of cooling. All that has to happen is an adjustment on the thermostat, and the thermostat signals the heat pump to change modes. That’s a reason heat pumps in Tampa, FL are popular options: we can quickly leap to heating during the short periods when we need it, then go right back to cooling.

But a heat pump can malfunction like any other device, and you might find that when you need heat for your house that the heat pump is still working in air conditioning mode and sending cool air from the vents. Why is this happening?

Tags: Heat Pumps, Heating System Repair, Tampa
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Can Dry Air Really Be a Problem?

Monday, November 2nd, 2020

We know what you’re thinking when you see this headline: “Of all the possible problems with indoor air quality in Tampa, FL, is dry air something to worry about? Florida is almost legendary for having high humidity!”

However, our climate is often humid. That doesn’t mean the air inside a house will also be humid. Many factors are at play in indoor air quality, and homes in Florida can often experience dry conditions. Why? Air conditioning systems!

Tags: Humidifiers, Tampa
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Is an Air Conditioning System Done When It’s Older Than 15 Years?

Monday, October 5th, 2020

We know you want to get the most work from your home’s air conditioning in Tampa, FL, and that means getting the longest service life from it. But you don’t want to continue to run an air conditioner into the ground—keeping a system running year after year until it finally breaks down isn’t wise. For one thing, it means having to schedule an emergency replacement that can leave you trapped in the heat until the new system is in place. You want to have a new air conditioning system installed on your schedule, not the air conditioner’s. For another, an AC that is past its prime will waste large amounts of power, sometimes costing 25% more to run than it once did, and rack up repair bills.

So it’s best to have an AC replaced when it’s on the cusp of starting to decline, and 15 years is often a good point to have this done.

Tags: Air Conditioning Replacement, Tampa
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Can I Size My Own Air Conditioning System for Installation?

Monday, September 21st, 2020

Sizing an air conditioner means finding how powerful an AC is necessary to provide the specific amount of comfort for an interior space. If you are looking for a new central air conditioner for your house, you need to have the system sized so it provides your household with the comfort level it needs during even the hottest weather. Sizing is about more than ensuring a new AC system is powerful enough; it also ensures the system isn’t too powerful. A properly sized air conditioner falls between the extremes of oversized and undersized.

How is sizing done, and is it something you can handle on your own before?

Tags: Air Conditioning Installation, Tampa
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Are Heat Pumps as Good at Cooling as Air Conditioners?

Monday, September 7th, 2020

Heat pumps are common installations in Tampa Bay because they are a wonderful fit for our climate. Heat pumps are both heating and cooling systems, which is good for almost any part of the country, but there are features that make them particularly suited to Florida. One of them is their heating ability. We don’t rely as much on heating systems as much as air conditioning systems in the warm climate of Florida, and heat pumps are able to provide electric heating that doesn’t drain enormous amounts of energy (a problem with electric furnaces). Heat pumps can have trouble with extreme cold weather, but we don’t have that issue, so as heating systems, heat pumps are exactly right for us.

But … what about air conditioning? What about cooling? Is a heat pump at the same level of cooling as a standard air conditioner? This is important to know because hot weather is what we deal with the most in Florida.

Tags: Air Conditioning Installation, heat pump installation, Tampa
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Why Do I Hear Running Water in My AC?

Monday, August 24th, 2020

A common sound of a hot summer day is the occasional drip of water coming from a running air conditioning system. This sound is normal. As normal as the whirr of the fan blades and the hum of the compressor turning on and off. Your air conditioner doesn’t use water to cool the crisp and relaxing air sent around your house, but water is a byproduct of how the AC does its vital job.

In this post we’ll explain why the air conditioner is dripping water, which also explains some of the basic functions of the AC, as well as when dripping water may turn into a problem. If you do have troubles with a leaking air conditioner and need fast AC repairs in Tampa, FL, our skilled and speedy technicians are the people to call.

Tags: Air Conditioning Repair, Tampa
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How Long Can I Delay Getting a New AC?

Monday, August 10th, 2020

If you’re asking the question about how long you can delay scheduling a new air conditioning installation in Tampa, FL, then you should probably ask yourself some additional questions. Such as, why you’re asking the question in the first place. “Delays” are rarely positive, and if the “delay” you’re talking about is actually procrastination, then we have to tell you that this puts the comfort of your house in jeopardy. Late summer in Florida is a rough time for heat and humidity, and procrastinating about replacing an AC in bad condition can lead to you being trapped with a busted AC while you wait for a replacement.

Yes, our team of air conditioning pros will get on the job of replacing a failed system as soon as possible. But we know you’d rather skip an emergency replacement. So let’s go into some details to see if you’re delay is too long.

Tags: AC Installation, Air Conditioning Installation, Tampa
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