Dallas Fort Worth Homes and Real Estate for Sale

Here's another guest blog from Tim Bob, the HVAC tech that I recommend to all of my clients.   

 AC and Heater repairs are best left for the professionals

 Without proper tools or training, repairs end up with disappointing reports.  Many repairs we are called out on are to correct improperly made repairs.

 Here is a summary of common repairs and stumbling blocks a home owner may encounter.

• Replacing motors. The propellers or blades will be bent if a specialty propeller puller is not used.  The unbalanced prop or wheel will eventually ruin the bearings on the new motor.
• All Furnaces.  Many failed parts are parts that monitor the safe operation of the heat producing parts.  The cause of the failed safety part must be identified. 
• Gas furnaces.  Computer boards are now used on most new furnaces and the need of manufacture's information to properly diagnose their failure. Older furnaces, using a thermocouple are probably near the end of their lives.  A homeowner will not recognize a potential deadly crack in the heat exchanger or the fire danger of dirty burners.  These old furnaces do not have the safety circuits that newer furnaces now have to protect you.
• Electric furnaces.  Heavy current conductors need to be recognized for loose connections. Many furnaces use as much power over 250 light bulbs!  Most of the time, there is no way to turn the power off near the unit.  Smoke could pour out of the unit before the home owner can get to the breaker panel.
• Thermostat replacement- Many of my service calls are to correct problems caused by incorrect thermostat installations.  Usually the problem is the wrong thermostat application for the HVAC system.  Occasionally, other parts are then ruined.  A thermostat set for "electric heat" probably is the wrong setting for an electric furnace.  A technician knows why "gas heat" is the better option.
• Heat pumps- everything is confusing about these. A thermostat replacement is even a challenge to the experienced technician.  With up to three stages of heat, time delay settings and software settings, a wrong set-up will result in inefficient energy savings.  Home depot sells single stage "heat pump" thermostats that simply are the wrong thermostat for most systems.
• Working in the attic- It happens a lot. Falling or stepping through the ceiling.  Ruins all your day.

Parts sold to home owners are sold at retail, the service company buys at wholesale and then sells at retail, allowing our profit.  We are required to carry insurance and our license is subject to customer complaints.  We guarantee our parts and labor.  Labor rates may be high, but we have the tools, the manuals, and experience that allows us to work quickly.

Contact Tim Bob at 214-762-2598 for all your air conditioning and heating needs in Plano and Dallas.

From time to time, I have Tim Bob from BT Products send me a guest blog.  I have referred Tim Bob to many of my clients for HVAC service and repair.  He has also done a fantastic job of servicing the HVAC unit in my own home.  Tim Bob's number is 214-762-2598 and he services the entire DFW area, including North Dallas and Plano.

This time, he wrote about some myths and fallacies related to air conditioning, including the funny myth that criminals sometimes escape through air ducts. 

Enjoy!

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Since the seasons are changing, now is the time to discuss some fallacies related to air conditioning.

•-          Misting systems that precool your outside AC condensing unit.

They do work only if the water is pure.  Tap water contains minerals that build up a layer of calcium on your AC coil.  This degrades the efficiency of the AC and cannot be cleaned off.  This is the same build-up you get on glass ware called water spots.  Over time, the build-up can get quite thick and ruins your AC condenser unit.

•-          Room air coolers that use "glacier blocks" that you chill in your house refrigerator.

The manufacture claims you can save money by raising your AC thermostat setting and comfortably cool your bedroom.  First, it won't cool long and won't cool anything more than the area few feet in front of it. This appliance blows air across a "glacier" block of ice.  Second, one must prechill these glacier blocks of ice in the refrigerator. This results in additional heat added to your kitchen equal to the heat removed by the Room air coolers. No help to your central AC system here.

•-          Turning the AC thermostat down to 55 degrees to speed up the cooling of your house.

The AC unit is not like a gas pedal on a car.  It does not work harder the farther you push it. It is more like an on/off switch. Either it runs or stops running when it cools the room.  Very, very few house AC systems do work harder the further you push the thermostat down. Very few expensive systems.

•-          Crawling through ductwork is an easy way for a crook to escape.

The movies make this look easy.  First, the layer of dust you inhale would keep you sneezing for a week. Ductwork is filthy. Second, most ductwork is too small to fit through.  The ducts have sharp turns that you must negotiate, and its pitch black inside. The points of sharp screws would tear you up. Thirdly, ductwork is not very strong and would bend and fall apart with the weight of an escapee inside. Between the sneezing and the banging of crawling through ductwork, it would not be a quiet escape.

I sometimes invite affiliates and vendors that have done good work with me and my clients in the past to send me some information about their products and services to publish on my blog.  Tim Bob owns a local a local air conditioning and heating service in the Dallas and Plano area and has worked with several of my clients in the past and also services the HVAC at my home as well. 

If you need the services of a good HVAC tech in the Dallas and Plano area, call Tim Bob at 214-762-2598.

His article this week is about the three options that Dallas home owners typically have to heat their home.  It is a bit technical, but explains the reasons why some methods are more efficient than others.

Enjoy reading!

Typically, three methods are used to heat homes in Texas.

1. Natural gas - Uses a flame to heat the air.  Flame is safely contained within the furnace. This method is very efficient. 
2. Electric resistance.This is the method used in "all-electric" homes.  The initial cost of electric units is typically less expensive, but can be three to four times the cost to operate as gas or heat-pump.  Obeys the “Thermal law of physics” and cannot be changed. Anything electric must follow “The law”.  Electric resistance furnaces cannot be made more or less efficient. They  heat at the exact efficiency as a hair dryer, light bulb or toaster or even a poorly maintained furnace.  The same “law” states that a burning pound of coal at the generating plant will produce the same amount of heat as if you were to burn it in your home!
3. Heat pump- generally used as an option when you want the efficiency of natural gas, but do not have gas.  But does this violate “the Thermal law of physics?”

It doesn’t.  The heat isn’t produced from electricity or gas.  It is taken from the air outside.  Very tricky.  There is heat outside when it is twenty degrees.  One must agree 20 degrees is warmer than 5 degrees.  This is the heat available from outside.  Just don’t slide that thermostat switch to emergency heat; you just turned on the expensive electric resistance heat function.

One more note. Magazines and television commercials have advertised an “Amish made” heater that plugs in and is supposedly very efficient.  Not so.  They cannot violate the law of physics.  Here is the rationale they use:  You will be heating the one room you are in.  You then turn the heat down in the rest of the house, thus saving money.  If you heat three rooms with these heaters, it may be as cheap to use your heat pump or gas furnace and heat the entire house.

Contact Tim Bob for Air Conditioning and Heating Sales and Service in Plano, TX (214) 762-2598

Beginning January 1, 2010, residential heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) manufacturers will have to cease production of equipment that runs on R22 freon refrigerant as part of an international agreement signed by the United States.

In 1986, a group of nations signed the Montreal Protocol to gradually phase out CFCs (Chloroflorocarbons) because of their damage to the environment and the ozone layer in the atmosphere.  Initially, R12 freon, the refrigerant that was previously used in automobile air conditioning systems, was phased out.  The continued phase out will now begin to affect residential HVAC units starting in a few weeks.

HOW WILL THIS AFFECT HOMEOWNERS?

Homeowners who have HVAC units that run on R22 freon may not be able to find replacement units after January 1, 2010.  However, repair and replacement parts for the units may continue to be available for a long time.  The person I refer my clients to for HVAC repair, Tim Bob (yes, that's his last name) recently mentioned that many of these units are becoming harder to find even at this point.  Tim recommends that all homeowners who may be having issues with their HVAC units attempt to have them serviced and/or repaired as soon as possible.  Tim Bob's number is 214-762-2598 and he provides air conditioning and heating sales and service to the majority of the D/FW area.

HVAC units consist of several components.  The two main components are the evaporator coil (inside unit) and the compressor (outside unit).  In situations where either the inside or outside unit has failed completely and must be totally replaced, the other unit may be retrofitted to run in compliance with the new requirements in many cases. 

What about homeowners who have units that run on R22?  Will they have to upgrade them if they need to have freon added? 

NO because the current phase out only requires companies to cease manufacture of R22 equipment.  The law does not eliminate the manufacture of R22 freon until the year 2020, so current equipment that runs on R22 can still be serviced with new freon.  However, if the unit fails completely and must be entirely replaced, the new unit will have to be one that does not run on R22.

Call Tim Bob today for your heating and air conditioning (HVAC) needs in the Dallas / Fort Worth area.  His number is 214-762-2598.  

I have a past client who lives and works in the Arlington - Tarrant County area that is looking to meet some homeowners and/or real estate agents with clients in need of general home repair work and maintenance.  He is also interested in building up a business of people that may need regular yard and lawn maintenance. 

Here's a list of the type of work he has experience with and prefers to do:

• General lawn care and maintenance
• Building and repairing fences
• Sprinkler system repairs.
• General handyman work. 

If you or any of your clients need some work done, please call Brandon Jeffries at 832-477-4019.