Air Conditioning FAQs

Our diagnostic fee is what allows our team to send a fully trained technician, with a fully stocked truck to your home to diagnose your issue. At this time, the technician will go through the complete system, ensuring that the problem first found is the only problem. The technician will also make sure his recommendation will solve the problem(s). Once the technician diagnoses the problem, they would be glad to share their findings with you, including any costs, warranties, and savings opportunities. Don’t forget to ask one of our technicians how you can save 15 percent today! 

A dry or scratchy throat is oftentimes an indication of issues with air quality or humidity. If the humidity in your home is too low, you may experience symptoms such as scratchy throat, coughing or sneezing, and potentially a greater amount of static shocks. The wood structures in your home could also experience issues due to humidity issues. Some causes are excessive air leaks to the exterior, older equipment, and other issues with insulation or air sealing in the home. Typically, we recommend our customers sign up for a free NYSERDA energy audit to identify the home’s performance. At that point, we would apply for state incentives and recommend air sealing, insulation, and potentially a whole-home humidification system.

We all know that hot air rises, but oftentimes there are other underlying issues that may be causing temperature imbalances in your home. If you are like most people, your equipment is in your basement, meaning that it has to work that much harder to push the cold air to the second story. If you notice that your basement is particularly cold during the summer months, you may realize that this is due to cold air leaking through your ductwork. The air that was meant for your second story master bedroom is being wasted and recirculated throughout the basement. To solve this, you could insulate and seal your ductwork to improve the efficiency of the unit and comfort in your home. Your roof could be another issue to solve. The roof often absorbs the sun’s heat, and without proper insulation and ventilation, this heat will accumulate in the attic and begin to permeate through normal openings such as ceiling lights, small holes and other vulnerabilities. As always, we recommend having a free NYSERDA energy audit completed so that we can assess these and other potential issues and apply for state incentives to rectify them. Some customers receive over $10,000 in state incentives! 

In most cases, your furnace or air conditioner should last between 15 and 20 years. However, this is largely due to the maintenance on the equipment, the overall quality of the brand, and your entire home’s performance. If you have a brand new furnace, but poor ducting, you may experience high static pressures within your ductwork. High pressure could cause air leaks, unit cycling, and efficiency drops. Just like a car, it is best to run your equipment continuously. If you notice that your system goes on and off constantly, it may be time to look at your ductwork, insulation, or ventilation in the home. 

Possibly, it is old equipment. However, more often it is the case that there were issues on the initial installation. 90% of unexpected issues with HVAC equipment has to do with the quality of the original project. If you had a system installed within the last 3-5 years and have had multiple service appointments, it could be an indication of a larger problem. We recommend having an annual maintenance on the equipment so as to stay ahead of any potentially costly repairs.