Here are several facts to consider before deciding whether to repair or replace:

1. Compare the cost to fix versus the cost of a new system.

2. How energy efficient is your old unit.

3. Older units may have repair parts now, but may soon be discontinued and unavailable for their repair.

4. The time that it will take to make back the cost difference between fixing and buying new, considering that older units use up to 50% more fuel/electricity than new high efficiency units.

5. Is another problem expected in the near future or is the fix going to keep the unit going for a long time?

6. Think about the cost savings expected from the new unit from tax credits and/or rebates.

If you want to schedule a routine maintenance, repair or replace your air conditioning equipment Snellville Heating and Air serving Barrow County can provide an energy evaluation for your home or business to ensure that you have the right system for you.

In today’s air-tight homes, Indoor Air Quality is a big health concern. Most household dust contains dust mites, mold, mildew, pollen, and pet dander. A lot of these contaminants are floating through your central air system in your home and can increase the problems of asthma, allergies, and can make you sick!

The Problem With Indoor Air

Indoor air pollution is considered by the EPA to be America’s No. 1 environmental health problem. Tightly sealed homes may be more energy efficient, but they also trap pollutants and microbes indoors causing allergies, odors, mold and illness.

Consider the following steps to keep healthy in your home.

1) Find and eliminate the sources of pollution: Usually the most effective way to improve indoor air is to get rid of all the sources or reduce them.

2) Ventilating: Getting more fresh air brought indoors helps reduce pollutants inside. When weather permits, open windows and doors, or run an air conditioner with a whole house cleaning system installed with the vent control open. Bathroom and kitchen fans that exhaust to the outdoors also increase ventilation and help remove indoor air pollutants. Always ventilate and follow manufacturers’ instructions when you use cleaners, paints or equipment that may release contaminates into the indoor air.

3) Changing air cleaning filters regularly: Central heaters and air conditioners have filters to trap dust and other pollutants in that work best when changed frequently.

4) Make sure to have your heating and air conditioning system regularly checked out by a qualified air conditioning and heating contractor.

5) Adjusting humidity: The humidity inside can affect the concentrations of some indoor air pollutants. Find out from your HVAC professionals at Snellville Heating and Air, serving Walton County, what the best level of humidity should be for your home.

Your home’s comfort systems (air conditioning and heating) can help or hinder your allergen-control efforts. This section will show you how to evaluate these systems and make them as efficient and hypoallergenic as possible.

Check Humidity

Ridding the house of excess moisture helps prevent the spread of mold and decreases the survival rate of dust mites and cockroaches. If you live in an area of high humidity, you might want to invest in a humidity gauge. Humidity in your house should range around 40 percent. Humidity above 50 percent is considered a resort for the dust mites and molds, while a reading below 20 percent might be called the Sahara Desert. Be sure to check humidity readings throughout the house and not just in one room.

If humidity readings hover near the steam-bath level, you can lower moisture in the air with an air conditioner and dehumidifier.

Air-conditioning (AC)

If you’ve ever had the windows fog up while you’re driving, you know that the best way to remove the moisture is to turn on the air conditioning (AC). The same method applies to the house, but only in warm weather. Despite this weather-sensitive requirement, air conditioning does more than dehumidify the air; it filters out pollen and helps discourage cockroaches, which dislike the airflow. Dust mites and mold, too, hate the cool, dry air.

To maintain the benefits of AC, your unit needs cleaning and regular maintenance. Whether you’ve got central AC or window or wall-mounted units, the filters must be cleaned frequently both for efficiency and to prevent mold growth. Some models can be equipped with electrostatic filters, which rely on static charges created when air passes through the filters, to help capture certain allergens.

Electrostatic filters must be cleaned regularly to maintain their efficiency. If electrostatic filters are unavailable, use regular, or pleated, air-conditioning filters, which work just as well as electrostatic filters in removing 95 percent of all allergens.

To eliminate mold growth in air conditioning ducts, try running the unit for 30 minutes after turning off the cooling to help dry out ducts. Lastly, if you have a recycle switch on your AC, be sure to use it because it recirculates air inside the house. Pollen-allergy sufferers work against their own interest if they continually allow outside air to be pulled inside.

Dehumidifiers

These devices work by cooling the air so that excess humidity condenses into a bucket, which can be emptied. Oftentimes, the heat generated by a dehumidifier can be too much in the summer and is used in conjunction with the air conditioning.

Like its cooler cousin, the air conditioner, dehumidifiers must be cleaned regularly or else mold spores will happily take over.

Enclosed spaces, such as closets, can trap moisture. Dehumidifiers work well here, but for even smaller spaces, such as an armoire or a cabinet, try using a desiccant. These moisture-wicking agents come in several forms, including absorbing flakes and cartridges. Some cartridges can be recycled by drying them in a warm oven. Desiccants also make ideal moisture wickers for camera bags, shoe storage boxes, and other areas where molds and moisture hide. Just be sure to keep the packages or cartridges away from children and pets.

The Heating System

Billowing dust isn’t something you want in your home, yet it’s what happens with forced-air heating, one of the least expensive forms of heating. If your house came with such a system, be sure to clean the filters at least twice a month and cover vents in each room with a fine mesh screen to keep dust particles down. However, don’t bother to have your ducts cleaned. There have been five studies examining the effects of duct cleaning, and none have shown any benefit at all.

Radiant heating (in which heated water is passed through piping underneath the floor) and baseboard heating don’t disturb dust particles as they heat. Radiators, especially those found in older homes, must be cleaned regularly as dust collects behind and underneath them.

If you heat the old-fashioned way, via a wood burning fireplace or coal stove, consider replacing them, as they produce smoke, carbon dioxide, and many other irritating gases. While not as cozy, electric fires won’t produce such gases. Space heaters that burn natural gas, kerosene, or butane all emit harmful gases and should never be considered a heating option in an allergic person’s home or work environment. Call Snellville Heating and Air in Gwinnett County Georgia today if you have any more questions about reducing the cause of allergies in your home.

1.  Look to get a good reputation.

The right company ought to originate with a great status. This excellent reputation is the company’s most trustworthy kind of ad. When consumers are pleased using the company’s task, it only follows the technicians and support crew do give great high quality services. Therefore, you must ask folks you know for referrals. The more referrals you receive about a particular support provider, the more you’ll be able to have confidence in that service supplier to complete a great task.

2.  Look for knowledge.

Along with an excellent reputation, you need to choose the business for having adequate expertise. For this, you are able to search for support companies that have been in business for 10 years or more. This usually offers the service suppliers sufficient options to find out approximately they’re able to about heating and cooling method installation, upkeep, and repair. This really is your assurance which you will obtain the support that you need from an organization that does understand what it’s doing. Snellville Heating and Air in Fulton County, Georgia has been in business for over 20 years.

3.  Look for certified technicians.

The third issue you will need to appear for within a company for heating and cooling, may be the presence of qualified technicians. The technicians executing the various heating and cooling solutions ought to possess the necessary capabilities to complete the processes. Further, the technicians really should be affiliated with the nationwide organizations for heating and cooling methods. What this means is the mentioned technicians are experienced around the newest developments in managing HVAC methods.

4.  Look for insurance coverage.

When going about your research for any company that offers heating and cooling you’ve to decide on the one that carries a kind of insurance policies. This insurance coverage is your protection against accidental injury in your HVAC method or for your house. A business that is insured also protects its customers from such inopportune circumstances.

5.  Look for sensible prices.

Lastly, when you intend to seek out the correct organization in Fulton County you have to contemplate the cost. By this, it doesn’t imply that you have to go for the organization with the lowest costs. Rather, you’ve got to assess the price and also the service. Ensure the company balances their fees with excellent service.