DB Heating & Cooling, Inc. Blog

Air Conditioner Installation Guide: Size Does Matter

May 11th, 2015

If you need a new air conditioner, either for a brand new installation or to replace an aging system, there are some steps you need to take before purchasing, and one of these steps is correct sizing. You may hear that to correctly size an air conditioner all that is needed is the square footage of your home; this simply isn’t true. There are a number of factors that are part of a cooling load calculation, and the only way to make sure that you install an AC that is the right size for your home is to do this calculation correctly, using all the needed factors. When you work with an expert from DB Heating & Cooling, we will help you make this calculation as part of our air conditioning installation process. So what are the factors that have to be considered? Here is an overview:

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What’s That Sound?

May 4th, 2015

We are getting closer to air conditioning season here in Westwood, and spring offers a great time to test your AC to make sure it’s running as needed. If you choose to test your system before the hot weather arrives (and we recommend you do), you’ll want to listen to your air conditioner. Why? Because strange sounds are one of the main ways your AC lets you know that things are not ok. If you do hear something odd, your best course of action is to turn off your air conditioner and call the experts at DB Heating & Cooling for assistance.

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3 Signs Your Air Conditioning System Needs Repair

April 27th, 2015

Spring has sprung here in Bergen County, NJ, which means that summer is lurking just around the corner: complete with high temperatures, stifling humidity and the kind of heat waves that make people run for the air conditioned indoors. If your air conditioner is suffering from problems, now is the time to get it repaired before the temperatures rise. The last thing you want is to see your system break down in the middle of 100 degree heat. Treating repairs now means you can schedule the technician to come at your leisure, and that you won’t need to suffer through the heat while he or she conducts repairs. But how can you tell if your system is struggling? Here are 3 signs your air conditioning system needs repair.

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Tips to Save Money with This Summer’s Air Conditioning

April 20th, 2015

It may be hard to imagine needing an air conditioner after the cold, snowy winter we just had, but summer is coming and we all know how hot and humid it can get in Paramus, NJ. If you are concerned about going over budget with your cooling this year, our DB Heating & Cooling experts have a few tips to pass along that can help save you both energy and money:

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Should I Consider a Ductless Air Conditioner to Replace My Aging AC?

April 13th, 2015

If you need to replace your existing air conditioner before summer arrives, you have a number of choices. One option you may want to consider for your home in Hohokus, NJ, is a ductless system. Ductless systems have been very popular in commercial spaces for a long time, but with adjustments made for residential properties, these systems have become a common choice among homeowners. What makes a ductless AC a good choice for a home? Let’s take a look.

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Zone Control: Great for Cooling and Heating

April 6th, 2015

As we get ready to transition to a different season, you may be wondering if there’s a whole home solution that can help you maintain comfort in each area of your home in Oradell, NJ, no matter what the temperature may be outside. The good news is, there is, and it’s called zone control.

What Is Zone Control?

Zone control is the name for a temperature control system that integrates with your home’s ductwork. The system is comprised of a series of motorized dampers that are installed into the supply ductwork of your home, and their operation is controlled by a main control panel.

The first step to the installation of any zone control system is hiring a trained expert to perform the work, and this is where DB Heating & Cooling comes in. Our experts have been helping customers with their heating and cooling needs for many years, and we can install, repair and replace your zone control system. The second step of the installation involves designating the zones. As the homeowner, you will work with your technician to clearly define what the zones will be. Zones can be independent rooms, a group of rooms, or an entire floor – the decision is up to you. Once the zones are established, the technician will install the dampers and the main control board, and then install a thermostat in each zone. The dampers and thermostats are connected to the main control panel, which opens and closes the dampers as needed to maintain the temperature that has been set in each zone. Zone control works for both heating and cooling, allowing you tremendous control over your HVAC system year-round.

Benefits of a Zone Control System

Customized comfort is only one of several benefits a zone control system can offer your home:

  • Better energy efficiency – with zone control, you have the ability to cool only what you need to, reducing the amount of cool air you need; less cool air means less operation for your AC.
  • Less stress on your system – in addition to using less energy, less operation also means less wear and tear on your air conditioner, which helps reduce the system’s level of wear and tear.

Interested to see what a zone control system can do for your home? Call us today and schedule an appointment!

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What Are My Choices for Air Cleaner Installation?

March 27th, 2015

There are a number of air cleaning and purifying products available for whole-home use, so it can be confusing to determine which product you should use. Understanding what the products are, how they work and what their capabilities are go a long way toward deciding which one is the best fit for your needs. The indoor air quality experts at DB Heating & Cooling can assist you with all your air cleaner needs, including installation, so call us today and schedule an appointment for your Waldwick, NJ home.

Types of Air Cleaners

The description “air cleaner” can be a little confusing as many people use it to describe both air purifiers and air filters. What is the difference between air purifiers and air filters? The words “air filter” typical refers to a mechanical filter, which is the type of filter held in a frame with material held in place by the sides of the frame. Mechanical air filters are not electronic and aside from the filter frame, aren’t mechanical in any other way. An air purifier typically refers to three products: an electronic precipitator, an ion generator or UV germicidal lighting. All three of these products use electricity to operate, with the first two using electricity to capture and remove allergens and some biological contaminants and the third, UV lighting, to kill only biological contaminants. A last type of air cleaner to consider is the use of a HEPA filter, but it is strongly recommended that you consult with a specialist before using a HEPA filter in your HVAC system. HEPA filters are a type of mechanical filter, but to qualify as being HEPA, very strict guidelines must be met; one of these guidelines is a 99.97% efficiency rating for capturing contaminants. HEPA filters are so strong that they can restrict the air flow in your system, and this is why it’s important to work with a specialist before using one with your heating and cooling system.

Which Should I Choose?

Answering this question will depend a lot on your needs: are you looking to remove biological contaminants, or do you have allergy sufferers in your home who need relief?

Working with a trained expert, like the ones at DB Heating & Cooling, can help ensure that you choose and install an air cleaner for your Waldwick, NJ, home that meets all of your indoor air quality needs. Call us today!

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How Does Maintenance Help My Cooling System?

March 20th, 2015

We’re still feeling Old Man Winter here in NJ, but we have started to see glimmers of spring. While summer may still be a distant memory, spring offers you the ideal time to get your whole-home air conditioner ready for its heavy summer workload. In fact, we here at DB Heating & Cooling believe maintenance to be so important that we have a preventative heating and cooling maintenance program for all of our customers, including those in Hackensack. But before we explain some of the benefits of our maintenance program, let’s first review why maintenance is so important.

Benefits of Cooling System Maintenance

Maintenance is a full tune-up for your system, so a number of things happen during a maintenance appointment for your cooling system, including:

  • A thorough inspection of the system
  • Small repair
  • Multiple checks, including refrigerant levels
  • Cleaning, adjusting and lubrication of components
  • Change of air filter
  • Performance testing

Having such a thorough appointment helps provide the following benefits:

  • Better energy efficiency
  • Better comfort
  • Extends life of the equipment
  • Helps prevent repair

But when you join the DB Heating & Cooling maintenance program, you get additional benefits that last all year long, including:

  • Priority scheduling – when you are a DB Heating & Cooling maintenance program member, you will be at the top of the list for our services, no matter how many people were there before
  • 24-hour emergency service – while all customers can access us 24/7, only program members are eligible for after-hours service during peak periods
  • Discounts on repairs – program members receive exclusive discounts on repairs
  • No overtime charges – as a member, you won’t have to pay any overtime charges for any appointment
  • Maintenance agreement is fully transferrable – should you want to pass the agreement to another person or take it with you to a new home, all you have to do is tell us.

The DB Heating & Cooling preventative maintenance program makes it easy for you to maintain your heating and cooling systems in Hackensack. Call us today and see how maintenance can help you.

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What Is the Difference Between an Air Cleaner and an Air Purifier?

March 13th, 2015

There’s a lot of terminology that gets thrown when it comes to whole-home products and systems. Indoor air quality is one such area that has its fair share of terminology, and it can be confusing for homeowners to know exactly which products do what. For instance, take air cleaners and air purifiers – what’s the difference between these two products? It’s important to know the difference so that you can get your indoor air quality needs met, and the experts at DB Heating & Cooling are here to help you.

Air Cleaners

“Air cleaners” is a broad term that refers to any kind of indoor air quality product that cleans the air – however, an air cleaner is not an air purifier. This means that an air cleaner, like a mechanical air filter, will not be able to remove all biological contaminants, including bacteria, viruses and spores (mold, mildew, fungi). Why? Biological contaminant particles are very small and can pass through filter media. Electronic air cleaners can capture more biological contaminants because electronic air cleaners charge the particles and then capture them, but like mechanical filters, not all the biological contaminants can be trapped. Here are the products that are considered air cleaners:

  • Mechanical air filters (not HEPA)
  • Electrostatic precipitators (electronic air cleaner)
  • Ion generator (electronic air cleaner)

Air Purifiers

An air purifier is a device that will remove biological contaminants from your indoor air. The main indoor air quality product that does this is UV germicidal lighting. UV lighting utilizes UV-C rays to destroy and eradicate biological contaminants by destroying the cell’s DNA and life-sustaining proteins. As such, the cells cannot survive or reproduce. However, for UV lighting to kill biological contaminants, the organism has to pass directly under the lighting, so it’s best to pair UV germicidal lighting with an air cleaner.

HEPA mechanical filters can also purify the air, but they are so strong that they can restrict air flow in your HVAC system. If you are interested in using a HEPA-grade mechanical filter in your HVAC system, work with a specialist to determine if this is feasible for your HVAC system.

If you have questions about what type of product(s) you should be using for your Waldwick home, call the experts at DB Heating & Cooling today.

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Benefits of Custom Ductwork

March 6th, 2015

If your home has a forced air system for heating and/or cooling, then it needs a ductwork system to deliver the air to your living spaces. How ductwork is made and installed plays a big role in its performance and how comfortable and energy efficient your home will be. One way to help ensure that your ductwork functions optimally is to have custom ductwork made for your home. Fabricating custom ductwork takes skill, training, expertise and experience, which is why you should only hire a trained professional for the job. The ductwork experts at DB Heating & Cooling have served customers throughout Bergen County, so if you need custom ductwork for your Woodcliff Lake home, call us today!

Why Consider Custom Ductwork?

You may be asking yourself this question as there can be some extra costs when choosing to install a custom ductwork system for your home. Here are some reasons why custom ductwork may be a better fit for you:

  • It is perfectly sized – ductwork isn’t a one-size-fits-all kind of product. Not only does the ductwork have to fit your home, it also has to fit your HVAC system. When ductwork is too small, you won’t get the air volume you need to adequately heat and cool your home, and when the ductwork is too big, the volume of air will be lost in the ductwork.
  • Better energy efficiency – with custom ductwork, you air loss is minimal, meaning that the air is being delivered correctly to your home’s living spaces. This takes pressure off your HVAC system, and helps reduce the system’s energy usage.
  • Better air balance – one of the biggest problems with ductwork systems is poor installation; this can lead to faulty ductwork and/or ductwork with lots of twists and turns. All of these problems can seriously interfere with the system’s air balance. With a ductwork system made specifically for your home and HVAC system, you can rest assured that your system is perfectly balanced.

Ductwork systems can last more than 30 years, so it’s important to make sure you install a ductwork system that will give you the long-term performance you need for your home.

The experts at DB Heating & Cooling are ready to assist, so if you are interested in custom ductwork for your Woodcliff Lake home, call us today!

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