DB Heating & Cooling, Inc. Blog

Why You Need Specialists for Your Commercial Air Conditioning Repair

June 27th, 2014

An effective air conditioning system to keep your business cool during the summer isn’t a luxury anymore—it’s a necessity. The best way to make sure that your business’ AC keeps running is to have professional, qualified technicians take care of all maintenance and repairs the system needs.

We need to emphasize qualified. Not every repair technician familiar with residential air conditioning is qualified to work on your commercial AC. It requires specialized training to handle commercial systems, and you can’t find that everywhere. Your best option is to call DB Heating & Cooling and our commercial HVAC staff to handle your needs for commercial air conditioning repair in Bergen County, NJ.

We not only have the qualifications for the repair work you need, but we are available 24 hours a day for your convenience. Call us today to set up an appointment.

The reasons you need commercial-qualified specialists

There are some significant differences between commercial and residential air conditioning. Although an air conditioner works through the same process no matter where it is installed—heat exchange using refrigerant—commercial systems are different in size and configuration, and that means they have some specific needs that take specialized training.

The extent of commercial systems is the difference that will be most obvious to someone unfamiliar with the HVAC world. The average cooling load of even light commercial work is 25-tons, twice what most homes require. Standard size for the majority of businesses is 50-tons or greater. This level of cooling needs training to take into account the power of the motors and the refrigerant needs.

Commercial systems have different configurations from those used in homes. The standard residential AC is a “split” system with separate indoor and outdoor cabinets. But commercial air conditioning uses a packaged unit, with a single cabinet that houses all the components in a single place: evaporator coil, condensing coil, compressor, fan, blower, motors, etc. This makes it easier for a technician to service the system without disrupting workflow, and it also removes the noisy indoor unit to the outside.

Commercial systems are also modular, allowing for an increase in cooling capacity without needing to replace the entire system. This adds a new layer a complexity to the individual modules that is not found in residential air conditioners.

Finally, commercial air conditioners have a much more intricate system of zone control and multiple thermostats designed to serve many people with differing comfort needs. The complexity of the thermostat network is far beyond that found in most homes.

Make sure that you have the number of a qualified company for commercial air conditioning repair in Bergen County, NJ handy should you encounter any trouble with your AC. DB Heating & Cooling is ready any time of the day or night to assist you.

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How a Maintenance Session Differs from a Repair Session

June 20th, 2014

Most of the time when people call a heating and cooling company it’s for one of two reasons: to schedule repairs (sometimes in emergencies) or to arrange for a maintenance visit. Any quality HVAC service will offer 24-hour emergency repairs and regular maintenance programs so that it’s easy for a customer to call for either, and the technicians will know how to handle both types of calls in a timely manner and with all the work done accurately.

We’ll explain some of the differences in how technicians perform maintenance sessions and repair sessions for ACs. If you need either, entrust the work to DB Heating & Cooling: we are fully EPA-certified and insured to protect you, and our technicians are among the best-trained and customer-friendly you can find. We offer 24-hour emergency service and effective and affordable programs for air conditioning maintenance in Emerson, NJ.

Maintenance vs. Repair

Maintenance sessions go essentially the same each time a technician comes to your home. When you sign up for a maintenance program, you’ll arrange for a time during the year when the technician will come for the check-up and tune-ups; for air conditioners, this is usually in the spring. The technician will show up with a detailed checklist that covers every aspect of your cooling system. The job will go through the points one at a time, making sure that each component of the air conditioning receives attention. The only place where a maintenance session will differ from year to year is when the technician discovers issues that need correcting or possibly repairs. If the air conditioner requires a repair that goes beyond what is covered during maintenance, the technician will arrange for the necessary work.

Repairs are targeted, and therefore much different from maintenance, which must survey the entire system. When a specialist arrives for repairs, he or she will asked for a detailed description of the problem that you are experiencing with your AC. The technician will first look for simple possibilities for the malfunction, such as checking thermostat operation. (The thermostat is almost always the first component checked during repairs.) Then the technician will focus on root causes that could require extensive work. A professional technician will not start any repair job until he or she has checked with you regarding time, price, and any parts that may need to be ordered.

You can expect a maintenance session to last about an hour. For repairs, you will find out usually within a half hour how long the job will require: it could be from anywhere under an hour to a few days if the technician must order special parts. You can trust that professionals will do all they can to reduce that amount of time necessary to complete repairs.

DB Heating & Cooling has technicians ready to do either job for you, and do it to match your expectations. Call us for 24-hour emergency repairs or for air conditioning maintenance in Emerson, NJ.

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Indoor Air Quality in Paramus: How Do Air Filters Work?

June 13th, 2014

As it gets hotter, air quality can decrease, particularly outside. While your air conditioner can greatly improve the air quality in your home, you may need some extra assistance with the help of an air filter.

Why use an air filter to improve your indoor air quality in Paramus? Allergy sufferers can have a terrible time from spring until fall, and others may be sensitive to dirt, dust and other airborne pollutants. A high-grade air filter can also help your air conditioner by greatly reducing the dirt, dust and debris that can accumulate therein.

What types of air filters are available for your air conditioning system? There are a few different ones on the market, so our experts at DB Heating & Cooling have put together a list for you:

Standard

Every air conditioner comes with a built-in, standard air filter. This filter is not intended to help with air quality, although it can help a little bit. The standard filter’s main job is to help keep dirt, dust and larger debris from entering and clogging your system. This filter is made from spun fiberglass, sits in a cardboard frame and should be changed every 1-3 months to avoid clogging.

Pleated Air Filters

Because of their pleated construction, pleated air filters can be a good way to start eliminating allergens and other air pollutants from your home. The way pleated air filters work is by having tightly-woven material folded into pleats, enabling the capture of small particles. Pleated air filters come in different thicknesses, ranging from 1-4 inches. Sometimes the thickness of a pleated air filter can restrict the air flow in your air conditioning system, so it’s best to consult with a professional before purchasing one.

Electrostatic Filters

Electrostatic air filters charge the particles around them, then capture the particles using an opposite charge. Using this method allows for even very small particles to be captured, making this type of filter very effective.

HEPA Filters

HEPA filters have a capture rate of 99%, and are able to catch particles that are 1/300th the width of human hair. Because of their strength, it is strongly recommended that you consult with an expert before using a HEPA filter as it can constrict the air flow in your air conditioner’s system.

Looking for Better Air Quality? Call Us

Your indoor air quality in Paramus is important – don’t compromise your comfort by purchasing an air filter that doesn’t meet your needs.

Call the indoor air quality professionals at DB Heating & Cooling today and schedule a time to speak with one of our experts about improving your indoor air quality.

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Why Ductless Air Conditioning Systems May Be Right for You

June 6th, 2014

What is ductless air conditioning? It is an innovation that has already existed for decades, but was originally restricted to business use. Now ductless mini splits (as they are often called) have entered homes in a big way because of their huge advantages in comfort, savings, and convenience.

The basic way that a ductless system works is this: Instead of having a single indoor and outdoor unit (an evaporator and a condenser) like standard air conditioners and heat pumps, a ductless mini split uses multiple blower units on the indoors that hook up independently to the outdoor condenser. Each blower contains a fan and coil and blows conditioned air directly into a room—no ducts necessary!

Ductless systems will not match every home or family. Contact DB Heating & Cooling when you are interested in finding out if a ductless air conditioning in Emerson, NJ is right for you. We will help you make the choice and then install whatever system will best do the job.

Reasons you should consider ductless air conditioning:

  • They also provide heat: Ductless mini splits are heat pumps—which means they can switch over to heating mode whenever you no longer need to run the AC during the end of the year. You have a two-in-one comfort solution.
  • More building and design freedom: If you are planning to remodel your house or build a new one, ductless systems give you more freedom for design without worrying about ducts getting in the way or gobbling up valuable space. Ductless mini splits are also excellent for add-on rooms, since you won’t have to resize and reinstall a new air conditioner/heat pump to accommodate the large space.
  • Improved indoor air quality: Without ductwork, you won’t have a reservoir for dust and dirt to collect in the ventilation system and get blown out into the air. No more regular duct cleaning jobs to keep them clean; you have no ductwork to worry about at all, and that means cleaner air and an increase in overall indoor air quality.
  • Energy savings: Because you no longer need to cool (or heat) every room when you turn on your comfort system, you’ll save money. You can shut off the air to empty guest rooms or dining rooms that no one is using. This will save large amounts of money off your utility bills, and the people who live in your home will have individual control over the temperatures wherever they are… and that means a happier household all around.

Ducted or Ductless? We’re ready to help you choose!

Whether a ductless system will do the optimum job for you depends on your home.

Call DB Heating & Cooling for a consultation to decide if installing ductless air conditioning in Emerson, NJ is your best path to many years of comfort and increased savings.

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Why SEER Ratings Matter with New Air Conditioning Installation

May 30th, 2014

When installing a new air conditioning system, you have a number of important considerations to keep in mind, from the power load to the position of the thermostat. But out of all of them, the SEER rating may be the most important. It measures the efficiency of your system, which informs almost every other consideration you make. In Teaneck, air conditioning replacement services can discuss the specifics with you. But what is a SEER rating specifically? And more importantly, why do SEER ratings matter with new air conditioning installation?

SEER & New Air Conditioning Installation

The term stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, and it basically compares the amount of energy the unit uses in a given year with the amount of energy actually used to cool your home. The higher the rating, the more efficient the system. Most units have a rating between 7 and 24, though units made after 2006 must have a SEER rating of at least 13. (Older units are still allowed to have lower ratings.)

If at all possible, you want your new air conditioner to have a higher SEER rating than your old one. (It’s not difficult, especially if your existing system has been around for a number of years.) Your new unit should be more efficient in order to cut down on your monthly bills, helping you recoup the cost of investment. More importantly, the SEER rating will influence other factors involved with installation, such as the power load and the initial cost of the unit itself. You need to factor it in to almost every aspect of the decision, which is why you need to understand how it works early in the process.

Luckily, help is available. For Teaneck air conditioning replacement services, the experts at DB Heating & Cooling are ready to help. We have the knowledge and experience you need to handle all aspects of the project for you, and we can explain why SEER ratings matter with new air conditioning installation.

Customer satisfaction is our top priority and we won’t rest until you are happy with every aspect of the operation. Give us a call today. You’ll be glad you did!

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Why Are Parts of the Air Conditioner on the Outside of the House?

May 23rd, 2014

Air conditioners are a staple of 21st century life, but the specifics on how they work are often known only to professionals. Services that offer air conditioning repair in Teaneck can usually explain the details if something goes wrong with your system, but home owners can also educate themselves about certain particulars. For example, why are parts of the air conditioner on the outside of the house? The short answer is to vent hot air. But how does a unit designed to produce cool air end up producing hot air?

The components on the outside of the house usually include the condenser valves, the compression coils and the condenser motor. This is where the process of air conditioning begins. Refrigerant gas enters the valve, which places it under a great deal of heat and pressure, and then moves to the coils, where the heat is bled off into the surrounding air. The liquid – still under pressure – then moves inside, where it passes through an expansion valve and into the evaporator coils. As it evaporates, it pulls heat from the surrounding air, which can then be blown into your house to cool it.

That process only works if the refrigerant is in liquid form and it won’t reach liquid form without giving off a great deal of heat. Obviously, you don’t want any of that hot air in your air conditioner, since it will defeat the whole purpose of air conditioning. Hence, that part of the cycle is often left outside. The hot air can be vented into the outside atmosphere and the condenser array can do its job without interfering with the second part of the cycle (the one that produces the cool air). It’s a strange set-up but it makes a lot of sense in terms of efficiency. And with air conditioners, efficiency is the name of the game.

If you know why parts of the air conditioner are on the outside of the house, you also know that the delicacy of the system requires professional attention when something goes wrong.

For air conditioning repair in Teaneck, give the technicians at DB Heating & Cooling a call. We can fix just about anything, so contact us today!

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How Does Zone Air Conditioning Work in a Centralized System

May 16th, 2014

If you’re in the market for a new air conditioner, you may have heard the term “zone control system” batted around. Or you may have seen a modular zone control system, with multiple small units placed in different rooms of a given house. Zone control systems offer the benefit of fine tuning your environment – setting one temperature in the kitchen and another in the living room for example – but if you own a centralized air conditioner, you may have thought that zone control isn’t compatible with your system. Nothing could be further from the truth. Upgrades exist that let you retrofit your central system with zone controls, allowing you to set different temperatures in different rooms and even turn off the air in parts of the house you aren’t using. If you’re looking into zone air conditioning, Waldwick has the services you need.

How does zone air conditioning work in a centralized system?

Your centralized system relies on a series of ducts to transport the cooled air. The ducts branch out from the unit itself to cover every room in your home, using hidden areas like the attic or crawlspace to hold them. When you upgrade to a zone control system, the technician installs a series of valves and controls at each junction to the ductwork, along with thermostats in each room to control whether the valves are open or closed. With them in place, you can achieve the same effect as ductless zone control systems, guiding the cool air where it needs to go or cutting it off from rooms you aren’t using. As a result, the air conditioner wastes less energy and allows you to tailor the temperature to suit individual comfort levels.

If you know how zone air conditioning works in a centralized system, you know how important it is to contact a qualified technician to install it. And if you’re interested in a centralized version of zone air conditioning, Waldwick has an answer with the experts at DB Heating & Cooling.

Give the zone air conditioning experts at DB Heating & Cooling a call today to set up a consultation and let us show you what we can do!

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3 Reasons You Need Your Air Conditioning Installation Done Professionally

May 9th, 2014

You’ve put a lot of effort into making your home comfortable. Adding an air conditioning system can increase that comfort level tremendously – when it’s done correctly. When it’s not, you may run into some serious problems. Below are 3 important reasons to have an air conditioning installation in Oradell done professionally by a DB Heating & Cooling expert.

Top 3 Reasons to Call an Expert

Reason 1: Correct Installation

An air conditioning/HVAC system is not a simple mechanical device; it is complex, with multiple different components and many different parts. It needs refrigerant to run and has to be tied into your electrical and heating systems. The bottom line:  the margin for error can be wide – and potentially dangerous – when installing your own AC; the smarter, and potentially more economically sound decision, is to schedule an expert installation.

Reason 2: Time Consumption

A new air conditioning system installation takes time, and if you’ve never done this kind of work before, it can take a lot of time. How much time are you prepared to give up in order to properly install your air conditioning system? Are you willing to let your home be potentially hot and uncomfortable while you do it? A trained professional brings both expertise and speed to a new air conditioner installation, ensuring that the install happens quickly and correctly.

Reason 3: Calculating the Correct Air Conditioner Capacity for Your Property

Installing an air conditioner that is either too large or too small for your home can result in a number of problems that may require air conditioning repair down the road. To ensure you are getting the right size system for your property, a calculation of your home’s size, insulation and heat gain needs to be determined.  A professional AC installer does this type of calculation as part of his/her job, so it’s better to let an experienced specialist handle it.

Save Money with a Professional

DB Heating & Cooling offers air conditioning installation in both residential and commercial properties.

Let us help you with your air conditioning installation in Oradell, and help you save some money at the same time – schedule a consultation with DB Heating & Cooling today.

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3 Common Misunderstandings about Air Conditioning

May 2nd, 2014

The modern miracle of electro-mechanical air conditioning started in the early 20th century when Willis Haviland Carrier introduced an invention to cool down and control humidity in a paper plant. Since the mid-1950s, air conditioners have become accepted standard equipment in homes, as common as stoves, refrigerators, and televisions.

However, homeowners often know little about how air conditioners operate: they usually have a firmer grasp on the mysteries of a more recent invention, the microwave oven. Here are three misunderstanding about air conditioning systems that we often encounter in our work.

Although a little knowledge about ACs is helpful, you should always turn to professionals when it’s time for installation, repairs, or maintenance. DB Heating & Cooling can provide the assistance you need to get the most out of your home’s air conditioning in Westwood, NJ. There are no AC misunderstandings among our trained staff!

#1. “Air conditioners create cool air”

Although an AC fan blows out cool air, it is inaccurate to say that the system creates cold air the same way that a furnace creates hot air. In the case of a furnace, the burning of fuel generates heat, which is then transferred to the air. But an air conditioner does not burn any fuel. What it does instead is use electricity to run mechanical components that move heat from one location to another. When an air conditioner removes heat from the indoor air, the air feels cooler to us.

#2. “Turning the thermostat down lower will cool a space faster”

It’s tempting to turn an air conditioner’s thermostat down to the lowest temperature possible (60°F for most systems) believing that the air conditioner will ramp up the speed that it blasts out cold air. However, lowering the thermostat isn’t like pressing your foot against an accelerator pedal. A thermostat is simply a switch: it turns the AC’s compressor on until reaching the set temperature. The rate of cooling does not change. Putting the temperature at its lowest setting will simply keep the compressor running for a longer period. This is a leading cause of energy waste in homes; it is far more efficient to keep the thermostat set at a comfortable higher temperature.

#3. “You’ll have better AC efficiency leaving the system running when you aren’t home”

This myth comes from a belief that it requires more energy to turn a system on and off than to leave it running steadily. While it’s true that an air conditioner uses the most amount of power when it starts up, it is far more wasteful to force the air conditioner’s compressor—the component that drains the most energy—to run for 8 hours replacing cool air with cool air. A much better plan is to use a programmable thermostat to turn the AC on a half hour before you return home so you arrive to a cool house.

To help receive the best cooling power from your air conditioning in Westwood, NJ this summer, call DB Heating & Cooling. We are fully insured and EPA-certified.

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Why Choose a Ductless Mini Split Air Conditioner

April 29th, 2014

If the time has come to remove the old air conditioner in your house and prepare yourself for the summer with a new system, you may wish to consider the current technology of ductless mini splits. These systems have some tremendous advantages you should take into account, and they may end up as the ideal choice to solve the comfort issues in your home.

Ductless mini splits work through a series of individual blowers mounted throughout a home that send conditioned air directly into the rooms. Each of the blowers connects through refrigerant lines and power lines to the outdoor unit; there’s no need for a single indoor unit that uses ducts to distribute air.

To receive answers to all your questions about ductless mini splits, or for repairs and maintenance on your current air conditioning in Emerson, NJ—ductless or otherwise—call DB Heating & Cooling.

You should consider a ductless mini split system…

  • …because they are both air conditioners and heaters: Ductless systems are heat pumps; their full name is “ductless mini split heat pumps.” Like all heat pumps, they operate as air conditioners that can reverse the direction they move heat so they will also bring warm air from the outside to the inside. When you install a ductless mini split to solve your needs for air conditioning, you also have your needs for heating solved at the same time—and with no extra space needed for another heater.
  • …because you’ll have higher quality air: Air conditioning systems that use ductwork will encounter trouble with picking up contamination and pollutants inside the ducts and blowing them out into living spaces, lowering the air quality. Although regular duct cleanings can alleviate this issue, there will always be some amount of dust or dirt trapped inside ductwork. But ductless mini split heat pumps eliminate this problem—because they lack ducts! You can expect cleaner indoor air, and this is especially beneficial if you have people with allergies living in your home.
  • …because you’ll have zone control cooling: The separate blowers mounted in the rooms means you can reduce or shut off cooling in the rooms independent of each other. You no longer need to cool down the whole home each time you turn on the air conditioning, and this will lead to large savings off your energy bills. Individuals can also control the temperature at their location to meet their specific comfort needs.

Is ductless the way to go for your home?

Installing a ductless mini split heat pump is a fantastic option for new home construction, add-on rooms, or any house that lacks ducts. However, if your home already has a ventilation system installed, you may wish to opt for a standard heat pump that will hook up to the existing ductwork.

For an informed opinion about the right type of air conditioning in Emerson, NH to fit your home, contact DB Heating & Cooling and speak to our ductless installation specialists today.

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