Boehmer Heating & Cooling Blog: Archive for the ‘Air Conditioning’ Category

How Does a Geothermal System Cool My House?

Monday, August 3rd, 2015

It may seem a strange idea to cool your home using the natural resources of the Earth, but that’s exactly what happens when you have a geothermal system in Bethel Park, PA. However, cool air isn’t generated, as we’ll explain more below. The important thing is that should you be interested in using a geothermal system, or have one that needs servicing, that you hire professionals who have experience with this type of system. The HVAC specialists at Boehmer Heating & Cooling have been working with geothermal systems for a number of years, and can help you with all of your geothermal needs.

Continue Reading

Why Isn’t My AC Cooling?

Monday, July 27th, 2015

It’s the dog days of summer, the time when you most need your air conditioner to work. It is also the common time of air conditioner malfunction and breakdown, because the hottest days are the ones during which your AC works the most. If you wake up to a warm house, or come home to one, you may be wondering: why isn’t my AC cooling? The trained AC experts at Boehmer Heating & Cooling can help you with this.

Continue Reading

Dust: Where It Comes from and Why It Has to Be Removed from Your AC

Monday, July 20th, 2015

You vacuum, you polish, you take your shoes off before entering the house, but yet it is still there: dust. And it is endless. If you have a forced air system in your home, you know how irritating swirling dust can be, especially for the allergy sufferers in your home. While it may look as if dust emanates from your air conditioning system, it doesn’t: the dust in the air flow is actually from your home. So how is this dust getting there? You may be surprised.

Continue Reading

Why Keeping Your Thermostat at a Consistent Setting Doesn’t Save You Energy

Monday, July 13th, 2015

There are a lot of so-called “helpful tips” passed along regularly by friends and neighbors. One of these tips is that you’ll save more energy when you keep your thermostat set at a steady temperature all the time rather than changing it for when your home is unoccupied or at night. Simply put, this is false. It can be hard remembering to turn your thermostat up and down, which is why the experts at Boehmer Heating & Cooling strongly recommend installing and using a programmable thermostat in your home. But first, let’s take a look at why keeping your thermostat at the same temperature doesn’t save you energy.

Continue Reading

Having Problems Cooling Your Second Floor? Here Are Some Suggestions

Monday, July 6th, 2015

If you have a two-story home, you know that heat rises. But if you are experiencing very disparate temperatures between your downstairs rooms and upstairs ones, something is amiss. Some homeowners may think this is an indication that your air conditioner isn’t big enough; this isn’t likely. If your AC wasn’t big enough, your entire home would be affected, not just the upstairs. So what can cause your upstairs living spaces to be considerably warmer than your downstairs ones? Here are some thoughts:

Continue Reading

I Just Got My AC Last Year – Does It Really Need Maintenance?

Monday, June 29th, 2015

There are many misconceptions about caring for a large home system like an air conditioner. One that our AC specialists hear often is “My air conditioner is new – does it really need maintenance?” and the answer is, if you want it to keep running optimally, yes, it does. Maintenance isn’t something you do after you find your air conditioner running poorly; it’s a service to schedule before that can happen. Typically air conditioning maintenance should be scheduled annually, but if you are off by a few months (or even a lot of months), you should schedule it at your earliest convenience. Why? Here are some reasons:

Continue Reading

Air Conditioning Installation: What Does SEER Have to Do with It?

Monday, June 22nd, 2015

Whole home air conditioning installation isn’t a single-step process. There are multiple items to be factored in and determined to ensure you install the right system for you and your home. One part of the process is determining just how energy efficient a system you want, and the way to determine this is by the SEER rating. SEER stands for seasonal energy efficiency ratio, and it tells you in a nutshell where a system falls in terms of energy efficiency. But choosing a system based on SEER alone isn’t advisable; instead, SEER should be one of several aspects that guide your choice for a new AC installment. The experts at Boehmer Heating & Cooling can help you review different SEER numbers to help you arrive at the right one for your home in Pittsburgh, PA.

Continue Reading

How Will the Freon Phase-Out Affect You?

Monday, June 15th, 2015

New laws in air conditioning rarely make the front page news, but since the early 1990s, there have been a number of new mandates rolled out to reduce the negative effects that greenhouse gases and refrigerant have had from an environmental standpoint. As mandates continue, there is one in specific of which you should be aware: the full phase-out of Freon, also known as R-22. Significant rollbacks have already occurred. For instance, if you have an air conditioning system that uses Freon, you may have been made aware that R-22 is only manufactured to repair existing ACs; in other words, air conditioners can no longer be produced with R-22. The result has been that Freon recharges for systems that have a refrigerant leak will be far more expensive than they were previously because of the limited amount of Freon being made. So the question is: is it worth it to keep your Freon-based air conditioning system in Pittsburgh, PA?

Continue Reading

Is a Ductless Air Conditioner a Good Choice for My Home?

Monday, June 8th, 2015

We are only a couple of weeks from the summer solstice, and if you are still looking for a whole home air conditioning system, you have likely come across ductless cooling. The idea of cooling your entire home without the use of ductwork may seem counter-intuitive, but once you understand how a ductless system works, you’ll understand that it may be a very viable choice for your home. However, the key to getting the most from any whole home air conditioning system is to hire professional installation and service providers, and that’s where the experts at Boehmer Heating & Cooling come in. We can help you determine if a ductless cooling system is right for you and install it expertly. First, let’s take a look at how the system works.

Continue Reading

Why Is There Frost on My Air Conditioning Coils?

Monday, May 4th, 2015

Spring is fully underway and with it, summer can’t be far behind. The Pittsburgh, PA area experiences bouts of high heat and humidity throughout the summer months, which means that homeowners need to have their air conditioners fired up and ready to go. One of the most obvious signs of trouble is the appearance of frost on your coils, something that most laymen would see as normal. The air conditioner is supposed to make things cold. Why should a little frost raise an issue? In point of fact, however, frost on the air conditioning system represents a serious problem, required professional service to correct. “Why is there frost on my air conditioning coils?” you ask. Because your refrigerant is likely leaking.

Continue Reading