Do you have both high and low return air grills in your home?
Walk through each room of your home and check to see if you have either high or low or both return air grills in your home. Many folks don't realize how important high return grills can be in maximizing air circulation throughout the home and how valuable having both high and low return air grills can be.
Cold air is heavy and falls or stratifies closer to the floor. Warm air is lighter and rises and stratifies higher near the ceiling area. During the summer cooling season warm air can be removed from rooms, cooled and circulated throughout your home faster with the use of return air grills installed high on the wall near the ceiling directly above your existing low side wall return air grills.
Return air grills are usually placed low on a sidewall nearest natural flowing cold air paths usually within living rooms, near stairways and main hall ways. Great systems will have both high and low return air grills within the bedrooms too! Return air grills are never located in or close to a kitchen, laundry room or bathrooms.
High and low return air grills allows hot and or cold air to circulate throughout your home faster and more efficiently which can greatly improve the balance and more evenly distribute the conditioned air within the home which will satisfy your desired thermostat set temperature quicker saving you money.
High and low return air grills are important and valuable in removing heat faster during the summer cooling season and heats cold air in the home faster and more evenly distributes warm air throughout the home during the heating season.
If you only have low return air grills in your home I recommend you call your local heating and
air conditioning contractor and have them provide you with more information and a price quotation to have high return air grill(s) added to your home.
If you would like to discuss your home’s return air system call Mark McKinnon at http://www.capcover.com/ 303.438.0906.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Starving for Air
You might be surprised of the newer and older homes that have been built with heating and cooling systems not designed correctly to allow for the proper amount of return air to the homes heating and cooling system.
Many homes heating and cooling systems are starving for return air which travels back into the furnace fan area and feeds air to be either cooled or heated and sent on its way to the supply registers and into the various rooms of the home.
Consider having a local heating and air conditioning company calculate the cubic feet per minute (CFM) of return air needed to properly supply your home with the cooling or heating for the square footage of the home.
Starving your home of return air makes your furnace fan work harder to deliver the desired amount of cooled or heated air to the rooms in your home and takes longer for the thermostat to realize the desired set temperature you wanted the home to have.
Starving your furnace of proper return air will make it hard to obtain good air circulation in the home and will also cost you more money to achieve the homes desired heating or cooling temperatures.
Many homes heating and cooling systems are starving for return air which travels back into the furnace fan area and feeds air to be either cooled or heated and sent on its way to the supply registers and into the various rooms of the home.
Consider having a local heating and air conditioning company calculate the cubic feet per minute (CFM) of return air needed to properly supply your home with the cooling or heating for the square footage of the home.
Starving your home of return air makes your furnace fan work harder to deliver the desired amount of cooled or heated air to the rooms in your home and takes longer for the thermostat to realize the desired set temperature you wanted the home to have.
Starving your furnace of proper return air will make it hard to obtain good air circulation in the home and will also cost you more money to achieve the homes desired heating or cooling temperatures.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Time to Winterize your Outdoor Air Conditioner
It’s important to make sure your outdoor air conditioner cooling coils are clean and free of any cotton seed cottony stuff or other airborne debris which has clogged up your air conditioner cooling coil fins. Clean outdoor condenser coils and fins means quicker cooling, better operating efficiency and lower operating costs. After cleaning your outdoor condenser cover the unit with a breathable quality canvas long lasting and durable high end air conditioner cover. Proper high quality canvas Air Conditioner Covers are very important in protecting your outdoor condenser during the off-season fall and winter months.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
How to Remove A Grill Cover Without Tearing It
Sounds silly doesn’t it? ...how to remove a grill cover without tearing it but folks often tear their grill covers because they are just not thinking or perhaps they are in a rush to fire up the grill to get that great cookout started. Here is a best method approach to removing a quality canvas grill covers without tearing them.
If you have a grill that has counter extensions left and right of the grilling area you are probably aware those counter top extension have in most cases square corners. Many beautiful grill islands with granite or other hard surfaced counters have sharp square corners too and these corners are often the culprit in causing tearing of the grill covers.
If you have a grill that has counter extensions left and right of the grilling area you are probably aware those counter top extension have in most cases square corners. Many beautiful grill islands with granite or other hard surfaced counters have sharp square corners too and these corners are often the culprit in causing tearing of the grill covers.
To remove the grill cover without snagging and tearing the cover stand at one end of the grill unit and hold each corner of the cover and carefully lift the end of the cover up and over towards the top center of the grill lid whereas the material will be sitting on the grill lid.
Move your hands down mid-way of the remaining cover material and pull it up and over towards the top center of the grill lid.
Move to the opposite end of the grill and hold each top corner of the cover and carefully pull the cover up and over to the top center of the grill lid.
Move your hands down mid-way of the remaining cover material and pull it up and over towards the top center of the grill lid.
Both ends of the cover material should now be up and off of the ends of the grill counter lying on top of the counter top extensions and grill lid area.
Continue removing the cover from the grill unit and if clean and dry, fold the cover and place it in a clean dry area.
This method of removing quality canvas grill covers from grills and grill islands is quick and easy and will help prolong the life of the covers for many years.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Our Air Conditioner Covers are a Wise Investment.
I've been preaching to the public for over 22 years how important it is to properly cover your outdoor air conditioner condenser with a quality, breathable natural canvas protective cover.
It is important to protect your outdoor condenser because in doing so, you are protecting and prolonging the life of your central air conditioning system investment.
We have been making and selling made to size needed high quality long lasting durable air conditioner covers with 5 and 10 year warranties on material integrity and craftsmanship on a national level since 1989.
When purchasing our air conditioner covers one pays less than 5% of the cost to replace the central air conditioning system outdoor condenser which also makes our air conditioner cover purchase a wise investment.
It is important to protect your outdoor condenser because in doing so, you are protecting and prolonging the life of your central air conditioning system investment.
We have been making and selling made to size needed high quality long lasting durable air conditioner covers with 5 and 10 year warranties on material integrity and craftsmanship on a national level since 1989.
When purchasing our air conditioner covers one pays less than 5% of the cost to replace the central air conditioning system outdoor condenser which also makes our air conditioner cover purchase a wise investment.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
If You Must! Cleaning Your Central Air Conditioning System
Every Fall I receive calls from folks wanting to learn what they can do to help winterize their whole house central air conditioning system with the idea they can save some money…especially during this economical downturn.
If you must, follow the guidelines below but as I always recommend it’s best to pay the experts to come out in the fall after the cooling season to check and clean and service your air conditioning system. Heating and air conditioning companies often offer spring/winter seasonal specials to service heating and air conditioning systems.
Clean indoor and outdoor coils helps maintain high efficiency operation of your air conditioning system and helps the unit from over-working to achieve desired cooling temperatures and saves on electrical bill too!
Providing your system has been operating just fine during the cooling season, a simple cleaning of dust and lint from the indoor coil and the drip pan located within the plenum which sits on top of your furnace is recommended. There should be an access door located on the plenum to access the indoor coil and coil drip pan.
Cleaning of the ‘fins’ of the coils of the outdoor unit is important and best left to the heating and cooling company experts but if you must... the first step is to disconnect the electrical power to the outdoor unit!!! There usually is an outdoor electrical emergency disconnect mounted on the building structure within a few feet of the outdoor condenser. Switch the outdoor electrical emergency disconnect to OFF before attempting to clean the outdoor condenser. If for some unusual reason there is no emergency electrical outdoor disconnect near the outdoor condenser stop what you are doing and call your local heating and air conditioning company to install one for you.
When checking your outdoor condenser look for bent or smashed aluminum fins on the coil tubing which wraps around within the outdoor unit inside behind the cowling. It is important that these soft aluminum fins be straightened out for proper functioning of the outdoor unit. Heating and air conditioning companies use a “comb” to insert between the aluminum fins to straighten them out. Its important air circulates between these coil fins. Some hardware stores and heating and air conditioning supplies stores sell these combs but to use the comb to straighten the fins requires removing the entire outdoor unit cowling. Not something the homeowner should attempt…it’s easy to take the cowling off but in many cases very difficult to put back together unless you know what you are doing.
After having switched OFF the outdoor emergency disconnect carefully disconnect the top cowling which also holds the fan unit by removing the screws. Carefully move the top cowling with fan off to one side of the top of the outdoor unit just far enough to get your water hose down into the unit. Be careful not to pull the fan wiring lose.
Any light amount of cottony material or other airborne material stuck to the fins and coils of the outdoor unit during the cooling season needs to be removed. Using 50% light non-acid based detergent with 50% water in a spray bottle, spray your coils with this non-acid based detergent. Let this solution sit on the coils for 3 or 4 minutes then spray the coils from the inside of the unit outward using low water hose pressure. If the cottony stuff is as thick as to sheet onto the coils, stop and call your local heating and air conditioning company to properly remove this amount of debris from the coils.
High water pressure can damage the fins of the coils! With LOW WATER PRESURE spray water from the inside of the unit outward through the coils which should help remove a lot of the cottony stuff and other dirt from the coils and fins. Make sure to cleanse the coils of any light non-acid detergent solution used to clean the coils. NEVER spray water from the outside into the coils. Never spray water at an angle onto the coils which will bend the fins.
Check the inside of the outdoor condenser for leaves or pine needles or other debris making sure all drain holes at the bottom of the unit are open.
Once your unit is clean and dry, place a proper high quality, long lasting breathable treated canvas air conditioner cover onto your outdoor unit to keep your condenser clean, dry and free of any possible condensation during the cooler weather and harsh winter elements. Never use non-breathable coated materials to cover your outdoor unit. High quality proper air conditioner covers help greatly in protecting and prolonging the life of your air conditioning system investment.
If you must, follow the guidelines below but as I always recommend it’s best to pay the experts to come out in the fall after the cooling season to check and clean and service your air conditioning system. Heating and air conditioning companies often offer spring/winter seasonal specials to service heating and air conditioning systems.
Clean indoor and outdoor coils helps maintain high efficiency operation of your air conditioning system and helps the unit from over-working to achieve desired cooling temperatures and saves on electrical bill too!
Providing your system has been operating just fine during the cooling season, a simple cleaning of dust and lint from the indoor coil and the drip pan located within the plenum which sits on top of your furnace is recommended. There should be an access door located on the plenum to access the indoor coil and coil drip pan.
Cleaning of the ‘fins’ of the coils of the outdoor unit is important and best left to the heating and cooling company experts but if you must... the first step is to disconnect the electrical power to the outdoor unit!!! There usually is an outdoor electrical emergency disconnect mounted on the building structure within a few feet of the outdoor condenser. Switch the outdoor electrical emergency disconnect to OFF before attempting to clean the outdoor condenser. If for some unusual reason there is no emergency electrical outdoor disconnect near the outdoor condenser stop what you are doing and call your local heating and air conditioning company to install one for you.
When checking your outdoor condenser look for bent or smashed aluminum fins on the coil tubing which wraps around within the outdoor unit inside behind the cowling. It is important that these soft aluminum fins be straightened out for proper functioning of the outdoor unit. Heating and air conditioning companies use a “comb” to insert between the aluminum fins to straighten them out. Its important air circulates between these coil fins. Some hardware stores and heating and air conditioning supplies stores sell these combs but to use the comb to straighten the fins requires removing the entire outdoor unit cowling. Not something the homeowner should attempt…it’s easy to take the cowling off but in many cases very difficult to put back together unless you know what you are doing.
After having switched OFF the outdoor emergency disconnect carefully disconnect the top cowling which also holds the fan unit by removing the screws. Carefully move the top cowling with fan off to one side of the top of the outdoor unit just far enough to get your water hose down into the unit. Be careful not to pull the fan wiring lose.
Any light amount of cottony material or other airborne material stuck to the fins and coils of the outdoor unit during the cooling season needs to be removed. Using 50% light non-acid based detergent with 50% water in a spray bottle, spray your coils with this non-acid based detergent. Let this solution sit on the coils for 3 or 4 minutes then spray the coils from the inside of the unit outward using low water hose pressure. If the cottony stuff is as thick as to sheet onto the coils, stop and call your local heating and air conditioning company to properly remove this amount of debris from the coils.
High water pressure can damage the fins of the coils! With LOW WATER PRESURE spray water from the inside of the unit outward through the coils which should help remove a lot of the cottony stuff and other dirt from the coils and fins. Make sure to cleanse the coils of any light non-acid detergent solution used to clean the coils. NEVER spray water from the outside into the coils. Never spray water at an angle onto the coils which will bend the fins.
Check the inside of the outdoor condenser for leaves or pine needles or other debris making sure all drain holes at the bottom of the unit are open.
Once your unit is clean and dry, place a proper high quality, long lasting breathable treated canvas air conditioner cover onto your outdoor unit to keep your condenser clean, dry and free of any possible condensation during the cooler weather and harsh winter elements. Never use non-breathable coated materials to cover your outdoor unit. High quality proper air conditioner covers help greatly in protecting and prolonging the life of your air conditioning system investment.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Air Conditioner Covers
Clients often ask why we focus on offering high quality long lasting durable light colored canvas air conditioner covers.
Light colored high quality breathable fabric (very important) canvas air conditioner covers reflect excessive heat caused by exposure to sun light and does not absorb excessive heat and or build up heating of the fabric and will therefore not accelerate deterioration or the breaking down of the fabric.
Our made to size high quality heavy duty, long lasting durable breathable treated canvas and Superior Marine Canvas air conditioner covers are offered in Goldish/Tan, Light Gray and Light Green colors and reflects sunlight and heat very well and contributes to a much longer lasting air conditioner cover. Our air conditioner covers craftsmanship and material integrity are warranted for 5 and 10 years!
Light colored high quality breathable fabric (very important) canvas air conditioner covers reflect excessive heat caused by exposure to sun light and does not absorb excessive heat and or build up heating of the fabric and will therefore not accelerate deterioration or the breaking down of the fabric.
Our made to size high quality heavy duty, long lasting durable breathable treated canvas and Superior Marine Canvas air conditioner covers are offered in Goldish/Tan, Light Gray and Light Green colors and reflects sunlight and heat very well and contributes to a much longer lasting air conditioner cover. Our air conditioner covers craftsmanship and material integrity are warranted for 5 and 10 years!
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