Harrisburg Heating and Air Conditioning

According to the US Department of Energy, the typical Harrisburg, Hershey, Carlisle, Middletown and Palmyra area home loses 20 percent of its heated or cooled air through holes, cracks and other imperfections in the duct system. If your home uses forced air, the ducts may be located in difficult-to-reach places, but it is possible to do a lot to get the best performance out of your home heating system’s ductwork. All accessible ducts should be insulated. They should be sealed wherever two pieces of ductwork connect, and where the duct meets the floor, wall or ceiling. You can tackle this yourself, using mastic sealant or metal tape (not duct tape, in spite of the name). Your local hardware or home goods store should be able to tell you what kind of insulation you need and how to install it. Otherwise, you can keep things simple and be sure the job is done correctly by having a licensed CROH Heating & Air technician seal the ducts in your Harrisburg, Hershey, Carlisle, Middletown and Palmyra area home.

Your Harrisburg, Hershey, Carlisle, Middletown and Palmyra area home may be losing a great deal of heat to the outside through myriad little holes and cracks that cause uncomfortable drafts and give heat an easy way out. This is something you can do yourself: go to your local hardware or home goods store, and ask them for the right product (caulking, weather stripping or other types of sealants) to use to seal drafts. If you’re diligent, finding drafts is fairly easy: just feel your way around every window and door. Hold a lightweight ribbon between your fingertips, and wherever it flutters, that’s the offending hole or crack. If you don’t take your window air conditioners out in the winter, seal them up with plastic – you can buy window insulation kits very inexpensively. You just tape the plastic on and use a blow dryer to heat it until it shrinks tightly to the air conditioner. The idea is to neatly plug up anywhere that cold is getting in. Your Harrisburg, Hershey, Carlisle, Middletown and Palmyra area home will be more comfortable, you’ll save lots of money on your energy bills, and you’ll extend the life of your home heating system by not making it have to work extra hard to heat your home to the temperature you desire. If you’re unsure how to do this or you’re still feeling drafts when you thought you’d gotten them all, a licensed CROH Heating & Air technician may be able to help.

The air conditioning system serving your Harrisburg, Hershey, Carlisle, Middletown and Palmyra area home brings in fresh air from outside to cool. The only thing keeping all manner of pollutants – dust, allergens, mold, animal dander, exhaust fumes, whatever nasty little things you don’t want to breathe in – is your air conditioning system’s air filter. A dirty air conditioning system filter allows bacteria and allergens to build up and blow right into your home, potentially causing allergies, bronchitis, even Legionnaire’s disease. A dirty filter causes the system to work harder and more expensively, too. You definitely want to keep a clean air filter on your home cooling system. This is one maintenance task you can do yourself. You can simply swap out the dirty filter for a new, clean one every couple of months so you’re sure there’s nothing dangerous in there – they’re inexpensive and easy to change. Otherwise, you can refer to your manufacturer’s manual for instructions on how to clean the existing filter. Your best option is to have a licensed CROH Heating & Air technician show you how to do it when he’s there doing your spring tune-up or any necessary repairs before you start using the system this summer. Whatever you do, if you do decide to clean the filter yourself, make sure it is completely dry before you put it back in, or the remaining water will invite the growth of the very bacteria you are trying to keep out.

Summer is coming to the Harrisburg metro area – it’s not that far away – and you’re not going to want your air conditioning system to cost you by operating inefficiently or failing altogether.

At CROH Heating & Air, we encourage homeowners to maintain their air conditioning system all year ‘round by getting annual tune-ups, rather than repairing it at a time when you’re not going to want to wait for a contractor. Instead, have a trained, licensed CROH Heating & Air technician perform a spring tune-up on your air conditioning system so you can be sure it will be efficient and effective when you need it.

With the correct tools for the job, we check your thermostat settings; tighten all of the electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors; lubricate all moving parts; check and inspect the condensate drain; check the system controls; clean evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils; check and adjust your central air conditioner’s refrigerant level; and clean and adjust blower components to provide proper system airflow for greater comfort levels. All of these components have an effect on the efficiency of your home air conditioning system, so a tune-up is the best way to protect, preserve and optimize your system.

We perform tune-ups on air conditioning systems throughout the Harrisburg, Hershey, Carlisle, Middletown and Palmyra area.

Tips to Reduce Your Heating Bill
1. Change your furnace filter
2. Run ceiling fans in reverse
3. Seal air leaks around doors and windows
4. Seal ducts in attics, garages, or crawlspaces with caulking or foam
5. Buy more energy efficient appliances
6. Add insulation
7. Drop temperatures about 10 to 15 degrees before going to sleep or going to work
8. Open curtains for sunlight and natural warmth

For any other questions, feel free to contact us or leave comments to this post.