How You Can Know Exactly What HVAC Size Your Home Needs

When you’re purchasing a new HVAC system, getting a correctly sized unit is important. Having the ideal HVAC size for your home helps ensure optimal efficiency, which keeps your energy bills down. Keep reading to learn more about choosing the best size for an HVAC system in your Broken Arrow home.

The Importance of Size

The size of your HVAC system determines how efficiently it cools your home. One that’s too small will run all the time without making your home comfortable. A system that’s too big will turn on and off frequently, which leads to excessive wear and tear. You’ll also have higher energy bills if you have an HVAC system that can’t work as efficiently as it should.

Determine the Right Size

How big should your HVAC system be? You might think it only depends on how big your home is. However, figuring out the right HVAC size involves several factors in addition to your home’s square footage. You’ll also need to consider how much direct sunlight your home gets, how good your insulation is, and what condition your ductwork is in. Other factors to consider include how many people live in your home, how much heat your appliances generate, and what condition your windows and exterior doors are in. Finding the right HVAC size also depends on what materials your home is made of and what the local climate is like. Keep in mind that certain features, such as a fireplace, can affect your home's indoor temperature.

Get Professional HVAC Help

With so many factors to take into consideration, determining what size HVAC system you should get can be confusing. The experts at Air Assurance can help you determine the ideal HVAC size to keep your home comfortable without running up your energy bills. Our experts can help ensure that you don’t get an HVAC system that’s too big or too small for your home.

If you need help finding the right HVAC size, please contact Air Assurance. Our HVAC team can help you choose a new HVAC system and install it in your Broken Arrow home.

Learn Why Your Home's Hot Water Runs Out So Quickly

You may not pay much attention to your water heater as it does its significant job unnoticeably — until you start running out of hot water quickly. Running out of hot water so fast can be incredibly frustrating. Several factors could lead to this problem. Let's take a closer look at the likely culprits.

Multiple Appliances Requiring Hot Water Simultaneously

Using hot-water appliances simultaneously, such as the dishwasher, the washing machine, and one or more showers, can affect your supply of hot water. The shower water could suddenly turn frigid. An obvious solution is avoiding putting excessive demand on your hot water. However, you could also consider switching to a tankless water heater, which could provide hot water even as multiple appliances or showers run at the same time.

Damaged Dip Tube

A dip tube causes cold water to flow to the bottom of your tank, where it gets heated. When it's defective, the cold water remains at the top, mixing with the water being sent to your home. Consequently, the overall water temperature reduces. If your dip tube has broken, you'll see small plastic bits in showerheads, strainers, and the filter screens of your water-dependent appliances.

Sediment Buildup

When your water is heated, some dissolved minerals settle at the bottom of your tank, forming a layer of sediment. If you've not been performing annual flushes, the sediment can occupy a lot of space in the tank and insulate the water from the heat source at the bottom. You'll need to drain the heater and flush out all the sediment. This task is best left to professionals. Scheduling annual maintenance for your water heater will help you avoid this problem.

Old Age

Just like other appliances, your water heater gets old. If your hot water runs out quickly and your system is more than 10 years old, you should strongly consider replacing it.

A Bad Heating Element

Electric water heaters usually have an upper and lower heating element. The element at the bottom carries out the majority of the heating. Sediment buildup, an electric short, or a defective thermostat can damage it. When that happens, the amount of heated water reduces.

Hot-water problems and other water-heater repairs are sensitive tasks. Avoid causing additional damage by calling a licensed plumber. If you live in the Broken Arrow area, contact Air Assurance for all your water-heater repair and replacement needs.

What Is Thermostat Recovery Mode and How Does It Work?

Should you notice that your HVAC system is in "thermostat recovery mode," don’t jump to conclusions. Though you’d think the engineers who design these units could have come up with a better way of saying it, the recovery-mode message that appears on a "smart" programmable thermostat is most often simply an informational update. It’s neither a warning nor an emergency to worry about. So remain calm and keep reading to learn about some of the things your thermostat is telling you.

Here are the most common scenarios in which the “recovery mode” message would appear:

• Maybe you programmed the thermostat for the HVAC system to provide a specific temperature setting by a specific time, such as the time you return home from work.  An hour or two before that programmed time, the “recovery mode” notice will appear on the thermostat as the system begins to gradually cool (or heat) the home so the specified temperature will be achieved by the time you arrive home.

• Similarly, if you go to sleep and want the house warmed to a comfortable level when you get up in the morning, the programmable thermostat will also go into recovery mode at the proper advance time and activate the furnace.   

When Something's Wrong

Interruptions to your home's power supply could also initiate the thermostat recovery mode and, in that case, the message will be displayed. This would include events that shut down the thermostat, such as a power outage on the utility grid or a power surge. This could cause various settings in the thermostat to be lost. When the unit gets power again, it will display the thermostat recovery message.

Also, if a malfunction has occurred in the AC or furnace and the unit is not able to achieve the programmed temperature settings, the recovery message will appear. It will continue to remain on the screen past the time when that temperature should have been achieved.

For more about the thermostat recovery mode and what the message means, ask the professionals at Air Assurance.

Know How You Can Help Lower the Humidity in Your Home

Residents of Oklahoma don't experience the highest humidity in the lower 48, but moisture levels can be high enough in our homes to make us uncomfortable. Sometimes, homes may have conditions that can lead to higher humidity, where mold, mildew, fungus, other attendant bad smells, and deterioration of drywall become a problem. There are high-tech and low-tech solutions to lower humidity. Let's take a look at a few of them.

Whole-Home Dehumidifier

The whole-home dehumidifier is your best solution for lowering humidity. This dehumidifier is installed in the HVAC and helps remove moisture from the home's air and then exhaust it through the plumbing. This is likely to be the most expensive solution, but it's also the most effective.

You can also try portable dehumidifiers, but in most cases, these don't work as effectively as whole-home types, and they have to be moved around, emptied, and cleaned. 

HVAC System

Your home's HVAC system is the most common tool you can use to lower humidity. If the system is working like it should, it removes moisture in the form of condensation on the coils, then sends it through a condensate drain to the outdoors. This system works best when you have a clean air filter; a dirty filter impedes airflow, keeping the system from removing moisture effectively. Coils should also be clean if you want to effectively lower humidity.

Air ducts should also be connected and without breaches that allow humid air in.

Keep Moisture Out

Keep moisture out of your home by closing doors and windows. If you have ceiling leaks or leaking plumbing, get the leaks fixed. Also, follow these tips:

• Refrain from using moisture-producing appliances, such as the dishwasher and the laundry machines, so often.

• Don't cook when you can avoid it, instead using the microwave.

• Keep plants shut up in one room. 

Use Exhaust Ventilation

You can limit running excessive water by taking shorter showers, but also look into exhaust ventilation to the outdoors in the kitchen and the bathrooms. The ventilation should not go to the attic, where it will just trap moisture.

For more on how to lower humidity, contact Air Assurance of Broken Arrow.

How You Should Handle a Dripping AC Inside Your Home

A dripping AC can be a source of damage in your home. A central air conditioner naturally produces condensation as it cools the air. In fact, a typical central unit may generate as much as 20 gallons of condensate per day in hot, humid weather. A dripping air conditioner may result from problems in the air conditioner’s condensation drainage. Another potential leakage issue can result from ice formation on the AC evaporator coil. Here are two scenarios that might result in a dripping AC.  

Overflowing Drain Pan

• How it works. Below the evaporator coil inside the AC's indoor air handler, a drain pan collects condensation generated when the system airflow passes through the evaporator. The pan connects to a condensate drain tube that carries water into the household drain system.  

• What goes wrong. Algae or mold growth inside the drain pan may block the drain tube. As the air conditioner continues to generate condensation, the pan repeatedly overflows, and water damage occurs to flooring or walls inside the home.  

• Now what? Service by a certified HVAC technician includes an inspection of condensate drainage components. If the drain line is clogged by mold or algae, the line is opened. The pan is cleaned and fungicide pills are placed in the pan to prevent recurrence. If the leakage from a dripping AC is due to a crack in the pan, a new pan will be installed.

Coil Icing

• How it works. The cold evaporator coil condenses humidity from system airflow passing through the coil. Dry airflow cools more effectively and efficiently.

• What goes wrong. If the AC refrigerant charge is low, the evaporator-coil temperature drops into the freezing range. Condensation turns into layers of ice that extends beyond the drip pan below. Each time the system cycles off, ice melts, and water dripping from the coil may damage the surrounding structure.

• Now what? An HVAC technician can track down the source of low refrigerant (usually a leak), make the repair, and then restore the refrigerant charge to the proper level.  

For more information about how to handle a dripping AC, contact the cooling pros at Air Assurance.

superior plumbing Services - drain Cleaning, Repair, installation

SUPERIOR PLUMBING SERVICES - DRAIN CLEANING, REPAIR, INSTALLATION

Got sewer drain problems? You’ll find this group of professionals in the ditch, in the cold, out at night serving our community. What an incredible team of superior plumbers – and you’ll only find them at Air Assurance. Uniformed Plumbing Professionals for your water, sewer, or gas line repairs service, installation, estimates, and maintenance. You’ll find our superior drain cleaning services in Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Bixby and more!

Providing a plumbing Diagnosis and Permanent Solution

There are few things worse than calling a plumber out to your home only to receive a temporary solution. When you are in need of a permanent fix to your plumbing problem, Air Assurance’s superior plumbing and drains professioals can find the right solution for your property and your concerns. Our company takes pride in arriving promptly, diagnosing problems with haste, and taking immediate action to correct the issue.

Whether in Tulsa or Broken Arrow Oklahoma, our plumbers will arrive fully equipped to handle any possible issue. From the most common plumbing problems to the harder to fix areas of concern, we are well-trained to find the problem and offer a budget-friendly solution. Once we have identified the area of concern, we will communicate with you directly to explain how we plan to fix it. We will also provide you with our upfront rates before we ever begin our plumbing repairs so that you are in control every step of the way!

Plumbing Installation Services

Our plumbing installation services are curated to offer the most comprehensive services to our customers. We handle a series of plumbing installations for both residential and commercial projects and you can rest easy at night knowing your work was handled by the best in the business.

•     Kitchen Faucet Installation

•     Toilet Installation

•     Hot Water Dispenser Installation

•     Water Heater Installation

•     Tankless Water Heater Installation

•     Water Filtration System

•     Garbage Disposal Installation

•     And more!

Our Superior PLUMBING & drain SERVICES

For years, Air Assurance has built a reputation for delivering the most experienced, courteous, and highest trained professionals for your heating and air conditioning needs. Whether it be residential or commercial, we've been there for you since 1985. Over the years, we've been asked countless times if we knew of a good plumbing company that could offer the same type of service our HVAC customers have grown accustomed to. Clean cut, drug tested, background checked technicians, full of integrity, that breathe customer service. We are excited to announce that Air Assurance is now your one-stop shop for all your heating, air conditioning, and now Plumbing needs.

our plumbing services include:

+ Hydrostatic Sewer Testing
+ Drain Cleaning Services
+ Repairs and Remodels
+ Hot Water Tanks / Water Heaters
+ Tankless Hot Water Heaters
+ Tulsa Hydro Jetting
+ Sewer Repairs & Installations
+ Troubleshooting
+ Plumbing Service Plans

Reasons to count on us for plumbing:

• Certified plumbers

• Emergency plumbing services

• Angie’s List Super Service Award

• A+ from the BBB

Schedule A Plumber in Broken Arrow Today

We serve Broken Arrow, OK, and the surrounding areas. If you need plumbing services, we are your go-to plumbing service company. Contact us today for any questions or to schedule a plumber to come to your home.

The Facts and Fallacies Around Ceiling Fans for the Home

Most of today's modern households have at least one ceiling fan, if not two or three. The funny thing is that there's a lot of misconceptions about how they work. We'd like to set the record straight, so here we discuss a couple of facts and fallacies about ceiling fans.

Fact: Ceiling Fans Cool People

The most important thing to remember is that fans cool people, not rooms. This means that if you're running a ceiling fan in your bedroom all day just to keep it cool for when you go to sleep, that's not going to work. It's just a waste of energy.

Myth: They’re Not Useful in Winter

Walk into any household in the country during the summer and you're likely to see at least one ceiling fan running. Walk into the same home during the winter season, and they'll be off. This is unfortunate, because fans that are equipped with a reverse function are useful in winter too. If you set the fan to rotate in the clockwise direction, this will keep heat from rising completely so that your room is a bit warmer.

Fact: Wobbling Isn’t a Huge Deal

Chances are, you've seen a ceiling fan wobble or shake before. This won't really happen on the lower speeds, but it's common on higher speeds. No, the ceiling fan isn't going to fall or fly off. This usually indicates that's something is loose or unbalanced. In most cases, tightening the screws where the blades connect to the base will fix it.

Myth: Ceiling Fans Can Cut Off an Appendage 

It seems outlandish to envision someone's arm flying off after coming in contact with a ceiling fan, but that's what a lot of people believe could happen. Unless you're going to install a powerful motor and replace the fan blades with knives like MythBusters once did, you have nothing to worry about.

If you'd like to know more about ceiling fans or need any type of HVAC servicing, contact the professionals at Air Assurance today. We've been servicing the HVAC needs of Broken Arrow and the surrounding areas since 1985.

Do You Know What Can Contaminate Your Home's Indoor Air?

Perhaps you've heard that indoor air can be many times more polluted than the air outside your house. The reason? Most of our houses are now created with airtight construction, without those cracks that used to allow fresh air in and stale air out. We also use air conditioning or heating most of the year, so we tend to keep our houses shut. That means the air inside the home can get very stale unless you have a ventilation system.

What's Polluting Your Home?

You may be surprised at all the pollutants that can end up in your home. Here are some of them:

• Tobacco

• Gas, kerosene, coal, and wood

• Pressed-wood products

• Carpet fibers

• Deteriorating, asbestos-containing insulation

• Products for household cleaning and maintenance, personal care, or hobbies that contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds)

• Central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices

• Outdoor sources such as radon, pesticides, and outdoor air pollution

• Mold

• Pet dander

• Decaying insect particles

• Dust mites

• Pollen

All these pollutants enter the home by different means, but experts say that the best way to control them and keep them from affecting your indoor air is to keep them out of the home. For instance, in the case of tobacco, stop any smoking of these products in the home. In the case of radon, you may need a professional to install a radon barrier to protect your indoor air. Vacuum carpets and upholstery with a HEPA filter to control dust mites, pollen, dust, and pet dander. Brush pets frequently outdoors. Brush your clothes and pets off before entering the home to control pollen. For pressed-wood products, air them out before coming indoors. For substances that tend to off-gas VOCs, keep the lids on tight or store the products in the garage, away from people and pets that might breathe them. To control mold, eliminate damp places where it may grow, such as leaking roofs and ceilings or leaking plumbing. 

Consider installing ventilation to remove stale air and replace it with fresh air. Use a quality air filter in the HVAC. For gassy substances, look into a charcoal-activated filtration system. 

For more on indoor air, contact Air Assurance of Broken Arrow. 

Does Your Home Have Enough Attic Insulation?

Attic Insulation Installation Tulsa

When it comes to improving your home's efficiency, don't forget about the attic. Experts calculate that leaks in the attic floor can drain away 30 to 50 percent of your heating or cooling.Heat rises upward and migrates through cracks into the unconditioned attic space, eventually escaping through the roof or vents. In the summer, a hot attic and uninsulated attic floor can make it more difficult for you to cool your home, as heat moves through conductivity into the living space.What's the solution? In most cases, more attic insulation will do the trick.

Adding Insulation

Start your attic sealing project by identifying the various areas where energy is being lost. Lay wooden planks across joists to walk on before you start moving around.

1. Check for gaps around fixtures, pipes, wires, ducts and anything else that enters the attic space from the living space. Roll back existing insulation batts to get at all the holes; if you have loose-fill insulation, it might be better to get a professional to locate the leaks. Fix all the smaller leaks you find with caulk. For holes up to an inch wide, use expanding urethane foam. For still larger holes, use a piece of drywall to plug it, sealing edges with foam. You can also use fiberglass insulation.

2. Seal gaps around stove flues and chimneys with a sheet metal collar and heat-resistant caulk, separating these structures from insulation.

3. Put extra insulation on top of the attic hatch door. Place weather stripping around the edges of the hatch.

4. Next, check to see if the insulation on your attic floor reaches the top of the joists. If not, add more to the top or over the joists. Make sure it is evenly distributed, and reaches the sides of the attic.

5. Insulate behind knee walls.

6. Build airtight boxes with rigid foam insulation to cover recessed lighting canisters. Get professional advice about how any insulation you are considering might overheat when used in proximity to the lighting canisters.

To learn more about attic insulation, contact Air Assurance of Broken Arrow.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about attic insulation and other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273. Credit/Copyright Attribution: “travellight/Shutterstock”