When the winter arrives in Michigan, central heaters in homes across the state come on to keep people warm. You can’t afford to go without some kind of heating system for your home if you want to make it through the winter. Unfortunately, we can tell you plenty of stories about people who tried to patch together a “cheap” solution to home heating when their furnace or other central heater went out.
The most common “fix” for heat when a central heating system fails is to use space heaters. These can work as a temporary solution … and by temporary we mean “until our HVAC technicians arrive.” When you need heating repair in Brighton, MI, please don’t delay with calling for the service. Trying to get by with space heaters for a stretch can end up disastrous.
Fall started officially on the 22nd of September, but most people think of the season starting after Labor Day, or when the calendar leaf flips over to September. Now it’s almost October and the reality of fall (and a certain even colder season that follows it) will strike homeowners. They’ll start making cold weather preparations. One of the most important preparations is arranging for professional HVAC technicians to do a maintenance inspection and tune-up on their heating system.
Go outside your house and look at the condenser cabinet for the central air conditioner. You’ll notice that it’s placed onto a concrete slab, rather than just set on the ground. This is because the condenser is a heavy object and it would start to sink right down into the ground if it wasn’t put on a solid foundation. Laying down a concrete pad is a critical part of putting in the first AC for a new house.
August brings two challenges for air conditioning systems:
Here’s a common misunderstanding people often have about air conditioning systems: it’s normal for ice to appear on them, because it means the AC is doing an extremely good job of cooling the air.
Geothermal heat pumps (a.k.a. a “ground-source” heat pumps) are becoming more common for residential homes. People who once thought that installing geothermal heating and cooling was out of their reach are finding that these installations are more flexible and affordable than ever before. If a home already has a standard AC or heat pump, most of the indoor work for installation is already done—a geothermal heat pump will use the same ductwork the current AC or heat pump uses. Putting in the ground loops isn’t as difficult as it may seem either.
As the hot months of summer in Brighton keep getting hotter, your air conditioner is most likely going to be working overtime to keep your home cool and comfortable. If you have had your air conditioner for a long time, you must have faced several issues over the years that require repairs. One fairly common issue that people face with their cooling systems is an inexplicable water leak from their ACs.
Your summer season inside your home has gotten off to a rough start. Even though you have a central air conditioning system that you’ve relied on before, something isn’t working right. It’s not just that the house isn’t cooling down enough, even though the air conditioner is sending out cooled air. It’s also that the house feels stuffy and humid, and your electric bills are higher than ever before. What’s going on?
You know that you can’t press down the pedal of a car and expect it to accelerate forever. The car’s motor has a top speed, a point where it mechanically cannot put out more power. The same applies to your home’s air conditioner. Even if the thermostat lets you set a temperature lower than 60°F (the standard lowest setting), you couldn’t keep making your house colder and colder until you could freeze ice cream in it. 
Each year we remind our customers to schedule their regular appointment to inspect and tune-up their air conditioning systems before the summer heat arrives. Early spring is the best time to arrange for AC maintenance, but there isn’t an “expiration date” for this service. It needs to be done each year, and it’s always better to have it done later than to skip it entirely.