Shavitz Heating and Air Conditioning Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Evanston’

How to Choose the Right HVAC Company

Monday, September 11th, 2017

male service professional in blue jumpsuitWhen it comes to scheduling any sort of service work for your residence or your business, it makes sense that you want to know that the person coming to do the job is highly experienced and trained in the work you need done. When it comes to installation, or any service on an HVAC system, there is no exception to this fact.

But just because an HVAC contractor is popular, or a company is affordable, doesn’t make that the right contractor for your particular job. It’s important to do your homework and to ensure that the HVAC company you choose is a right fit for you and your needs. We’ve provided a brief guide below to help you do just that.

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So You Want a New AC Installed—But What Will It Cost?

Monday, June 19th, 2017

new-ac-installed-costOne thing you can count on in the Chicago area is that temperatures stay cooler a lot longer than they do in other parts of the country. This makes putting off certain tasks—like purchasing a new air conditioner—much more likely. But, soon enough summer will be here in earnest, and we don’t advise rushing into an air conditioner installation in Evanston, IL.

Before you rush out to purchase a new cooling system, there are a few things to consider. After all, don’t you want to ensure that you are prepared as you can be with a functional and efficient air conditioning system? If you know yours is not likely to last through another heat wave, or you suspect that its age is catching up with it, then buying a new one is a good idea—but what will it cost you?

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It’s Not Too Late to Tackle Heater Repairs

Monday, April 10th, 2017

late-season-heating-repairsAs the weather slowly but surely warms up, it’s almost time to begin using our air conditioners. But this doesn’t mean that if something is amiss with your heater, it can wait until the next heating season. In fact, delaying your Evanston, IL heating repair needs can actually do more harm than good.

Unfortunately, ignoring repair needs can be detrimental to your heating system, no matter how late in the season it may be. Just because you aren’t using your heater on a regular basis anymore doesn’t mean you can just let the issue go.

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There’s Never a Bad Time for Radiant Heater Maintenance

Monday, January 30th, 2017

no-bad-time-for-radiant-heater-maintenanceWhile residents in other parts of the country would scratch their heads wondering what “snow to wintry mix” means in the weather forecast, we are all too aware of its implication: it’s cold and unpleasant outside! It also means that you are out of luck if you aren’t equipped with a fully functioning and effectively operating heater. If you are one of the many Evanston, IL homeowners with a radiant heating system, then you are fortunate; these systems require very little by way of maintenance and repairs.

This does not mean, however, that radiant heating systems are immune to problems. Your radiant system does require that you care for it, and this includes having maintenance done on the system. Radiant systems are a preferred choice for many over their traditional forced-air counterparts. Rather than taking up a large amount of space in your home and running the risk of air loss through ductwork, these systems include wires or pipes that are embedded into your home’s walls, ceilings, or floors, where the heat radiates outward. System care is vital to ensuring that this process continues on without a hitch.

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Have You Tuned Up Your Furnace Yet?

Monday, December 19th, 2016

Furnace maintenance just isn’t something that the average homeowner thinks about too often, or even considers to be important. This “wait until repair needs crop up” attitude can often result in a prematurely broken down heating system in the dead of winter—or worse, devastating property damage.

We don’t mean to sound dramatic, however a furnace tune-up is not simply a luxury—it is a necessity to ensure that you can safely operate your heating system when you need it the most. Keep reading to learn why you should schedule your furnace tune-up today, if you haven’t already.

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Signs That It Is Time to Replace Your Heater

Monday, October 24th, 2016

Temperatures haven’t dropped too dramatically in recent weeks, relative to where they’ll be this winter. However we are definitely approaching cooler weather, and as such you may have turned on your heater already. Hopefully you had it maintained this fall so you won’t experience any sudden surprises. Either way though, once you begin to use your heater on a daily basis, you should be alert for any of the following signs that can indicate it’s time for a heater replacement.

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Household Problems Linked to Damaged Ductwork

Wednesday, March 4th, 2015

It’s important to understand the vital job that the ductwork performs in your home. For most houses with an air conditioner and forced-air heater (furnace, heat pump), the ductwork is responsible for distributing conditioned air throughout the rooms, as well and drawing air back into the HVAC system to continue circulating it. Without an effective ductwork system in good repair, you won’t have an effective and energy efficient comfort system.

You can rely on Shavitz Heating and Air Conditioning whenever you require duct repair in Evanston, IL or other parts of Chicagoland. We’ve been in the business of ventilation and home comfort since 1902, and our technicians are among the best when it comes to taking care of issues with ductwork.

What can go wrong in a home with damaged ductwork

  • Low indoor air quality: When ductwork sustains damage that creates gaps and air leaks along it, dust and other contamination from places between walls and under floorboard will start to infiltrate the ventilation system. These unhealthy particles will then end up blown into your air and begin circulating through the HVAC system. These airborne contaminants will trigger numerous health and comfort issues, and can be especially harmful for people in the house who suffer from asthma or allergies.
  • A dusty, dirty home: The same particles that will lower your indoor air quality because of damage to the ducts will also lower the cleanliness of your home. If dust seems to always coat furnishings no matter how much cleaning you do, the trouble maybe because of damaged ductwork.
  • Higher heating and cooling bills: You don’t want to spend more money to keep your home air conditioned and heated than you have to. But damaged ducts that place too much resistance against airflow will cause your heating and cooling bills to rise, sometimes precipitously. (However, this jump in costs is a good warning sign of ductwork damage that needs repairs.)
  • Reduced comfort: If broken ducts are allowing air to escape, it will lower the air pressure in the HVAC system, and the airflow out of the vents will drop. This will cause uneven heating/cooling around a home and comfort in general will suffer until the ducts are repaired.

Please do not attempt to fix your ducts on your own: this is a professional job and requires experienced technicians. For professional duct repair in Evanston, IL, look to a company with more than 110 years of experience: Shavitz Heating and Air Conditioning. Give us a call today.

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How Zone Systems Help with Heating

Wednesday, January 14th, 2015

One of the drawbacks of a standard forced-air central heater—such as a furnace or heat pump—is that it is an “all or nothing” device: when it comes on, it sends heated air to every room connected to the ventilation system, regardless of whether the room actually requires heat at the time. For smaller homes, this is often not a serious issue. But for larger ones, heating rooms needlessly contributes to significant energy waste during the year.

There is a solution to this problem that doesn’t involve using a completely different type of heater: you can have heating experts install a zone control system in your house. Zone control divides up the ventilation system into separate regions (or zones) using dampers inside the ducts, each of which connects to a local thermostat. The dampers can shut off heat to their zones, allowing for specific heat control. If you are interested in having zone control installed with a new heater, or if you want your current HVAC system retro-fit for zone control, call Shavitz Heating and Air Conditioning today and speak to our Evanston, IL heating professionals.

Here are some of the ways that zone control will benefit a home’s heating:

  • Energy saving: Keeping a home warm in the Chicagoland area can get expensive during the winter. Using zone control lets you cut back on these cost by only providing warmth for occupied rooms. This is especially beneficial for larger homes, or homes that have a guest room that only receives use for short periods of time during the year.
  • Individual comfort: People have differing climate needs; an indoor temperature that may feel too warm to one person will feel too cold to another. This makes it difficult to please everyone within one household. With zone control, the people in a house can adjust the temperatures to fit their own comfort needs wherever they are by simply setting the local thermostat.
  • Even heating distribution: Zone control grants you finer control over how heat spreads out through a home, making it easier to have even levels of comfort. For example, if you heat the upstairs and the downstairs with separate zones, you can heat the upstairs first, then shut it off and heat the downstairs; the heat from the downstairs will rise to the second floor, providing even heat instead of making the upstairs too hot.

Also keep in mind that if your air conditioning uses the same sets of ducts as your heater, you will have zone control for your cooling during the summer as well.

If you would like to find out more about zone control and how it can benefit your home, contact Shavitz Heating and Air Conditioning. We have provided Evanston, IL with heating excellence for more than a century.

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What Is Aeroseal Duct Sealing?

Wednesday, October 8th, 2014

The ductwork in a ventilation system must retain an airtight seal along its length or else it will cause a drop in air pressure from the heater and air conditioner. If your home experiences a decline in comfort due to low airflow from the vents, or if you notice a rise in heating and cooling costs for which you cannot account, the culprit may be a loss of integrity in the ductwork. Fixing leaking and damaged ducts requires indoor air quality specialists armed with the best technology—such as Aeroseal Sealant.

Shavitz Heating and Air Conditioning has been in business for more than a century taking care of ductwork in Evanston, IL and throughout Chicagoland. We use Aeroseal to help provide the best service possible for when you need duct sealing.

How the Aeroseal Process Works to Repair Your Ducts

The Aeroseal process is different from most standard duct sealing methods, such as using mastic sealant or metallic tapes. Where other techniques approach the ducts from the outside, applying the sealant to the holes, Aeroseal uses an approach from the inside. This process is faster, more thorough, and can reach difficult to access ducts such as those in the attic or underneath flat roofs.

What happens during the Aeroseal process is that polymer particles are released into the ventilation system after the air inside the ducts is pressurized. The pressurized air escapes through any available opening, and the polymer particles are drawn toward these holes, where they adhere to them and build up until the leak is completely sealed. To make sure the process works, a computer monitors the internal pressure of the ducts until it detects that the leakage had been sealed. This will eliminate all leaks, including many you may not have known about.

Although Aeroseal is an efficient and effective method for duct sealing, not all ductwork or types of damage will benefit from it. The process works best for smaller leaks. If you have more extensive damage in your ventilation system, technicians will use hand-sealing with mastic or metallic tapes to take care of the problem. As long as you rely on experienced indoor air quality professionals for the work, you can rest assured that your ducts will receive the type of sealing they need.

Call Shavitz Heating and Air Conditioning whenever you require repairs for your ductwork in Evanston, IL. We will determine the ideal method to seal up your ducts to protect your HVAC system and your quality heating and cooling.

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How Important Is SEER for Air Conditioning Installation?

Thursday, June 5th, 2014

When it comes to air conditioning installation in Evanston, IL, residents can’t afford to take chances. Our warm, humid summers require reliable air conditioning systems, and without proper preparation, your new system could be anything but a dream come true. A qualified technician can discuss all of the available factors with you, but among the most vital is the unit’s SEER rating. How important is SEER for air conditioning installation? We’ve included a quick breakdown below.

SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, and as you may have suspected, it measures the air conditioner’s efficiency. The formula is fairly complicated, but it involves the amount of energy the air conditioner uses versus the amount of energy that actually goes into cooling your home. Air conditioners manufactured after 2006 must have a SEER rating of at least 13, though older models can have a SEER rating as low as 6. Units with the Energy Star label have a SEER rating of at least 14, demonstrating their superior efficiency over other units.

So why does that matter? The higher the SEER rating, the more efficiently it does its job and the less it will cost you in monthly air conditioning bills. That’s an important consideration when weighing the cost of new units, since those with a high SEER rating tend to cost more than those with a lower rating. The savings you can reap over time, however, can often offset that initial cost, making the purchase less expensive in the long run. At the very minimum, you should get a system with a SEER rating higher than your current system. You’ll feel the difference immediately and your wallet will thank you when those reduces electric bills show up.

Furthermore the SEER rating affects other calculations such as the proper power load of the air conditioner. For more on how important SEER is for air conditioning installation, Evanston IL residents can count on the experts at Shavitz Heating & Air Conditioning. We’ll explain all the options to you, then perform an installation quickly and efficiently. Pick up the phone and give us a call today!

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