How to pay less for Air Conditioning in Los Angeles

Air conditioning is the number one energy expense for most Los Angeles homeowners. In fact, air conditioning can account for more than half of your total electric bill. Switching to a more energy-efficient model can help save you money.

Here are some other simple tips to save you money on your electric bills.

• Set your air conditioner thermostat to 78°F or higher - health permitting - when you’re at home.
• Set it at 85°F (or turn it off), when you're away from home.
• Consider installing a programmable thermostat to regulate usage.
• Clean or replace filters regularly, according to manufacturer recommendations.
• Follow the manufacturer's instructions for air conditioner maintenance and operation, such as replacing dirty filters and keeping vents clear of obstructions.
• Caulk and weather-strip drafty windows and doors so conditioned air stays inside.
• Repair leaky air ducts.
• Consider installing attic/wall insulation or other home improvements. 
• Use a fan instead of your air conditioner to circulate air.
• Open windows for cool air during the evening and early morning.
• Close blinds or other window covers to block direct sunlight.

 Los Angeles DWP is offering rebates of up to $120 per ton on new energy efficient air conditioning. There are financing options that can stretch payments for a new system over 15 years, so the payments are extremely low.

Rooftop Air Conditioner on Condo

On one of the few rainy days we have here in Los Angeles and we had a packaged Heating and Air Conditioning unit to install on a the roof of a 4 story condominium. 

The guys worked hard in a tricky situation. See the high voltage electrical line coming from the utility pole and hanging across the roof? The crane operator had to weave his crane though the tightest spot to lift the unit.

I felt really proud of the work we did today. Great job Armondo and Jose.

How to pick an HVAC Contractor

For the last 30 years I have worked in Los Angeles as a contractor. Unfortunately, I've seen a lot of improper installations of heating and cooling systems and have heard a lot of horror stories. I want to save you the heartache!

How does a homeowner go about ensuring that they have a good experience with a heating and air conditioning contractor in Los Angeles? As I see it the most important factors to consider are:

• SAFETY - Competent and able to provide an excellent HVAC installation or repair.
• SAFETY - Trustworthy around your possessions and your family.
• SAFETY - Takes complete responsibility, should anything go wrong.

Referrals

There are several trustworthy sources for contractor referrals. Friends are probably the first people homeowners turn to when they realize that they have a need. You trust your friends to tell you the truth of their experience with a contractor.  Another great place for referrals are local Chamber of Commerce organizations. Professional networking groups have an advantage over friend referrals because these professionals rely on each other for business and therefore they protect their reputation. If you were to have a problem with a contractor who your found through a Chamber you could ask the Chamber to intercede should you run into problems down the road. I would also recommend these two review sites; Neighbor 2 Neighbor and Angieslist which actually care enough to make sure that the contractors they refer are properly licensed for their trades.

Check the License

A glowing referral may not give an accurate picture of the kind of contractor you are getting involved with. I suggest checking with the CSLB Contractors State Licensing Board to make sure that the HVAC installer or repair person you are considering is properly licensed, insured for liability, and insured for worker's compensation.

Make Sure They Have Insurance

Liability is a must. Worker's Compensation is expensive, some HVAC installers don't want to pay for it so they tell a lie to the CSLB. They say that they don't have any employees. But how do they lift a heavy air conditioner onto the roof all alone? There's no way! If the person installing your AC system or furnace is anyone other than the contractor them-self they are an employee and should be insured. If the service technician who comes to fix your air conditioner is not the owner of the company, he is an employee. He should be covered by workman's compensation. If he is not, the person who is being forced to take the risk is YOU, the homeowner.

California law is very clear regarding worker's compensation. I have met homeowners with terrible stories of their life savings being wiped out by an uninsured worker, so I am pretty passionate about this. Think about it, if someone is willing to put you at risk in this very obvious way, how else will they be cutting corners? Also if they don't care enough about their employee to insure them, what kind of technicians will be working for this company?

Technician Safety

You want to make sure that the people working on your heating and cooling system are certified by the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency. Service Technicians and installers are dealing with controlled chemical substances, electricity, gas and water lines in your home. Any one of which can devastate your home if handled improperly.

HVAC and electrical skills are taught in California's prisons. I actively screen all of my employees with drug-tests and background checks. My technicians and installers are independently Safety-Sealed. The majority of my business is residential, owner occupied homes and I am not willing to take chances with regards to the safety and security of my customers. When I find a great employee I keep them on my team. Most of my guys have been with me 10 or more years.

Quality of Work

We provide a LOT of training for our team, it is an investment, and the return is worth it!  Factory training, night classes, workshops and frequent trips across the country to attend seminars with a national HVAC Contractors organization.  Each week we have an educational meeting featuring either field experts, manufacturer supplied instructors, or peer training. We focus on safety, codes, and best practices. Energy efficient heating and air conditioning technology is constantly changing and the breadth of knowledge needed to diagnose and repair HVAC equipment has never been greater than it is right now.

So there you have it. These are the important points to check when screening a heating and air conditioning contractor to work in your home. As always, if I can help in any way feel free to call 818-780-0701. I provide free over the phone advice to homeowners regarding their home comfort systems.

Kindest regards :-)
Dean

Are Leaves In My Air Conditioner Bad?

Winter in Los Angeles may mean temperatures of 80 degrees outside, but homeowners still have some common winter maintenance issues to contend with. Leaves and debris falling or being blown into your air conditioner are hard to avoid. The central fan of your condenser sucks in dust, dead leaves, grass and seed pods. That all becomes a wet mess inside your outdoor condenser that blocks airflow, strains the whole system and reduces the unit’s cooling ability. If left to fester dirt may become moldy or harden around the more fragile components of your air conditioning equipment. The result is a less efficient home cooling system, higher energy bills and a more wear and tear on your AC unit.

There are a number of solutions available. Some homeowners opt for a nice professionally made cover that slips easily over your AC condenser, protecting it from the elements. These covers are easily purchased online or you can buy one from any Los Angeles Air Conditioning Contractor who comes to your home to perform your maintenance on your HVAC system. The only downside of these vinyl condenser covers is that sometimes in Los Angeles we get an unseasonably hot day in the middle of winter and people turn on their central AC, forgetting that the unit is covered. Yikes! You can imagine the kind of strain this would cause to the fan motor.  

You may have a different type of central air conditioner than we show here—a heat pump system, for example, or a unit mounted horizontally in the attic. Regardless, each system will have a condenser outside and an evaporator inside. The outdoor condenser looks like this. Hopefully yours is way cleaner though!

Fins are fine metallic blades that surround the unit and those condenser fins have to be cleaned as part of your system maintenance. If the debris is fairly new it can be washed off with your garden hose. An important tip, if you are doing this yourself: Don't spray too hard. The fins are easily bent so keep the water pressure low. If you wait until the leaves become hardened and caked-on, a more advanced cleaning solution is necessary. I found an environmentally friendly chemical coil cleaner that works really well and doesn't pose a danger to four legged family members ;)

 

I am in the business of installing and maintaining heating and cooling systems. I strongly encourage  regularly scheduled professional maintenance because I have seen equipment last longer than you can imagine when properly maintained. In fact, just last week I serviced a central heating and cooling system that my company installed 30 years ago for a customer in Sherman Oaks. It was working so perfectly that I offered to warranty the unit myself for another 5 years. That's how strongly I believe in HVAC system maintenance including cleaning away those pesky leaves!

Tip: Call for service before the first heat wave, when Air Conditioning companies in Los Angeles become swamped with repair calls!

Rooftop Air Conditioner Replacement

When replacing the outdoor unit of an air conditioner or heat pump, should the indoor unit also be replaced?

The answer is YES and here's why!

MATCHED SYSTEM DESIGN

All outdoor air conditioner and heat pump units are specifically designed to work with matched indoor units for optimum efficiency and performance. The result of this matched system is a coordinated, top-performance combination that ensures dependability and energy efficiency.

The Secret to A Cooler Home

As a Los Angeles air conditioning contractor I can assure you that I, and the Safety Sealed service technicians who work for me, would be extremely grateful if you were generous enough to cool the air in your attic. We work in attics frequently and temperatures in an uninsulated attic can reach 150 degrees. But you don't want your unfinished attic cooled by your air conditioner, that would be an unnecessary expense! Unfortunately that oppressive heat bearing down on your interior ceiling makes your HVAC system use more energy and work harder, which will increase your summer utility bill. 

Attic fans cool hot attics by drawing in outside air through attic vents and pushing hot air to the outside.

Sometimes whole-house ventilation fans that provide fresh air are confused with attic fans. They are not the same. Unlike a whole-house fan that cools the house by exhausting air from the home, usually at night, an attic fan is designed to lower the temperature of an attic by exhausting air only from the attic and replacing attic air with outdoor air, usually during the day.

One of the problems that I've run into is that some attic fans can be noisy. With attic fans it is worth it to spend a few cents more and get the better brand. Quality equipment, careful installation, and proper venting greatly decreases sound issues.

One of the secret benefits of an attic fan is that often times an attic fan is needed to preserve the warranty on your composite roofing.  You didn't know that did you? Check the fine print ;)

If you have any questions about attic fans don't hesitate to call my office at 818-780-0701 I will be happy to assist you in examining the costs and benefits of installing an attic fan in your Los Angeles or San Fernando Valley home.

Los Angeles Emergency Cooling Centers

Air Conditioning is a health necessity in Los Angeles this week. Get the word out.

The following City of Los Angeles facilities are utilized as “Cooling Centers” during extreme heat conditions to provide the public with relief from the heat.

These air conditioned City facilities are always open to the public during regular business hours and should be used for Los Angeles residents to escape the heat as needed.

Air Conditioning in Los Angeles

Library Facilities
Library facilities will be operating during their normal posted hours today and tomorrow. The general public should visit http://www.lapl.org/branches or call (213) 228-7000 for specific hours of operation.

Recreation and Parks Facilities
Normal Operating Hours. To access the list of all facilities with locations and operating hours go to:  http://www.laparks.org/dos/reccenter/reccenter.htm.

• Alpine Recreation Center 817 Yale St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 485-5448 12:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Lanark Recreation Center 21816 Lanark St.  Canoga Park, CA 91304 (818) 883-1503 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. 
• Lakeview Terrace Recreation Center 11075 Foothill Blvd. Lake View Terrace, CA 91342 (818) 899-8087 Noon to 9:00 p.m. 
• Jordan Downs Recreation Center 9900 Grape St. Los Angeles, CA 90002 (213) 485-1835 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 
• North Hollywood Recreation Center 11430 Chandler Blvd. North Hollywood, CA 91601 (818) 763-7651 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. 
• Sepulveda Recreation Center 8801 Kester Ave.  Panorama City, CA 91402 (818) 893-3700 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. 
• Sherman Oaks/East Valley Adult Center 5060 Van Nuys Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 (818) 981-1284 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. 
• Sunland Park Senior Center 8640 Fenwick St. Sunland, CA 91040 (818) 353-9571 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The Department of Public Health would like to remind everyone that precautions should be taken, especially by individuals who participate in outdoor activities, older adults, caretakers of infants and children, and those sensitive to the heat.  Call 9-1-1 when appropriate.

And remember, pets get overheated too. Take good care of yourselves and your families.