Start the New Year off Right

During the December holiday season we tend to get lost in hustle and bustle of the season.  But with December’s celebrations the New Year looms. The New Year is the perfect time to check a few things around your house.

 

The first thing you should check is your furnace filters. A clogged or dirty air filter is a detriment to your heating and air conditioning system and your health; therefore it’s well worth what little time it takes to make sure the filter is clean all year round. With a little planning and forethought, you can keep your HVAC system working as efficiently as possible while decreasing your electric bill, reducing allergy and asthma symptoms, and keeping you cool and comfortable during those hot summer days and warm and cozy all winter long.

 

The second thing is your smoke detector batteries. In standard type battery powered smoke alarms, the batteries need to be replaced at least once per year and the whole unit should be replaced every 8-10 years.

 

The last thing you should replace is your water filters on your tap water and in your refrigerator.  There are quite a few benefits to changing your water filter. Changing your water filter more frequently will help avoid cloudy ice, a funny-taste, unpleasant odor, discoloration and floating particles. It can also save you from expensive repairs to water fixtures, because ineffective filters allow sediment build-up causing fittings to break, fixtures to leak and reduced water pressure. Not changing your filter frequently enough can also result in “filtered” water containing more bacteria than the original water source. Water contaminants can be trapped in the filter, resulting in bacteria growth.

 

Have a safe and Joyous holiday season and remember, if you need emergency service during the season, our staff is here and waiting to help you. A Blessed Holiday and a Happy New Year  from our family to yours.

What is Energy Star?

Over the holidays many of you will receive new appliances for your home. One of the things you will see when you are shopping is the Energy Star Rating. We have many people ask us what this is, so we thought we would explain it to you.

 

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

 

ENERGY STAR products are the same or better than standard products, only they use less energy. To earn the ENERGY STAR, the appliance must meet strict energy efficiency criteria set by the US Environmental Protection Agency or the US Department of Energy. Since they use less energy, these products save you money on your electricity bill and help protect the environment by causing fewer harmful emissions from power plants. And you get the features and quality you expect.

Thankful and Here to Serve

What a year it has been in our country. A hard fought election, natural disasters and many facing personal hardships. However, we still have so much to be thankful for this holiday season. We know that each person and business has different things to be thankful for.  Family, friends, jobs and babies are all things we each have to rejoice in.

One of the things we are thankful for is You, our customer. Without you we would not have the business we have today. So, this holiday season we want to take a moment and say “Thank You”, and we trust that in the year to come we will have a chance to serve you.

Choosing a New Furnace

Choosing a new furnace is not like choosing a President.  In light of this week’s election, we would like to share with you how to “elect” a new furnace for your home. When replacing or installing a new furnace, it is important to consider the energy efficiency. The efficiency of a gas or oil furnace is determined by its AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) – the oil or gas furnace's efficiency in converting fuel to energy. The higher the AFUE, the more energy efficient the furnace is and the more money you can save on your heating bills.

For example, a gas furnace with an 80% AFUE rating means for every dollar spent on heat energy, 80 cents goes toward heating your home. Meanwhile, a gas or oil furnace with a 95% AFUE rating means that 95 cents of every $1.00 goes toward heating your home. Therefore, installing a furnace with a 95% AFUE is more energy efficient and wastes less energy than a new furnace with an 80% AFUE. Contact us today for your new energy efficient furnace!

Furnace Installation

If you need a new furnace installed, look no further than our furnace services! We will install your furnace correctly the first time causing minimal disruption to your home’s heating. If you’re not sure what you need, we can help you choose the best kind of furnace for your home.  We will have your new furnace up and running in no time! Call us today to set up your furnace installation appointment.

Furnace Service

If you’ve had your furnace for several years and it isn’t running well anymore, call us for a furnace service! We’ll come inspect your current furnace to see if a furnace replacement is the best option for your home. If it is, our furnace service experts will install it in no time so you can make your home comfortable again! If your furnace can be repaired, we will provide you with an estimate and complete the job to your satisfaction!

Winterize? It’s Time to Think About It.

Winterization is something every home owner needs to consider.  Getting your home ready for winter is important no matter where you live.  Whether you need to prepare for heavy rains and wind storms, freezing temperatures or snow. Now is the time to prepare.  Keeping your home safe and comfortable for your family is made easier by paying attention to key features that are susceptible to winter weather changes. When the storms and foul weather of winter arrive, you’ll want to know your home is prepped to meet any challenge. Winterizing will prevent problems and improve efficiency, saving you time and money all season long.

There are specific areas of your home you need to look at.

Exterior: Check your gutters, siding, roof and chimney. Clean your gutters, check your siding and roof for obvious areas of repair and have your chimney cleaned by a professional.

Plumbing: Check your outdoor spigots and pipes. Make sure they are insulated properly.

Drafts: Check your seals around doors and windows. Replace any that are worn to prevent air leakage and an increase in heating cost.

Importance of Clean Air

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks indoor air pollution among the top five environmental dangers to the public and identifies it as one of the leading health risks today. The EPA estimated that pollution levels indoors could be two to five times higher than the pollution levels outdoors. And on occasion, indoor air can be as much as 100 times more polluted.

Research studies have found that more people today feel less healthy than at any other time. Also, more people suffer from asthma, allergies, and other respiratory diseases than ever before. Why? Because people over that last the 30 to 40 years have been breathing an increasing amount of damaging particles while indoors.

Standard air cleaners have filters that are very dense.  They stop the dust by trapping it in a slightly porous filter. The fewer the pores the more dust it can trap. However, this not only stops the dust and dirt, but it also stops the air from moving as well. So you may not be as comfortable, and less air is cleaned efficiently. Our air cleaners are highly efficient units that provide maximum clean air in your home.

Is that Fall around the corner?

As the evenings cool and we head towards fall one thing is almost certain,  your furnace will soon again be needed. So now is a great time to get a furnace checkup and do some basic maintenance.  You need to make sure your furnace gets the attention it needs.

Well, there is a simple and easy way to ensure that your furnace is getting the attention it needs, and that’s by changing your furnace filter.  Changing the filter on your furnace is very easy, yet very important.  It takes only a few minutes to replace a furnace filter, but the benefits are huge!  Replacing your furnace filter regularly helps keep your heating and cooling costs low, while providing you cleaner air at the same time.

As furnace filters get dirty, they become more efficient at catching dust up to a certain point.  However, if the furnace filter is not changed, it will begin to restrict airflow.  This causes your furnace to work much harder to heat and cool your home because it must run longer, thus using more electricity.

Thermostats. The simple change that saves.

You don’t have to start over with your home’s HVAC system to consume less energy and enjoy a more comfortable home. The easiest fix of them all is a new, programmable thermostat.

Programmable thermostats, also known as programmable controls, can have a significant impact not only for your home’s energy consumption, but also for you. It’s hands-free comfort that allows you to enjoy your home without running to the control every time the weather outside changes. During winter months, you can save as much as 3 percent* of heating costs for each degree your thermostat is lowered. In the summer, cooling costs are cut up to 6 percent* per each degree you raise the thermostat. A programmable control will automatically adjust temperatures throughout the day, ensuring greater energy efficiency and enhanced comfort. Some control models even allow homeowners to pre-program desired temperatures for specific times of the day. You can save costs by easily adjusting the heating and cooling settings for times when you’re waking up, leaving for work, sleeping or going on vacation.

So changing your thermostat is a great way to save money. Give our staff a call today and find out how we can help you save energy and money today!

Thermostats. The simple change that saves.

You don’t have to start over with your home’s HVAC system to consume less energy and enjoy a more comfortable home. The easiest fix of them all is a new, programmable thermostat.

Programmable thermostats, also known as programmable controls, can have a significant impact not only for your home’s energy consumption, but also for you. It’s hands-free comfort that allows you to enjoy your home without running to the control every time the weather outside changes. During winter months, you can save as much as 3 percent* of heating costs for each degree your thermostat is lowered. In the summer, cooling costs are cut up to 6 percent* per each degree you raise the thermostat. A programmable control will automatically adjust temperatures throughout the day, ensuring greater energy efficiency and enhanced comfort. Some control models even allow homeowners to pre-program desired temperatures for specific times of the day. You can save costs by easily adjusting the heating and cooling settings for times when you’re waking up, leaving for work, sleeping or going on vacation.

So changing your thermostat is a great way to save money. Give our staff a call today and find out how we can help you save energy and money today!

Summer’s End

Labor day traditionally signals the end of summer and the beginning of fall. The last big picnic and party of the year will be this weekend for most people. It also means new starts, new school year, new teachers, new friends and lots of new experiences.

But even though Labor Day signals the end, it does not mean the end for your HVAC system. There will still be demand for cooling and sooner than you want to admit it, heating as well. So fall is a great time to have your system checked.

Changing filters, having the blower checked and making sure everything is in top working order should be a priority for you at this time of year.

So after you enjoy that last cook out and family party, give us a call and find out how a system check up can benefit all your fall HVAC needs!

Gold Medal Service

The Olympics always brings out a sense of pride.  This summer was no exception.  From Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin in the pool, Gabby and the girls in the gym to the women’s soccer team we are filled with pride. It’s the spirit of seeing our athletes rise to the occasion and “Bring Home the Gold!”

We also have a great deal of pride here in our company. Our team strives just as hard to bring you quality service and incredible value in the product that we sell. This is not an every four year event for us, it’s daily event, to serve you and provide you with “Gold Medal” service.

Just as our athletes train hard every day, for that chance for gold, we work hard every day – not for medals – but to provide you with quality care and service!

While it will be another 4 years before we can see “Gold Medal” performances again, when you need “Gold Medal” service we will be here for you.

Olympic Time Means Olympic Quality

It’s time once again for the summer Olympics. Athletes from around the world are gathered this week in London to compete and represent their countries. These athletes have spent their entire lives training  for just 1 moment in time for a chance to win an Olympic medal.

The Olympics have always been about the best athletes from around the world raising the bar to higher and higher levels. They train hard and long for a chance at Olympic glory. These athletes know what it means to work hard and to apply their drive and desire to compete at the highest level.

Those qualities are the same as the qualities we have in our business. It is our goal to be the best HVAC company we can be and to provide you with the highest quality service that we can. We want to always be raising the bar to higher levels.

As you watch our incredible athletes compete we want you to remember that if you need any HVAC services that our quality service and integrity make us the best choice for all your heating and air conditioning needs. We look forward to becoming your Heating and Air Conditioning Contractor.

Dry Air?

Dry air can cause dry skin, dry hair, chapped lips and itchy eyes. It’s Not very comfortable and neither is sweaty, sticky humidity. The right level of humidity can make your home more comfortable, and that’s the kind of ideal home environment we strive to have.

The thing to keep your home in the middle, comfortable range is a humidifier. It  is designed to work hand in hand with your central heating and air conditioning system to control humidity levels in your home and banish dry air. During the colder months, it helps furnaces deliver heat to your home without drying it out.

But you can have too much of a good thing. When things start to get sticky, a de-humidifier removes humidity from your home during those hot summer days. An added benefit: they helps reduce dust mites, so your family can breathe easier.

Until the day someone invents a device that can control the weather, you’re at the mercy of your local climate with all of its storms, winds, and hot and cold flashes. But just because you can’t turn down the sun on a hot summer day doesn’t mean you’re not in control of your home. A great hvac system will increase and perfect the control you have over the climate in your home. No matter what’s going on outside, it’ll be exactly how you want it inside.

Keep Your A/C Running Cool

This extreme heat is putting extreme stress on your air conditioner. We want to make sure you stay cool and your A/C runs efficiently.

On weekends like this it seems as if the air conditioning isn’t working overtime; it’s working all the time. There are a few things you can do this morning to make sure the A/C isn’t broken when you get home tonight.

Step 1: Change the air filter. Dirty filters are the biggest reason for air conditioner break downs. Dirty filters use more energy. They decrease your efficiency by 15%. Dirty coils reduce efficiency by 5%. Don’t know what filter you need or how to check? Give us a call. We would be happy to help you figure it out.

Step 2: Don’t turn the A/C off when you leave for the day. The experts say air conditioners work harder and use more energy to cool your home back down. It’s better to move the thermostat up a few degrees.

Step 3: It may be time to get you’re A/C checked if it runs constantly, feels humid inside your house, there is ice on the unit or it is more than ten years old.

If you have questions please call our professional staff and we will answer any questions you may have. We are here to serve you. We want you to stay cool during these hot summer days.

How to Choose an Air Conditioning System

Choosing a system can be a daunting task. As a Trane dealer we will help you decide which HVAC system to have installed in your home. When making such a major decision, the first place to start is by looking at the size of the room or home that needs to be cooled. When an air conditioning unit has been sized correctly, that means that the system is large enough to cool the home in any situation but small enough that it is not wasting energy.

We will take the square footage of the home, or other space where the air conditioner will be working, and also look at the exposures of the windows and doors at the same time. If a lot of direct sunlight comes in through the windows of a home, for example, then that has to be taken into consideration when choosing the best air conditioner for the space. In addition, they may also look at how much glass the house has and what direction the home's windows are facing in order to get a heat load estimate that is as accurate as possible.

We will then consider what type of unit is right for your home. You will receive a written estimate and our guarantee of our work. It’s very important to have a trained professional help you make your decision. Put our years of experience to work for you!At Desert Empire we can meet all your HVAC needs.

About Desert Empire

Desert Empire Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning specializes in commercial and residential heating and air conditioning systems sales, repair and maintenance as well as a whole array of Plumbing services.  Service is top priority and customer loyalty is our goal.  Located in the Palm Desert, CA we service surrounding areas.  No job is too big or too small for us and you will find quality work and service at reasonable prices.