Kilowatt Heating, Air Conditioning and Electrical Blog:
Posts Tagged ‘Van Nuys’

Should I Shut Off My AC When I’m Away From Home?

Monday, August 23rd, 2021

hand-setting-thermostat

The central air conditioning system is one of the biggest consumers of electricity in a house. When the AC goes into active cooling mode and powers the compressor, it can use on average 3,500 watts per hour. The only appliance that might use more is an electric water heater.

Because AC’s can take up such a significant chunk of your electrical budget during a hot So. Cal summer, it makes sense to limit how much you have it running. This is why we recommend keeping the thermostat at around 78°F during the day: it’s a comfortable temperature that won’t force the air conditioner to run too long.

What about when you’re away from home? It sounds like it makes sense to just turn the AC off so it won’t use any power. The situation isn’t so simple, however. Unless you plan to be away from home for several weeks, we advise you to keep the air conditioner on—but not necessarily at the same settings.

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Get Ready for Summer Weather With AC Maintenance

Monday, May 3rd, 2021

Do you want to bring your home life to a halt this summer because you need an emergency AC repair in Van Nuys, CA—or elsewhere in our service area? Of course you don’t, although you can always rely on our technicians to come through for you in case this happens. 

But we’re here to talk about repair prevention today, and that’s only part of what you’ll get when you have your AC maintained before the summer heat arrives. 

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Are Electric Furnaces Much Safer Than Gas Furnaces?

Monday, March 8th, 2021

American-Standard-Unit

If you do an online search on electric furnaces, you’ll find this question often pops up: “Do electric furnaces create carbon monoxide?” That people are asking this shows that many homeowners are unaware of the important basics of how different types of furnaces run. We want to clear up some of these misunderstandings and address the broader question of whether or not an electric furnace is a far safer choice than a natural gas furnace for home heating. 

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Why Your Furnace Keeps Shutting Down

Monday, November 16th, 2020

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This was the first weekend in Southern California of true cold seasonal weather. That may not seem cold to other parts of the country, but it’s cold for us! This means you probably turned on your furnace this weekend for the first time in … well, it’s been a bit, hasn’t it?

We hope you had a smooth switch over to using the furnace. But you are reading this post, after all, and that means the furnace is already giving you problems by shutting down early and not getting the house warm.

Before we go further and look at the reasons you may need to have furnace repair in Van Nuys, CA from our technicians, a quick reminder about heating maintenance: if you haven’t scheduled it, that might be the reason you’ve got a furnace acting questionably. Never miss out on having this job done during the fall, since you’ll be able to head off problems like the ones we’re going to look at below.

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Do You Need to Upgrade Your Home’s Electrical Panel?

Monday, October 19th, 2020

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The electrical panel for a home is the crucial “switching station” for the building’s electrical system. It’s where electricity from the municipal grid enters the home and divides into the separate circuits to power appliances and lights around the house. Breakers in the panel protect the system from overload, tripping to cut off the voltage flow when it spikes.

The panel does a major job for a home, and it’s important that the one in your home can handle your daily electrical demands and operate safely. But if you have a damaged or outdated panel, call an electrician in Van Nuys, CA to examine it and see if it’s time to install a new one. We have the certified electricians for the job. We specialize in helping to make upgrades for older homes.

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Can I Save Money By Getting a Used AC System?

Monday, October 5th, 2020

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This is a question that occasionally crops up because people are used to hunting for bargains with used items. Often, buying “pre-owned” is great. Used books still have the same text, most used CDs and Blu-rays will run fine, and the used car is a classic.

But a used central air conditioner? Is that a possibility?

No. No it is not. No HVAC professional recommends purchasing used air conditioning systems. It won’t save money and will probably cost far more than getting a new system. It’s also simply not practical. Below we’ll go through the reasons why a “pre-owned” AC belongs in the recycling yard, not your house.

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The Older Home AC Solution

Monday, September 21st, 2020

attic

We’re a full-service air conditioning contractor for Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. But we go beyond full service to specialize in areas other contractors don’t. One of our specializations is older homes. Vintage homes have specific requirements when it comes to comfort because they were constructed in times when central air conditioning was uncommon in Southern California. For decades, window AC units were the only effective way to deliver any type of electro-mechanical cooling to these houses.

But we can add air conditioning to older homes that are much better than window units. We would love to offer you the air conditioning service in Van Nuys, CA that allows you to get rid of those ugly and inefficient window ACs and enjoy quality cooling around the house. We know how to bring older homes up to modern air conditioning standards.

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Has Your AC Come to the End of the Line at the End of Summer?

Monday, September 7th, 2020

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The heat has subsided in Southern California after an intense heatwave. It’s still hot, but we’ve eased down to temperatures that require less work from air conditioning systems.

(Friendly reminder: Your AC can lower the temperature indoors by a maximum of 20°F. You never want to push it to lower the temperature farther than this. So if it’s 95°F, don’t set the thermostat lower than 75°F. In fact, aim for 78°F for best energy savings.)

Now that we’re moving toward cooler temperatures, it’s a good time to look at your AC and consider if it’s ready to retire. Planning an AC installation in Van Nuys, CA during October or November is an ideal time for the job.

But is your AC ready to go? You don’t want to replace it if it still has a few years of solid and efficient performance left.

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Heat Wave! Is Your AC Managing It?

Monday, August 24th, 2020

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Wow, the heat here in Southern California has been rough recently. We hope you and your family are managing well during the intense weather and that you have a powerful, reliable air conditioning system to provide vital cooling for these roasting times.

But if you have an air conditioner that’s struggling with the heat, now is not the time to delay calling us for air conditioning repair in Van Nuys, CA or elsewhere in our wide service area. It’s periods like this when we are needed the most, and our licensed and certified technicians are ready to rush to your assistance with 24/7 emergency support.

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There’s No “End Date” for AC Maintenance—You Still Need It!

Monday, August 10th, 2020

ac-unit

Regular air conditioning maintenance from HVAC professionals is not a “bonus” for a cooling system. It’s a necessity, the same way regular oil changes and maintenance for vehicles is. We encourage our customers to arrange for AC maintenance in Van Nuys, CA during the spring because it’s a great time to have it done: it prepares the system right before it will need to do the most work and have the system ready before the first major summer heat waves hit.

But if you didn’t have maintenance done in spring, that doesn’t mean the time ran out, or the deadline is past. There isn’t an end date for maintenance where it becomes useless to schedule—it’s an annual necessity, even if it gets done late.

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