HVAC Experts near me in Olathe, Lenexa, Shawnee, Overland Park, and Gardner
Announcement: We have been made aware of the Goodman/Amana recall and are in the process of looking at which homeowners have equipment that qualify for this recall and the recommended repair. Once we have more information we will reach out to those clients and set up a follow up appointment to do the necessary repairs.
For more information: https://www.goodmanmfg.com/product-recall
The other day my Dad sent me a video of his heat pump making a loud noise and vibrating after a snow storm. The video is about why your heat pump can be loud or just making a strange noise in the winter time. This is due to a build up of ice on your fan blades and can cause serious damage to your heat pump. It is best to turn the unit off and run your emergency heat such as a furnace until the ice has melted off the outdoor fan. Your heat pump also has a defrost mode and we explain how the defrost mode works and why it is a problem if the defrost mode is not working properly.
If your heat pump is noisy after a winter snow, the likely cause is due to an accumulation of ice on the fan blade outside. Much like when the wheel on your car makes a noise and vibrates when it is even a little bit out of balance. When there is ice on your fan blade, you will also notice your heat pump cabinet vibrating.
Here is an example of what it looks like and sounds like when a heat pump has an accumulation of ice on the fan blade outside: Example of an actual Heat Pump with ice on the fan blade.
Turn off heat pump when it makes a loud noise in cold weather.
Sometimes the noise from your heat pump can be subtle, but ice on your fan blade is extremely hard on your motor. You can lose and completely tear up your fan blade because of the extreme build up of ice.
So, turn off the heat pump to let it thaw. Use emergency heat instead. This should run your supplemental heat such as a gas furnace.
Defrost mode is a normal cycle that the heat pump will go into. Every 60-90 minutes the heat pump will ask itself “do I have ice?” If it does, it will basically put itself into emergency heat mode on the inside of your home and turn the air conditioner mode on the unit outside.
You will hear a whoosh sound when it is defrost mode.
You may feel a bit of a cool draft since the air conditioner is actually turning on for a few minutes before going back to heat mode.
It is normal to occasionally have a little bit of frost on your heat pump, but not an extreme accumulation of frost, snow or ice.
Watch the video below for the full explanation about what to do when you have a noisy heat pump in the winter:
For more information on heating problems in the winter, we hope you enjoy this article: Quick and Easy Checks To Fix Heating Problems During Snow
Here at One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning, we have an apprentice program where we hire and train people to become HVAC Technicians. It is a great opportunity to begin an HVAC career without the expense of trade school.
The program, however, is difficult to enter. We are very protective of our clients so we only want to spend the time training people with integrity. We only want HVAC Technicians who will do the right thing for our clients.
Our Apprentice Program last for one year and we typically begin classes 3-4 times per year. Before you are accepted into the Apprentice Program you will go through a series of interviews. During the Apprentice Program you will learn the basics of residential HVAC in a classroom setting as well as “riding along” with our experienced technicians to get hands-on training.
We have found that after one year in our Apprentice Program you are ready to begin doing solo maintenance appointments as an official HVAC Service Technician.
If you are interested in the HVAC Apprentice Program, this video will introduce you to the people involved and share what we are looking for.
Yes. If your air conditioner is running during a power outage, it can hurt the system as a whole. We’ve even seen power outages damage a furnace. When your air conditioner is running along normally and it abruptly shuts off due to a power outage, it can damage multiple components of your HVAC system.
The big motors in air conditioners are not designed to be running, quickly shut off, then quickly turn back on again.
We have seen total compressor failure, blower motor failure, and variable speed motor failure. Ultimately, if your air conditioner is running while the power goes out…many very expensive problems could result.
What are the steps you can take to see if there is damage to your air conditioner? Also how do you get it going again after a power outage?
If your air conditioner was abruptly shut off during a power outage, turn everything off for a little while. Let things settle down and even turn the breaker off, and unplug or switch off your furnace. Wait about 5 minutes and then try resetting everything by turning it back on. Sometimes this reset can help get your air conditioner going again. If it doesn’t come back on, you may have larger damage that needs to be addressed by a professional.
These new systems are much more sophisticated than they used to be. The sophistication is great for normal operation, but the new circuit boards and high end motors can’t anticipate quick power outages. That’s why surge protection and voltage monitoring detection is recommended.
You can purchase a surge protector specifically for your air conditioner. The surge protector goes outside by your ac unit and monitors voltage issues and will protect your ac if it detects a problem.
One simple piece of advice we give homeowners is that if you have a really bad storm, go to the thermostat and turn everything off. This could potential save your system from a major motor failure. Hopefully the storm passes before your home gets uncomfortable, but we’d say it is worth it to turn off your system during a thunder storm that is making your lights flicker.
Usually the major damage occurs when the unit is running.
Of course make your own decision on whether or not you want to turn off your air conditioner.
If your air conditioner is not working after a power outage and it is not coming back on, we hope you’ll schedule an appointment with us here.
Yes. It is best to turn off your furnace before you change your air filter.
There are a couple of reasons for this.
1. When you take out your dirty filter, it knocks off and disrupts dust and dirt that will then be sucked into your HVAC system. (Which is the point of having a furnace filter.)
2. Due to the air pressure of your furnace blower when your furnace is on, the filter will be easier to move and change out when the furnace is off.
Turn the blower off at the thermostat and then turn the power switch to the furnace off. Then be sure to turn the power to the furnace back on as well as the thermostat when you are finished.
If you do not have a switch near your furnace, it may be powered with an electrical plug into the wall.
Yes. Look at your air filter. There should be a small arrow on the edge. The arrow points toward the furnace.
Everyone’s filter is in a different location so the important thing to keep in mind is airflow direction.
Honestly it depends on a variety of factors. Let’s assume you use a standard one inch filter. According to Better Home Guides, “in a home occupied nearly all year round, most professionals recommend changing your home air filter every 60-90 days depending on a number of factors …including pets, allergies, etc.”
They go on to say that “every home is slightly different in its makeup, which can alter the answer to this commonly asked question…A good rule of thumb is to change your air filter every ninety days. You should be replacing your air filter with a fresh and clean version at least once a quarter. However, that rule of thumb may not be the safest option if you have pets, allergies, or even a vacation home.”
Static is electrostatic discharge. It commonly happens especially in houses that have carpet. When I was growing up I thought it was normal to “shock” yourself. I grew up in a house without a humidifier, without any kind of moisture control whatsoever. When I got into the HVAC industry, I learned why I had static in my house. I also learned it is possible to get rid of it. It was just brutally dry. Adding moisture into the air in the wintertime can help reduce static. It also eliminates many of the problems that go along with low humidity.
When we first moved into our home I was shocking my hand on light switches. The humidifier just couldn’t keep up. I got a different humidifier and now we just don’t have static. I changed from a bypass humidifier to a steam humidifier. Our house was just a little too large for the bypass to humidify enough.
See the photos to the left for a view inside and outside of a steam humidifier.
Typically the static itself is not bad for your health. The problem is that static is a signal that your house has very low humidity. Low humidity does lead to dry skin, nose bleeds and makes you susceptible to colds and other illnesses.
To me the biggest advantage of a humidifier is is health benefits. Oftentimes we don’t contribute humidity to health. However having a good humidity level in your home all throughout the year, is good for your skin and protection against illnesses.
According to an article in Environmental Health Perspectives, a review of the health effects of relative humidity in indoor environments suggests that relative humidity can affect the incidence of respiratory infections and allergies.
The majority of adverse health effects caused by relative humidity would be minimized by maintaining indoor levels between 40 and 60%. This would require humidification during winter in areas with cold winter climates.
The short answer is yes, there is a wrong way to replace your furnace filter, but never fear. We show you exactly how to replace your furnace air filter and why your furnace filter direction matters.
The Correct Furnace Filter DirectionFirst of all, if you’re changing the filter, even if you put it in wrong, it’s better than not changing it all. So good job!
There is an arrow on the filter, sometimes they are very tiny. The arrow is an air flow indicator. What you want to remember is that this is the furnace’s filter. So, the arrow always points toward the furnace.
You could be in a basement where the return air comes down the left side or you could have a house where the return air comes down the right side. Always remember whether it’s coming from the left side, the right side, the arrow always points towards the furnace.
The reason they put those the airflow arrows on the filter is because the filter is constructed in a certain way to withstand the air pressure that will be going through the filter. When you know the airflow will be going in a certain direction the filter can be reinforced so it doesn’t pull apart or be sucked into the blower compartment.
Many filters have a side that is reinforced with the cardboard and the other side is open to actually filter the air. When the filter is replaced correctly with the arrows pointing toward the furnace, it will have proper reinforcement and will ultimately be longer lasting and more efficient.
This advice is geared for anyone who has little to no experience with how to fix a furnace.
If your furnace is not heating, there are actually three easy checks you can do before calling a professional. These may fix your furnace that is not heating. If you have a furnace no heat issue, we recommend:
1. Check the thermostat and make sure it is set to heat mode
2. Set the thermostat to “on” instead of “auto” and make sure there is power going to the furnace.
3. Do a hard reset of the furnace by removing power for about 10 seconds.
If after you check these three things, the furnace is still not working, we recommend calling a professional to do a more in depth look for the problem.
1. Check the thermostat and make sure it is set to heat modeIf you’re experiencing a problem with your furnace, the first thing to check is your thermostat. Go to the thermostat, don’t touch it, don’t make any adjustments. Just look at the thermostat.
Is it properly set on heat?
On the thermostat there is a heat/cool/off switch. The switch should be in the heat mode.
Also, the temperature setting should be set above the recorded room temperature. The term for that is that your thermostat is “calling for heat.” This is telling the thermostat that “yes I need you on.”
Sometimes you thermostat is just not calling for heat or if it is a programmable thermostat where the settings have changed and you are not aware of the change.
We want to make sure there is power to the furnace.
Many times the the furnace is completely dead, not doing anything. In this case, we want to make sure there is not a power problem.
There’s a really simple way for you to check for power to the furnace that is not heating.
Let’s go back to the thermostat. There is another switch for your fan. It will either be marked fan or blower. This has two settings: “auto” and “on.” (Some will have a circulate mode but typically just the two.)
Set your thermostat to the “on” position.
By putting the thermostat to the “on” position you are telling the blower to come on and to run non-stop. When you switch it to on you should hear the furnace blower come on. Go to a nearby register. You should feel air blowing out of the register. If you do not, we know that we have some sort of power issue.
We have given the furnace a direct call for the blower to come on, and if it’s not coming on, there is a power problem.
Let’s try a hard reset of the furnace.
Many furnaces today have multiple circuit boards with many safety control features. These control features can sense when your furnace is having a problem turn itself off for safety reasons.
Sometimes the furnace could turn itself off due to a power outage or something that isn’t actually a problem so you can try resetting the furnace to see if it comes back on.
In order to do a “hard reset” you simply remove power to the furnace. There should be a power switch, an external power switch on the side of the furnace that looks much like a light switch on the wall. Turn off the switch for about 10 seconds and then turn it back on.
If you do not have a switch to power on your furnace, your furnace may use a simple wall plug. Unplug the furnace, wait ten seconds then plug it back in.
You have now done a hard reset of the furnace. It should have cleared out any faults and so it should have a good call for heat. At this point you should hear action in the furnace.
Make sure the filter has been changed and is not blocking air flow. A dirty filter can cause the airflow to be blocked to such an extent that your furnace will turn itself off for safety reasons. Change your filter, do a hard reset of your furnace and see if that helps the furnace start working again.
If after these checks you still are not getting heat from your furnace, it’s best to schedule an appointment with a professional. There is something larger going on. You have now checked the most rudimentary things: the thermostat is on, it is calling for heat, there is power to the furnace, there is a clean filter. Now time to have a professional take a look.
There are settings on your heating and air conditioning system you can adjust for optimal protection against viruses and allergens. Plus anything else you don’t want flying around your indoor air.
Here are some of the best HVAC settings to prevent viruses and increase protection against germs:
Of course you’re heating and air conditioning system is not the only way to prevent illnesses or viruses in your home. However it is at least part of your defense. Include these settings along with hand-washing social distancing. We want to let you know how best to use your heating and air conditioning system in order to keep you as safe as possible.
According to the EPA: Air cleaning and filtration can help reduce airborne contaminants, including particles containing viruses.
We don’t know a lot about the Coronavirus but we do know that the residential UV lights have been successful in sterilizing other viruses in the past so according to an article put out by the refrigeration news we have no reason to believe that it will be much different than these other types of viruses in far as how we can help treat it with our heating and air conditioning system.
The vast majority of the furnaces we install have variable drive blowers. They are extremely efficient and they have a low electric consumption. This affords you to be able to use it as a constant air cleaner.
Go to the thermostat and look for the blower switch. Where it says “on” or “automatic” put it in the “on” position. You’re telling it to run the blower all the time. 24/7.
The amount of electricity that it uses is extremely low. By doing this the furnace blower will constantly gather up all the air in the home, take it down to a central location, (via the return air duct )and at that point we can clean it with your filter. Better yet, clean it with a Micro Power Guard air cleaner or a UV light that can help to sterilize the air. You will also humidify the air if you have a humidifier.
When you keep the air circulating, it can be filtered as much as possible. If you have a variable drive blower motor it throttles down so it’s not like you’re going to have the curtains blowing. It’s going to be about half its normal air velocity. It will quietly and continuously circulate, clean and freshen the air so it is the best air quality you can have.
Again, if your blower is off, air is not being filtered so it is best to keep the air moving through your filtration system as much as possible.
If you have a Micro Power Guard electronic air cleaner those are really either on or off so it’s just important to make sure that it is on. Also make sure it has a clean media in the electronic air cleaner. If you’re one of our Comfort Club Members we take care of that for you and change the MPG media during your routine maintenance.
We recommend that those media be changed two to three times a year.
The most popular UV Light that we install is the Oxyquantum LED UV Light. This light usually has two bulbs in it. Turn it to the maximum setting. This is also great for odor control and sterilizing the air as much as possible.
The best setting for your HVAC UV LIGHT sterilization system is to set to high, and make sure the bulbs have been changed within the last two years. (If you have an Oxyquantum LED UV System.)
If you have a whole home humidifier, keep that humidity in the 40 to 50% range.
We don’t want it to get too humid as we get more into the summertime but right now keeping the humidity setting so we’re maintaining about 40 to 50% is optimal for the control of viruses.
We recommend you set your humidifier to 40%-50. It has been shown that viruses are least viable in that range of humidity.
With what we have discussed, you also need to consider the proper care and feeding of your HVAC accessories. They need to be maintained on a routine basis, which is important to make sure that everything is clean and functioning properly.
Of course your heating and air conditioning system should only be seen as a part of illness prevention, along with all the other preventative measures. However, if you do the things we just mentioned above…your HVAC system can be used as another layer of defense against illnesses.
The options for solutions to get more air upstairs range dramatically. You can start simple with registers and damper solutions, all the way up to some high-tech solutions like zoning. What you wan to think about with the airflow in your home is that air will always take the path of least resistance. We’ll show you how to make the path of least resistance the upstairs.
The first and easiest thing you can try to get more air upstairs is to just simply shut off registers in rooms. Shut off registers in the lower levels that will sill be comfortable if they don’t have as much air flow, and make sure the registers upstairs are open. You would be surprised how many people complain that they don’t get enough air upstairs and they have closed registers!
They key here is you are trying to manipulate the air to go where you want it to go.
Adjust DampersMost homes have dampers near the furnace area. You can usually find your dampers on runs that go to the upstairs. Most homes have at least two dampers, however that is not the case for every home, so you home may not have them. We made another video about how to find your dampers and adjust them how you like.
Dampers do need to be manually adjusted, but they are a fantastic way to control where you are pushing the air in your home.
The down side about dampers is typically there are two options. You can open or close the dampers that go to the upstairs. This will help tremendously, however you have to remember to change them with the seasons and sometimes you may need another person to help you open or close them properly.
HVAC Zoning To Get More Air UpstairsWe also have a more high-tech solution to get more air upstairs. You can install a zoning panel. You can take a home that only has one heating and cooling system, (one furnace and one air conditioner) and you can zone different areas in your house.
And those zones would have their own thermostat.
You can adjust those thermostats however you want. For example, you could create a “zone” that only includes your home office with its own thermostat while using your same heating and cooling system.
We are breaking your system up into multiple systems where we can have two three and four thermostats in the home and utilize control panels. Those panels are connected to dampers that have little actuators on them (little motors) which will adjust on the fly. They can open and close at the touch of a button to get the proper airflow to where we want.
The results are phenomenal
Many people are loving zoning, and you might be pleasantly surprised by the price.
Another really great trick to get your upstairs more comfortable is continuous airflow. Turn your thermostat blower to the “on” position. This will run the blower continuously.
By running the blower constantly, we are now pushing air upstairs constantly. We are constantly mixing things up in the return air that will make a huge difference.
Just try that.
The blower is going to run continuously. It’s not like you’re running your air conditioner non-stop, and just see if that doesn’t make a difference.
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