Heating, Air Conditioning and Indoor Air Quality Blog

October Is a Great Month to Schedule Heating Maintenance

October 10th, 2022

October is a great month for many activities, such as putting up fall decorations around the house and watching spooky movie marathons. The weather is often wonderful as well, just the right balance between the extremes of summer and winter.

This relaxing weather makes it easy to forget another great activity for October: scheduling your annual heating maintenance. After all, it won’t be fall forever, and the winter cold is coming soon. If you want your home’s heating system to work in peak condition without any problems, calling “Your Home Comfort Hero” to tune up and inspect your heater is the best strategy.

The Biggest Benefits of Geothermal Heating and Cooling for Your Home

September 26th, 2022

At ThermAll, we do more than the standard heating and cooling for homes. We also install and service geothermal HVAC systems. These are year-round comfort systems that work similarly to the conventional heat pump: in the hot weather, they remove heat from the house and put it outside; and in cold weather, they pull heat from outside and bring it inside. The difference is that a standard heat pump (an air-source heat pump) uses the air outside to run, while a geothermal heat pump (a ground-source heat pump) uses the earth via a series of loops buried in the ground on a home’s property.

Why is it beneficial to use the earth for heat exchange rather than the earth? We’ll explain in more detail below how installing a geothermal heat pump can benefit both you and the planet.

Listen for These Warning Sounds From Your AC

September 12th, 2022

This has been an extremely hot summer, and the heat isn’t done with us yet. Your air conditioning system has probably done some serious overtime during the season, and that makes it more important than ever to watch for any signs that it’s malfunctioning. Catching trouble early with an AC lets you schedule fast air conditioning repair in Yakima, WA that can prevent an even bigger and more expensive problem, including having to replace a completely dead AC.

One of the most common warnings a struggling air conditioner will send is loud or unusual noises. The standard operating noises of an air conditioner are soft whirring and humming from the motors, the blowing of air through the vents, the dripping of condensate moisture, and some clicking sounds when the AC cycles down. When other sounds start to pop up, it often means trouble.

Here are the major sounds from an AC that will tell you it’s time to call our technicians.

The Big AC Question: Repair or Replace?

August 15th, 2022

Late summer is the time when an air conditioning system is most likely to need repairs. An AC has already put in steady work since the beginning of the season, and even with regular maintenance in spring, the system may start to feel the strain as the intense August heat starts up. (And the heat this August has been the textbook definition of intense!)

It’s possible that you may need to call our expert team for air conditioning repair in Yakima, WA before the cool fall weather sets in. If that does happen, you may find yourself facing one of the Big Questions of air conditioning: when is it better to replace an air conditioner rather than go ahead with a repair?

There’s no simple answer because there are too many individual factors to consider. However, our technicians can help find the right answer for you. We even offer free second opinions for people wondering about the best choice.

Below we’ve provided some information to help you think about when to have your AC repaired and when to schedule a new installation.

Signs You Need to Seal Your Home’s Air Ducts

August 1st, 2022

The air ducts in your home are responsible for carrying air from the air conditioner or heater to the various rooms. It’s one of the easier parts of the HVAC system to take for granted because it stays hidden from sight behind walls and in the attic. But damage to the ductwork can put a serious dent in your comfort, whether it’s winter or summer.

Right now, you rely heavily on your AC. If your ductwork has air leaks anywhere, you’ll end up with a much less effective air conditioner and one that is more expensive to operate. Fixing this problem requires professional duct sealing services—you can’t seal the ducts on your own with duct tape! (Duct tape isn’t even designed for use on ducts, but that’s a story for another post…)

We recently wrote about the problems with leaky air ducts, but this leads to a another question: How can you tell you need duct sealing if you can’t see your ducts? There are several signs to look out for that will warn you, and we’ll go into greater detail about them here. When you notice these problems, call us to see if you need duct sealing in Yakima, WA.

Don’t Push an Old AC Over Its Limits!

July 18th, 2022

People want to get their money’s worth from home appliances and keep them running for as long as possible before they invest in a replacement. This makes sense for some appliances, and we certainly don’t advocate replacing an expensive piece of equipment too early when repairs will keep it working in excellent condition.

When it comes to a central air conditioning system—a large and vital investment for a home—trying to push an aging one to keep working year after year is not the best approach. In fact, it will cost far more to do this than to replace the AC a few years earlier. We’ll explain more below why you shouldn’t push your home’s AC for the maximum number of years you can get out of it.

The Troubles With Leaky Ducts

July 4th, 2022

You may have a thief lurking in your attic or between the walls. No, you’re not in a horror film. This is an everyday type of thief who quietly steals money from your energy budget. It’s still a thief however, one you want to put a stop to—leaky air ducts.

Most of the ductwork in a residential HVAC system is hidden from sight. It’s in the attic and disguised behind walls. That makes it easy not to think about it, which is how air leaks can be so sneaky and avoid detection. But make no mistake, these leaks can create plenty of problems. We’ll look at why air leaks are trouble and how you can detect them and get them repaired.

Is a Ductless AC Right for Your House?

June 20th, 2022

Ductless HVAC systems, also known as ductless mini split heat pumps, have been around for decades. But it wasn’t until recently that ductless systems started to make a major impact on homes in the US. Before then, ductless mini splits were popular in Japan and Europe. Their many benefits finally allowed them to break through in this country, and now many of our customers are looking for ductless systems in Yakima, WA.

If you’re wondering whether a ductless HVAC system is right for your home, this post can help. We’ll look at a few considerations that will get you started thinking about ductless mini split heat pumps and their uses.

The Best Summer Thermostat Settings for Savings

June 6th, 2022

In a recent blog post, we talked about the benefits of having a smart thermostat installed for your HVAC system. We highly recommend making this upgrade to your home comfort, but we can help you right now with advice on “smarter” settings for the thermostat during summer.

Many homeowners play fast and loose with thermostat settings in hot weather, raising and lowering them based on momentary comfort. This wastes energy and won’t lead to optimal cooling. We’ll tell you how best to set your thermostat this season and why these techniques will help save money while keeping your household comfortable.

Does a Dead Compressor Mean a Dead AC?

May 23rd, 2022

This is a major question that sometimes confronts homeowners. The compressor is the most powerful component in an air conditioning system, the part that consumes the most energy. It’s also essential for the AC to cool the air: without a working compressor, an air conditioning system is nothing more than a large fan.

Because of the high cost of putting in a replacement compressor, the conventional wisdom is that a dead compressor means the entire AC must be replaced. But is this always true? We’ll investigate deeper in this post and help you with the choice about whether to replace the compressor or the air conditioning system.