Window ACs vs Central Air

When replacing your current air conditioner, you shouldn’t feel limited to getting the same type of unit. You might want to switch from window units to central air or vice versa, depending on your budget, the size of your home, and your cooling needs. For example, if your central air goes out, but you don’t have the cash available to replace it immediately, you could get more affordable window units to keep you cool instead. Generally speaking, window units are better for small spaces. The bigger your home is, the more likely you are to get better cooling and energy efficiency from a central ac unit instead. ALLSTAR Air can help with both kinds of units.

Air Conditioner Size

An air conditioner’s size, or cooling capacity, is measured in BTUs. A good rule of thumb is to get 1 ton (12,000 BTUs per hour) of cooling capacity for every 400 square feet of living space. However, if your home is really well insulated, you may need a smaller unit. The best way to determine what size AC unit you need is to consult the Corona CA air conditioning replacement specialists at ALLSTAR Air. That way you can avoid getting a unit that is too small to cool adequately or too large to cool efficiently.

Energy Star Rating

In California, most people run their air conditioners really frequently. This level of operation means that investing in an energy efficient model can really pay off in terms of savings on your electric bills over time. Plus, it’s good for the environment. Energy efficient models carry an Energy Star rating, which your air conditioner replacement specialist can explain in more detail.

Installation

In order for your new air conditioner to perform its best, it needs to be installed properly. This is where working with the Corona CA air conditioning replacement specialists at ALLSTAR Air can really pay off. Our technicians are NATE-certified, meaning they’ve passed certification tests covering various aspects of the HVAC industry, including ac installation. We’ll make sure that your unit is installed correctly the first time to provide the quiet operation and efficient, effective cooling it was designed for.

Clean Your Drain Line. If water is leaking into the walls or ceiling around your air conditioner, you may have a damaged or clogged drain line. Check the tubing that drains the water away from your ac unit and clean or replace it as needed. If your unit has a pump that helps remove the water, make sure it is plugged in and operational.

Check Your Filter. A dirty filter can eventually get so full of debris that it can actually impede air flow through your ductwork and result in poor air circulation and diminished cooling in your home. By cleaning or replacing your air filter, you can improve air flow and feel cooler.

Clean Your Condensing Unit. If your air conditioner is running but not producing any cool air, you may have a problem with the condenser coils. Turn the machine off, then go outside and take a look at the outdoor compressor. Rake up any dead leaves and trim back any nearby bushes or plantings that could be blocking air flow into the unit. Then, remove the protective cover or grille from the unit and use a soft brush to remove dirt and dust. These steps should ensure that the condenser coils are able to do their job and produce cool air.

Check Your Fan Belt. If your air conditioner runs but doesn’t blow any air, it’s possible that the belt connecting your blower to the motor has broken or slipped loose. Open up the air-handler cabinet to check. Be sure to consult your owner’s manual to make sure you get the right tension on the belt when fixing a slipped belt or installing a new one.

If these air conditioning repair tips for property owners in Corona CA don’t solve your problem, you probably have another issue with your unit that will need professional attention. For example, you may need more refrigerant added to the system, or you may need a whole new ac unit. Either way, you can rely on ALLSTAR Air Conditioning for help when air conditioning repair tips for property owners in Corona CA don’t work.

Uneven Cooling

If some rooms in your home seem to cool better than others, you may have a problem with your thermostat. Your thermostat may be broken or defective, or it may simply have been installed in the wrong place. We can help you check the thermostat for mechanical or electronic defects. If nothing is wrong with the unit, we may need to move it to a more suitable location that will give a better representation of the overall temperature in your home.

Another possible culprit for uneven cooling is leaky or disconnected ventilation ducts. We can inspect your ductwork and make sure it is tightly sealed and properly configured to deliver cooled air to every room in your home.

Underpowered or Improperly Sized Units

If your air conditioner runs frequently, but you don’t seem to be feeling much of an effect, you may have the wrong unit for the size of your room or your home. Oversized units will cycle on and off too often, which results in poor energy efficiency and poor performance. Undersized units will run constantly without being able to cool your home to the desired level. A professional from ALLSTAR Air Conditioning & Heating can inspect your system and determine whether or not it is properly sized. If it is not the correct size, no amount of air conditioning service and repair in Chino Hills CA will fix the problem. You simply need a new air conditioner.

At ALLSTAR Air Conditioning & Heating, we take great pride in giving our customers honest, reliable advice, air conditioning service, and repair in Chino Hills CA. You can trust us to tell you the truth about the state of your air conditioner. If a repair will give you the performance you require, we’ll tell you. But if a repair would just be a stop-gap measure prolonging the life of a machine that’s already on its last legs, we’ll tell you that too. We want to give you all the information you need to make a good decision and get the best value out of your air conditioning repair or replacement.

Humility Levels

As they cool, air conditioners naturally remove moisture from the air. This results in benefits for you and your property. With lower humidity levels, the air will feel more comfortable. Plus, you will avoid the risk of having excess moisture in the air condensing on cooled surfaces within the building, which can cause damage to items like wood furniture or floors. When using your air conditioner to remove humidity, your goal should be to get the humidity down below 55 percent. Remember that air conditioners are more successful at dehumidifying on lower speeds, because the slower air flows over the coils, the more moisture will be removed.

Allergens

Using an air conditioner can also help filter out dust, pet dander, and other allergens from the air. Of course, in order to do this, you need to make sure your air conditioner’s filter is clean. A technician from ALLSTAR Air Conditioning & Heating will be happy to clean or replace your air filter as part of your air conditioning service and repair in Fontana CA. We recommend checking the filter regularly as the summer goes on to make sure it stays clean. A clogged filter will reduce the efficiency of your air conditioner by impeding the flow of cooled air through your ventilation system. If you are especially sensitive to allergens, ask one of our technicians about installing a more effective HEPA filter in your air conditioner to screen out smaller particles and make your home’s air even cleaner.

Odors

Air conditioners that are not properly maintained can develop mold, which will cause the air flowing into your home to have an unpleasant odor. If your air conditioner smells musty, you need to get air conditioning service and repair in Fontana CA. A technician from ALLSTAR Air can clean out your air conditioner’s drain lines to remove the mold and make sure that in the future, water will be able to drain properly from the unit. This should prevent the mold from returning.

If you are experiencing any problems with your indoor air quality this summer, don’t hesitate to get help from the experts at ALLSTAR Air Conditioning & Heating.

Residential

Trying to sleep on a hot summer night with no air conditioning is all but impossible, especially if you’re used to keeping your bedroom a comfortable 72 degrees all night long. Fortunately, you can get air conditioning service and repair in Corona CA from ALLSTAR Air Conditioning & Heating. We can come to your home and repair your air conditioner. Whether you have central air, a portable air conditioner, or a window ac unit, and whether this device is old or new, our skilled technicians will have the technical expertise required to pinpoint the source of your problem and provide the necessary repair. If your current air conditioner is beyond repair, we’ll break the news gently and help you select an affordable replacement.

Commercial

Commercial properties sometimes need specialized air conditioning service and repair in Corona CA. Your commercial property might feature a large, multi-unit rooftop installation or a split system. You might have different cooling requirements for different parts of the property, but want to run them off of the same units. With help from the pros at ALLSTAR Air Conditioning & Heating, you can get the precise cooling levels that you require. We make sure that all mechanical parts are working properly, from your fan to your condenser coils to your thermostat controls. We can even assist with programming your commercial air conditioners to provide maximum energy efficiency.

Specialty

We can also provide quality service and repair for specialty units, like portable air conditioners or server room air conditioning systems. Unlike your average air conditioning service company, ALLSTAR Air Conditioning & Heating employs technicians that are familiar with the unique requirements of these special systems. We can make sure your portable air conditioner has proper ventilation or help keep cooled air flowing to every inch of your server room.

Building Shell Leaks

Your home’s building shell is designed to let some air through for proper circulation. But when the building shell develops a leak, this air exchange gets unbalanced, and you may find that your cooled air is leaking away before you have a chance to enjoy it. An HVAC professional can test your home’s building shell for leaks by sealing up doors, windows, and vents and then performing a blower door test to see how much air can still escape from your home. If leaks are found, they can be located and sealed to improve your air conditioning efficiency.

Poor Insulation

Insufficient or degraded insulation can also contribute to poor air conditioner performance. A HVAC technician can inspect your insulation and determine if you might benefit from replacing or upgrading it.

Duct Leaks

If you notice that some of the vents in your home aren’t blowing cool air, while the rest of the vents work just fine, your ductwork is the problem, not your air conditioning unit. Sometimes the solution to this type of problem is as simple as going up into the attic and reconnecting a duct joint that has come loose. Other times the leak is not so obvious, but a skilled HVAC professional will still be able to find the leak and seal it up. This will enable cool air from your air conditioner to reach each vent, as well as prevent hot air from the attic from getting sucked into the ductwork and distributed throughout your home.

Dirty Filters

Dirty filters can also contribute to poor airflow from your vents. Dirty filters put up more resistance than clean filters because of all the dust and contaminants stuck in them. Replacing your dirty filter with a clean one is a simple air conditioning service Chino Hills CA that can improve air circulation by making sure your air conditioner’s fan is able to push air to every corner of your house.

What if These Steps Don’t Work?

If your HVAC professional determines that your house is adequately sealed and insulated, your ductwork is intact, and your filters are clean, yet you still experience air conditioning problems, it’s time to take a look at the air conditioner itself. We will be happy to help you understand the problem and weigh the pros and cons of air conditioner replacement versus air conditioning service Chino Hills CA.

24-Hour Emergency Service

You can’t afford to close down your business when the heat or air conditioning stops working. But you don’t want to subject your customers or employees to a sweltering or frigid environment either. Fortunately, you can call All Star Air Conditioning & Heating for 24 hour service. We will send skilled commercial HVAC contractors Corona CA to your property right away, and we’ll make every effort to get your HVAC system fixed before the malfunction affects your bottom line.

Technical Expertise

Heating and cooling efficiency is important to all of our customers, but especially to commercial property owners who may need to use multiple HVAC units to heat or cool very large spaces. Because all of our commercial HVAC contractors Corona CA have passed their NATE Certification exams, you know we have the technical expertise required to install your new units correctly the first time, resulting in better heating and cooling efficiency and significant cost savings. We can make sure all of your units are working together properly and that your ductwork and vents are set up to deliver heated or cooled air to every corner of your property. We can also quickly and accurately diagnose existing HVAC problems and correct them. Plus, we can perform official HVAC inspections for commercial properties.

Indoor Air Quality Improvement

Air temperature isn’t the only thing that customers notice about your commercial property. They will also make note of unpleasant odors. If your property smells musty or moldy, customers may feel that the atmosphere is unsanitary and choose to take their business elsewhere. For example, you probably wouldn’t want to eat in a restaurant that always smells like wet carpet or get your teeth cleaned in a dental office that smells musty. Employee performance can also be negatively impacted by poor indoor air quality. For example, if allergens like mold spores, dust, or pollen are circulating through your ductwork, some employees may have allergic reactions that make it difficult for them to focus on their work. Fortunately, you can improve your indoor air quality with help from All Star Air Conditioning & Heating. We can help you choose a high-quality filter or air purification system and then install it in your air handler.

Don’t let poor HVAC performance erode your bottom line! Call All Star today and let us help keep your customers and employees happy.

As spring and summer temperatures rise, so can your electricity bill, due to increased reliance on your air conditioning unit to keep your home or business cool and comfortable. Performing proper cleaning and maintenance before hot weather begins can often reduce your cooling costs by ensuring that your unit is running at peak efficiency. Here are a few of the most important maintenance services that your air conditioner needs each spring. Some of them can be accomplished on your own, while others require the assistance of a professional cooling technician.

Condenser Coil Cleaning

Dirty condenser coils interfere with your air conditioner’s ability to transfer heat out of your home, which in turn reduces the unit’s efficiency and overall cooling ability. In order to prevent this, you need to clean the coils once per year. The best time to clean the coils is in the spring, before you begin using the air conditioner heavily. If you want to clean the coils yourself, you can remove the cover and go over the coils with a soft-bristled brush, paying special attention to the inside of the coils. You can get a more thorough cleaning by hiring a qualified technician to clean the coils, either by spraying them with compressed air or with a commercial grade cleaner and a garden hose.

Drain Line Vacuuming

As air conditioners cool on humid days, they produce water, which is disposed of through their drain lines. Naturally, if the drain line becomes clogged, the condensate produced by the air conditioner will not drain properly. This could cause the inside of your air conditioner to grow mold, which would give you poor air quality inside your home. Clogged drains could even lead to water damage inside the walls of your home. In order to prevent this, have a technician cap one end of the drain line and then use a high-pressure vacuum to clean out the drain line. Again, this service should be performed at the beginning of the air conditioning season.

Filter Replacement

Air conditioners are constantly cycling air in and out in order to cool it. As they do so, they also take in and airborne particles such as dust, lint, or allergens that might be floating around in the air inside your home. In order to keep your air conditioner’s intake unobstructed and its output fresh and clean, you need to replace the filters regularly. It’s always good to start out the season with a fresh filter. After that, you should check the filter each month and replace or clean it as needed.

Next time you need assistance with your HVAC system, consider hiring a NATE-certified technician. When you use NATE-certified contractors, you can expect to receive the following benefits:

Improved Home Comfort

Because NATE-certified technicians are highly skilled in all aspects of service and installation, the units they handle simply work better. NATE-serviced units are much more likely to deliver even heating or cooling, which makes for superior home comfort. According to a survey conducted by NATE, customers who hire NATE-certified contractors report that their systems run more quietly and heat and cool better than the systems installed by non-certified contractors. In addition, the survey found that the overall satisfaction rate for clients of NATE-certified technicians is 20 percent higher than for clients of non-certified technicians.

Cost Savings

When heating and cooling systems are installed and maintained properly, they run at peak efficiency, resulting in lower utility bills for homeowners. Plus, because NATE-certified contractors are equipped with the knowledge needed to do things right on the first visit, you can also save money through fewer service visits. The NATE survey found that 74 percent of customers using NATE-certified technicians did not need to call back for additional service. Only 68 percent of customers using non-certified technicians were satisfied without a follow-up visit.

Peace of Mind

Perhaps the biggest benefit of having your HVAC unit installed or serviced by NATE-certified technicians is peace of mind. You know that your valuable new unit will be treated with care and installed correctly the very first time. Plus, you can rest assured that you are getting high-quality, honest advice from a certified technician. Once you hire a NATE-certified contactor, you’ll never go back!

Finding a NATE-Certified Contractor

If you already have an HVAC contractor that you enjoy working with, check with them to see if they have any NATE-certified technicians on staff. If they do, request that they send one of those technicians to service your system. It is necessary to specify, because many companies employ both certified and non-certified technicians. Certified technicians can be identified by the NATE patches they wear or by the official credential cards that they carry. Another option for finding a NATE-certified contractor is to visit the NATE website and use their zip-code-based contractor lookup tool.

Modern servers run hot and fast, which poses a problem because excess heat can prove very damaging to server hardware. High temperatures and humidity can result in random reboots, system crashes, and generally poor performance.

Fortunately, protecting your servers from heat is fairly simple. Make installing and maintaining a high-quality server room cooling system your top priority, and you can significantly reduce the likelihood of server crashes due to equipment failure.

Three Vital Functions of the Cooling System

Your server room cooling system actually has three vital functions to perform: temperature control, humidity reduction, and air circulation. To prevent equipment from overheating, the system should be programmed to keep the room within the recommended range of operating temperatures, as described by the server equipment manufacturer. To prevent rust and corrosion, they system should keep humidity levels between 40 and 55 percent. Finally, in order to ensure a constant temperature in all parts of the room, the cooling system will need to provide air circulation to eliminate hot spots.

Equipment Requirements

Ideally, your server room cooling system should be independent from the rest of the building’s cooling system. This ensures that you can always guarantee ideal temperature conditions in the server room, even on nights or weekends when the rest of the building doesn’t require cooling. Your cooling system should also be able to perform automatic restarts in the event of a power outage, so that cooling can resume as quickly as possible and without manual intervention after hours. Finally, your cooling system should have a vent hose, which can be fed into existing ductwork in order to whisk hot air away from your servers.

Portable air conditioning units that meet all of these equipment requirements are often considered the best way of providing server room cooling. They are simpler and easier to access and maintain than central air conditioning units. Plus, their portability offers the potential to move them around the server room to attack especially stubborn hot spots. Finally, they come with condensation tanks for effectively containing moisture removed from the air during cooling.

If you need help assessing the performance of your server room cooling system or choosing a new system, don’t hesitate to get a professional opinion. With the integrity of your servers at stake, it’s well worth the expense.