My AC Is Short-Cycling… Should I Be Worried?

July 31st, 2017

air-conditioning-tool-bagYes, you should be worried! But you can stop worrying quickly, because all you have to do is contact our HVAC specialists, any day of the week, and we’ll have technicians out to your home to find out what’s wrong with your air conditioning system. Then we’ll have the problem solved, fast.

We could end the blog post right here, but we want to share some information with you about why short-cycling is trouble for an air conditioning system and the various ways it might start. Short-cycling can be the symptom of many different AC issues, from minor to major. The air conditioner could need a new filter, or it might need to be replaced. Our technicians will discover the exact issue and find the best air conditioning service in Madera, CA to get your home cooled down once more.

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The Benefits of Zone Control

July 17th, 2017

vent-registerOne of the services we offer our customers is complete zone control installation and replacement. A zone control system allows a homeowner to manipulate which parts (“zones”) of a home receive conditioned air from the heating and air conditioning system.

The standard HVAC configuration in a home distributes conditioned air to every room connected to the ventilation system—regardless of whether the room requires climate control or not. This is convenient, but not exactly practical. Imagine having ­every light in a house come on when one switch is flipped. True, all the areas that need light would have it. But all the areas that don’t need light would also have it, and that’s a huge energy waste.

Zone control is an effective tool to restrict airflow to empty rooms without creating air pressure spikes inside the ventilation system. (This is what happens if people attempt “zone control” by simply blocking or closing room vents.) The system uses a series of dampers fit inside the ducts that connect to a network of local thermostats and a central thermostat. Local thermostats can make requests for heated or cooled air, and the system adjusts the thermostats and the operation of the heating/air conditioning system to meet those requests.

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Why We Recommend Whole-House Fans

July 3rd, 2017
standing-fan

Imagine this—but powerful enough for the whole house!

Air conditioning costs get steep during the hot summers we experience here in the Central Valley. Temperatures in the high 90s are common throughout the season, and most people simply can’t make it through a hot day without an effective air conditioning system to cool down their homes.

However, there are ways to supplement an air conditioning system so it doesn’t have to put in as much work during summer, helping to chop down scary monthly electrical bills. One method we strongly recommend is putting in a whole-house fan. Continue below for more about how these systems work and their benefits.

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How to Set Your Thermostat for Summer

June 28th, 2017

adjusting-thermostatThe Central Valley is already experiencing days with highs in the 90s, and summer hasn’t even officially started. Now is when you’ll get the most use from your air conditioning system. If you’ve taken good care of it and kept up with regular maintenance (it’s not too late to schedule it!), the air conditioning system in your house has the best chance of making it through the hot weather with few problems.

But you might be forcing your air conditioning system in Clovis, CA to do more work than necessary because of the way you set the thermostat. If you fiddle with the thermostat settings throughout the day, you’re almost certainly wasting energy and not receiving ideal comfort levels. Here’s our guide to setting your thermostat for energy-saving HVAC performance this summer.

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My AC Is Tripping the Circuit Breaker! What’s Wrong?

June 20th, 2017

During the winter, we looked at how a tripped circuit breaker can occur with a furnace. It can happen with your air conditioning system as well—it definitely has to work hard during our hot summers here in the Central Valley! An air conditioning system is a powerful appliance that draws on large amounts of electricity, which makes it possible for it to demand too much and cause a breaker to trip to protect the circuit. When that happens, the air conditioning system won’t run.

We advise people to always check their breakers when their AC suddenly shuts down. If you run into this situation, but the air conditioner continues to cause the circuit to trip, you have a more serious issue that will require professional air conditioning repair in Oakhurst, CA or elsewhere in the Central Valley.

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Some Specific Consequences for an AC without Maintenance

May 23rd, 2017

tools-on-ac-unitWe place a special emphasis on regular air conditioning maintenance during the spring. There’s no better way to protect your investment in your HVAC equipment and ensure a long service life. Maintenance also helps keep your air conditioning system running at high efficiency and with reduced chances of breaking down suddenly during a hot day.

We’d like to explain in more detail exactly ­why maintenance is so essential. To do that, we’re going to list some of the ways that lack of maintenance creates trouble for an air conditioner. Explaining to people that “wear and tear” is bad news for an AC only tells part of the story. Actually showing people what this wear and tear is and what it does gets to the heart of the necessity of annual air conditioning system maintenance.

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Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Barbeque Smokers

May 9th, 2017

Friday barbeques are a tradition at Purl’s Sheet Metal. Our team of employees, customers and invited guests enjoy the weekly Friday lunch at our Madera office. Every week there is something different on the menu. After searching for a BBQ smoker, we decided to fabricate our own. What started as a passion to create the best “smoked” meats for our weekly lunch, quickly turned into a prototype for a new barbeque smoker. (Lasagna in the smoker is a Purl’s Friday lunch favorite!)
The food from our BBQ smokers was so delicious, our employees and our customers started asking to order one for their personal use. After much testing and sampling of great meals, we came up with a well-designed smoker.

Custom BBQ Smoker Sheet Metal Fabrication

Purl’s Sheet Metal fabricates custom BBQ smokers.

Each barbeque smoker body is custom fabricated in our sheet metal shop in Madera, CA. Each smoker contains a top vent, side vents, chrome plated steel cooking grill, meat hanging hooks, removable fire basket, and temperature gauge. It is assembled with care and precision in the USA in Madera, CA. We are proud to announce they are now available for purchase and special order. Options are available for special orders, so give us a call at Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning for all the details or even from some great new recipes!

 

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Allergy Season and Your Indoor Air Quality

May 8th, 2017

woman-with-allergiesNow that it’s May, we’re deep into the allergy season. This time of year can be miserable for people who suffer from pollen and grass allergies, leading to the dreaded “hay fever.” Even for people who don’t have specific allergies like these, the high pollen count in the air can add an extra level of irritation to the day from an itchy nose to mild headaches.

You don’t have to suffer during allergy season. There are ways to reduce the problem, and we’ve recently looked at how installation of indoor air quality products in your home can make a big difference in how allergy season affects people in your household. Talk to our professionals to find out more about our indoor air quality services in Fresno, CA and throughout the Central Valley. We’ll find a solution for you!

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Take Advantage of Spring with a New AC System Installment

May 1st, 2017

air-conditioning-system-grill-top-downRight now we’re enjoying lovely weather here in the Central Valley. Not too hot, not too cold. It’s just what you expect from the middle of spring.

But spring also is a warning that things are going to heat up soon. Summer isn’t far off, and this is the right time to have preparations to see that your air conditioning system is in prime shape for the work to come. Change the filters, give the AC a test run, and most important of all, contact us to schedule your annual air conditioning maintenance tune-up and inspection.

But since no air conditioning system can last forever, this might be the season when the work you arrange with our HVAC technicians is an AC replacement. No problems! It’s a bigger job, but one we’ve been handling for decades. Our experts know how to find the best new air conditioner to meet your needs, size it accurately, and have it in place fast so you’re ready for whatever heat comes your way.

And it’s best not to delay the job if this is the Year of the Replacement. Spring is the right time.

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Low Airflow: Why This Happens, What Can Be Done

April 26th, 2017

fan-on-white-backgroundWhether you have your heating or air conditioning system running (at this time of the year, you never know which one you’ll need) a common trouble you may encounter is a drop in the airflow coming from the room vents. There are many different reasons for a decline in airflow, which is why we recommend you call on our professionals to take a look into the situation to discover what needs to be fixed—or replaced.

Below we’ll look at some of the causes of low airflow and how they can be remedied.

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