Crown Heating, Cooling & Plumbing Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Akron’

Why You Must Change the Furnace Filter Regularly

Monday, February 22nd, 2021

Your furnace has a dedicated filter, which is usually located in a slot on the site of the furnace’s cabinet where the return air duct connects to the blower. You can easily remove the filter from its slot and replace it. In fact, you need to do this on a regular basis during times when the furnace runs routinely.

People are often confused about the purpose of this filter. They assume that the filter does the job of helping to clean a home’s air. Although it does remove particles that come through the return air ducts, this doesn’t have a major impact on the indoor air quality; for true IAQ improvement, a home needs special dedicated filters. What the furnace filter does is protect the interior of the furnace and the air handler from dust and debris. It takes from one to three months for enough material to build up in the filter to the point that it needs to be changed for a clean one.

Tags: Akron, Heating System Maintenance, Heating System Repair
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Watch for These Signs Your Furnace Is Failing

Monday, December 14th, 2020

Here’s something you don’t want to happen this winter: a furnace that abruptly ceases to work. Nobody wants to be trapped in a cold house, desperately trying to arrange for the furnace service in Akron, OH to warm it back up. We have 24-hour emergency repairs to help whenever you encounter a furnace failure, but we know you’d rather avoid this sort of trouble in the first place if possible.

The good news is that furnaces rarely fail without giving off some early warnings. If you know what to look for, you can get our technicians in early to repair the furnace (or, in cases of extremely aged furnaces, replace it) at a more convenient time. Below is a list of the more common warnings that you have a furnace heading for trouble.

Tags: Akron, Furnace Repair, Heating System Repair
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Does Your House Need Repiping?

Monday, November 30th, 2020

Repiping a house is one of the biggest plumbing jobs you may ever need to schedule. But if it’s necessary, it’s also one of the most helpful and important jobs you can have done. Repiping can be done on a smaller scale, but in this post we’re looking at the question of the whole-house repiping, when our expert plumbers remove the outdated pipes from your home and replace them with upgraded material. This will give your whole house a new lease on life and prevent numerous potential future problems with your plumbing in Akron, OH.

So, the big question: Does your home need whole-house repiping?

Outdated Piping Material

To answer this question, you need to know a bit about the types of piping material that may be in your home, depending on its age.

For many decades, the most common metals used for plumbing (in residential and commercial buildings) were lead, cast iron, and galvanized steel. In some cases, clay pipes were used for sewer lines. Although both cast iron and galvanized steel are tough and durable metals, they have drawbacks of eventually succumbing to corrosion after about fifty years. Galvanized steel, which is steel covered with a zinc solution, can also create harmful chemicals in the water because of that zinc solution. Lead pipes are now well-known for creating drinking water hazards that can especially harm young children.

If your house was constructed before 1970, you almost certainly have some of these materials in the plumbing system—and in fact they may make up the entire plumbing system if it was built before 1950. We recommend having plumbers examine the house to check if you have outdated metals that are starting to decay and corrode.

Newer homes may also have problems with a plastic called polybutylene. This gray plastic was used throughout the 1970s and ‘80s as a cheaper substitute for copper but was banned from use in 1996 because it was encountered multiple ruptures. It was installed in over 10 million homes, so if your house was built before 1996 it may have polybutylene pipes.

The Newer Materials

If your home does need repiping, what materials will our plumbers use to make the upgrades? Copper is the metal most commonly used today for plumbing. It’s lightweight and corrosion-resistant (although not corrosion-proof; some types of corrosion still affect it). It’s also difficult for bacteria to grow inside copper pipes because copper creates a biostatic atmosphere.

Plastic pipes are used extensively in indoor plumbing for both hot and cold water lines. The two most commonly used plastic pipes are CPVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride) and PEX (cross-linked polyethylene). PEX is flexible and can be used in tight positions, while CPVC is highly resistant to temperature changes and safe for drinking water. Plumbers will often have different preferences for the type of plastic they use for specific jobs, but you can trust that our plumbers will always see you have the best quality new pipes.

Talk to our plumbers today if you think you may need repiping for your home. We’ll help you make the right choice for your home’s future.

Schedule your plumbing services with Crown Group Ohio. Comfort Experts since 1963.

Tags: Akron, Plumbing, Repiping
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Why Is My Furnace Making That Odd Noise?

Monday, October 19th, 2020

You’ve had your furnace for a few years now, and you are accustomed to the sounds it makes when it turns on and turns off. But then you start to hear something a bit … different. Or maybe a lot different. An out of the ordinary sound or a loud and upsetting noise. You’re worried something is wrong, and that’s a healthy feeling to have, because the furnace system may be warning you it needs professional repairs.

We recommend shutting off the furnace at the dedicated switch (a breaker switch located near the cabinet) and then call us for furnace repair in Akron, OH. Our technicians can diagnose the trouble and find a remedy so your family will stay safe and warm.

Let’s take a look at what those sounds might mean:

Tags: Akron, Furnace Repair, Heating System Repair
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Yes, An Electric Furnace Needs Annual Maintenance

Monday, September 21st, 2020

In our last post, we discussed the importance of annual heating maintenance and having it done each fall. Short version: this maintenance is necessary each year to ensure a heating system remains safe, energy efficient, and in good repair during the winter, and that it will reach its maximum system life expectancy.

“But what about an electric furnace?” a few people may ask. “I get why a gas furnace needs to be checked on but is it that important for an electric furnace?”

The answer is: yes! Heating maintenance is a requirement for all types of heating systems, and your electric furnace in Akron, OH is not an exception.

Electric Furnaces Undergo Strain Like Any Other Heating System

It’s true that electric furnaces have a longer system life average than gas furnaces. The chemical reaction between natural gas exhaust and the parts of a gas furnace will take a toll, and electric furnaces don’t have this issue. But without maintenance, an electric furnace will still fail years too early. You can get 20 years out of an electric furnace with the proper care. Without it, the electrical stress on the system will end its life long before this, possibly giving you only 10 years before needing a replacement. You don’t want to toss away a decade of heating the furnace would have given you.

Electric Furnaces Can Pose Hazards Without Care

It’s easy to convince people they need to be cautious with natural gas-powered systems. But electrical furnaces can pose safety dangers as well. An electric furnace places a large demand on the electrical system of a house, using more power than most appliances, and this may cause shorts to occur and even fires. (If the furnace starts to regularly trip the circuit breaker, please call us about repairs!) Maintenance examines carefully all the wires and electrical connections to make sure a furnace operates at the highest levels of safety during its service life.

Electric Furnaces Can Waste Immense Amounts of Power

An electric furnace has a 100% AFUE (efficiency rating) because all the electrical power converts to heating. There’s no exhaust! But a furnace can start to drain more and more power if it isn’t maintained. Dirt along the heating elements is one way a furnace can become pricier to run. Keeping up with maintenance will keep those energy bills in check.

Electric Furnaces Can Break Down—And Take the Electrical System With Them

Maintenance helps you avoid losing your heating system when you need it the most, and an electrical system is as susceptible to a breakdown as any other type of heater. Tune-ups and inspections will see that you won’t have the furnace fail during one of the coldest days of the year. It also will stop a breakdown from causing damage to the rest of the electrical system and leave you without power.

All it takes to schedule heating maintenance is to sign up for our Crown Comfort Club, which cares for both your heater and AC each year. You’ll receive other benefits as well, such as repair discounts.

Crown Group Ohio is your local comfort experts since 1963. Talk to us today to sign up for our maintenance program and schedule your fall heating maintenance.

Tags: Akron, Electric Furnaces, Heating System Maintenance
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The Tankless Water Heater: Is It Worth Switching?

Monday, August 24th, 2020

If you are currently considering a replacement for your old storage tank water heater, then making the change to a new tankless water heater is probably on your list of potential new systems. We think this is a good idea, since tankless water heaters have multiple benefits that make them worthwhile additions to many homes.

However, before you decide you want to install a tankless water heater in Akron, OH in your house, please call our water heater specialists for a consultation. You will need to have professionals install your water heater, so have them come in early to help with the selection process. We’ll see if a tankless water heater is worth the investment for your house.

Tags: Akron, Tankless Water Heaters, Water Heater Installation
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Benefits of Daikin Mini Split Systems for Your Home

Monday, August 10th, 2020

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We are proud to offer the best products for HVAC available on the market. One product we often recommend is the Daikin mini system. These are types of ductless mini split heat pumps, and they have the potential to change the way you view home comfort. If you are interested in ductless mini splits in Akron, OH for your house or new home construction, please call us to learn more about Daikin mini splits.

Tags: Air Conditioning System Installation, Akron, Ductless Mini Split Systems
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Is a High SEER Rating for a New AC Always Good?

Monday, July 27th, 2020

Shopping for a new air conditioning system for your home, or planning on a replacement AC in the near future? Navigating all the statistics for an air conditioning system can be difficult unless you’re an HVAC professional. Of course, that’s why you have HVAC professionals around to help you with getting a new air conditioner! We’re local experts in air conditioning installation in Akron, OH, and if you’re looking for an AC installation or replacement, get us on the job early so we can help you figure out all those stats … like SEER ratings.

You may know that SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) is a measurement of how energy efficient an air conditioner’s operation is. Therefore, a higher SEER number means a better system that will save you money. Except that’s not always the case. If you are lured by the siren call of the high SEER rating, you may end up with a system that’s completely wrong for your house.

SEER Is Not a Guarantee of Savings or Performance

The basics of SEER is that it’s the ratio of the air conditioner’s cooling output to electrical use as measured over a season. The higher the SEER number, the less electricity the system uses under a range of tests compared to its cooling. However, this only shows what the air conditioning system is capable of when working at its best. It’s not a guarantee it will work at its best all the time. In fact, it won’t.

An easy comparison to make is to think of a car. Just because a car can potentially go 120 mph doesn’t mean it will always go that fast. (It probably never should!) SEER isn’t so extreme, but if you buy a 21 SEER air conditioner, which is a high-efficiency system, it won’t always operate at 21 SEER and will often perform at lower efficiency. Its maximum is 21.

An Oversized System Isn’t a Good Thing

Another factor to consider is the size of the air conditioning system. This is a factor that will outweigh any high SEER number and make the AC wasteful. An air conditioner that is too small for the house will run continuously. Even if it’s running at its peak SEER, it’s running too much and will be a tremendous energy drain. An oversized AC will get stuck in a start-stop mode so the AC will never get close to its SEER rating and waste extra power because it’s starting up too much.

High efficiency is great. We recommend you look for an AC that meets the ENERGY STAR program’s requirements for SEER (currently it’s 15 SEER or above for air conditioners). You may wish to pay more for a higher SEER unit. But make sure you’re informed of all the other factors involved in air conditioning installation by working with professionals. This is the only way to ensure you get the maximum in performance and efficiency from the unit. Otherwise, you may be throwing money away on features that won’t reward you. Leave the work to our professionals when it comes to new air conditioner installation.

Crown Group Ohio serves Stark & Summit Counties. Call for 24/7 comfort assistance.

Tags: Air Conditioning Replacement, Air Conditioning System Installation, Akron
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Couple Your AC with a Dehumidifier This Summer

Monday, July 13th, 2020

Air conditioners are natural dehumidifiers, we know this. In the process of cooling the air in your home, they also remove moisture from the air through condensation. This is great because that moisture can lead to us feeling incredibly uncomfortable and hotter than we would otherwise.

However, your air conditioner, believe it or not, isn’t well-equipped to do a whole lot of dehumidifying. In fact, it can stress your air conditioner out and cause excess wear and tear that could break it down more quickly over time. That’s why we provide installations for dehumidifiers in Akron, OH. These indoor air quality powerhouses can remove large amounts of moisture from your home and leave your air conditioner to do what it does best—cool.

Let’s talk about what this combo can do. Having both an air conditioner and a dehumidifier is a great way to get comprehensive cooling without stressing out your AC.

Tags: Akron, dehumidification, Dehumidifiers, humidity, Indoor Air Quality
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Does Your AC Need a Refrigerant Refill? Probably Not!

Monday, June 29th, 2020

If you ever hear a so-called “HVAC technician” tell you that it’s time to give your air conditioner a refrigerant refill, run the other direction as fast as you can! This technician either has no idea what they’re talking about or they’re trying to pull a fast one on you.

Unfortunately, people are often confused about how refrigerant in an air conditioning system works. They often assume that refrigerant is a type of fuel and the AC will eventually run low on it. Like an automobile, it needs to have more fuel put in to keep it going.

This isn’t how refrigerant works at all. An AC may at some point require more refrigerant, but this is a repair, not a regular task. We’ll explain below to help you understand when you may need more refrigerant, and why most of the time you won’t.

Tags: Air Conditioning System Repair, Akron
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