To choose a high-quality filter, there are several factors to keep in mind:
• Efficiency — In furnace filter terms, “efficiency” refers to how well the filter removes pollutants from the air. A 90 percent efficiency rating, for instance, would mean that the filter removes 90 percent of all particles from the air with each pass. Efficiency is often reported by Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV), which rates standard furnace filter quality on a scale from 1 to 15.
• Initial efficiency — This is the efficiency a filter has when it’s new. Oddly, filters are often less efficient when they are brand new. As dust particles are captured and plug some of the holes, they help block other particles from passing through, which improves efficiency.
• Sustained efficiency — The efficiency level that a filter can sustain over time.
• Dust-spot efficiency — Refers specifically to how well the filter captures dust particles (as opposed to microbes, pollen or spores).
• Dust-holding capacity — This is the amount of dust that a filter can hold and still be effective. If you choose a filter with a higher dust-holding capacity, it may last longer before it needs to be cleaned or replaced.
• Resistance. All furnace filters create some level of air resistance. Usually, the more efficient an air filter is, the more air resistance it will create. Resistance can be a problem in HVAC systems, however, limiting the flow of air and reducing the furnace’s efficiency. High resistance also forces the furnace to work longer and harder, adding to wear and tear on the system. You can still use filters with higher resistance, but only if the owner’s manual or your HVAC expert approves its use, and your duct system is properly designed and sealed.

For help in selecting the perfect furnace filter for your greater St. Louis Area home, contact the air-quality professionals at All Air Systems Heating and Cooling. We would be happy to answer your questions.

Selecting heat pump features

Over the past several years, advancements in heat pump design have significantly boosted the efficiency of air-source heat pumps. The following advanced features are engineered for longer life span, greater efficiency and/or quieter operation:

• Variable-speed air handlers adjust air velocity to the real-time heating and cooling needs of your home. In contrast to a conventional air handler that zooms along at 100 percent capacity all of the time, a variable-speed air handler most often cycles in slower speeds, saving substantial electricity, and providing even heating throughout your home.
• Two-stage compressors pump the precise amount of refrigerant needed for optimal heat exchange. Adjusting refrigerant flow as needed produces less wear and tear on the compressor, and provides quieter function.
• Demand-defrost control saves energy by defrosting the condensing coil only as needed, as opposed to a conventional heat pump that initiates the defrost cycle on a schedule, whether or not it’s needed.
• An adaptive intelligent recovery thermostat prevents the backup heating element, electric resistance coils, from activating when the indoor temperature is out of range (by more than 2 degrees) of the thermostat setting. This is important for homeowners that set back their thermostat to save energy when they are away from home and sleeping. Without an adaptive intelligent recovery thermostat, the backup heating element powers on, consuming much more energy than heat pump heating.
• A desuperheater coil is a component that captures exhaust gases, which would otherwise be wasted energy, to heat water for your home. This method of heating water is highly efficient, particularly during the summer season when there is more heat in the air.

For more information about selecting heat pump features, and any HVAC questions you may have, contact All Air Systems Heating and Cooling at 314-966-5600. We are located in Kirkwood and have provided quality services for Greater St. Louis Area for more than 30 years.

If you live in a home with high or vaulted ceilings, you’ll especially benefit from ceiling fans set at their lowest speed setting to gently mix the air. But any homeowner can enhance heating during winter using ceiling fans. In the summer, ceiling fans make you feel cooler, but in the winter, they actually bring down the heated air near the ceiling to redistribute already heated air, and help keep the temperature more uniform in your rooms.

Many ceiling fans have two settings, one for hot weather and the other for cold. In the winter, the switch should be set so that fan blades turn clockwise. According to experts, the air at the ceiling can often be significantly warmer than the air in the lower part of the room. Using ceiling fans, the blades move the hot air out toward the edges of a room, and down the wall, where the process starts all over again, with the heat rising to the top of the room. That’s how running a ceiling fan helps redistribute the overall warmth.

Using ceiling fans can also cut down on some of the water condensation that gathers on windows when it’s excessively cold outside, because they move the air around a room continuously, helping to keep the glass in the windows warmer.

Before installing ceiling fans, be sure you find the right place for them. They should be hung from a reinforced plate in the ceiling or from a dedicated electrical box. You may want to hire an electrician if you don’t have any light fixtures in the ceiling, since you’ll have to run wires to the site. Ceiling fans are also heavy and need to be securely hung to avoid accidents.

If you’d like more information about using ceiling fans and learning more about holding the line on your heating bills, contact All Air Systems Heating and Cooling at 314-966-5600. We’ve provided HVAC services for Greater St. Louis Area for more than 30 years.

You can’t smell it, see it or taste it, but carbon monoxide (CO) is toxic. This gas is produced during the fuel combustion process of some stoves, engines and heating systems. If these devices are operating inside a closed environment, and their normally safe venting system malfunctions, carbon monoxide builds in the air and can cause a variety of symptoms ranging from a simple headache, nausea and blurred vision to a coma, seizures and death. There is a simple device that can help you protect yourself against this deadly gas: a carbon monoxide detector.

Carbon monoxide detectors are available in both alternating current (AC) and battery-powered models. Regardless of which type you choose, the product will monitor the level of carbon monoxide near the area of the installation, and sound an alarm in cases where the gas builds to harmful levels. The alarm will sound at lower concentrations of CO to warn occupants before hazardous levels are reached.

The following are simple rules you can follow when installing and caring for carbon monoxide detectors, which will ensure that they provide adequate protection:

• Carbon monoxide detectors should be installed on or near the ceiling, as the gas typically rises to the top of the room along with warm air released by appliances and equipment that combust.
• Consult the owner’s manual to determine the life span of the unit. Battery-powered devices don’t last as long as hard-wired detectors. Repl 

  ace expired units promptly.

• If the detector is battery-powered, test the model monthly and replace the batteries as needed.
• Install a carbon monoxide detector outside of all sleeping areas.
• Install a carbon monoxide detector on every floor of the home.
• Follow the manufacturer’s installation guidelines.
• If an AC unit is on a switch-enabled circuit, ensure that the circuit is always active.
• Do not place a detector near a heating system, cooking appliances or near areas of high humidity, which can lead to false readings.

For expert advice about carbon monoxide detector operation, installation or troubleshooting, please contact the knowledgeable staff at All Air Systems Heating and Cooling by calling 314-966-5600. We’ve served homeowners in the Greater St. Louis Area for more than three decades.

Particulates: Particulates are particles of solids, liquids, or both, found in the air. Particulates such as fumes, smoke, viruses and bacteria, animal dander, dust mites, molds and pollen are often found in the home. Inhaling these very small particles may cause or worsen respiratory conditions.

Gaseous pollutants: Gaseous pollutants include organic chemicals and combustion gases. Common sources include radon from the ground that penetrates into the house, exhaust fumes, tobacco smoke, solvents, chemical cleaning products, paint, dyes, deodorizers, and products that give off a smell. Over time, exposure to gaseous pollutants may also lead to allergies, or aggravate respiratory problems. Utilizing air-cleaning equipment helps homeowners improve indoor air quality. A few options include:

• Electronic air cleaners — Electronic air cleaners electronically attract charged particles, in the form of either ion generators or electrostatic precipitators. You can purchase a portable unit, but installing a whole-house system that works in conjunction with your heating and cooling system eliminates pollutants throughout the home.
• Ultraviolet systems – UV lights alter the cells of microorganisms, rendering them harmless. They deactivate biological pollutants and therefore improve indoor air quality; however, UV rays only target contaminants like mold, bacteria and viruses. You can achieve better home air purification by using UV lights in combination with other air-cleaning technologies that also target other particulates and gases.
• Air-purification systems — The best option for controlling indoor air quality may be to select a high-quality air-purification system that uses a combination of technologies such as a high-performance filter, UV lights and a catalyst which, when combined with the UV rays, attacks odors.

For more information on indoor air quality, please contact All Air Systems Heating and Cooling at 314-966-5600.  We are located in Kirkwood and proudly serve the Greater St. Louis Area.

Increasing conditions that lead to static electricity, causing often unpleasant jolts when touching remote controls, door knobs and other metal objects, dry air is also responsible for a variety of other complaints, including:

• Dry skin
• Chapped lips
• Dry noses and/or nosebleeds
• Itchy eyes
• Scratchy throats
• Headaches
• Tiredness
• Coughing and wheezing (which can turn into serious respiratory conditions)

Even your home suffers from dry air, as it can cause floors, furniture, doors, window and door frames, moldings, paintings and walls to shrink, crack and splinter. A whole-house humidifier addresses all of these problems. A whole-house humidifier is installed between your heating system’s air-supply duct and the air-return duct. Some of the heated, high pressure air flowing into your home is diverted through the whole-house humidifier, where it collects large quantities of water vapor. The still-hot air is then fed straight back into the cold water return, where it is again heated, causing the droplets of water to be completely vaporized and absorbed into the stream of air, which is then blown into your home via the vents.

In addition to improving indoor air quality and alleviating the problems mentioned above by binding dust (making the air easier to breathe) and providing your body — as well as your home and fittings — with just the right amount of the necessary moisture to prevent problems, a whole-house humidifier offers energy savings, as moist air tends to make you feel warmer. As a result, you can lower the thermostat’s temperature and save.

For more information on how a whole-house humidifier can help you this winter, contact All Air Systems Heating and Cooling today by calling 314-966-5600 or click here for more about our products.

The age of your furnace may be irrelevant

It is important to know that every furnace, no matter the age, can become unsafe.  Newer government energy guidelines have mandated furnace manufacturers to increase fuel efficiency.  One obvious way they’ve done this is to reduce the thickness of the metal used in their heat exchangers to allow faster transfer of heat from the burning fuel to the indoor air.

The downside if thinner metal being used in today’s heat exchangers is that, if the furnace is not sized correctly or installed properly, many of the new furnaces have been found to fail within just a few years.  Unfortunately, homeowners don’t know if this has occurred until a problem is detected.  For this reason, the qualifications and reputation of the installing contractor should be a determining factor when taking bids instead of price alone.

What causes a heat exchanger to fail?

The heat exchanger is the metal passage separating combustion products and gasses form the indoor air being heated.  This metal is exposed to the hot flame within the furnace and is constantly expanding and contracting as the furnace heats up and cools down.  The stress of this constant expansion and contraction will eventually wear the metal out.  This is known as “metal fatigue”.  Over tine, this will cause the metal in the heat exchanger to split or crack – no different than if you were to bend a paper clip back and forth until it breaks.  Horizontal furnaces (typically installed in crawlspaces below the home) and oversized furnaces (where the gas is constantly turning on and off) are subject to more stress and usually wear out sooner due to their operating conditions.  These types of furnaces should be inspected yearly – especially if they are more than ten years old.

Keeping your furnace’s blower clean is critical

Dirt build-up on the blades of your furnace’s blower can also contribute to early aging of your furnace’s heat exchanger.  Blower cleaning is critical since a build-up of dirt on the blower’s blades will reduce the furnace’s airflow and cause it to use more electricity.  The lower airflow will cause the furnace to run hotter, increasing the rate of expansion and contraction of the heat exchanger’s metal.  The end result is excessive metal fatigue and eventual premature failure.

How can I know if my furnace is safe?

A professional inspection by All Air is the most accurate way to know for sure if your furnace’s heat exchanger is sound.  Electronic “gas sniffers” can help find bad heat exchangers, but it is important that they never be used as the reason to condemn a furnace.  They can be fooled and are wrong in a great many circumstances.

A good investment is a complete tune-up and cleaning. All Air Systems’ Comfort Club Program provides the maintenance your system needs.  Our expert technicians will clean the system and at the same time check your system’s operation for maximum efficiency and safety. The maintenance includes checking the gas valve, system controls, electrical voltage, flue venting cracks and obstructions, limit controls and pressure switches.  And, the technician will pull and clean the blower wheel if necessary.   Heat exchanger examination can range from visual inspection, mechanical sniffers, and up to and including application of phosphorescent die that will show stress cracks when exposed to a black light source.

What are my options?

If you do have a failed heat exchanger, it is serious and, if left uncorrected, can be fatal.  That is why, when a failed heat exchanger is discovered, the furnace must be shut off for obvious safety reasons.  Since it is against the law to repair it, the heat exchanger or the entire furnace must be replaced.  Which should you choose?

First refer to any warranty information you have relating to your furnace. However, if the failure was due to improper sizing or installation, consider that a new heat exchanger will be subject to the same conditions which led to the premature failure of the original. Under these circumstances, a new furnace may be a wiser investment. Of course, other factors such as the age and efficiency of your existing furnace should also be considered in making your decision.

If your failed heat exchanger is no longer under a manufacturer’s part warranty, it is in your best economic and safety interest to replace the furnace. If you have a furnace with a failed heat exchanger that is still under a manufacturer’s part warranty, All Air will assist you in determining the availability of the part and the labor charges associated with the replacement of the heat exchanger.  We will also assist with the determination if repair is in your best interest.  We do this by helping you take into account the age of the furnace, the repair history, the efficiency of the appliance and the cost comparisons between furnace repair and replacement.  Every situation is unique.  Having a service partner like All Air Systems who is attuned to the specific needs of your situation is key to your successful outcome.

There’s no better time than the present to consider your home comfort and energy savings through the coming winter season — especially if your furnace is on its last legs and you’re not sure if it will make it through another winter. If you find yourself in this position, consider a high-efficiency furnace.

When you have the luxury of time on your side, you can comparison shop, consider furnace features that will boost home comfort and maximize your investment. You don’t want to be hurriedly choosing a furnace when it’s cold and you’re without heat.

Here’s what you need to know about the value of choosing a high-efficiency furnace, and why even homeowners in our area can benefit from one:
➢ Furnace efficiency: The first factor you’ll want to consider is furnace efficiency ratings, annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE). High-efficency systems begin at 80 percent AFUE, meaning that they waste only 20 percent of the energy that they consume, typically through standby or combustion losses. Older furnaces waste twice that amount.
➢ Lifetime costs: High-efficiency furnaces utilize features that run more slowly, and as a result, last longer. Therefore, even though they will cost you more to invest in initially because of higher up-front costs, you’ll save more over time — and get a better return on investment — through a higher level of home comfort and higher monthly energy savings. That simple fact should entice homeowners in our area, even though we have a shorter heating season than our neighbors to the North, to invest in a high-efficiency furnace. It will last longer—it’s maintained regularly—than a furnace on the lower end of the efficiency-ratings scale.
➢ Features: High-efficiency furnaces use high-tech features such as two-stage heating and variable-speed air blower motors, which operate at lower speeds throughout the day and automatically adjust the system’s heating output and delivery of air to meet weather demands.
For more information about high-efficiency furnaces, contact us at All Air Systems Heating and Cooling today. We’ve been serving the greater St. Louis area for more than thirty years.