Category: Land & Property

Another Thing to Be Thankful for: HVAC Technicians!

Celebrate Thanksgiving and Be Grateful for HVAC Technicians

Most people wouldn’t argue that it has been a particularly rough couple of years. With a global pandemic, winter weather disasters, and unseasonably hot summers, many homeowners have been in a unique position all year. While it may be easy to dwell on misfortune and get upset, it’s probably healthier to take stock of what helped mitigate those disasters and be thankful for that instead of getting mired down. 

HVAC technicians have had a special role to play when it comes to staving off all of the natural disasters that have happened in the last year. They keep homes warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and keep air quality inside the home safe for its occupants. This year, during Thanksgiving, take a moment to reflect on the luxuries and necessities that central heating and air conditioning represent. 

hot They Keep Homes Warm in the Winter

Having a working heater in the home during the winter has become much more appreciated after the storms of last year. Not only is a heater important to staying comfortable, but they are also necessary to keep problems caused by cold temperatures from getting worse. A malfunctioning heater can allow temperatures to plummet so much that pipes freeze and burst. 

HVAC contractors keep winter at bay with furnace installation and repairs. Scheduling heater tune-ups in the early part of winter can ensure that a heater will perform reliably during the year. Additionally, installing a new, high-efficiency furnace can lessen the demand that a furnace places on the gas grid and lower the carbon footprint of a home. 

Staying Cool in the Summercold

It’s no secret that summers around Austin are brutal. With high temperatures and muggy humidities to match, summer is probably the season where residents are most grateful for their local HVAC technician. Air conditioning contractors help keep air conditioners reliable with seasonal maintenance and timely repairs. By keeping an air conditioner maintained, homeowners can enjoy things like: 
  • Lower bills
  • Cleaner air
  • Controlled humidity
  • Consistent temperatures throughout the home
  • Extended warranties on equipment

Maintaining Healthy Indoor Air Quality

For over a year now, air quality has been on everyone’s mind. If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught people it is about the value of clean air in a home. A home’s central heating and air conditioning are designed to help amend qualities of air that make it unhealthy, such as:

  • Improper humidity levels
  • Suspended particles
  • Allergens
  • Pathogens

Furnace and AC maintenance are critical to ensuring that a home’s air is safe. The most important step a homeowner can make is ensuring that a high-quality air filter is in place and changed regularly. Air filter replacement can keep all those nasty particles out of the air before they become a problem. 

The second most important step of AC maintenance is ensuring the humidity is at the appropriate level. Humidity that is too high or too low can lower the lung’s natural defenses against infection. By scheduling a tune-up or installing a whole-home humidifier, homeowners can protect themselves against respiratory infection and allergies all year long. 

About A-Plus Air Conditioning & Home Solutions

A-Plus Air Conditioning & Home Solutions has over 40 years of experience protecting its customers from local weather conditions. This family-owned business provides fast and personal service whenever it is needed. Call them to discuss energy-saving HVAC options that can lower bills and make homes more environmentally friendly. 

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Trendy Ideas for Fall Home Decoration

It’s Fall and It’s Time to Get Cozy

As summer comes to a close everyone starts looking forward to the fall. While summers can be a lot of fun, typically people are ready for cooler temperatures away from the brutal heat. As the seasons change, it is a good opportunity to make changes around the home to help celebrate the change in seasons. This can mean anything from home decoration to minor renovations. 

This year, celebrate fall coming again by taking some advice from local handymen that specialize in home decorating and remodeling. Not only can they recommend the latest fall decorating trends, but they can also help implement any vision a homeowner may have. Here is a quick list of some ideas to help transform homes into an autumn oases. 

Liven Up the Front Porch

swing

The late summer in Austin has a tendency to drive people back inside. Early summer is a time for cookouts and parties but by the end of the summer, temperatures are brutal and people look for less uncomfortable activities to do indoors. With cooler temperatures, people can return back outside for their favorite activities and that means living up their outdoor spaces so they can enjoy the respite from the heat. 

The front porch is a great place to start. The front porch should be the most inviting feature of a home. Not only does a porch communicate hospitality to guests, it also adds to the curb appeal of a home. A front porch swing is a great addition to any porch. A swing gives the homeowners an opportunity to sit out and enjoy the fall weather as well as greet passersby on evening walks. Planters or extra lighting can also be great additions to an inviting autumn porch.  

Spice Up the Walls

Fall is the beginning of the holiday season. This makes it a great time to get a jump on home updates before guests start to come and go from the home. The beginning of fall is a great time to repaint high traffic areas around the home. This can enhance the coziness of spaces and make them inviting for guests all through the season. Color schemes can also be oriented around the holiday and accented with decorations for added effect. 

Warm, neutral color schemes can allow homeowners to freshen up a space without committing too much to a color that won’t be attractive the rest of the year. This way, entertainment spaces can be ready for guests in the coming season without needing to be repainted or redesigned next season. 

handymaHire a Handyman for Help

When it comes to redecorating in celebration of fall, homeowners don’t have to do it alone. Handyman services have a variety of skills that can help homeowners realize their dreams of an inviting and cozy fall home. 

Some of the reasons to hire a handyman for help are:

  • Getting projects done on time
  • Keeping projects within budget
  • Ensuring no hiccups happen that can be common with DIY projects
  • Large skillsets make many different types of projects affordable and attainable

About A-Plus Air Conditioning & Home Solutions

A-Plus Air Conditioning & Home Solutions is a handyman service in Austin with over 40 years of experience. Their experienced and professional staff are ready to help on all decorating and renovation projects. Call them today to speak with a professional and trusted handyman. 

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Don't Let your System Get Iced Up by These 3 Preventable AC Problems

3 Common but Avoidable AC Problems

Summer soon will be drawing to a close and taking the hot temperatures with it. However, this time of year, summer usually has a way of surprising everyone with some brutally hot days before it finally gives way to fall. In these last days of summer, protecting the air conditioner is crucial. Usually, this is the time of the year where air conditioners work their hardest and homeowners want them to finish the cooling season strong. Taking advice from professional AC maintenance crews can help homeowners squeeze every bit of performance out of their air conditioner in the final stretch before the fall chill arrives. 

The following is a quick list of problems to look out for to keep air conditioners running all the way up until the end of the season. 

Lack of Airflow

With temperatures and humidity at their worst, the end of the summer can be truly uncomfortable if the air conditioner isn’t working well. One of the most irritating problems that can happen at the end of the summer is a lack of airflow that prevents the home from cooling or dehumidifying. The result is a humid and sticky home. 

Lack of airflow can be caused by problems such as:

  • Poor maintenance like dirty filters or clogged coils
  • Broken ductwork that allows cooled air to escape or hot air to enter the plenum 
  • Frozen AC coils that are the result of low refrigerant pressure  or problematic motors 

Regular maintenance is the best remedy and prevention for a lack of airflow. During regular visits, HVAC technicians can monitor all of the causes of low airflow so that it never becomes a problem. 

Leaks in Coils and Refrigerant Lines

refrigerant

One of the things that makes an air conditioner cool the air in the home is a chemical called “refrigerant.” Refrigerants are chemicals that capture and release heat to move it outside of the home. The process by which they accomplish this involves their condensation and evaporation. 

Refrigerants are held under high pressures in the coils and tubing in an air conditioner. If the coils or tubing springs a leak, refrigerant can leak out and lead to a loss of performance in the unit. Performing regular maintenance and inspection on an air conditioner can help ensure that leaks are prevented. During routine maintenance, AC professionals will clean and inspect coils to make sure they won’t leak. If leaks are discovered, they can be repaired quickly so that performance is restored to the unit. 

No Power to the Unit

hvac unit One of the easiest problems to notice is an AC that isn’t getting power. Whether it's the sweltering heat inside the home or the lack of power at the digital thermostat, a unit with no power is an easy problem to see. 

Some of the likely problems that can cause an AC to lose power are:

  • Battery-powered thermostats that need new batteries
  • Breakers that have tripped due to electrical problems within the unit
  • Cutoff switches that won’t allow the unit to run due to flooding caused by clogged drain lines

When air conditioners don’t have power, professional help should be sought. Most of the time, the lack of power is an indication of larger problems that will require repairs. 

About A-Plus Air Conditioning & Home Solutions 

A-Plus Air Conditioning & Home Solutions has served Austin, TX for over 40 years. With fast service and quick turnarounds, they are committed to keeping the folks of Austin cool. Call them today for professional AC service in Austin.

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Cheap but Effective Ways To Stay Cool During the Summer

Three Easy Tips To Beat the Heat

It’s no secret that summer temperatures can get almost unbearable. And as those temperatures heat up, homeowners run to the thermostat to crank up the AC. However, in doing so, they crank up their utility payments too. Additionally, running the air conditioner harder has the unintended effect of increasing the likelihood of a breakdown. Summer breakdowns can leave homeowners uncomfortable as well as costing tons of money for emergency repairs. Surely there must be a way to stay cool without breaking the bank. 

In this article, air conditioning specialists want to help people stay cool during the summer without needlessly spending money and using energy. Instead of running the wheels off of the air conditioner, there are a few things that homeowners can do to stay cool. 

Lower the Temperature of Your Shower

shower One of the easiest things to do to stay cool during the summer is to simply lower the temperature of the water in the shower. Long ago, this was standard practice to reduce costs during the summer, but at some point, many people stopped doing this. Showering in cold water has numerous benefits for both saving money and improving health, including:
  • Alleviates dry or itchy skin
  • Improves the health of skin and hair by not stripping them of their natural oils
  • Increases circulation and helps wake people up
  • Saves money on water heating bills
  • Reduces soreness

Cooler showers invigorate the body while costing a lot less, making this a staple during the summer can have huge long-term benefits. 

Change the Sheets

bed One of the things that people love to do, regardless of the season, is to slip into a comfortable bed at the end of a long day. In the winter, that means fluffy comforters that help people stay warm. In the summer, this type of bedding is totally inappropriate. 

Studies show that the optimal sleep temperatures are in the high 60s and low 70s. Using the air conditioner to maintain these temperatures can be expensive in the hot summer. To save money, look at more appropriate bedding. 

Certain types of bedding like synthetic sheets or linen bedding can help a body stay cool while in bed. Having seasonal bedding changes can help save money by keeping sleepers more comfortable regardless of the season while also taking less of a toll on the central heating and cooling system. 

Keep Clean Air Filters Handy

An efficient air conditioner is one that operates cheaply and keeps the home safe and comfortable. The first step to keeping an air conditioner efficient is to make sure that it always has clean filters in place. Dirty filters interrupt the airflow of an air conditioner and prevent the free exchange of air. They can also allow dust to build up inside of the unit leading to more numerous repairs. Changing air filters at least every three months can help keep the unit running efficiently. This allows the home to stay cooler while costing less money and preventing trouble down the road. 

About A-Plus Air Conditioning & Home Solutions

A-Plus Air Conditioning & Home Solutions keeps Austin homes cool and energy-efficient. With a primary goal of increasing energy efficiency, they can help homeowners be more green and save money. Whether that includes AC repairs or a new AC installation, their excellent technicians can handle any job with ease.

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Back to School for Homeowners with Remodeling 101

Basics of Professional Home Remodeling

Purchasing a home is the biggest investment most people will make. Protecting that investment is important to preserving the value that homeowners have in the home. Remodeling a home can help increase a home’s value and make it more comfortable and stylish to live in. While DIYers love to tackle simple home renovations, professional home renovations can be less stressful and get completed in better time than DIY projects. 

In this article, professional renovators share their experiences with local homeowners, focusing on remodeling projects that increase the value of a home can help homeowners maximize the value of their investment over the years. 

Ideas for Home Remodeling

Small home remodels may focus on just updating a single room in the house. Larger scale remodels that add more value can focus on things like:

  • Updating flooring
  • Replacing windows with more energy-efficient models
  • Adding new rooms onto a house
  • Repainting
  • Adding a deck or replacing a fence

By updating aspects of the whole home, the value is better preserved, and it gives a more cohesive feel to the home as a whole. Such additions to a home can greatly increase its value when the homeowner is planning on selling. If the homeowner plans to stay, they still have the value and the pride of having a beautifully updated home. 

Kitchen Updates During Remodeling

kitchen

A home remodel wouldn’t be complete without some updates to the kitchen. When updating a kitchen, it’s important to pay attention to style and functionality. Some great ways to update a kitchen are: 

  • Upgrading countertops and backsplash
  • Installing new appliances, especially stoves and fridges
  • Changing out light fixtures and adding lighting to make cooking easier
  • Removing a wall to open the space up
  • Painting cabinets or replacing them with open-concept shelving
  • Replacing kitchen sinks and adding new fixtures and pot-fillers

Remodeling for Better Bathrooms

bathroomBathrooms are a great place to add value to a home. Whether the homeowner has a small budget that needs to pack a big punch or a bigger budget that allows for bigger ticket items, renovated bathrooms always add value to a home. Here are a few ideas to get started with:
  • Accessibility: With an aging population, one of the biggest concerns will be making homes safe for people with limited mobility. Updating a bathroom to make it more accessible can keep aging family members safe while increasing the home’s value. 
  • Updating Fixtures: Fixtures are a small budget item that can totally transform a bathroom. Updating sinks, faucets, and shower hardware can make an old space feel new again. 
  • Install New Lighting: Light fixtures are one of the first things to become outdated in a bathroom. New fixtures are cheap and can allow homeowners to focus on energy efficiency. 
  • Change the Layout: Gutting a bathroom allows for the opportunity to rearrange the bathroom to a more user-friendly layout. Moving toilets and bathtubs can increase the usable space or will enable the homeowner to install a stylish walk-in shower. 

About A-Plus Air Conditioning & Home Solutions

A-Plus Air Conditioning & Home Solutions has been helping Austin homeowners renovate their homes for over 40 years. They offer a wide array of renovation services at competitive prices. Homeowners get their value from the experienced technicians at A-Plus Air Conditioning & Home Solutions.

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