Because of differences in size (square footage), layout (single or multilevel), exposure, leakage, and other issues that affect HVAC sizing and cost, it is nearly impossible to put an exact price on a new HVAC system. Fortunately, you can get a free, no obligation quote from Peterson’s for your specific setup.

We recommend that your heating or cooling system is cleaned and serviced twice each year to ensure perfect operation. Regular cleaning and maintenance also help to keep the air expelled by your system clean and pure. You can choose to arrange your regular maintenance when you need, or you can become a Peterson member and enjoy the benefits of regular maintenance and discounts.

There are many things that could go wrong with your heating and cooling system. Give your thermostat settings a quick check and check that any batteries are in working order. You can also check your circuit breakers as this is a common problem that our customers often overlook. No matter what heating or air conditioning system you have, Peterson can always assist.

Low refrigerant can cause your system to freeze up. Over time, wear and tear to your system can result in leaks that cause the system to lose refrigerant. When your unit loses refrigerant, it causes the system to freeze up because of low pressure inside the system.

When refrigerant levels are low, the refrigerant still is forced to expand to the same amount. The more that expansion occurs, the cooler the temperature is produced. The colder temperature will cause moisture in the air around your unit’s evaporator coil to freeze, eventually icing up the coil and impeding its function.

Dirty evaporator coils and filters can cause units to lose airflow and, eventually, cause the system to freeze up. Defective blower motors can also cause freezing.

You should never turn your system completely off when you leave for the day. Either raise or lower your thermostats three to five degrees from its normal set point. That way, your system maintains an ideal temperature all day, and you don’t have to power it on high when you get home.

If you notice an increase in the amount of dust circulating in your home, double-check the type of air filtration you’re using. The wrong size filter, or a low-quality type of filter, is going to be inefficient. You also might want to consider adding an air purifier to your home’s ventilation process.

The average home air conditioning company sees a lot of emergency service calls resulting from dirty air filters. To safeguard the performance, efficiency, and lifespan of your system, changing or cleaning your filter once a month is recommended – once every 3 months, at a minimum if you live in a home with no kids and no pets.

To help you understand the main difference between the various kinds of whole-home systems, we’ve grouped them into two types: active and passive. Both types of purification systems work with your existing HVAC system, utilizing your home’s blower motor and ductwork to purify the air in your home. However, they work in two very different ways.

Passive systems generally wait for the air to come to them. Passive systems are those where you either install UV lights or a 13-rated MRV HEPA filter on your system. Here’s how they work.

HEPA FILTER: PASSIVE

A HEPA filter works just like your standard filter, only it’s rated higher to collect and stop much finer particulates from being circulated through your air. This is a relatively inexpensive way to remove some of those airborne toxins like mold, germs, and viruses. However, there is a catch to this method. (Get it, catch? Like, catching particles?) While the tight, dense weave of a HEPA filter is perfect for catching most of the fine particles in the air, it can also restrict airflow. This forces your HVAC system to work harder, and makes your system less efficient and could contribute to early system breakdowns. So, for the money you could be saving on this purification solution, it could potentially cost you a lot down the line.

UV LIGHT: PASSIVE

Another alternative that purifies the air in a passive way is a UV light that attaches to the inside of your HVAC ducting. When the air moves past the UV light, the light kills the germs, viruses, bacteria, mold, volatile organic compounds, odors, etc. that might be floating in the air. But, like any HVAC system-mounted passive purification solution, this also has a downside. Because of where it sits inside your system, there’s no guarantee that the UV light will be able to clean all the air in your home. It’s dependent on the air that passes over the light for effectiveness. So, while this can be an effective solution, there are no guarantees that it can cover the whole home or assure that every harmful particle will pass over the UV light.

REME HALO: ACTIVE

Rather than sitting and waiting for the pollutants to come through the system, active systems will go after pollutants in the air and on the surfaces of your home. An active purification system like the Reme-Halo installed in the ducting of your HVAC unit, and as the air passes over the Reme-Halo device, it sends ionized hydro-peroxides into the home on a search and destroy mission.

When these naturally occurring hydro-peroxides disperse through the air and settle on the surfaces of your home, they attach to particulates, pollutants, volatile organic compounds (cleaning products, chemical odors), smoke, mold, bacteria, and viruses, and change the pollutant’s chemical makeup. Through a process called cell lysing, these friendly oxidizers revert toxins back to harmless oxygen and hydrogen. Research on this process is extensive and there are no known health risks to these hydro-peroxides, which have existed naturally in our outside air for over 3.5 billion years.