HVAC FAQ

Like any product you want to keep in good shape, HVAC equipment requires proper care in order to provide the best benefits. Trained professionals can service your heating and cooling products to make certain they’re working at their top potential and help prevent more costly repairs in the middle of the hottest or coldest months of the year.

The cost varies depending on the equipment size and different features, so we advise contacting Winters Heating and Cooling at 317-215-7163 to get a quote.

With two-stage heating, furnaces may run on two different levels: high and low. Since you can heat your home on the low setting a lot of the time, a two-stage furnace can run longer and more efficiently. Two-stage heating also works more quietly than traditional furnaces and can give you more even heat distribution and fewer temperature swings.

Winters Heating and Cooling offers many different brands and models that include advanced technology to assist with heating and cooling your home more efficiently. Technology in the newer HVAC systems gives more precision when it comes to meeting your home comfort needs. If you need more information, please call our experts at 317-215-7163.

Modern furnaces are developed with a host of innovative features older furnaces don’t have. Todays heating systems give you more even heating and are better at regulating airflow. Although the air coming out of your vents may seem cooler than your old furnace, the airflow is much better and more efficient.

Another perk of modern furnaces is their ability to work with other HVAC products as part of a high-efficiency whole home comfort system. When combined with a high-efficiency air conditioner, furnace blowers can more easily accommodate add-on cooling. Other innovations, such as Precise Comfort technology and variable speed motors, will help your furnace work more efficiently and quieter than ever.

The Department of Energy recently boosted the minimum efficiency levels for air conditions, and the standards vary by region. Contact Winters Heating and Cooling at 317-215-7163 to find the requirements for the your area.

There are lots of ways to reduce your energy costs and one of the best ways is to make sure you have an energy-efficient HVAC system. Winters Heating and Cooling offers many highly efficient products that will help decrease the amount of energy you are using and save you money. In addition to looking for products that have the ENERGY STAR® certification, high SEER ratings for air conditioners or AFUE ratings for furnaces, here are some other factors to consider:

• Remember to arrange ongoing maintenance and have an experienced professional take a look at your system to confirm its running efficiently.
• If you have clear areas of your home that you need to heat or cool, you might consider a zoning system. This allows you to target that area and eliminates wasted energy on heating or cooling areas that aren’t used.
• Programmable or smart thermostats make it easier to maintain your home comfort while not consuming energy to heat or cool your space if you aren’t home. It is an easy way to decrease energy costs and once you set it, you can walk away and be confident its going to take care of your indoor comfort.

Winters Heating and Cooling has been serving the community for many years and has been delivering trustworthy and dependable service. Our service and the products we carry are of the highest quality and you won’t be disappointed in the results. Our experienced team is here to help you get your ideal home comfort.

There are four things to consider when enhancing your indoor air quality:

• The indoor air quality in your home starts to suffer when the air begins filling up with air pollutants. The biggest concern is eliminating these pollutants. Some to-dos to include on your weekly checklist is vacuuming, washing your linens and ensuring any cleaning products are stored properly.
• Especially in newer homes, the insulation is installed so well that it might be difficult for these pollutants to leave the home. While it helps to keep your home warm or cool, depending on the season, its important to get some fresh air inside.
• Make sure that you have good ventilation and schedule routine maintenance on your system. And while that’s important, you can also take your IAQ even further by using air filters, germicidal lights and purification systems to get rid of particles while eliminating chemical vapors.
• Smart or programmable thermostats can assist in controlling humidity levels as well as the temperature. This can help avert germs and other particles from collecting while preserving your home comfort.

No two homes are alike, which is why we suggest that you contact our pros at Winters Heating and Cooling to find out which solution will be best for your space. Our team will conduct a review of your current system and determine what your ideal home comfort looks like. That will help us determine which products will be most effective.

You might be surprised to know that air conditioners don’t technically make your home cooler; they actually remove the hot air and transfer it outside. This hot air is pushed across a refrigerant coil on the indoor unit and then is sent to the outdoor unit where it is released. Your air conditioner transfers as much hot air outside as is necessary to reach the temperature you have set on your thermostat.

Minimum energy efficiency standards vary by region. Additionally, air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units made after Jan. 1, 2015, have higher minimum efficiency levels than products manufactured prior to that date. The team at Winters Heating and Cooling can help you figure out the minimum requirements for Franklin & South Indy, let you know if your current systems meets those requirements or help you find a replacement air conditioner that does.

Your system’s service panel will have a white label on it, with your systems model and serial numbers at the top. M/N stands for model number and S/N is the serial number.

Since equipment size needs differ for each home, the best way to figure out the proper size equipment for your home is to have a technician from Winters Heating and Cooling come out to perform load calculation tests. The tests take measurements such as square footage, insulation value and amount, and more into account to determine your home’s individual HVAC equipment needs.

Yes debris can affect your systems ability to function effectively. Its not uncommon for heat pumps to have frost or ice on them during the winter, but many include defrost controls so they can work efficiently regardless of the weather conditions.

When a cooling systems has two-stage cooling, it means that there are two levels of operation. This lets the system work as efficiently as possible since there is one level for milder weather and one for harsher weather that demands the system work harder. Two-stage cooling also enables slight temperature changes so you don’t experience extreme differences in temperature. Aside from better efficiency, other benefits of two-stage cooling include quieter operation and improved humidity control.

Your system could be freezing up for a couple of reasons, but the most typical are dirty filters, low refrigerant, a dirty evaporator coil and/or a faulty blower motor. Changing a filter is something you, the homeowner, can take care of; however, you’ll want to call the professionals at Winters Heating and Cooling at 317-215-7163 for other problems or if you have other questions or concerns.

A heat pump covers both your homes heating and cooling needs, offering you one HVAC system that can be used in all four seasons. Throughout the warmer months, heat pumps act like an air conditioner, capturing the hot air from inside your home and directing it outside; in the cooler months, this process is reversed. Heat pumps can be very energy efficient and may produce two to three times more heat than the energy used.

At Winters Heating and Cooling, we do recommend replacing both your indoor and outdoor units at the same time because:

• Today, outdoor systems are built to work with their matching indoor system for the most efficiency. When you replace just one of your systems, you may not see the same savings on your energy bills as if you had replaced them together.
• Thanks to technological improvements, newer systems mean increased efficiency. This is also true for HVAC systems. While the advancements focus on higher heating and cooling efficiency, they also include benefits such as better air handling, filtering and noise reduction.
• If your heating and cooling systems are 10+ years old, they need to be replaced. Older models have outdated technology that is likely adding to your energy costs due to poor efficiency. So by replacing your indoor system at the same time as your outdoor equipment, both your systems will provide better energy efficiency that helps you decrease your energy bills and keep your home more comfortable.

Your home energy system might have a communication module that delivers performance stats to an online site or portal. You can visit this to monitor your system’s status, the amount of energy being produced and the positive influence you are having on the environment. You can also take a look at your owner’s manual for tips on monitoring performance.

Rain will clean the modules by itself in most areas; however, if you live in a dusty area, you might see improved performance after periodically spraying the modules with water. Please note that high-pressure hoses and detergents should never be used to clean solar modules, as they can ruin the product.

Winters Heating and Cooling can help you find the right thermostat for you based on your home and current heating and cooling equipment. We carry a selection of programmable and nonprogrammable thermostats, which can help increase the efficiency of your home’s furnace and/or air conditioner. Browse our thermostats or give us a call at 317-215-7163 for more information.

A large portion of your monthly energy bills can be attributed to your heating and cooling system. It makes sense, because our home comfort is an important aspect of our day-to-day lives. Luckily, there are high-efficiency solutions from Winters Heating and Cooling that can keep you comfortable while also lowering energy costs. When it’s time for you to search for a new HVAC system, there are a couple things to consider. You’ll want to look for air conditioners with high SEER ratings and furnaces with high AFUE ratings. These ratings measure efficiency, so the larger the number the better off you’ll be when it comes to saving on energy costs. You can also think about these tips:

• Keep your system operating to its best ability by arranging routine maintenance. It helps uphold efficiency and make sure everything is working properly.
• Consider a zoning system if you only have certain rooms that need to be heated or cooled. There is no need to waste energy adjusting the temperature in a room that is never, or rarely used.
• The U.S. Department of Energy indicates that programmable thermostats can save up to 35 percent on heating costs and 25 percent on cooling costs. There are a lot of programmable and smart thermostat options that are easy to use and vary in the type of features-so you can find an answer that you are comfortable with.

A zoning system enables you to divide your residence and heat or cool each space differently. While these systems function well for houses that have rooms that are infrequently used, they could also be helpful in situations where you and your family disagree on the temperature in various portions of your house. There are a collection of additional benefits of zoning systems, such as efficiency and comfort. View our selection of zoning systems or give Winters Heating and Cooling a call to see how a zoning system could fit in your home.