A few years back, programmable thermostats arrived to help homeowners program their home comfort system more efficiently. Those models are now being improved by smart technology that adds a number of features to help you with energy savings. A quality smart thermostat will offer most or all of these features:

• Access When You’re Away – These new thermostats come with Internet connectivity and smartphone applications that allow you to monitor and control your system even when you’re not at home. Previous versions could be set to your typical schedule but how often do you make it home exactly on time?
• System Health Monitoring – The Internet connection also allows them to check maintenance schedules for your equipment and test system efficiency. They then alert you when a service is needed so that your system can return to peak performance.
• Humidity Control – Smart technology is used to test the moisture levels in your home and trigger humidity control when needed. This ensures your air will feel fresher so you can use your system less, increasing your energy savings even more.
• Air Quality Assurance – Smart thermostats check for toxins and any pollutants in your air and use the ventilation system to exchange stale air for clean outside air. You will also receive a notification when pollutant levels are high.
• Peak Rate Monitoring – One of the most useful features is the ability to check peak hour rates from your energy provider and help you update settings to use energy when it’s cheaper.

These are just a few of the features you should demand in a new thermostat. The key is that they provide quality information and make it easier for you to act upon and maximize your energy savings.

For more information about the best smart thermostat for your needs, contact Crawford Service Inc. For years we’ve been helping North Texas residents save money on their home comfort systems.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about thermostats and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Crawford Services provides heating, air conditioning and plumbing services to all of North Texas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!     

Thermostat image via Shutterstock

UV, or ultraviolet, lights are an effective and inexpensive way to eliminate mold, bacteria, viruses, pollen spores, and other living organisms that your indoor air may be harboring. UV light filters work by shining a powerful UV light onto the particles as the air moves through your ductwork. The UV light breaks down the particles and kills them. When the particles die, they cannot reproduce.

UV lights are ideal for certain households, including:

• Homes with a high risk for allergy attacks
• Homes with members with weak immunity systems, such as babies and the elderly
• Homes with individuals with breathing problems, such as asthma or COPD.

If anyone in your household has the above problems, a UV light system can make a big difference in the health of your home. However, even if you don’t suffer from the above problems, you can still benefit from the additional filtration that a UV filter can bring. However, be aware that UV lights don’t remove non-organic particles from your indoor air. For a comprehensive air-cleaning strategy, you’ll need UV lights working along with high-efficiency air filtration and possibly an electronic air cleaner.

If you would like to learn more about ways to enhance indoor air quality, contact us at Crawford Services, Inc. We supply North Texas homeowners with expert HVAC service and can help you find the right filtration system for your home.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about UV lights and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Crawford Services provides heating, air conditioning and plumbing services to all of North Texas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!     

By far your best option for dealing with high humidity is to remove excess moisture from the air with a whole house dehumidifier integrated into your HVAC system. Your air conditioner by itself may not sufficiently remove the moisture, and while portable dehumidifiers do remove the moisture, they are somewhat noisy, require frequent maintenance, and only dehumidify the air in the room where they’re located. To dehumidify your whole home with portables you would need a unit in every room. Whole house dehumidification quietly adjusts the humidity levels throughout your whole home with little effort on your part, and does so using less energy than the multiple portable units you would need to do the same.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency says that you should keep humidity levels between 30 and 50 percent. This will allow you to avoid over-cooling and keep your home at the appropriate temperature. It will also help prevent the conditions that cause structural damage to your home and the bacteria, dust mite, mildew and mold growth that could threaten your family’s health.

You do need some moisture in the air. If you were to keep the humidity level below 30 percent, you would create new problems due to the air being too dry, so try to stay within the EPA’s recommended range.

For more expert advice on whole house dehumidification, contact us at Crawford Services. We’ve been serving North Texas for more than 30 years.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about whole house dehumidification and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Crawford Services provides heating, air conditioning and plumbing services to all of North Texas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!    

Humidification image via Shutterstock

An annual HVAC maintenance agreement is necessary to keep your unit working at peak performance. Whether you have budget equipment or a state-of-the-art system, regular servicing is required to ensure the equipment is in proper working order. A properly operating system uses less energy and saves you on your heating and cooling bills.

In addition to saving money via lower energy bills, an annual HVAC maintenance agreement typically provides some sort of discount on repair parts for your unit. This is the HVAC company’s way of saying thank you for scheduling your preventive maintenance with them. Also, customers who have an annual HVAC maintenance agreement receive priority over customers who are not on the plan.

With an annual HVAC maintenance agreement, you sleep better at night knowing your unit and its components are in good working order running at the highest efficiency. If something does happen, your trusted HVAC company will be there as soon as possible to fix any problems with the system without breaking your budget.

For more information about an annual HVAC maintenance agreement and what plans are offered, contact the experts at Crawford Services, Inc. We provide reliable and skilled heating, cooling and plumbing services to North Texas homeowners.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about annual HVAC maintenance agreements and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Crawford Services provides heating, air conditioning and plumbing services to all of North Texas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!     

People who have big investments in their home, such as significant amounts of perishable food, sensitive electronics, security systems or electrically-powered medical devices, can rest assured with a standby generator in their yard. These systems are connected to your home’s propane or natural gas lines, as well as being connected to your home’s circuit breakers. When the power goes out, the generator immediately takes over and keeps your home functional.

The generators come in different sizes, measured by the kilowatts they produce, and choosing one depends on your budget and the number of circuits you want to keep powered. Smaller systems provide enough electricity for simple needs like lighting, running a refrigerator and small electronics. Some models rotate the power through the circuits, giving your refrigerator or freezer a chance to run and then switching to another power need in the home such as your air conditioner. Whole-house systems are the most expensive, but when you want everything to operate as if the power never stopped – including your heating or cooling system – they will provide you with peace of mind and interior comfort.

The standby generators do require some attention, even though they operate automatically. These systems work like vehicle engines, so they need to be run once a week and have periodic oil and filter changes. They do create noise, but manufacturers sound-insulate the cases, alleviating the worst of it.

Our North Texas climate can be unpredictable, as can the power supply. If you think a standby generator would make your life easier, please contact us at Crawford Services, Inc. We can give you more information about keeping your home running in the face of power outages. Our technicians are NATE-certified, the most accomplished practitioners in the HVAC industry.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about standby generatos and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Crawford Services provides heating, air conditioning and plumbing services to all of North Texas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!

At Crawford Services Inc. we offer precison tune ups on cooling and heating systems in the Dallas area. Our HVAC annual service plan provides you with 2 quality precision tune ups to start teacxh season of the year (spring and fall) along with security that your systems will operate the way they were designed. Here are some of the benefits of our service plan:

• For starters, routine maintenance is the best way to ensure your cooling and heating appliances are operating properly. Trained professionals can inspect both to ensure they are running well as well as do routine maintenance such as tune-ups. This in turn can help you stay cool during our long North Texas summers.
• During visits, technicians can run diagnostics on both your heating and cooling systems. This is a great way for them to find any problems as well as find ways to make your equipment operate more efficiently. With summer coming up, this is an ideal service, as the more efficient your air conditioner is, the more money you can save in energy costs.
• Another great aspect of our service plans is we stand behind our products and work. We proudly provide a guarantee of one year for our parts and labor. Additionally, we offer competitive pricing with all information made available upfront.
• Lastly, routine maintenance includes cleaning your air conditioner, furnace and/or heat pump, thereby making them run more efficiently.

For more expert advice about an annual HVAC service plan and other issues related to home comfort, please feel free to contact Crawford Services.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about annual HVAC service plans and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Crawford Services provides heating, air conditioning and plumbing services to all of North Texas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!

Check Your Filters

One of the best things you can do to help clean and improve HVAC efficiency is to regularly clean your heating and cooling filters. The filters remove dirt and debris from air that’s moving through your cooling and heating system. When filters become clogged, your air conditioner or furnace has to work all the harder to provide comfortable temperatures in your home. This also results in materials being blown past your filters and distributed in your home’s air. Either clean your filters regularly with a wet, lint-free cloth, or replace your clogged filter as often as monthly during the high-use seasons. Read the labeling on your filter to make sure it’s the type that will remove allergens and mold from your air.

Cleaning the Ducts

A quick look inside of your heating and cooling vents may tell you whether your duct system needs to be cleaned. Dust and debris buildup inside the vents often indicates similar issues inside the ductwork. Remove vent grates and vacuum out any visible dirt and debris. Be sure to clean the visible ducts when the heat is off, to avoid burns. A full duct cleaning requires a professional cleaning team. Crawford Services offers duct cleaning with the award winning Rotobrush duct cleaning system. After your ducts are cleaned the results lead to improved air quality, helping reduce allergy-aggravating dust. You will also notice improved cooling and heating quality after a springtime duct cleaning.

HVAC Maintenance

In addition to cleaning your filters and ducts, hire HVAC professionals for a springtime check-up. Regular maintenance helps ensure your HVAC system runs properly and will identify any potential problems. In addition to checking over the HVAC equipment, your contractor should check the ducts for leaks.

For help with improving the air quality in your Dallas area home, or for a seasonal maintenance check, contact Crawford Services.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about improving HVAC efficiency and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Crawford Services provides heating, air conditioning and plumbing services to all of North Texas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!

Here are some helpful hints to lower energy cost during the summer season:

• Locate and seal air leaks throughout your home. Check doors, windows, chimneys, exhaust fans, and plumbing. Hire a professional HVAC technician to perform an air leak test and correct problem areas. You may use weather-stripping to seal air leaks around doors and windows, Add special sealant around exhaust fans and ducts to prevent cool conditioned air to escape to attic or outside areas.
• Replace dated windows. Single-paned windows don’t have the insulating capabilities that energy-efficient thermal windows do. Thermal windows have Low-E reflecting glass coatings and insulated frames to help prevent cooled air from seeping out of the house. Look for windows and other home-energy products with the Energy Star rating to ensure maximum efficiency.
• Install programmable thermostats in your home. These thermostats allow you to program cooling (and heating) in your home, so that your equipment isn’t working as hard during periods when nobody’s home or everybody’s in bed. Many programmable thermostats have the capability to save up to six different commands per day seven days a week.
• Replace air filters. Air filters are designed to collect dust, dirt and other debris so that you don’t breathe it in, and so it doesn’t accumulate on HVAC equipment components. When your air filters get clogged, your system has to work all the harder to cool your home, which drives up those energy bills.

Please feel free to contact Crawford Services for more advice to reduce your cooling costs and any other HVAC issues in your North Texas home.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about cooling season and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Crawford Services provides heating, air conditioning and plumbing services to all of North Texas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!

The primary component of a geothermal heat pump system is the ground loop, which is either open or closed. In a closed loop system, the pipe is typically between 4 and 6 feet deep and horizontally, or vertically at a depth of between 100 and 400 feet. In North Texas the average depth required for a good heat transfer is 250 feet per well loop.The pipes are filled with an environmentally safe antifreeze and water solution that acts as a heat exchanger. In the less-common open loop system, surface water is used as a heat transfer medium.

When considering your options for geothermal installations, it’s important to factor in your location. The characteristics of your installation site will determine the ideal type of ground loop to use. Specifically, you should look at geology, hydrology and landscape. Ground loop wells are guaranteed for 50 years and most last much longer.

The composition of your soil and rock affects the rate at which heat is transferred. Soil with good heat transfer properties, for example, will require less piping. Areas with shallow soil or lots of hard rock may require vertical ground loops instead of horizontal. North Texas soils are excellent for maximum heat transfer allowed.

Availability of ground or surface water can play a role in determining what type of ground loop to use. Bodies of surface water, provided they meet standards of depth, and volume, can be used as a source of water for an open-loop system, or in a closed-loop system as the location for coils of piping. Ground water can also be used as a water source for open-loop systems, provided the water quality is suitable.

Land availability, landscaping and the location of underground utilities will factor into your options for geothermal installations as well. Horizontal ground-loop systems are commonly used in new construction installations. Vertical installations are more often used for existing structures because they cause limited disturbance to the landscape.

If you live in the Dallas area and would like more information about your options for geothermal installations, contact Crawford Services, Inc.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about options for geothermal installations and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Crawford Services provides heating, air conditioning and plumbing services to all of North Texas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!  

Excessive dust in your home may be a sign that it’s time to change the filter or seal leaks in the ductwork. Dust is difficult to totally eliminate, but these preventative steps can help to reduce dust in your home:

• Replace or clean your air filter once a month during the heavy cooling season. When replacing the filter, write the date on the filter so you can easily recall when you last changed it. Use the highest efficiency air filter recommended by your air conditioner manufacturer.
• In cases of allergy , pet danader or cooking smells consider a Pure Air purification system for your home . A crawford comfort speicalist can assist you with proper sizing and installation of this system.
• Vent your dryer outside. Make sure the vent duct is securely attached and clear of obstructions like lint. Clean your dryer vent duct at least twice a year.
• Leave shoes at the door to avoid tracking excess dust through your home.
• Seal air leaks in windows, doors, and heating and cooling ducts. It is vital to reducing the dust in your home that you seal the return duct in particular.
• Vacuum your home regularly with a high efficiency or HEPA vacuum cleaner.
• Schedule inspection and maintenance with a qualified HVAC service technician at least twice a year to ensure your ducts are clean and your air conditioning is running as efficiently as possible.

Regular maintenance on your home’s air conditioning system can prevent excessive dust buildup and protect components of your system.

If you live in the Dallas area and want professional advice about dealing with excessive dust in your home, contact Crawford Services, Inc.We guarantee courteous, dependable and professional service.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about air conditioning and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Crawford Services provides heating, air conditioning and plumbing services to all of North Texas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!