Your Best Bet

How about taking a moment to reflect on one of my most favorite, most fun words in the whole world: maintenance.

Well, maybe it doesn’t sound like a “fun” word to you, like it does to me.

So why all the excitement? Well, I get excited about lower energy bills and fewer repairs – both of which are the results of maintaining your home comfort system. Not making sense yet? Think of it this way… 

Maintaining your car keeps it in its best condition. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle keeps you in your best condition. Maintaining a steady income provides for what you need. No matter how you look at it, maintenance is the best bet for good results.

And your home comfort system isn’t any different if you want it to perform at its highest efficiency for your best comfort.

If you’d like to know more about how maintenance helps and what it involves, take a look at this free report, “The Perks of a Well-Maintained Air Conditioner.”

Lost in Translation

How about a quick language test? Ever hear of the terms SEER and EER? Well, if it’s near dinnertime, you might think that SEER sounds like something you do to a steak, and EER sounds like corn just off the stalk. So maybe I’m just hungry, but I’m not talking dinner – I’m talking comfort. And therein lies the problem. If you don’t share a common language, it’s hard to understand what someone is trying to tell you. This concept is true in all sorts of ways – whether it’s English vs. French, or text message acronyms vs. correct spelling in complete sentences, or industry terms vs. what words people actually understand. All industries seem to have an “insider language,” where words and technical terms are thrown around as if they should make sense to everybody. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. We see that often as our customers are trying to choose the most energy-efficient solutions for their home, but sometimes they feel like things are lost in translation.

Decisions, Decisions…

Are you the sort of person who says, “I may be indecisive, but I’m not sure.” If given the choice between “Yes, No or Maybe,” do you look for the checkbox that says, “All of the above?” You have my sympathies… Making decisions is no laughing matter, and homeowners are faced with a slew of them. Some are smallish, like selecting new towels for the guest bathroom. Some are a little larger, like choosing a new bed for the guest bedroom. Some are even larger – like figuring out how to avoid in-law houseguests once they find out about your new towels and bedroom set! And believe it or not, some decisions get even more sizeable than that – like whether or not to replace a home comfort system. Well, if you’re in the “fact-collecting” mode for that last one, we’ve got some information that can help. With the summer we’re having in Kingsville, TX, your air conditioning unit is experiencing a heavy load. But is it up for the job?

Cause and Effect

You’re probably familiar with the concept of “cause and effect” and how it can lead to a whole bunch of trouble. (Not that I speak from experience. And not that I don’t!) But this basically means that some things happen not just on their own but as part of a set of events. As an example, let’s say you’re walking into your home when your phone starts ringing. To answer your call, you quickly drop your high-priced prescription sunglasses on the couch. You sense that’s not a good idea, but you tell yourself you’ll pick them up when you finish the call. Then you forget. Can you imagine what “effect” is coming? Yes, someone, maybe even you, will probably be sitting on those glasses in the near future. See the point (even if through crushed lenses)? Now let me apply it to something more in my area. If the air inside your home is making respiratory issues like allergies and asthma worse, there could be several causes that are leading to these effects – and several strategies that can help your family breathe a little easier.

Taking Care of Your Investments

No, this is not an article on financial planning, but this is certainly an issue that could affect your financial well-being. Your home comfort system is a big investment, no question about it. If you take care of this investment, it will take care of you – over a longer equipment life that is spent operating efficiently, saving you energy dollars and keeping you comfortable. Not a bad result for routine maintenance.

A Little Bit Here and A Little Bit There Makes a Difference

Save a little money here, save a little money there, and pretty soon it adds up, right? Well, one of the areas where we most like to see our customers save money is in your energy use. When the days are very hot, your air conditioning can account for up to 70% of your utility bill. So it makes sense that whatever you can do to improve energy efficiency at home can help you keep more money in your own pocketbook (and send less to your utilities). But the important point to make here is that you don’t have to take big steps to save energy. You can take small steps over time or make a few small changes in your habits. And you’ll find a lot of ideas for doing just that at the link below. If you’d like to learn more about how you can keep more energy dollars for yourself while enjoying more comfort at home, we’ve got a free report with 10 good tips on how to “Save Energy. Stay Comfortably Cool.”

Better Breathing

There’s something about spring… it’s sort of a “best of times, worst of times” season of the year. The crisp cool air can be quite nice after wintry mixes are done, and you feel that need to spend more time outdoors. And yet, that nice, fresh air is also picking up a few particles from the lawn and garden that can make breathing a chore. Inside, you’re not exactly safe either if the quality of your indoor air is affected by contaminants. High humidity, for example, can create a breeding ground for mold and dust mites that produce an unhealthy breathing ground for you and your family. If you’d like to learn more about these issues, take a look at our free report, “Is the Air in Your Home Making Spring Allergies Worse?”