Weed out the exceptional from the so-called professional.
• Does the company have any complaints on the BBB or Registrar of Contractors?
• Has the company received any customer service awards?
• Do they offer warranties on their equipment and repairs?

It’s important to feel safe when inviting a stranger into your home.
• Are the technicians licensed, bonded, insured and fully background checked?
• Will the technician be dressed in a uniform?
• Will the technician arrive in clearly marked company vehicle?

In today’s economy, price and value pay a huge factor into decision making in terms of hiring a service professional.
• What is the cost for diagnosis of a problem?
• Will I be charged an hourly or fixed rate to repair the problem?
• Will the problem and resolution be thoroughly explained to me prior to agreeing to the repair?

Chances are your unit will go on the fritz at the most in opportune time. Let’s face it, that’s just how things go.
• Is there an additional charge for evenings and weekends?

On Time Air Conditioning and Heating will meet or exceed all your expectations. Contact us today to schedule an appointment! (623)209-8333

It is highly recommended that you have your air conditioning system maintained at least once a year by a licensed HVAC company like On Time Air Conditioning.  By having regular tune-ups, you can help lower utility bills by reducing energy consumption and waste, extend equipment life, give you and your family peace of mind, fewer repairs and improved system reliability and increased cooling capacity and efficiency.

If you have an extended parts and labor warranty on your system it is required to have a tune-up at least once a year to maintain the warranty.  Most manufactures will ask for proof of maintenance on repairs that over a certain number of years.  So it’s important to keep good records so that these documents are available.  Your air conditioning contractor should have these records for you.  If your contractor is On Time Air Conditioning, they will maintain your air conditioning system records for you.

There is a minimum of what your air conditioning contractor should be checking, which is listed below:

• Check Thermostat Operation
• Clean Filter or Replace (Customer Supplied)
• Check System Temperature Split
• Inspect Fused Disconnect
• Inspect Wiring & Tighten Electrical Connections
• Inspect Contactors, Relays and Pressure Controls
• Inspect Electrical and Safety Circuits
• Check Voltage & Amperage to All motors
• Inspect Indoor Blower & Motor for Dirt Build Up
• Inspect Bearings & Lubricate all Moving Parts (As Required)
• Inspect & Clean Condensate Drain
• Inspect Outdoor Coil and Advise Customer
• Inspect Duct Seal at Unit and Secure Panels
• Explain and Document All Necessary Repairs
• Run & Test System

On Time Air Conditioning offers 3 tiers of tune-ups from the standard Bronze tune-up to the Platinum tune-up which includes additional chemical cleaning of components, to a more thorough examination of the system in order to inform the customer of other energy savings options, etc.

Most reputable air conditioning companies also offer service agreement through their air conditioning company, which is also another piece of mind provider. These agreements typically will give you two tune-up visits per year, one in the Spring and one in the Fall. Then most a/c companies provide customers with service agreements with preferred service and discounted rates on repairs.

If you would like more information about system maintaining your system, you can visit our A/C Maintenance page or feel free to give us a call at 623-209-8333 with questions or to schedule a tune-up prior to the summer months.

We have all seen the cheap blue fiberglass air filters as pictured here on this blog.  I want you to first imaging if you took this cheap blue filter (that you can see thru), and put it over your kitchen sink and take a salt shaker and poor salt over the top of this filter.  Can you imagine what will happen? You are correct… the salt will go right through the filter into your sink.

Now imagine the size of dirt and dust particles, especially with the amount of dust we have in Phoenix, Arizona.  Are they bigger or smaller than a grain of salt?  The answer in most cases is that they are smaller than a grain of salt.  So if you use a cheap blue fiberglass filter, what do you think happens to the dirt?  The dirt will bypass your filter and go straight into your duct system and into your air conditioning system, which can cause a build-up of dirt and dust on the components of your air conditioning system, your air conditioning coils, motors, fan blades, etc.  It can also cause dirt build-up in your duct system.  So ultimately by using the cheap blue fiberglass air filter you may get some slight air flow changes in the home, but you could be damaging the components of your air conditioning system, your duct system, etc.  Which can shorten the life of your a/c system, cause breathing problems, dirt in your home, higher electric bills, etc.

That is why we at On Time Air Conditioning recommend the standard 1” pleated air filter.  The cost is slightly higher than the blue fiberglass filter, but the cost is well worth the extended life of your air conditioning system and the health of your family.  There are other advanced filtration options out there, such as Trane Clean Effects, UV lights, 5” Media filters and more.  If you or your family has health issues, breathing issues, allergies, asthma, etc. It might be a good idea to discuss the air filtration options that are available to you and your family.

There should never be an occasion where you don’t use an air filter in your home.  Sometimes homeowners will remove their air filter because it’s dirty and forget to put another one in, or think it’s okay to run without an air filter.  This can be very damaging to your air conditioning system.  It can cause a plugged coil, causing the components to work harder and fail prematurely, this can also cause leaks in the coil and Freon leaks.  So a filter is better than no filter, but again we recommend the 1” pleated air filter.

If you’re looking to clean up your air quality, clear out the pet hair, remove the odor, or kill bacteria and dust mites to create a healthier home environment for you and your family, On Time Air Conditioning has a few options for you and your family such as  professional air duct cleaning or Trane Clean Effects air filtration unit.

I am here to bust that Myth. Here is what happens if you turn your air conditioning system off during the day while you are not home during the heat of the summer.  So the temperature in the morning may start off at about 80 degrees, so when you leave your home everything is comfortable.  So you turn off your thermostat.  Then the temperature starts to raise, the heat from the outside absorbs into your attic, your ceiling, your windows, your walls… you get the point.  It absorbs deep into your home, like a hot oven.  The whole time the air conditioning system is not working because you turned it off.  During the heat of the day the outside temperature hit 110 degrees.  The inside temperature reached 95 degrees.  15 degrees hotter than when you left in the morning, but you think that is okay, because when you get home you can turn on the unit, and it will cool off the home right away.  Not true!

Here is what happens, you’re air conditioning system has been off all day, so now you turn it on, the unit is having to work continuously to try and cool the home down, it is not given a break.  It’s motors are grinding, and the blower is blowing, the Freon is cranking through the lines.  This is all very taxing on your air conditioning system, causing it to work much harder than it typically does, which can cause premature breakdowns and parts to start to fail.

The typical A/C system will cool the home 2 degrees per hour.  So if your home is 15 degrees hotter than when you left your home, it will take almost 7 hours for your home to cool down thoroughly, because remember you now have to cool down the ceiling, the walls, the windows, because the heat has now absorbed into the home, making it very difficult on your air conditioning system to cool your home down.

So one of the most common calls we receive during the heat of the summer when a home owner gets home after a long day is that my a/c unit is not cooling and can’t seem to keep up.  Our first question at On Time Air Conditioning is what did you have your thermostat set on during the day, or was it turned off?

Our recommendation to homeowners is not to turn your thermostat off, or to turn it way up while you are not home, but rather to turn it a few degrees warmer than you would typically have it during the day.  So for example if you like your home set at 76 while you’re home, you should set the thermostat at 78-79 degrees while you’re away.  That way your air conditioning system is not working extra hard at the end of the day, causing premature failure, your home is staying cooler during the day and the heat is not absorbing into the walls, etc.  The amount of energy you conserve during the day is actually more than what you would save if you turned the thermostat off, because of the amount of time your air conditioning system has to spend during the evening just to try and cool the home off from being off all day.  Not to mention the life of your air conditioning system will be extended because you are not forcing the system to work extra hard, but rather function how the system was meant to work.

There are solutions that On Time Air Conditioning offers that help with temperature control while away from the home, which includes our programmable thermostats, home automation thermostats that are controlled from your Smartphone or computer, or air conditioning system options that are built primarily for temperature fluctuations that offer dual speed capabilities and more.

Our team has several options to help control your cooling costs. If you would like to discuss the options that might fit your home, please give our team a call at 623-209-8333 or contact us via our website.

First of all I feel that most consumers who have heard anything about air conditioning systems in the media, they typically will hear about Trane and most of the information they hear is about the quality of a Trane, the reputation, the pricing, the high end products that Trane offers.  In most consumer’s minds that equates to higher pricing.  Then if the homeowner calls other contractor’s out to their home that are not Trane dealers, those dealers too might help add to the myth about the Trane product by indicating that Trane is very expensive.

I will relate this Myth back to the auto industry again.  If you think of Mercedes we automatically think high quality, expensive, I have to be rich to afford a Mercedes.  Mercedes has come out with the C-Class line that is affordable to the consumer, but with the same impeccable quality that Mercedes has built their reputation on.

Trane is the same.  Trane has created a line of products from the highest-end air conditioning or heat pump system with all the bells and whistles, such as the Trane XL20i communicating system with dual compressors and two-stage cooling, to their mid-range models of the Trane XL16 with variable speed motor & the XL15 series.  Then there are the other lines which include the XL14 and XL13 to the XB series.  Trane has made sure to create an air conditioning line for every consumer’s budget.

All of the Trane systems are built with the same quality and care, and they are installed by Trane dealers, like On Time Air Conditioning,  that are held to higher standards in the industry than most other types of dealers.  You have heard the saying it’s hard to stop a Trane.

What we have found when we are at a consumer’s home as we are pricing out different system options, that Trane most of the times is equal to or sometimes even a little less than other equipment in the market.  So as a consumer it makes sense to choose a Trane, which is one of the best built a/c systems out on the market today.

The team at On Time Air Conditioning is glad to help you if you have any questions or if you would like to set-up a free consultation with one of our comfort consultants, please contact us at 623-209-8333 or schedule an appointment online.

The event was held at 19803 RH Johnson Blvd., Sun City West, AZ 85735.  The event allowed residents of the area to meet several vendors and understand their services and products, so that they could keep the list handy for current or future project needs.

Our team at On Time Air Conditioning & Heating had a great day informing and answering the visitor’s questions about the services we offer: repair, service, installation, thermostats, duct cleaning, service agreements, Trane equipment, warranties and more.  

We also had a Door Prize give away that the visitors could sign-up to participate in.  The prizes included:

1^st prize – HD ComfortLinkII Thermostat

• Great for snowbirds lifestyle
• Programmable
• Energy efficient
• Display personal photos and weather channel

2^nd prize – Duct Cleaning

• Clean all accessible vent duct work
• Clean supply registers
• Clean registers with cleaning solution
• Sanitize duct work with deodorizer

3^rd prize – Energy Savings Agreement

• Extended equipment life
• 15% discount on repairs
• Priority customer
• Agreement is transferable
• Never an overtime charge

The winners of the Door Prizes were drawn at the end of the PORA Vendor Expo and notified either by a phone call or e-mail.

Grand Prize Winner Jim Hackbarth

• The grand prize winner of the HD ComfortLinkII Thermostat was Jim Hackbarth of Sun City West, Arizona
• The 2^nd prize winner of the Duct Cleaning was Francine Alexander of Sun City West, Arizona
• The 3^rd prize winner of the 1 year Service Agreement was Brian Zacher of Sun City West, Arizona

About 60-70% of time when we are called out to a home to service, repair or install an air conditioning system, we are meeting with a woman.  As a woman, one of my biggest fears about a service company coming to my home is that I might be alone, and I am going to have a strange person entering my home.  So the most important thing to me is that the company hires people that are trustworthy and background checked and screened.

Then once I am assured that the company is trustworthy, then the way the service person presents themselves when they come to door is very important.  I expect that they will park their service vehicle in a location in front of my home where I can see their identified truck or van.  If their truck is not logoed or identified, that makes me very uncomfortable. How do you know if they are legitimate?

Then as the service person comes to my door, I want them to ring the doorbell or knock. When I come to the door I want them to great me, introduce themselves, they should be clean and look me in the eye.  They should wear an identified uniform and have a name tag or badge of some type.  Then I expect them to ask me for information regarding the problem, and then I want them to explain the process they are going to go through to identify the problem, so that I am not nervous about why they might be entering a certain area of my home.

Then once they have identified the problem, they should present all the information to me in a way that I understand so that I can make an informed decision regarding the repair, service or installation. I don’t want to feel pressured to make a decision, and I don’t want them to make me feel rushed either.  So they should give you time to consider your options, answer all your questions and make you feel comfortable.

To recap what is important before hiring an air conditioning company:

• Choose a company that hires people that are trustworthy and background checked and screened.
• The company has trucks that are identifiable with their logo and company name.
• The technicians/employees identify themselves when coming to the door and they are uniformed.
• The technicians are courteous and informative and make you feel comfortable.

Other things that are important to look for prior to hiring an air conditioning company are:

• Are they licensed and bonded?
• Do they have any complaints on the BBB or Registrar of Contractors?
• How was their customer service when calling the main office?
• Are they available nights, weekends and for emergencies?
• Do they offer warranties on their equipment, repairs, etc.?
• Have they received any customer service awards?

In this day and age people fear the thought of hiring service companies due to the bad reputation that some companies have caused due to their bad business practices, so don’t hesitate to ask questions and do your research.

When I started our company, we built it around Customer Service as our main focus.  Our team understands the importance of our customers from the time they first call us through the entire relationship with them… which we hope is for many years to come.

Don’t hesitate to call us at 623-209-8333 if you have any questions regarding hiring the right a/c company, or if you need to schedule service.  We are glad to help!  You can also send your questions to us by going to our contact page to submit your questions.

In today’s world homeowners no longer think of their system as just a box.  People are now talking about Energy Star, energy efficiency, green products, their health and more.  In choosing the right air conditioning products, you can achieve all of the above.  It’s important when you are considering purchasing a new system that you call out at least 2-3 qualified contractors to discuss the options that are available to you and your family.  The contractor should ask you questions regarding your needs, and comfort level, along with performing a load calculation on your home.

Some of the questions the contractor should ask are:

• Are there hot and cold spots in your home?
• Does anyone in your family suffer from allergies?
• Does your home get too muggy or dry during certain times of the year?
• Is your current a/c system noisy?
• Are you concerned about energy costs?

Once they have completed this assessment, they then can present you with options that would best fit your needs.

There are several brands of air conditioning equipment out there in the market, and the decision for the homeowner can be difficult.  So we recommend that you do your research prior to the contractor coming to your home.  The well-known brands in the industry are Trane, Carrier, Ruud or Rheem, Lennox, Goodman.  Just like with cars, the quality of the air conditioning system depends on the manufacturer. So be sure to look at customer reviews, consumer reports, warranties of the different brands.

Then there are several efficiency levels to choose from also.  The minimum requirement today is 13 SEER.  The SEER rating can go up to 20 SEER.  SEER Stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.  Think of it as Gas Mileage on your car.  The higher the number, the better your “gas mileage” or efficiency.  Depending on the SEER of your current system and the SEER rating of a new system, the savings could range from 20-50% on your cooling costs.

Depending on your budget and what you are looking for, there are the Cadillac of systems which have dual compressors, variable speed motors, communication capabilities and more.  These features are great for the Arizona heat.  It allows the system to work in a lower speed most of the time, but when needed in our extreme heat, to ramp up to high speed to cool our home.

In addition to brands and efficiency, there are other things to consider also.  What type of thermostat? Should I get an air purifications system or humidification system? Should my duct work be upgraded? To name just a few…  As you can see there is more to an air conditioning system than just being a box, and the decision can be overwhelming.  With the right air conditioning company and contractor they should help you make an informed decision that is best for you and your family.

We are glad to help you if you have any questions or if you would like to set-up a free consultation with one of our comfort consultants, please contact us at 623-209-8333 or schedule an appointment online.

I am going to use an analogy to explain what can happen to your air conditioning system if not properly maintained.  The analogy is a vacuum cleaner.  You know when you vacuum your carpet and when you go to clean out your vacuum bag or you pull out the collection container on the front of the vacuum.  Typically I look at all the dirt, hair, dog or cat fur, dead skin, no telling what else and I would think how disgusting.  How do I get that much stuff in my carpets?  Did you know that your air conditioning system return acts just like a vacuum?  The air conditioning return is where your air filter is located.  So the air filter acts like the vacuum bag or collection container on your vacuum.  It sucks in all the air circulating in your home and any dirt and debris that is floating in the air. When you change your air filter you see all the dirt and debris that has collected on the filter itself.  Well think about the dirt and debris that got past the filter and has now been sucked into the air conditioning duct system itself and has traveled up to the air conditioning coil and components.

The dirt and debris that has snuck past your filter can cause damage to the components of your air conditioning system causing the a/c system to operate inefficiently, which in turn can cause the parts within the system to break down because they are having to work much harder than if the system was clean and operating at peak efficiency. The collection of dirt and debris can also cause breathing problems, allergies, odors in the home, etc.

I have a disgusting example to share with you, but I will start out saying that I am an animal lover, so this could happen to me also.  We went out to a home where the customer had complained that they had poor airflow, and could barely feel any air coming out of their registers.  When our air conditioning technician took off the panel of the a/c system he quickly saw the problem which was the coil was clogged, full of caked on dirt and cat hair.  In addition the coil smelled so bad due to the collection of odors from cat urine.  In this situation we had to chemically clean the coil to remove all the dirt, cat hair and odors.

I share this analogy and example to explain the importance of air conditioning maintenance, especially in Arizona.  First of all get in the habit of changing your air filter monthly.  A tip to remember to change your filter is every time you pay your power bill, change your air filter.  Second, get regular maintenance on you’re a/c system.  I recommend seasonal tune-ups, once in the spring and again in the fall.  If you have a package heat pump you could get away with a once a year tune-up, but if you have a split system or a gas system, I highly recommend twice a year due to the fact that split systems are just that.  Part of the system operates the cooling and the other the heating.  Then if you have gas, you want to have the system checked out prior to turning on your gas heat to ensure the safety of the operation.  Most A/C companies also offer service agreements, which is a typically a package of 2 seasonal tune-ups, discounted pricing on repairs, and preferred treatment.  They also remind you when it is time for your seasonal maintenance, so that you don’t have to remember yourself.  Then if you’re unsure if your duct system is clean, you can have them inspected and if needed have a duct cleaning done on your system.

If you would like to learn more about A/C maintenance or duct cleaning, visit our A/C Maintenance page or Air Duct Cleaning page, or give us a call at 623-209-8333 if you have further questions, or would like to schedule a maintenance or duct cleaning.

Just like a car, an a/c system has motors that could be pulling high amps, Freon that could be low, compressor that is getting weak, parts that need to be lubricated, fan blades that could be dirty, batteries (capacitors) about to go bad.  There are many components on the air conditioning system outside of the ones listed above.  There are contactors that if they are not firing correctly could cause your system to operate inefficiently, dirty coils that can cause there to be poor air flow and force the system to operate harder to keep up, relays that control the fans that could be weak, wiring that could be brittle from the hot summer sun, and more.  Anyway, I think you get the idea.

When you have your air conditioning system maintained by a reputable, licensed, air conditioning contractor, they will ensure that they check all of the components that we discussed for proper operation.  They will oil/lubricate the moving components in the system, check pressures, tighten any loose connections, etc.  They then should inform you of any parts that may be weak, that might need a special cleaning, or parts that have failed.  This way you can make an informed decision based on how best to get your air conditioning system ready for the long trip of summer and to keep your system well maintained so that you can help prolong the life of your system, increase efficiency, and help give you piece of mind.  Just like a car an a/c system is a high dollar investment and we should do our best to maintain our investments.

Some homeowners take maintenance a step further and choose to purchase service agreement through their air conditioning company, which is also another piece of mind provider.  Typically this agreement will give you two tune-up visits per year, one prior to the summer and the other prior to the winter.  Then most a/c companies provide customers with service agreements with preferred service and discounted rates on repairs.

If you would like more information about system maintaining your system, you can visit our A/C Maintenance page or feel free to give us a call at 623-209-8333 with questions or to schedule a tune-up prior to the summer months.

Not necessarily – provided you make some simple adjustments.

To start with, everybody has comfort levels in terms of indoor temperature. For myself, I’m comfortable at 76 year-round – but others are more comfortable at 80 or at 73.  Clearly, the higher your temperature tolerance in the warm weather months, the more energy you’ll save. So, why not try adding a degree to your normal temperature level and see if it really makes that much of a difference. Why not another degree? See how far you can reasonably go without adversely affecting your quality of life.

Another thing to look at is the power company that you use. Some may have different option plans, where you’ll pay out different rates depending on the time of day you use energy. So, consider doing the energy-intensive tasks like laundry or running the dishwasher during the less pricey or peak hours to help save on your next power bill.

Many homeowners think turning their AC units on and off again is a smart bet for energy savings. That’s not necessarily true. Depending on the temperature variant between indoors and out, the sheer expenditure of energy your unit will have to do just to fire back up again and push out any residual hot air might just have the opposite effect on your bills. If your doors and windows are closed, your unit shouldn’t be cycling on and off that often on its own anyway and should be able to maintain your desired temperature in the home with ease. If it doesn’t, that means you’ve got a lot of heat gain coming in and need to take steps to try and block it – be it by installing sun shades on the outside of your windows, drawing shades and curtains on the inside, checking your installation in the attic to make sure it’s really doing its job or cutting off certain “hot spots” from the rest of the home (ie: closing the door to a room that you just can’t seem to cool down). In those hot spots, make sure to close all of the registers in that room so your AC’s cooling efforts are all re-directed to the right places as well.

Finally, if you only do work in a certain area of your home during the day, you might want to consider looking at what’s called a zoning system. That’s where you can have several thermostats installed throughout the home and there are motorized dampers that tie into the duct system so that you can say, “Okay, we don’t use this half of the home during the day so I want this side of the home at 85 degrees and I want the other side at 78 degrees.” Then the duct work will shut down on the one side of the home and it’ll just cool down the one side that you need cooled down, and then the unit will shut off. If it’s going to be long term work from the home type thing it might be worth the investment to have better temperature control throughout your house when you want it, when you need it. These units aren’t inexpensive, but they can pay for themselves in the long run.

Our team has several options to help control your cooling costs. If you would like to discuss the options that might fit your home, please give our team a call at 623-209-8333 or contact us via our website.

So, let’s try to make this simple, shall we?

When looking for the right system for your home, remember, not every home is the same. The old 1950′s/60′s era rule of thumb for Phoenix was “400 square feet per ton” (where one ton is believed to effectively cool 400 square feet). So, if you had a 2,000 square foot home you needed a five ton AC unit. If you had a 1,600 square foot home you needed a four ton. But what if you have 1,800 square feet to cool? They don’t make a four and a half ton unit, so if you’ve got 1,800 square feet. Do you buy a four or a five?

The fact is, today, a lot of the homes in the Valley have undersized or oversized equipment, because in keeping with the 400 square feet per ton rule, it didn’t matter if your ceiling was eight feet tall, twelve foot tall, how many windows you had, how many windows were facing south. It just didn’t matter, it was all the same.

To get a true and accurate measure of your home’s cooling needs today, you actually have to do load calculations in order to get the proper efficiency out of your equipment. That’s where we come in. We measure all the walls, the windows, consider the type of construction (ie: stucco, brick or block), note the level of insulation in the attic, the duct type system, ceiling heights and more. We take all this information and we factor in yearly bin data on weather temperatures from either Phoenix Sky Harbor airport or Luke Air Force Base. Only after taking all of these factors into account do we have an accurate telling of what size unit needs to go into your home.

So, if you’re looking to hire a contractor to help you assess your cooling needs and do the installation, I’d say that any contractor coming to your door with reports and seeking information like what I’ve just described up front – that’s the contractor to choose. Anyone coming to you with just a measuring tape touting the “400 square feet per ton” rule – you should just show them the door. Another red flag – and sadly, this is fairly common – is a contractor walking around to the side of the house, looking at the unit that’s already there, and offering you a new version of the same tonnage unit. A responsible contractor will take the time to make sure the cooling needs assessment was done right in the first place – and will take care to make sure you’re getting the right unit for you home, not just the right priced unit for your budget – or theirs.

To read more about proper home assessments you can visit our A/C installation page or call us at 623-209-8333.

Let’s consider our options. For starters, there’s the heat pump system, which is a reverse flow air conditioning unit. Next, there are gas furnaces. Third, and this is something you tend not to see a lot of anymore, there are heaters with an internal electrical strip. These have pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur as we’ve found more energy efficient heating alternatives.

In most cases, the heat pump system serves Phoenix residents best. However, I always say it’s a matter of preference, what a customer is used to, because the gas furnace will typically pump out of the registers about 130 degrees or better of heat, while the heat pump will pump out about 105 degrees of heat. So, depending on how hot is too hot, that will help you make a decision right there. That said, the gas furnace does not blow as hard. So, a gas furnace just doesn’t cover as much square footage as effectively as a heat pump. That means that, in spite of lower temperature output, the heat pump actually makes up for it by producing more air flow than a gas furnace.

Another consideration really depends on the outdoor temperature. If it’s really, really cold, obviously a gas furnace would produce more heat. Plus, some older heat pump units can go into defrost mode on a super cold day, but it’s very seldom that that happens. The heat pump units have become more and more efficient of late. Then, there’s the cost of natural gas to take into account. Natural gas is expensive and will continue to be expensive.

Generally, in terms of operational costs, gas furnaces and heat pump units are neck and neck – at least in terms of what you’re going to pay for your heating bills.

Finally, there’s one other option to consider: the dual fuel unit. This is a gas furnace and heat pump all in one. So, on the days where it’s not so cold out it’ll actually run as a heat pump. Then, if we drop below a certain temperature, it will switch to gas furnace mode. and then it will switch onto the gas furnace. This is truly smart system and the ultimate system to have in my opinion.  Unfortunately, very few Phoenix homeowners are aware that dual fuel systems even exist – plus, they do tend to cost a bit more from the outset. Still, over time, they provide greater efficiency and energy savings – not to mention, better overall comfort.

Now that you know a bit more about the best types of heating systems to choose from, let’s talk about efficiency. When it comes to efficiency of heat pump systems, the key ingredient is the unit’s HSPF rating. The higher the HSPF rating on a heat pump, the better heat ratio and the better heating efficiently you’re going to get out of it.

For gas furnaces, efficiency is all about the AFUE rating. As efficiency ratings go, there are your 80% furnaces, 90% furnaces and 95% furnaces. There are also single stage and dual stage units to consider, but for the purposes of keeping this simple, I’ll keep it to just the percentages.

Consider this analogy: with an 80% AFUE rated gas furnace, for every dollar spent on fuel, you’re throwing that missing 20% out the window. With a 95% furnace, you’re only throwing out 5 cents.

Hopefully, the above information has helped to demystify the world of home heating in Phoenix, Arizona for you somewhat. If you’re curious about how to proceed with a home heating installation or repair, how to make your home more energy efficient year-round, or how to choose the right cooling system for your space, read my other blogs that go into greater depth on those topics.

For more details on these and other systems contact us at 623-209-8333 or visit our products page.

Take advantage of this spring’s Trane new air conditioning and HVAC discounts and installation and purchase specials. Choose the massive $1,250 instant rebate (specific eligible units apply)*, or choose from two low monthly payment options:

5.9% APR With Custom 1.75% Monthly Payment*
Example: Purchase a $7,100 system
• Payment approximately $125 a month
• Approximate payoff period of 67 months

Zero interest With Payments In Full In 36 months*
Example: Purchase a $7,100 system
• Pay NO interest for 36 months
• Monthly payment less than $200 a month
• Paid in full in 36 months

“On Time A/C & Heating was fantastic. We contacted several contractors, but Ted with On Time A/C Heating was the only one to perform a comfort assessment and project summary. We felt that he was the most conscientious and thorough of any contractor we dealt with.”

Robert Yaeggi – 100% Satisfaction

*Contact On Time Air Conditioning and Heating for complete program eligibility, dates, details and restrictions. Special financing offers OR instant rebate from $100 up to $1,250 valid on qualifying systems only. All sales must be to homeowners in the United States. Void where prohibited. The Home Projects® Visa® card is issued by Wells Fargo Financial National Bank. Special terms apply to qualifying purchases charged with approved credit at participating merchants. The special terms APR will continue to apply until all qualifying purchases are paid in full. Reduced Rate APR: Monthly payments of at least 1.75% of the purchase balance are required during the special terms period. 0% APR: The minimum monthly payment will be the amount that will pay for the purchase in full in equal payments during the special terms period. For newly opened accounts, the regular APR is 27.99%. The APR will vary with the market based on the U.S. Prime Rate. The regular APR is given as of 1/10/2012. If you are charged interest in any billing cycle, the minimum interest charge will be $1.00.



The regular APR will apply to certain fees such as a late payment fee or if you use the card for other transactions. If you use the card for cash advances, the cash advance fee is 5.0% of the amount of the cash advance, but not less than $10.00. Monthly payment if shown based on $7,100 purchase.

The team at On Time Air Conditioning was proud to be a part of a wonderful event on Saturday, December 17th that was organized by Special Spaces of Phoenix, which is a non-profit organization that creates dream bedrooms for kids with life threatening illnesses.  You may have seen Special Spaces featured on the show “Secret Millionaire” which was aired on channel 15 several months ago.  Maren Ettesvold and Maureen Geraghty are the founders of the Phoenix organization, and they had chosen a young boy named Nicklas Carter who had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that attacks the bone.  Phoenix Children’s Hospital said that Nicklas was a perfect candidate for a room makeover because of who Nicklas is and because of his family financial situation. Nicklas is one of four children. Providing Nicklas with his dream bedroom is something that would never have been possible for them with the financial challenges illness causes. 

Nicklas had told Maren and Maureen that he wanted to be a firefighter when he grows up because they help people, they put out fires, and they help to get little animals out of trees. His brother Jacob, who rooms with him, wants to be a police officer. So Maren and Maureen chose to make their room a firefighter/police officer room. 

As you can imagine this type of effort required a lot of generous volunteers to help make all this possible.  With all the generous donations the team was able to not only re-do Nicklas’ room, but his sister’s room and the family playroom.

The event started at 8:00 am in the morning and there were volunteers from many different companies.  There was a general contractor, Doug Buchanan, who helped coordinate the project, a dentist, Dr. Alexander Slepak, and all of his staff, a professional organizing company, Moxie Girl, the painter, David Grimes. The list goes on.  Everyone painted, decorated, organized, cleaned it was an amazing feeling to see the human spirit and the generosity.  There was furniture and beds donated, toys and more.

The team at On Time Air Conditioning was able to donate, with the help of Trane, a Trane Clean Effects system that purifies the air in the whole home.  It eliminates up to 99.9% of all allergens and particulates in the air.  Nicklas was unable to be out in public for very long or go to public schools because of the germs in the air.  So with the addition of the Clean Effects to Nicklas’s home he will be able to breathe easier and Nicklas’s parents will have less worry about any germs in their home.  There were 5 members of the On Time team there during the project volunteering their time to give back to the community and to this wonderful family.

The reveal of Nicklas room was set for 6:00pm.  The Surprise Fire Department brought Nicklas and his family home on the fire truck with the lights and sirens blaring. Everyone was drinking hot cocoa and singing Christmas Carols as the family arrived.  Channel 15 covered the event and aired it on the 10:00 o’clock news. Click on link to watch “Surprise boy gets bedroom of his dreams”.

As the family and Nicklas saw the rooms revealed you could see the joy and excitement in their eyes.  This whole project meant so much to every one of them.  At the end the family came outside to speak to the crowd.  It was at that time that Ted, the General Manager for On Time Air Conditioning, was able to explain what we had donated to this wonderful family and what it would mean to Nicklas and his health.  The emotions were high and the mother cried.  It was such a proud moment to know that we could give back to the community and help make a difference.  Thank you to Special Spaces, what a wonderful organization.

There are children and adults that have health issues just like Nicklas, that can benefit greatly from clean air in their home. We could see the relief in the eyes of  Nicklas’s parents when they knew the new air filtration system had been installed. If you or someone you know has a need for a system to keep the air in their home clean (due to health issues or otherwise), we are Trane experts and can help. Read more about the Trane Clean Effects System or call our friendly staff 623-209-8333 to get all of your questions answered today.  Also please feel free to read more about our services for the Surprise area.

The SBCA Community helps promote vibrant and growing small businesses and their education that will preserve and extend the future of small businesses.

On Time Air Conditioning prides themselves on their team, their service and their involvement with the community.  So when they received recognition from the SBCA that they were rewarded for their contribution, they were very proud and excited.

On Time Air Conditioning is always there to help you and your family and friends with any of their air conditioning, heating or indoor air quality needs. 

To read more about On Time Air Conditioning and their team, visit the about us page on their website or give them a call at 623-209-8333.

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Another thing when checking a gas furnace is to make sure that the flames are blowing inside the cabinet and not outside the cabinet, especially when unit is located in an attic. A lot of furnaces in Phoenix are in the attic, so it’s out of sight, out of mind and you have no idea what’s going on up there. That could be a not so good thing.

So I always recommend to everybody before you start your furnaces that you get them completely checked out and cleaned by a heating professional. Sometimes you get debris from the attic insulation, blowing up inside of the furnace, which can very easily catch on fire. Then there is carbon monoxide, you know, like the deadly gas that automobiles pump out of their exhaust systems. Well, if the heat exchanger of the unit is cracked, you could be breathing carbon monoxide without even knowing it, which could be dangerous for you and your family.

There are also a lot of safety switches that are supposed to shut down the unit in the event that the system encounters a problem, whether it’s in the attic or on the roof or in your closet. Your heating professional needs to check those safety switches for you to make sure that they’re operating properly. In the event that something needs to shut down, they want to make sure that the safety switches are acting properly to shut the system down in the case of an emergency.

At the same time your heating contractor is checking out the blower motors, you’re going to want to make sure he does an energy efficiency checkup. Specifically, you want to pay attention to the amp draws of the system and the electrical components, which becomes the perfect time to clean the system. Cleaning the blades on the blower system will help make sure that they’re producing enough air to heat the home. Cleaning the blades on the blower system will also help you save some money on your system.

We really focus on peace of mind of the customer. We care about their equipment. We want to make sure that they’re safe and everything’s operating properly, and that they’re well-informed. If we see that something is failing, or a switch is burned, or wires are starting to burn up in there, or anything else like that, we’ll take a snapshot photo, let the customer know, and whether they need it repaired that day, or that month, or next month, or whatever works in their budget, at least they know instead of waiting until something big happens because there’s always a chance when you open up those cabinets and there’s electrical wires and stuff like that, if they’re burning and they’re getting ready to touch each other, we can get that fixed before it actually creates a major short and blows out a compressor, or a fan motor, or a computer board. We can fix things before they create a bigger problem, but we can’t fix something we can’t see.

That kind of peace of mind is going to save you money in the long term.

Let’s talk about heat pumps now. A heat pump is a reverse flow air conditioning unit. So the analogy is for air conditioning, basically my inside coil is cold, which blows the air into the home nice and cold for the summer. The outside coil’s hot because I have to get rid of the heat, just like the radiator in your car. Now, when the system goes into heating mode, we just reverse the flow of the refrigerant. So now your inside coil, that was cold in the summer, now becomes hot, like the radiator, and the outside coil becomes cold. So we reverse the flow.

Why does all of this matter? This all matters because if the outside coil is dirty or the fan motor is not blowing well enough, your system could go into what we call defrost mode prematurely, and defrost mode usually happens when it gets real cold, and the outside coil turns to ice. When it turns to ice outside, it’s a big block of ice. There’s a defrost control that says hey “defrost me down-switch me over into defrost mode.” So we have defrost controls, boards, sensors, all kinds of things that we HVAC professionals have to check for heating mode to make sure that the system is operating properly.

If the unit is going into defrost mode too often, then chances are your unit is running too long and it’s not heating up the home, which is costing you more money to operate, once again. So there’s money-saving tips, operations, and safeties when it comes to maintaining your system through the different seasons of the year.

If you need a heating professional to come out and check out your unit to make sure that your system is good to go for the winter, call our office and we’ll get you set up for a system inspection. We do fall inspections, we do spring inspections, and then we also have what we call our maintenance agreement/ service agreement, where the customer can pretty much pay one charge for the whole year, and we will come out for spring and fall included in that price and on that contract.

A perk of our service agreement is while you’re on that contract, you’re guaranteed preferred service. In other words, we take people on service agreement first. When you’re getting 300 calls a day in the summer, that’s really important because every company gets busy out there, and it seems like the busier everybody is, the longer you have to wait when you need it. So when you’re on service agreement, you get VIP treatment. You’re pushed to the front of the line. With your service agreement you receive special pricing and rates from us (up to 15% off of the standard repair price throughout the year). In essence, our service agreement actually pays for itself.

So you can either call in every year if you like, spring and fall, and ask us to come out, or you can get onboard with the service agreement, and what we’ll do is we’ll call you and pre-schedule. So that you’re guaranteed it’s being done every year. Then you can get on with your life. You don’t have to worry about remembering having your seasonal checkups for your unit.

When the cold weather is upon us, the last thing we want for ourselves or our families is an icy, cold home. This can be just as painful as the heat of the summer. Don’t delay getting your faulty heating unit looked at! Today is the day, and we’d like to offer you our special seasonal promotion for $35 off any winter tune up or heating repair you may need over the winter months here in Arizona.

Answer: This is a very important question for anyone who cares about the health and safety of their loved ones. My standard approach is to replace the filters every 30 days, and I go with the basic, standard, pleated air filter. You can buy a three-pack at Home Depot for $9, or you can call us to order a case of filters and have them shipped to your home. They have filters that go from $0.50 to all the way up to $20. They have the cheap $0.50 blue fiberglass filters that’ll remove hair, big debris, stuff like that, but they won’t get any fine particulates out of your air, and if something can make it past the air filter, it’s going to go into your duct system and plug up your duct system. You will be breathing all that bad stuff. This will also plug up the coils that are inside your unit, which means now somebody’s has to come out, an HVAC company, and cut out the panels and put chemical treatment in there, and clean those coils, which, by the way, will cost hundreds of dollars. It’s just not worth it.

You can generally tell how well a filter does by the old salt check.

You can take your filter and put it over your kitchen sink. Then pour some salt on top of it, and look underneath and see what falls into the sink. If you can do that and a bunch of salt falls into your sink, you can imagine what you’re breathing. So I recommend the standard 1” pleated filters. If you go anymore than that with $20 filters that are super hypoallergenic and all that fancy stuff, those are going to really restrict the air stream to the air conditioning unit, which will starve it for air, and the air filter is going to plug up really fast. If the filter plugs up the air stream to the unit, then your motor will in result work harder. Less air in means less air out. So you’re not blowing as much air back into the house. This means that your unit is going to run longer to cool down your home. So it’s costing you more money to operate. Again, I just use the $3 pleated filters.

The standard pleat filter is actually a 30-day filter. A lot of folks mistakenly think these are three-month filters because that’s your super high restrictive air filter, and to me it doesn’t make sense because if it removes more particulates, it will also plug up faster.

So every 30 days is your new time limit for air filters. If you’re catching germs and debris, and whatever else is in the air, you want to toss it in the trash and start fresh. You don’t want to have your family and friends sit there and breathe in all that bad stuff, right? So do you and your loved ones a favor and change your filters our every 30 days.

What about lifetime filters?

The lifetime filters are made out of metal, sometimes stainless steel. Different manufacturers will recommend cleaning these different ways. You can put it in a dishwasher if you want, but the bottom line is, unless you have something on there to kill the germs, the germs are going to stay alive and you’re going to keep ingesting these bad things into your system.

A lot of people that move to the desert from different states have never had air conditioning before, so a lot of times, these desert newbies remove a filter that’s dirty, and sometimes they forget to replace it. If you forget to replace your air filter, then the whole system gets gunked up, and the duct work and everything, and all kinds of bad stuff happens. This can be really dangerous for the health of the family, and a dirty coil on your unit will cost you more money to operate, and it’ll also damage your system. So it just makes sense to keep things clean, clean, clean.

What are some of the bad things that can actually affect in people’s health if you don’t take care of this one simple thing?

Well, there’s allergens, allergies, mold, mildew; There’s all types of micro-organisms in the air that affect us as we breathe. So all of a sudden you get bronchitis which means you have to go see a doctor now. Absolutely the best filtration production on the market out there is our Trane Clean Effects system.

Remember, I, the HVAC expert, use the standard $3 pleated air filter, because I don’t want to pay a lot of money at the doctor’s office for health issues, we also have the Trane Clean Effects air filtration unit. It’s the only one that I endorse, and it removes 99.9% of all particulates and 0.1 microns. We look at things in the customer’s home as far as health and what’s going on, and breathing problems and dust, or whatever they need, and we try to get those issues addressed. The Trane Clean Effects system is a great solution, it’s been on the market now for about four years. It’s absolutely a winner. I have it in my house.

So, either go with the $3 pleated filters or go with a real deal Trane Clean Effects air filtration unit for a home. Your loved one’s health is worth it, wouldn’t you say?

If you’re looking to clean up your air quality, clear out the pet hair, remove the odor, or kill bacteria and dust mites to create a healthier home environment for you and your family, then you’re in need of a professional air duct cleaning. Now, if you’re more like Tim The Tool Man Taylor (hilarious 90’s sitcom) and you’re always into the top of the line and want to remove 99.9% of all particulates from the air, well then you’ll need something more powerful like the Trane Clean Effects air filtration unit.

One of the big things with the Trane units is the outside coil, which is like the radiator to your car. The outside coil on the Trane unit is made out of all aluminum, so these units transfer heat 10 times better than your standard copper coil systems, and because Trane has a patent on those all-aluminum tube technology coils, nobody else can have it. So on the hottest days, Trane units are able to give you the coldest temperatures, because we can transfer heat 10 times better.

Trane’s the only manufacturer that makes their own compressor for their own unit. It’s kind of like the engine to your car. So if you had an auto manufacturer that made their own engine for their own car, they would build it that way so that it would last. This is exactly what Trane does and why they are so special when it comes to air conditioning and heating systems

Trane is like a Ferrari compared to the competition because the Trane systems have two-stage capability. So for example, in the desert climate like we have in Phoenix, AZ, our temperature changes dramatically from day to night. Sometimes we get 30 to 35 degrees temperature difference between day and night in the desert, and so you need a system that will keep up with the changes outside of the home.

You typically design a unit for a certain temperature, and for Phoenix we base them at 108 degrees outside temperature, but we know in the summer we do get to a higher temperature, but we also know we get to a lower temperature than 108, a lot lower actually. When we are 108 during the day, we can be 80 degrees at night, or 75 at 3:00 in the morning. So that’s the reason for two-stage technology that will ramp up or down based on the temperature fluctuations.

Another benefit of Trane is that they have systems that are designed with a small compressor in the unit along with another large compressor in the unit. On the days where we don’t need full power, we run on half power, and then when we need that power available, they kick it into high gear. So as far as efficiencies go, Trane units have some of the highest efficiencies on the market. And Trane ranges everywhere from 13 seer all the way up to 20 seer.

More about these Trane ONLY Aluminum Coils…

Well, the unit’s compressor is like the engine to your car, and if you think about it, if you’re going up a hill on a hot day in your vehicle and you had a variable speed fan motor that cooled that radiator down, and as you’re going up the hill, your fan motor cuts out, doesn’t work anymore. What happens to the radiator? It gets hot, right? And what happens to your engine? It gets hot, right?

So you need to still get up that hill, but you’re losing compression, or capacity. You no longer have the power you used to have when the engine was running cool, right? You still have to get up that hill, though. So what do you do? You give it more gas. Well, that’s what you do with your electricity with your air conditioning system.

You’re giving it more gas on those hotter days because you have a poorly designed system. If you have the king of all radiators out there, then your engine’s going to stay nice and cool when you need it, right? So, in other words, it seems like on the days where you really need your air conditioning unit to run efficient and cool, they’re all running hot out there. So when our customers need that extra power, they have it because they’re running the Ferrari of all air conditioning equipment and heat pumps, the Trane.

Learn more about the high quality Trane AC and Heating Systems so you’re ready do make a well informed decision about the next air conditioning and heating unit your purchase.

The reason is that your systems usually start off with small repairs, then they start to nickel and dime you, and around the 8 to 12 year old range, they’re generally out of warranty. So you start feeding in a little bit of money here, a little bit of money there, small repairs, and then you generally get up to $500 to $1,000 worth of repairs within a few years, and then all of a sudden the compressor goes out or a coil blows a leak. Then you’re looking to $1,000 to $2,000 for the main component and, again, it’s just throwing good money into bad. 8 to 12 year old air conditioning systems don’t have the high efficiencies that are commonplace today. So these units are already costing you more money to operate. It just starts making better sense for an air conditioning system replacement.

The complaints I usually get are, “Jeez, I had to spend $200 this year and $300 this year. Now it’s the damned motor and I have to spend hundreds here.” The question I usually get asked is “do you think it’s time I should look at a new unit?” I always recommend that the customer sets-up a free consultation with us so that we can go through the options with them and start planning for system replacement.

Call Now (623) 209-8333 and get all of your question taken care of, your ac and heating service or replacement handled, and the peace of mind knowing that you’re working with a license & bonded, trusted, locally owned company. Our customer service team is expecting your call (623) 209-8333.