Your questions answered: HVAC FAQs

No matter what your HVAC questions are, the experts at Age Heating & Cooling in Sandpoint have answers. Whether you have questions about picking new HVAC equipment to best practices on care and maintenance, we are here to help. Our online FAQs answers provide a rapid response for your convenience, but if you want to know more on any topic, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 208-578-4258.
Like any product you want to keep in good shape, HVAC equipment requires proper care in order to provide the greatest benefits. Trained professionals can service your heating and cooling products to make sure 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 can range depending on the equipment size and different features, so we recommend contacting Age Heating & Cooling at 208-578-4258 to obtain a quote.
With two-stage heating, furnaces may work on two different levels: high and low. Since you can heat your home on the low setting a majority of the time, a two-stage furnace can work longer and more efficiently. Two-stage heating also works more quietly than traditional furnaces and can provide more even heat distribution and fewer temperature swings.
Age Heating & Cooling offers many different brands and models that incorporate advanced technology to cool and warm your home more efficiently. Technology in the newer HVAC systems gives more precision when it comes to matching your home comfort needs. If you want more information, please call our experts at 208-578-4258.

Modern furnaces are designed with a variety of innovative features older furnaces don't have. Todays heating systems provide 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 bonus of modern furnaces is their ability to integrate 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 run more efficiently and quieter than ever.

The Department of Energy recently raised the minimum efficiency levels for air conditions, and the standards vary by region. Contact Age Heating & Cooling at 208-578-4258 to find out the requirements for the Sandpoint area.

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

  • Remember to arrange ongoing maintenance and have an experienced technician take a look at your system to ensure its running efficiently.
  • If you have certain 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 reduces wasted energy on heating or cooling areas that aren't used.
  • Programmable or smart thermostats make it a breeze to maintain your home comfort while not using energy to heat or cool your space if you aren't home. It is an easy way to lower energy costs and once you set it, you can walk away and be confident its going to take care of your indoor comfort.
Age Heating & Cooling has been supporting the Sandpoint community for many years and has been providing trustworthy and dependable service. Our service and the products we carry are of the highest quality and you will be satisfied with our solutions. Our experienced team is here to help you reach your ideal home comfort.

There are four things to consider when improving 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 put on your weekly checklist is vacuuming, washing your linens and making sure any cleaning products are stored properly.
  • Especially in newer homes, the insulation is installed so well that it might be hard 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 perform routine maintenance on your system. And while that's very beneficial, 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 manage humidity levels as well as the temperature. This can help avert germs and other particles from collecting while sustaining your home comfort.
Each house brings a unique situation, which is why we recommend that you contact our team at Age Heating & Cooling to find out which solution will be best for your space. Our experienced technicians will conduct a review of your current system and discuss what your ideal home comfort looks like. That will help us decide which products will be most effective.
It may come as a surprise that air conditioners don't technically make your home cooler; they actually remove the hot air and transfer it outside. This hot air moves across a refrigerant coil on the indoor unit and then is sent to the outdoor unit where it is released. Your air conditioner pushes as much hot air outside as is necessary to reach the temperature you have set on your thermostat.
Minimum energy efficiency standards can vary by geographic location. 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 Age Heating & Cooling can help you figure out the minimum requirements for Sandpoint, let you know if your current systems meets those requirements or help you find a replacement air conditioner that does.
Your systems service panel has 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 are different for every home, the best way to figure out the proper size equipment for your home is to have a technician from Age Heating & 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 homes individual HVAC equipment needs.
Yes debris can limit your systems ability to function effectively. Its normal for heat pumps to have frost or ice on them in the colder months, 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 allows the system to work more efficiently since there is one level for milder weather and a second 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 better humidity control.
Your system could be freezing up for a number of reasons, but the most frequent 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 should call the professionals at Age Heating & Cooling at 208-578-4258 for other problems or if you have other questions or concerns.
Age Heating & Cooling carries a number of great thermostat options for your HVAC systems. The best thermostat for you will depend on a couple variables, such as whether you want one that's programmable or not. No matter what kind of thermostat you'd like or if you're looking for something that can fit with a home automation system call Age Heating & Cooling to hear about which thermostats you can choose from. Our team will help you find one that fits with your system, your family's needs and your budget.
A heat pump covers both your homes heating and cooling needs, offering you one HVAC system that can be used in all four seasons. In 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 needed for the process.
At Age Heating & Cooling, we do recommend replacing both your indoor and outdoor units at the same time because:
  • Nowadays, outdoor systems are built to work with their matching indoor system for the most efficiency. When you replace one system but not the other, you may not see the same energy savings as if you had replaced them together.
  • Thanks to technological improvements, newer systems mean improved efficiency. This is true for heating and cooling products as well. While the advancements focus on improved 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 could have a communication module that delivers performance stats to an online site or portal. You can visit this to check your system's status, the amount of energy being produced and the positive effect you are having on the environment. You can also take a look at your owner's manual for recommendations on monitoring performance.
Rain will clean the modules naturally 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.
Age Heating & Cooling can help you find the right thermostat for you based on your home and current heating and cooling equipment. We have a variety of programmable and nonprogrammable thermostats, which can help improve the efficiency of your homes furnace and/or air conditioner. Browse our thermostats or give us a call at 208-578-4258 for more information.

A big portion of your monthly utility 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. Fortunately, there are high-efficiency solutions from Age Heating & Cooling that can keep you comfortable while also decreasing energy costs. When it's time for you to shop for a new HVAC system, there are a couple things to consider. You'll want to find 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 consider these tips:

  • Keep your system operating to its best ability by booking routine maintenance. It helps sustain 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 use energy altering the temperature in a room that is never, or rarely used.
  • The U.S. Department of Energy states 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 number of features-so you can find an answer that you are comfortable with.
A zoning system allows you to section your house and heat or air condition each space differently. While these systems function well for buildings that have areas that are infrequently occupied, they may also be beneficial in situations where you and your family cant agree on the temperature in certain parts of your home. There are a collection of additional bonuses of zoning systems, such as efficiency and comfort. Browse our selection of zoning systems or give Age Heating & Cooling a shout to see how a zoning system could benefit your home.