No matter what your HVAC questions are, the techs at Age Heating & Cooling in Sandpoint have answers. Whether you have questions about selecting new HVAC equipment to best practices on care and maintenance, we are here to help. Our online FAQs answers offer a fast response for your convenience, but if you want to know more on any topic, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 208-603-2210.

Just like you need to take your car in to the shop for routine tune-ups, such as oil changes or checking out possible concerns, your home comfort system should be subject to the same kind of attention. Regular maintenance by a trained technician provides various benefits to your HVAC equipment, which can help your systems work efficiently and prevent costly breakdowns.
The cost can fluctuate depending on the equipment size and different features, so we suggest contacting Age Heating & Cooling at 208-603-2210 to obtain a quote.
Two-stage heating enables the furnace to heat at two levels of output: high for cold winter days and low for mild ones. Approximately 80 percent of the time, your homes heating requirements can be met when the furnace is set on the low setting, allowing your two-stage unit to work for longer periods of time. Two-stage units also provide more even heat distribution, fewer temperature swings, quiet operation, better air filtration and energy efficiency.
Age Heating & Cooling has an assortment of brands and models that are more efficient than ever and make it easier to find the right fit for your home. There are innovative systems that make heating or cooling your home more automatic, functioning similar to cruise control to make small adjustments to help meet your comfort demands with energy efficiency. Contact us at 208-603-2210 to learn more about the technology we carry.
Depending on how old your previous furnace was, you could experience a host of differences. Furnaces today are designed to provide more even and efficient heating than ever before. Modern furnaces also better regulate temperature and air flow, moving more air over the heat exchanger than older furnaces.

Additionally, new furnaces are designed to integrate with other high-efficiency HVAC products, such as air conditioners. The air conditioner blowers provide your heating system an extra bump so it can deliver cool air around your home efficiently. Special features like variable speed motors will also help lessen noise associated with operating your equipment and easily meet your family’s airflow needs.

The Department of Energy recently boosted the minimum efficiency levels for air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units manufactured after Jan. 1, 2015, since heating and cooling contributes significantly to a homes total energy usage. The requirements vary by region, so call Age Heating & Cooling for the efficiency standards for Sandpoint.
Age Heating & Cooling has a number of HVAC products with high-efficiency ratings, which can help cut back the amount of energy they require to work. Aside from picking products that have received Energy Star® certification or achieved high SEER ratings for air conditioners or AFUE ratings for furnaces, you might consider the following:

  • Making certain that your system receives routine maintenance by a trained professional can keep your system operating at its top performance.
  • Zoning systems enable you to heat or cool only certain areas of your home, so you wont have to pay to heat or cool spaces that aren’t used.
  • Installing a programmable thermostat allows you to set the temperature in your home around your schedule. They can be programmed to give you the comfort you need when you’re home and increase or decrease the temperature while you’re not around, helping you save on energy bills.
Age Heating & Cooling is well-known in the Sandpoint area and you can rely on them to provide quality home comfort products. We carry a variety of innovative and high-quality products. We are dedicated to offering customers high-quality service and will make sure you find the appropriate solution for your home.
Improving your home’s indoor air quality starts with four basic strategies:

    • Poor indoor air quality leaves your home full of air pollutants floating around. So, to enhance IAQ, the first step is to get rid of as many pollutants as possible. You can easily do this by cleaning and vacuuming at least weekly, frequently washing linens and storing cleaning products safely.
    • Proper insulation is ideal for keeping your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but it also makes it harder for airborne pollutants to escape. We carry products that help swap stale air for fresh, filtered outside air.
    • Good ventilation and regular cleaning are a start, but air filters, germicidal lights and purification systems take your IAQ to the next level by capturing microscopic particles, killing germs and removing particles while destroying chemical vapors.
    • Programmable thermostats will help control the humidity levels and temperature to help avoid particles and germs from building up while also keeping your home comfortable.

We recommend that you meet with one of the professionals at Age Heating & Cooling and have them evaluate your home and current indoor comfort system. We can help you decide which equipment will be best suited to meet your needs.

Lots of homeowners believe that air conditioners make the air in your home cooler, but it actually removes the heat from inside your home, directing the hot air outside. That hot air goes across a cold indoor coil where refrigerant in the lines sends the heat to the coil in your outdoor unit, releasing the heat outside. This process continues until the indoor temperature reaches the temperature you set on your thermostat.
Due to the increasing amount of energy used by heating and cooling systems, the Department of Energy (DOE) hiked up the minimum efficiency levels for air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units manufactured after January 1, 2015. These levels are determined by region and carry varying requirements based on your location. Age Heating & Cooling will be able to answer any questions you may have regarding these minimum requirements and let you know what choices are available when you’re looking for a replacement system.
You can find these numbers on a nameplate or sticker that is near your systems service panel. The sticker will be white with black letters and have both of these numbers located around the top of the sticker. M/N denotes model number while S/N is your serial number.
There are a handful of ways to determine what size system is right for your home, but the most reliable way to choose a system is by having your local Age Heating & Cooling technician come out and perform a load calculation. This calculation considers your homes: square footage, insulation value, amount of insulation, and a variety of other factors.
The short answer is Yes, because dirt and other debris can hinder your systems ability to work efficiently. For heat pumps, it is common to have frost or ice on them during the winter, but they also are built with defrost controls to ensure they work efficiently in those types of conditions.
Two-stage cooling means that your cooling unit has two levels of operation. When summer is in its hottest weeks, the high setting starts up, and when its cooler or more mild, the low setting handles the duties. Usually, the lower setting can take care of your cooling needs, but even when the high setting is in use, you may not realize it because it can produce such even temperatures for your comfort. This also means a quieter cooling system, greater efficiency and improved humidity control.
When your cooling unit freezes up, there are a variety of reasons why it could be doing so. The most common reasons include: dirty filters, low refrigerant, a dirty evaporative coil and a faulty blower motor or relay. A dirty filter is something you can change as a homeowner, but the others need to be done by a professional like those at Age Heating & Cooling. Contact them at 208-603-2210 with any additional questions.
Identifying the best thermostat for your cooling system comes with a lot of considerations. Thats why its nice to have such a great variety of choices from Age Heating & Cooling. Whether you’re looking for a programmable or non-programmable thermostat or want to join the smart home trend, there are various thermostats that you have to select from. Some thermostats will depend on what type of heating and cooling system you have, but the team at Age Heating & Cooling will be able to help determine what options meet your needs and your budget.
Heat pumps can be a tad confusing due to their name, but they actually cover both your heating and cooling needs throughout the year. When its hot outside it operates like an air conditioner in that it removes heat from your home, but when it cools off, the process gets switched around and it collects heat from outside and brings it inside. Heat pumps are also very efficient, and could produce up to two or three times more heat than the energy it uses.

Of course we think you should also replace your indoor system, but this is why:

      • All outdoor cooling systems have a matching indoor unit that they are designed to work with to ensure efficient performance. When they aren’t paired with the other part as a total system, efficiency can be diminished.
      • As with most products, advancements have brought about newer, more efficient ways of doing things. Heating and cooling systems are no different. These developments most importantly include greater heating and cooling efficiency, but also consist of improved air handling, filtering and noise pollution reduction to name a few.
      • Heating and cooling systems that are more than 10-15 years old typically need to be replaced. Not only do they consist of outdated technology, but they are also less efficient than more recent models. Buying a new indoor unit at the same time means you’ll have a matched system to provide you with even more comfort and efficiency for years to come.
The communication module on your home energy system might send the system’s performance records for each module to a website. You may visit this website to learn more about the system’s status, energy production and environmental benefits. The site also shows carbon offsets as it happens.
In most locations, rain will naturally clean the solar modules. If you reside in a dusty or industrial area, periodically spraying the modules with water may help improve performance. However, detergents and high-pressure hoses should never be used to clean solar modules.
The right thermostat for you depends on your heating and cooling equipment. Age Heating & Cooling has programmable and nonprogrammable thermostats that can help enhance the efficiency of your HVAC systems. Browse our available products or contact us at 208-603-2210 to learn more.
Heating and cooling can make up a large part of your utility bill. The innovative and high-efficiency heating and air conditioning products available from Age Heating & Cooling can help reduce these costs. If you’re looking for a new heating or cooling system, look for products with high SEER ratings for air conditioners and AFUE ratings for furnaces. SEER and AFUE are a measure of system efficiency, and the larger the number, the more efficient the product. Besides purchasing a new home comfort system, consider these additional factors:

      1. Is your system typically maintained? Whether it’s a furnace or air conditioner, HVAC systems will operate more efficiently after regular maintenance checks.
      2. Do you need a zoning system? If there are areas in your home that are rarely used, a zoning system will allow you to heat or cool only the most used areas of your house.
      3. Have you installed a programmable or smart thermostat? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, programmable thermostats may lower your heating costs by up to 35 percent, and your cooling costs by up to 25 percent.

Zoning your home allows you the ability to section off portions of your residence and control the thermostat differently in each area. These systems are ideal for when you have parts of your home that are infrequently used or when you and your family are constantly in disagreement of what the temperature in each area of your home should be. Zoning systems are quiet and efficient, giving you more control over the comfort of your home. Discover more about the zoning systems available from Age Heating & Cooling.