Indoor Air Quality: “Air Scrubber”

  • Dealing with allergy symptoms?
  • Pet odor in the home?
  • Dust build up?
  • Sinus and irritation issues within your home? Well, you’ve come to the right place. The EPA states indoor environments can be up to 100 times MORE polluted than the air outdoors. YIKES! With so much going on in the world today, we find ourselves spending more time inside. This is why it’s so critical to address the IAQ in your home. The Air Scrubber with ActivePure Technology cleans the air in your home, as well as the surfaces in the home. Examples: counter tops, doorknobs and bathrooms by sending the Scrubber Ions throughout the home to attack and eliminate contaminants. The Air Scrubber is NASA APPROVED.
  • The Air Scrubber’s ActivePure Technology not only improves the indoor air quality in your home, but ActivePure has also been a major catalyst in the fight against COVID-19. Per Yahoo Finance (article listed below), “Aerus ActivePure Air and Surface Purifier Provides 99.98% SARS-Cov-2 Surface Reduction Rate In Controlled, Independent Laboratory Studies.”
  • For more information on the Air Scrubber, please click the product sheet below. For scheduling and installation, please call 713-944-5500 Email: [email protected] https://www.airscrubberbyaerus.com/wp-content/uploads/ASA_SS_Ozone_WEB_0920.pdf
  • Yahoo Finance ActivePure Technology https://finance.yahoo.com/news/aerus-activepure-technology-air-purifier-181000455.html
  • Please check out our next article for more information regarding the Air Scrubber by Aerus.

When Should I Replace My A/C?

“Knowing When To Replace & How To Choose The Best System”

This is a tough decision most homeowners face, especially when purchasing and/or selling a home. Unfortunately, it can be a very costly investment, so it’s always best to do your research, and ask as many questions as possible.

When it comes to the air conditioning, there’s more than likely 1 of 2 scenarios that arise; A) Is it worth it to just repair my A/C? Or, B) Should I replace my A/C? How to decide, that’s the tricky part, but we are here to help. There are several factors that should go into the purchase of a new air conditioner, we will list them below….

Type of Refrigerant: This is actually in reference to the outdated R-22 refrigerant. If the system in your home was before 2010, more than likely, you have an R-22 unit. The problem here is, the EPA is phasing out this refrigerant, and it will be obsolete by the year 2020. The other issue here is cost. With it being such a supply and demand issue, the price of R-22 will continue to skyrocket. If you’re facing a costly repair, and you have an R-22 unit, that would be the best time to start considering replacement options.

Lifespan – Is there any warranty left? This is important to know, mainly for two reasons; 1) Saves you money. 2) Gives you time. The lifespan and condition of the unit is a key part, mainly because these units, if maintained well, can last up to 10, 15 or even 20 years. Most units, if registered, will have a 10 year warranty, so that’s usually a pretty good indication that the manufacturer is willing to guarantee the performance of that system for up to 10 years. Once you start getting past the 10 year mark, that is generally the time to start thinking about investing in a new system. An older unit, even though it may be “functioning”, it could be working harder than it needs to, which can lead to other costly repairs.

Repair vs Replacement: Not a very fun decision to make, right? This is another question most homeowners face, and it’s also a very important one, because you certainly don’t want to invest your money into something that will have future issues. First and foremost, it really comes down to the cost of the repair. Replacing a capacitor, or having a coil cleaning, those are repairs that can certainly be affordable. However, when you start getting into costly repairs such as, replacing the compressor, or replacing the coil due to a leak, that’s the time you want to sit down and maybe consider investing in a replacement.

Choosing the “right” system for your home: Major game changer. Choosing which system you want installed in your home is essentially a 10 year investment. It’s absolutely crucial that you do your research. A lot of factors go into this decision; the type of home, how well is it insulated, the condition of the duct work, etc… Choosing the right brand is a major component. More importantly, the efficiency of the unit. These are definitely things to consider when purchasing a new system.

The Cother Team is here to help. The decision making process of a new air conditioner can be very overwhelming. However, you are not alone in this process. Here at Cother, we pride ourselves in going the extra mile for our customers. We plan on continuing that tradition. Give us a call today (713)-944-5500 and ask about our 0% Financing Promotion we have going on, you won’t be disappointed!

“The Snuggle Is Real”

Funny, right? OK, OK, OK… Maybe we are being just a bit dramatic, but it’s never too early to prepare for the upcoming cold weather. Before you decide to turn on that Furnace, contact your Cother representative, and we’ll get you set up with a safety maintenance check for your heater. In the meantime, we will list some important tips to keep you ready for this winter season.

1) Thermostat: This is arguably the most important feature for the system, as it is the main component that you as a homeowner will deal with, this helps control the comfort level in your home. Whether you have a Non Programmable, Programmable, or WiFi capable Thermostat, make sure that you have the thermostat set to your standards. Need help programming? Give Cother (713-944-5500) a call today, we’re happy to help.

2) Filters: Underrated, and most of the time, unnoticed by homeowners. We all have busy lives, so it’s understandable to get behind at times. However, by not changing that filter, at least within 1-3 months regularly, you run the risk of the filter collecting dust & dirt, which can then restrict the airflow. Restricting the airflow causes your Furnace to work harder, which can reduce its efficiency, as well as cost more $$ out of your pocket. We all like to save money, right? Contact your Cother (713)-944-5500 representative today, we’re happy to change that filter out for you.

3) Ask Questions? Yes, ask away. Why is my heating bill so high? How old is my unit? Do I have any warranty left? These are important, informative questions/answers for you as a homeowner.

4) Off-Season Upgrade: That is correct, it might be time to upgrade your system, and the winter season is a great time to invest. Not only because most companies are not as busy in the winter (summer = busy season), but more so because it’s a great time to take advantage of some lucrative deals. Some may ask, “Well how do I know it’s time to replace my system?” Great question. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself when considering a possible upgrade. 1) How old is my unit? (Life Expectancy of an A/C system is 10-12 years). 2) Do I have an R-22 unit? (These units are being phased out, and may one day no longer be available. Convert to the current 410-A).. 3) Is it worth it? Short answer: Yes. Anyone that has spent a summer in Houston knows how brutal those humid, intense sunny days can be. Don’t be victim to a 100+ degree day with absolutely no A/C, it’s not worth it, and it’s not safe. We do understand the cost of a new air conditioner is a major investment, and we want to help as much as we can, that is why Cother, Inc is offering 0% financing to qualifying customers. Give Cother (713)-944-5500 a call today to take advantage of our great deals!

 

It’s HOT!

Rising Temps – The 5 day forecast for this week shows that we will have highs in the upper 90’s. Yikes!

As we all know, when it gets hot like this, we’re all left with no choice but to crank up that A/C, just to stay cool. The unfortunate part about this is, our electric bill tends to skyrocket. Not good!

Here at Cother Air Conditioning & Heating, we have some tips for you homeowners on how to keep that electric bill down, while also staying cool and comfortable.. Check out our helpful tips below…

Cother 16 Point A/C Inspection: More important than anything, you want to make sure and get your A/C checked by a licensed HVAC professional. Here at Cother, we offer an extensive 16 point air conditioning examination. This is absolutely crucial and vital to the life of your system, and it helps maintain the remainder of your system’s warranty. Give us a call today and ask about our 16 Point A/C Inspection.

Attic Insulation: Depending on how well your attic is insulated, it can have a major impact on the comfort in your home. Having the Attic Insulated (blown-in insulation) is a wonderful investment, as it can sometimes lower your energy costs by up to 25-30%. Specifically, in 2 story homes, lacking insulation can cause those winters to be even more brutal, and those summers to be even hotter. That’s a problem. Please give us a call today, Cother A/C offers Free Estimates.

System Struggling: Have a system that’s having trouble keeping up during these scorching hot temps? Having adequate air flow is a major need every homeowner should strive for. If that unit is starting to struggle, and it’s nearing the end of it’s life (10-12 Year Range), it can cause major headaches. The last thing you want is for that system to go out in the middle of the summer, leaving you to scramble for different options. Upgrading to a new system can alleviate all these issues. Give the Cother team a call, we’re more than happy to assist!

 

Spring Cleaning – HVAC Maintenance

It’s almost time for the start of a new season, Spring! We survived the harsh winter, now it’s time to enjoy some better weather. With the new season approaching us, most of us will be transitioning from our Heating unit to our Air Conditioner. Here at Cother Air Conditioning and Heating, we would like to offer some Spring cleaning tips and strategies, as well as the benefits to maintaining your air conditioner.

Thermostat: The Remote Control for your Heating and Cooling system, you always want to ensure your Thermostat is working properly for your unit. It can be as simple as getting the batteries checked, having the thermostat calibrated, or even having a licensed technician setup the correct schedule for your daily needs. A Programmable or WiFi thermostat can be very beneficial for the home, especially in terms of saving money. With one of these thermostats, you’re able to set a schedule for when you’re home or away, allowing you to control the comfort and savings in your home.

Filters: Changing out your filters regularly is very critical for the life of your HVAC system. Not only does it help keep up the efficiency of your unit, but it also helps filter out any dust or pollutants, which in turn helps with your system’s indoor air quality. This is very beneficial if there is anyone in the home with allergies. Please give us a call, we are happy to help with any filter related issues.

Ductwork: When most people discuss their air conditioning system, rarely is the topic of ductwork brought up. Having your ductwork inspected by a licensed professional is very important, this will help you give an idea of how effective it’s working for your system. It doesn’t matter how efficient the unit is, if the ductwork is in poor condition, the unit will never reach it’s max efficiency. During our routine 16 point A/C inspection, we always check the ductwork, specifically for leaks or any possible improvements that can be done to help increase the life of the unit. Give us a call today and ask about our 16 Point A/C Inspection, we’d be happy to help.

Upgrade: Is your unit 10+ years old? Out of warranty? Are you still stuck with the outdated R-22 (currently EPA allowed is 410-A)? Are you starting to notice the unit’s efficiency is not what it once was? If you’re experiencing any one of these issues, then maybe it’s time to consider an upgrade. Last thing you want to do is get yourself in a situation, where it’s the middle of the summer, and all the sudden your unit breaks down completely, leaving you with limited options. Here at Cother Air Conditioning and Heating, we currently have some great deals going on, we have an offer that comes with a lifetime compressor, as well as a 10 year Labor contract to go with it (Average is 1-2 years Labor). Give us a call for details and pricing, we do offer free estimates.

Maintenance Plan: We all live busy lives, right? It’s not easy to schedule, and remember multiple appointments all on the fly. Unfortunately, sometimes maintaining our HVAC system falls to the back in terms of scheduling. Our team here at Cother Air Conditioning and Heating has a solution for you. It’s called the Cother Protection Plan, also known as our yearly maintenance plan. Why is this plan beneficial for me may you ask? Plain and simple, it’s the savings. Normally, for any standard service or maintenance call, we charge $60 for (1) system to be diagnosed. The cost of our Cother Protection Plan is $140 for the full year. What this includes is, (1) A/C maintenance check, (1) Heating maintenance check, as well as (4) emergency service calls in the event the unit stops working. On top of that, any repairs you may have, you will receive a full 10% of the repairs. In the long run, the Cother Plan can end up saving you a lot of money, as well as help extend the life of your system. Lastly, we do all the work for you. We call you and ask you when you would like to get it scheduled, for both the A/C and for the heat, and when it’s time for renewal. Call us today to get signed up for the full year.

Any questions or comments, please give us a call @ 713-944-5500

Cother Air Conditioning and Heating

 

New Year’s Resolutions – HVAC Tips For Your Home

Happy New Year everyone, welcome to 2018! Just like every year, we all set those New Year’s Resolutions for ourselves, whether it be exercising more, eating healthier, or even trying a new hobby, the list goes on and on.

However, while setting goals for the New Year is great, we also need to focus on what we deal with in our everyday life, our HVAC system. Below, I will provide a short list of HVAC tips that will help improve the efficiency in your home, as well as maintaining comfort throughout the year.

Tip # 1: Filters – Changing out your filters regularly, as well as maintaining them throughout the year, will help keep your system performing efficiently. Not only that, but changing out your filters will ultimately save you money in the long run. Filters tend to get dirty, and as a result can clog up the system. When that happens, your HVAC system struggles to keep up, and has to work much harder to maintain comfort in the home. On top of that, a dirty/clogged up filter can be detrimental for the indoor air quality in the home, especially if allergies are an issue in the home. Check and change your filters (every 2-3 months), this will help you save money, and help your system maintain efficiency in the long run. Give the Cother team a call, we are here to help!

Tip # 2: Cleanliness – The Condenser, the Coils, and the Drain Pan. All (3) of these items tend to accumulate grass, dirt and sometimes rust. For the Condenser, which is the outside portion of your system, make sure the unit is clear of any debris, grass, dirt or anything that can be potentially harmful for the unit. The Coils, whether it be on your outside unit, or your inside system, these coils can get dirty fast. Here at Cother, we wash out the Condenser Coil as part of our routine maintenance. For a deeper coil cleaning, we do offer those services as well, with a range of different techniques and prices. Lastly, the Drain Pan, which is a safety net for your inside coil. Drain Pans gather water, which can lead to rust over time, and potentially cause damage to your ceiling. Here at Cother, we can help you with these potential issues, give us a call today.

Tip # 3Upgrade – Upgrading your system is a big investment, but it’s a decision that could help improve the quality of your life. First and foremost, if you have an older system, one that contains R-22, you should highly consider investing in a new system. Plain and simple, they do not manufacture R-22 anymore, thus making any potential repairs or issues with refrigerant VERY expensive for you. If you do have the current (410-A) refrigerant, then these are the questions you should ask yourself in regards to your system

1 – What is the age of my system? The average life of a system is 10-12 years. If you need help, give us a call and we can find out the information of your system

2 – Is there any “warranty” left on my system? Typically, a system has a 5-10 year parts warranty, be sure to double check that before making any decisions.

3 – What is the probability of my unit failing? In most cases, if the unit is older than the life expectancy, as well as no warranty left, then sometimes the probability of failing can be high. Repairs on an older system can be very expensive, as some parts are hard to locate. Another thing is, a new system will actually save you money in the long run, mainly due to it being more efficient. An older system will constantly run, and drive up that bill on a monthly basis. Give us a call today, we do offer Free Estimates if you would like to check pricing.

 

From the Cother team to you, we hope you have a wonderful New Year!

 

 

Happy Holidays! – Here are some HVAC tips for the Winter

  •  Cother Protection Plan. The maintenance plan offers savings that you won’t find in this industry. Total Cost = $140 for the full year. Included: (1) A/C safety check, (1) Furnace safety check, (4) emergency service calls, as well as (10%) off any service or repairs. Incredible value, and this also helps maintain your system’s warranty.
  • Filters… Always check your filters. Dirty filters can cause potential air flow issues, as well as decreasing the efficiency of the system. Make sure to always have them cleaned or replaced. Here at Cother, we can certainly help with that.
  • Safety – The Winter time can be very demanding of your HVAC system, specifically the Furnace. If your system is getting worn down, or showing signs of potential issues, we highly recommend to give us a call, that way we can perform a 16 Point Safety and Efficiency check of the unit.
  • Air Flow issues? Are you experiencing air flow issues in some rooms, but not in others? This could have to do with your Ductwork. The winter time is a great time to have your Ductwork checked out by a licensed professional. Give us a call, we are here to help.
  • The DREADED question, DO I NEED TO REPLACE MY SYSTEM??? If it’s not broke, why fix it, right? That is an understandable logic, but there are a couple factors you may want to consider for the future, especially in the winter time…
  • R-22 – Unfortunately, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has stopped the production of R-22, and it will be completely gone by 2020. Prices are going to skyrocket exponentially within the next few months. If you do have an R-22 unit, we highly recommend you consider getting a quote to replace your HVAC system. The winter time is great for that, as there are many discounts we can offer.
  • Age –  Hey! Are you calling me old? Realistically, if your system is more than 10 years old, the truth is that it’s just not as efficient as it once was. The other issue with an aging unit is, it tends to run of that electric bill. None of us like to hear that. The benefit of a new system, especially a more efficient one, helps drive down the cost of these expenses. Right now, we have some incredible discounts for the winter, so give us a call 713-944-5500

Affected by Harvey Flood?

Unfortunately, our precious city was devastated by the after math of Hurricane Harvey, causing a historical flood like we’ve never seen before, leaving many people without their day to day resources. One of these is our central air conditioner, more specifically the Condenser, which sits outside exposed to the outside elements. Although these Condensers are built to withstand most major weather conditions, they are not designed to be submerged in high levels of contaminated flood water. To be on the safe side, you need to get your A/C unit serviced, and do a full maintenance check on it. The reality is, your unit may be operating at its normal conditions, but you could run into issues down the road. Here at Cother, we are here to help you, our extensive 16 point safety and efficiency maintenance check helps prevent these potential problems. Below is a few items included in our 16 point A/C check:

  •      FLUSHING THE CONDENSER COIL WITH WATER TO CLEAN IT
  •      INSPECTING ALL SAFETY CONTROLS FOR DEFECTS
  •      CHECKING THE FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKER FOR DEFECTS
  •   CHECKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS FOR PROPER CONTACT AND CORROSION BUILD-UP

 

Give us a call today and ask about our Cother Maintenance Plan @ 713-944-5500

cother-philosophy

 

 

 

 

 

(Pictured Below: Condenser after being submerged in flood water)

Call Now Button