At Comfort Now, we deal with a lot of people who rent out their shore properties during the summer. So what's the one thing that would be terrible to break for a renter in these hot summer months? THE AIR CONDITIONING! Well for Bob E. in Ocean City, that was exactly the case. He was renting out the first floor of his Ocean City Duplex, and the A/C decided to give out. That's when he called Comfort Now to figure out what the issue was, and have it fixed in time for the renters.
This was an interesting call for us at Comfort Now, and an innovative solution we were very proud of. Barry G from Margate had called us and told us about his conerns over his Air Conditioning Condesers being on the ground outside his house.
Margate had been flooding a decent amount ever since Hurricane Sandy hit us hard a few years back. He didn't want his units being destroyed by water, so he called up Comfort Now in search of a solution to this problem.
Isn't it a beautiful thing watching birds fly south for the winter. They notice it's getting chilly, and they hop into a V and ho south, flying for warmer weather, knowing that in about 5-6 months they will be back along with the warm breeze and the sunshine. Well... it isn't just birds that keep this pattern up. Some people love to do the same thing! During the summer they live at their Jersey Shore home, and enjoy the nice summer weather, but as soon as winter rears it's head, then it's time to go south to Florida until next year.
That was what Carl, one of our customers in Ocean City, does every year. He departs from the brisk chill of the Northeast Section of the US every winter to go enjoy himself in Florida. In the meantime, he has a service that will check on his home once a week to insure that the house isn't too cold in the winter.
This had been working fine for him, until one day the service called and told him the house was down to 45 degrees. He didn't want to let it get too cold, and called Comfort Now to go over and check out why his home was so cold.
One of scariest calls you have to make to a heating or air conditioning contractor is an emergency call. Whether your air conditioner gave out during a heat wave, or your furnace won't stay lit in the winter, it's never a call anyone wants to make, but one you may have to.
For this Village Grande Homeowner, the call was about a busted hot water heater. The heater had just started leaking the morning we were called. The homeowner knew that it was something that had to be addressed immidiatley, and we came out to take a look at the situation.
$650 a Month to heat the house in the winter using electric baseboard heating...
$400 a Month to cool the house in the summer using electric window units...
Clearly this homeowner was frustrated with their current energy usage when they contacted Comfort Now. They were even in the process of putting up solar panels on the roof to try and use some sort of alternative energy to offset these costs. This is a common thing we hear from people we work with a lot, and there are a few reasons that you can have unusually high energy usage:
One of the most common type of homeowner that we work with is someone who lives away from the Jersey Shore, but owns a vacation home in the area. That was the case for these Wildwood homeowners. There was not any sort of heat, or air conditioning in this home, which they knew had to change. They wanted to be able to use the house in the summer AND in the winter, when it gets pretty cold. This is why they insisted on putting heating as well as cooling in the duplex.
There are lots of attractive duplexes in Ocean City. Many of the top floor units have comfort issues in the Spring and Summer during cooling season. The homes typically have a large open area for the kitchen, living and dining rooms, with large sliding doors out to a deck.
While great for views and entertaining, this set up often leads to complaints from homeowners and renters about being able to keep these areas cool and as inviting as the view. Most of the problem in these cases is caused by poor duct design, as was the case with our homeowners.
Problem: Poor duct design meant our homeowners weren't getting the cooling they needed to keep their lovely Ocean City duplex comfortable, all season long.
Solution: Replace the old distribution system with a new, properly designed system. By replacing the old, leaking, internally insulated ducts with new, externally insulated metal trunk with sealed joints, we were able to deliver increased efficiency, while also significantly reducing dust.
This attractive Ocean City duplex provided everything the owners wanted in a weekend retreat. It's a comfortable home away from home, with light and views that made it a place to relax and recharge. However, once it gets hot, the cooling system just wasn't doing its job. Because it's a second floor unit, the unit is naturally a little warmer, but the lack of cooling was leaving the owners steamed in more ways than one.
A lot of homes have areas that are hard to heat and cool. In our home, our master bedroom has high ceilings, which make it a wonderful room to spend time in, but it also makes it harder to keep at an optimal temperature. It always seems to be either too hot in the summer or too cool in the Winter for perfect comfort. This means we are regularly having battles in the house over the thermostat, with the “comfort wing” advocating for turning on and cranking the thermostat up or down, while the “Save Money Party” has been known to say thing like “Just put on a sweater” and “It’s not that hot- I thought you liked it hot” in response.
When adding an addition to your home, making sure it gets the same heating and cooling as the rest of your home can be a challenge. Our homeowner in Egg Harbor Township added a beautiful new sunroom to their home, but they needed to make sure it was a comfortable as it was attractive.
An HVAC consultation helps you get exactly the right new system for your home and comfort. While you could purchase a system sight unseen, chances are pretty good that a different one would work better for you. The only way to know is with an in-home consultation.
When a Comfort Now heating and cooling technician comes to your home, he gets the whole picture. Details such as square footage, layout, and the number of rooms help, but being there pulls everything together. To make your consultation as effective as possible, here are a few things to plan for ahead of time:
Provide an Accounting of Current Problems
Problems that seem small to you might be important clues for your HVAC technician.
If you're buying a new HVAC system, it's probably because your current one is starting to let you down. A list of problems that your existing system has will help the technician understand your pitfalls as well as your goals and expectations, which leads to a better fit.
Note whether your current system is too noisy, inefficient, or weak to make your home comfortable. He may recommend a new high velocity system, which eliminates noise and boost efficiency.
