Archive for August, 2014

When Should I Schedule Heating System Maintenance in Southern Vermont?

Monday, August 25th, 2014

It’s always tough to say goodbye to summer and turn toward the colder months. But a winter in Vermont can be one of the loveliest in the country, and if you properly prepare your home for the coming cold weather, there’s no reason that you can’t make the winter as joyous a season as the summer.

With summer almost finished, now is the time to start thinking about your home’s heating system. You may not need to turn on your furnace or boiler, or switch the heat pump to heating mode, for a couple of weeks yet, but you should take advantage of this cooler time to schedule your annual heating system maintenance in Southern Vermont.

HB Energy Solutions is one of your best options for heating maintenance. We install and service an enormous variety of home comfort systems, from wood-burning boilers to solar-powered heat pumps. You can rely on our expertise to make sure that your heater is ready for the coming Vermont winter.

Why you should schedule heating maintenance now

Professional maintenance for a heating system is sometimes called preventive maintenance, because one of its principle objectives is to prevent repair problems and breakdowns. You don’t want to wade into the cold season without all the proper preventive measures done for your home’s furnace, boiler, etc. A repair issue or a complete breakdown during one of the coldest days of the year is something you definitely do not want to occur! With your heating maintenance taken care of a few months ahead of the heaviest colds, you will have the best assurance possible that you won’t need to make emergency heating calls.

Another reason to take advantage of the early fall for heating maintenance is that technicians have an easier time scheduling the sessions. Between the summer heat and fall chill, HVAC companies experience a lower amount of emergency calls, and you should have no trouble arranging a convenient time for a skilled technician to come to your home and inspect and tune-up your heater.

Call us to schedule your heating maintenance today

Yearly maintenance for a heater is mandatory: it keeps the system from prematurely aging and wasting energy, and it also protects you from malfunctions. Take care of the job as soon as you can so you can scratch one more “to-do” from your fall list. Contact HB Energy Solutions today to sign up for our maintenance plan, or download the plan from our website.

Let our wide range of expertise in heating and cooling help you receive the best heating system maintenance in Southern Vermont. Call us today!

Common Repairs for Commercial Refrigerators

Monday, August 18th, 2014

If you operate a food service company, whether a restaurant, bar, bakery, or commercial kitchen, refrigeration is probably an important part of the daily routines. A commercial quality refrigerator will sometimes require repairs, and for that you will need to contact specialists with high-end equipment: this isn’t work for technicians who are only familiar with household refrigerators.

HB Energy Solutions provides commercial refrigeration services for New Hampshire. We can handle repairs and maintenance for walk-in coolers, ice machines, and refrigerators, as well as installations. We can also help update your equipment to more energy-efficient models.

Here are some of the common repairs that commercial refrigerators needs:

Door sealing/door repairs

A problem that’s common for commercial refrigerators are “sweating” doors: perspiration begins to occur along the door of the sides of the unit. This is usually the fault of insufficient sealing along the door, or a door that is shutting improperly. The cold from inside the refrigerator mingles with the warmer, moister air outside it and causes water condensation. The inside of the refrigerator will start to gain heat, leading to insufficient temperatures and spoiled food. Technicians will locate where the leaking issue is occurring on the sealing or why the door is incorrectly closing and do what is necessary to restore the heat sealing.

Compressor repairs

The heart of any refrigeration device is the compressor that circulates refrigerant through the system to absorb heat from inside the unit and exhaust it to the outside. If the compressor begins to malfunction because of bad motors, bad capacitors, or electrical issues, it will seriously impair the refrigerator’s operation and may lead to a complete breakdown. Compressor problems need to be fixed as soon as possible (pay attention to odd noises interrupting the refrigerator’s usual humming) before the compressor burns out… which will often require that the whole refrigerator be replaced.

Fixing the defrost system

Gaining heat is a problem for a refrigerator, but there is also the opposite problem of the development of frost, which can lead to freezer-burn that damages foodstuffs and liquids. The defrost system in the refrigerator is designed to prevent frost from developing along the evaporator coil. Problems with the defrost timer and defrost heater will need professional repairs before frost build-up threatens the inside of the refrigerator. Frost will usually start to develop along the back wall of the interior first, so if you notice a layer of ice on the rear wall of your refrigerator, call for repairs right away.

Make sure that you contact quality commercial repair specialists: you can’t have just anyone with some refrigeration experience come in and take care of this job.

HB Energy Solutions offers refrigeration services for New Hampshire and Southern Vermont that will handle all of your needs. You can trust to our 22 years of experience.

Air Conditioning Guide: What Is Refrigerant?

Monday, August 11th, 2014

The modern air conditioner requires numerous components to make it work: blowers, motors, a compressor, coils. But all of these together would create nothing more than an oversized fan if not for the presence of refrigerant running through the lines of the air conditioner. Refrigerant is the life-blood of an AC necessary for the process of heat exchange that cools down the inside of a building.

Like all the parts of an air conditioner, refrigerant is something that must remain in the hands of professionals. If you encounter a loss of refrigerant in your AC, call for experts to handle the problem.

HB Energy Solutions has 24-hour service in Southern Vermont from air conditioning specialists who will take care of whatever is amiss with your cooling system. Call us today. 

The details of refrigerant

Refrigerant is a chemical blend that can easily shift from liquid to gaseous state and back again. Refrigerant begins in an air conditioner’s compressor, where the action of the compressor changes it into a high-pressure, high temperature gas. The refrigerant then travels to the outdoor coil, where it releases heat to the outside through condensation. It then moves to the inside cabinet, passing through an expansion valve that lowers its pressure and further reduces it temperature so that it shifts back into liquid form. The cooled refrigerant then moves through the indoor coil, where it absorbs heat through evaporation, cooling down the air. The refrigerant finally returns to the compressor to begin the cycle over.

Today, the refrigerant found in most home air conditioning systems is a blend called R-410A, a non-ozone depleting chemical mixture designed to replace an earlier blend, R-22. There have been many different types of refrigerants over the years. The earliest were toxic, combustible, or acidic, and it wasn’t until the invention of the first safe refrigerant, which was given the trademarked name “Freon,” that air conditioners started to enter use in homes. Continual advances in the production of refrigerant have resulted in increased air conditioner efficiency.

Refrigerant loss

During the heat exchange cycle of condensation-evaporation, refrigerant does not dissipate. It remains at the same level—called its “charge”—throughout the air conditioner’s life, unless a leak occurs. Leaking refrigerant will threaten an AC’s ability to cool and could lead to damage to the compressor due to overheating.

Should you notice a drop in cooling, ice appearing along the indoor coil, or strange hissing sounds from your AC, the system may be losing refrigerant. You will need professionals to locate the leak, seal it, and then recharge the system with the proper blend of refrigerant.

Call HB Energy Solutions for assistance with your air conditioning in Southern Vermont if you think you have a refrigerant leak. You can count on our 22 years in the business of making homes comfortable.

The Different Types of Solar Hot Water Systems

Monday, August 4th, 2014

When it comes to making a transition to using clean, renewable solar energy for your home, one of the best places to start is with a solar hot water system. Compared to other solar installations, solar water heaters are relatively inexpensive, quick to install, and take up little space. They make an excellent introduction to the advantages of using the power of the sun as a substitute for more expensive forms of energy.

Solar hot water systems for New Hampshire do not come in “one size fits all” configurations. There are different models and ways they use the Sun to heat water. The two main types are passive and active water heaters; there is also the option for direct systems. To find out which of these is the better installation for your home, call the solar professionals at HB Energy Solutions. We specialize in helping people find new ways to power their homes.

The basics of solar water heaters

Passive and active solar water heaters share many elements in common. They use a solar collector installed on the roof a home that absorbs energy from the sun. Inside the solar collector are tubes that hold refrigerant which collects the heat from the sun. The refrigerant then travels down to a water tank, where a heat exchanger moves the heat absorbed by the refrigerant to the water in the tank. (The water tank can also have a gas or electric heating system attached as a back-up should the solar collector not gather enough heat.)

Passive water heaters

A passive system does not use a pump to circulate the refrigerant from the collector plate and down into the heat exchanger, but instead relies on the convection current from the heated refrigerant itself. These systems are a less expensive option and require almost no maintenance because of the lack of moving parts. However, they are less efficient than active systems, and they must have protection from freezing during a New Hampshire winter.

Active water heaters

An active system uses pumps to circulate the refrigerant through the heat exchanger in the tank. These systems are much more efficient than passive systems and allow for more design freedom since the tank can be located farther away from the collector. Electronic controllers allow a homeowner more ways to adjust the system. Active systems do cost more than passive systems, however.

Direct water heaters

These solar hot water systes heaters do not use refrigerant or a heat exchanger. Instead they heat water directly using the solar collector. They are at risk of freezing and during hot weather can overheat, so they must be installed with caution—although they can potentially work in cold climate thanks to the development of freeze-tolerant solar collectors.

We highly recommend installing one of these solar hot water systems in New Hampshire for your home. The savings are immense: essentially, you receive free energy for your hot water.

Have the professionals at HB Energy Solutions recommend an ideal water heater model and then install it so it gives you excellent, worry-free performance.