Half of what people are told about their thermostat is wrong
Air conditioning, heating and ventilation for houses and businesses across Macon and Bibb County — set out in numbered order, so you can point at an item and ask about it rather than take our word for the lot.
What we do
Numbered, because a numbered thing can be argued with.
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Breakdowns
Air conditioning, heat pumps, furnaces and air handlers of any make. We find the fault, say what it costs to put right, and say plainly when the money is better spent elsewhere.
- Diagnosis before parts.
A part fitted on a guess is a part you paid for twice.
- Refrigerant treated as a leak, not a level.
A system low on refrigerant has a leak. Topping it up is not a repair, and for some refrigerants it is not lawful either.
- Heat exchangers.
Where one is compromised the appliance is shut off rather than repaired. That is not a negotiation.
- Diagnosis before parts.
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Measurement
Numbers, taken with instruments and written down, so that the next visit has something to compare against.
- Static pressure
Against the blower’s own rating. The number that explains most disappointing systems.
- Airflow at the register
Where the complaint is, rather than at the plant where it is convenient.
- Temperature split
Against the data plate, not against expectation.
- Indoor humidity
Over days rather than on one visit, because one reading tells you about the weather.
- Static pressure
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Ducts and airflow
Most comfort complaints here are about air that is not arriving rather than equipment that has failed.
- Attic and crawlspace runs
Inspected properly. In central Georgia the attic is where the losses are.
- Return sizing
Frequently the real restriction, and the reason a bigger blower makes noise instead of airflow.
- Sealing priced or excluded
Never left silent in a quotation.
- Attic and crawlspace runs
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Replacements
The equipment is the last decision, not the first.
- Load calculation, room by room
From your building. Oversizing is the commonest inherited fault in this county and it is what makes a house cold and clammy.
- Model numbers in the quotation
A brand name is not a specification, and without model numbers two quotations cannot be compared at all.
- Commissioning numbers handed over
Airflow, split, static pressure and charge, written down and left with you.
- Load calculation, room by room
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Businesses
Shops, restaurants, suites, clinics and light industrial, on a schedule with a record per unit.
- A record per unit
Not a tick against the site. Details on the businesses page.
- Work timed around trading
Agreed at survey rather than improvised on the night.
- A record per unit
Why we wrote a page about thermostats
Because it is the only part of the system most people touch, and because the advice circulating about it is a mixture of true, outdated and simply wrong — and the wrong parts cost money quietly.
Setting a thermostat far below the target does not cool a house faster. Leaving the fan on ON rather than AUTO makes a humid house more humid. A deep setback on a heat pump can bring on electric back-up heat that costs more than the setback saved. Closing vents in unused rooms does not save anything and raises pressure on the system.
None of that is controversial in the trade. It is simply never explained, because explaining it does not sell equipment.
What we will not do
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Print a price
Because a replacement varies by a multiple depending on access, ductwork, electrical supply and what the building actually needs. The survey figure is fixed and quoted before we come out; everything else follows the survey.
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Promise a response time in hours
We will tell you where you are in the queue and call you back. A printed number gets broken on the first genuinely hot Saturday, which is exactly when you would be relying on it.
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Put a percentage on your bill
Correct sizing, sealed ducts and a correct charge genuinely reduce running cost. What that is worth depends on your tariff, your building and your habits, so the figure comes after measuring.
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Make a claim about health
We find water where it should not be and we stop it. What damp might be growing, and what that means for anybody, is a question for people qualified to answer it.
Common questions
Does setting the thermostat lower cool the house faster?
No. A thermostat is a switch rather than a throttle: the system runs at one capacity until it reaches the setpoint. Setting it far below the temperature you want simply runs past what you wanted and costs you the difference. If the house genuinely takes hours to pull down, that is a sizing, airflow or charge question.
Should the fan be on AUTO or ON?
AUTO, in this climate, unless there is a specific reason otherwise. On ON the blower keeps running after the compressor stops, and it blows the moisture still sitting on the wet coil back into the house. It also runs the motor a great many more hours.
Does closing vents in unused rooms save money?
No, and on a ducted system it makes things worse. The blower still moves the same air, so closing registers raises the pressure it works against, reduces total airflow, and increases leakage from every joint in your attic ductwork. Rooms that need different temperatures need zoning.
What is the emergency heat setting for?
On a heat pump it switches the heat pump off and heats using electric resistance elements alone. It exists for when the heat pump has failed. It is the most expensive way the system can run and it is not a heat-faster button.
Will a smart thermostat fix my comfort problem?
Not if the problem is sizing, ductwork or configuration, which it usually is. They are genuinely good at scheduling and at reporting run times, which is useful information. They are also frequently fitted without checking what the equipment behind them expects.
Which areas do you cover?
Macon, Warner Robins, Byron, Gray, Forsyth, Bolingbroke and Lizella.
Macon and Bibb County
4650 Forsyth Rd, Macon, GA 31210. We cover Macon, Warner Robins, Byron, Gray, Forsyth, Bolingbroke and Lizella.
Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.