Regular maintenance to your AC/Heating System can extend the longevity of your unit and help prevent most major repairs/breakdowns.
Consider this, your car is a huge financial investment, your
body is a once in a lifetime investment and your home is a huge financial and
lifetime investment. All three of those are maintenance regularly. Your oil change
keeps your car running, your yearly check-up keeps your body in tune and you
clean your home daily.
In the current market new AC system can run well past $15,000.00, having regular maintenance to preserve your current system and avoid the cost of a new installation is a SMART investment.
If you research Angies List, EnergyStar, any reputable HVAC expert will tell you MAINTENANCE is a MONEY SAVER!
Preventative maintenance will help catch those small insignificant solvable problems can cause major damage to Key components in your AC/Heating systems. Causing major breakdowns and major costly repairs.
YOU CAN AVOID GETTING STUCK IN THE SUMMER HEAT by signing up for one of our Maintenance Programs.
Call us today! We have plans to suit ALL BUDGETS! 210-819-9177
National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day is observed annually on March 29th. This day honors all small business owners. Small businesses are a vital part of the United States economy. These businesses are not always appreciated for the critical role that they play. We can show them their much-deserved appreciation on National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are more than 27 million small businesses in the United States.
Owning your own business is a goal that many people strive to attain. It takes long hours, hard work and much dedication. Countless hours of nurturing the business are needed in the process of growing the business. From starting out to building and expanding, a successful small business is the goal of every owner.
Some of these Mom and Pop shops are handed down from one generation to the next while others are new start-ups. “Mom and Pop” businesses offer superior customer service as the owners take personal pride in their operations as well as pride in their communities. Support the privately owned small businesses in your communities. Use #MomPopBusinessOwnersDay to post on social media.
HISTORY:Rick and Margie Segel founded National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day in honor of couples like his parents whose successful hat shop opened in 1939 and grew into a 10,000 square feet and $2 million dollar clothing store.
Elite Air Care Heating and Air Conditioning has been in business since 2009, run by the wonderful couple Joel and Ana, they are the epitome of kind, generous and upstanding members of their local communities. It is honestly, a blessing, to work for them and to keep the small business hope alive. Support small business by calling us TODAY for your Spring Tune up Special!!!
FIESTA SAN ANTONIO. Fiesta San Antonio, previously called Fiesta San Jacinto, is a ten-day festival held every spring in San Antonio. It originated in the 1891 flower parade conceived by Ellen Maury Slayden, wife of Congressman James L. Slayden, as an April 21 salute to the heroes of the battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto.qqv A group of San Antonio women formed the Battle of Flowers Association. The first parade was moved a day ahead to accommodate the schedule of visiting President Benjamin Harrison, but it was then delayed for four days by bad weather. With the arrival of fair weather, participants in carriages pelted one another with flowers as they rounded Alamo Plaza. By 1895 an elaborate weeklong celebration surrounded the Battle of Flowers Parade, and the first queen was chosen. In 1909 the Order of the Alamo was organized, with John B. Carrington as president, to oversee some features of the carnival, including the election of the queen and her coronation. The Battle of Flowers Association continued to coordinate the parade, as well as a children’s fete and a band competition, the forerunner of today’s Band Festival. The parade tradition lapsed briefly during World War I, but another tradition was started-the Pilgrimage to the Alamo. By the 1980s the Daughters of the Republic of Texas were sponsoring this event, in which participants march from the city’s Municipal Auditorium to the Alamo to hear the names of Texas men who died in the battle of the Alamo. The fiesta was not very old before the crowning of a king was added to the week’s activities. Before a King Antonio line was established in 1916, kings were chosen by the Spring Carnival Association, the Downtown Business Club, and the Chamber of Commerce. Early monarchs were dubbed Selamat (tamales spelled backward), Omala (Alamo backward), King Cotton, Zeus, and Rex. In 1926, when the Texas Cavaliers were organized by Carrington, the king began to be named from their ranks. In the same year Mrs. Alfred Ward of the Battle of Flowers Association founded the Oratorical Contest for college students, to encourage writing on some phase of Texas history.
The celebration continued to grow, and by 1945 the San Antonio Conservation Society was playing a substantial role with its popular Night in Old San Antonio, held in picturesque La Villita. In the mid-1980s the Night in Old San Antonio, held on four successive evenings, continued to be one of the most popular and highly successful additions to the gala week. It is an authentically costumed recreation of San Antonio’s early life under six flags, held in La Villita, an internationally recognized historic restoration of the little village that existed at the site before the time of the Alamo. By 1959 Fiesta Week had grown to the point that the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce formed a coordinating agency called the Fiesta San Antonio Commission, and the event became officially known as Fiesta San Antonio. In 1980 Fiesta royalty was expanded when the League of United Latin American Citizens Council No. 2 began the Paseo del Rey Feo (Ugly King Parade). By the mid-1980s the Fiesta San Antonio Committee was underwriting some twenty-five events, including the four major parades. The Battle of Flowers Parade continued to be the only major parade in the United States that was conceived, organized, and presented by a women’s group. The Texas Cavaliers sponsored the annual River Parade, and their King Antonio attended nearly 120 Fiesta-related functions. Fiesta activities included art shows, sports tournaments, and tours of local historical areas and military bases. The final event of the festival had become the Fiesta Night Parade or “Fiesta Flambeau,” sponsored by the San Antonio Jaycees and lit by torchlight and fireworks. In the early 1990s some 50,000 volunteers from the military, the general public, and more than eighty nonprofit organizations helped to put on the Fiesta events, which were estimated by organizers to generate more than $100 million for the community each year.BIBLIOGRAPHY: Marlene Gordon, “Fiesta,” San Antonio, April 1984. Humble Way (publication of the Humble Oil and Refining Company, Houston), May-June 1946. Ann Moore, “The Fiesta de San Antonio,” Junior Historian, May 1959. Tommie Pinkard, “Fiesta,” Texas Highways, April 1985.
CITATION
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.Handbook of Texas Online, Mrs. Willard E. Simpson, Jr., “FIESTA SAN ANTONIO,” accessed January 09, 2020, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lkf02.
Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
We might sound like a broken record but we don’t want your unit to BREAK DOWN! We know we’ve mentioned it on several occassions but just like any piece of equipment, your heating and cooling systems require regular maintenance to keep them running properly. Please stay on top of maintenance tasks year-round to improve system performance. Here are some of the steps you can take throughout the Month of January to keep your furnace, air conditioner, heat pump, or other HVAC equipment operating smoothly.
1: Change your air filter. If you have a disposable filter, remove the old one and insert a clean replacement. If your filter is reusable, wash it according to the manufacturer’s directions and allow it to dry entirely before reinserting it into the filter compartment.
2: Inspect all registers and return air grilles in your home to ensure they have not been blocked or shut. These vents should never be blocked, as doing so will restrict airflow through your HVAC systems, which could create performance issues and system overheating. ***Move all carpets and rugs, furniture, and other items away from vents.***
3:Check to see that vent louvers are open; if you wish to shut off heating to unused areas of your home or building, never close more than 20 percent of the structure’s HVAC vents. If you have many unused areas, consider investing in a zoning system which will allow you to reduce energy waste while facilitating proper HVAC system performance – work with a trusted HVAC contractor to design and install zoning solutions for your home or business.
4:Keep the area surrounding your heating equipment clear. Never store items directly by the furnace, especially flammable or combustible material such as rags, wood, gasoline, paint, solvent, and cleaners.
5:Check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors monthly throughout heating season. Test batteries each month, using the unit’s TEST button. Vacuum away any dust which has accumulated on the detectors.
6:Keep exterior vents and chimneys clear of ice and snow. Flue pipes allow the heating process’s combustion byproducts to exit the home or building safely – a blockage could cause carbon monoxide to leak indoors. Fresh air intake piping should also be cleared for proper ventilation.
All the major contributors to the industry and standards agree on these tips for preparing your AC/Heater for Winter!
We read all the recent articles from Energy Star, Direct Energy, CPS Energy, Maytag, Lennox and even our competitors. To be able to centralize the kind of information you want and need! So here are the best tips our experts AGREE WITH and ALL CONTRIBUTORS AGREE TO!
Check your Carbon Monoxide Levels! Are the batteries in your Carbon Monoxide Detector NEW or refreshed?
HAVE YOUR UNIT MAINTENANCED! Contact your favorite Elite Tech or your trusted AC company to come look at and service/tune up your system for the season.
From the desk of Kristina H- Front Desk and Newbie to the HVAC industry.
Non-Pro Report!
Hey everyone, this is Kristina from the front office. Joel normally does these Pro reports on what’s current and important in the industry but I wanted to share a little on a mistake I have ALWAYS made until I started to work with the amazing Elite Air Care Heating & AC Family!
I’ve always lived in apartments, so I’ve always had very little control when it comes to my AC Unit, its maintenance or care. The two things I could control were making sure my filters were changed and SHUTTING THE VENTS in rooms I “didn’t” need that much air flow in.Whether you are trying to move cooler air to different spaces or looking for ways to reduce your monthly energy bills, closing vents might seem like a good choice.
What I didn’t know :
According to ENERGY STAR, and our very own Expert Joel, while you could feel some difference in your home, closing the vents could be potentially harmful. It could throw your whole system off balance and it could make your system work harder, or the air will find another way out, likely through leaky air ducts.
Closing vents also doesn’t improve energy efficiency. Your system is still going to work hard to push that same amount of air out, so it could actually increase your energy costs. Keep in mind that every home and situation is different. If you have questions, you can contact a qualified professional to take a look.
You have some alternatives for your home and units temp/air flow management:
Zoning Systems – This is perfect for multiple stories or a bigger homes. The zoning systems lets you select sections or areas of the home and set differing temperatures to help maintain home comfort. This also helps with energy costs, because you won’t be heating or cooling areas of the home that aren’t being used.
Mini-Split Systems – If you’ve added an extra room or space that doesn’t allow you to extend your ductwork, mini-split systems can offer the additional heating or cooling you need.
Air Balancing Systems– Exactly as it sounds, we can install a system to balance the air flow, or test the current systems air flow to redirect it.
SO! If you were like me and having trouble keeping your whole house at a comfortable temperature in San Antonio or its surrounding areas, give Elite Air Care Heating and Air Conditioning the opportunity to give you some options that could save you money! Our team can help examine the situation. We will walk you through the options and discuss the best route to meet your cooling or comfort needs!
Are y’all sick of us harping on Maintenance? We really just want to save you Money…
When you hire a HVAC company in your area to provide routine service – usually done seasonally or twice a year – you can save a lot on both your bills and repairs. According to Cook’s Comfort System, Inc., HVAC maintenance typically costs between $70 and $200, while replacing an HVAC system for a 2,000 sq. ft. home can cost between $7,000 and $15,000.With routine HVAC service, your system will be running efficiently and able to cool or heat your home a lot faster and effectively. This may save money on your energy bill. With regular maintenance, you could avoid large, expensive problems that cost far more than the maintenance service fee or membership! Getting a regular tune-up on your HVAC system can help you save in the long run.
Not going to drone on about it again but, you know the drill call us today for your Fall Maintenance or Sign up for our Membership and we’ll remind you when its due!!
There is NOTHING WORSE than getting home after a long day at work to walk into a SWELTERING HOT HOME!
One of the best ways to ensure you aren’t caught in this horrible senario, is to have your home air conditioning unit MAINTENANCE! At least once a year, but ideally twice. The idea behind that suggestion is to find a problem before it becomes serious enough to make your home or business into a hot, sticky sauna that no one should have to be in.
A tune-up will involve several checks and adjustments. These include:
Cleaning the condenser coils. Often the coils will accumulate dust. This decreases efficiency and adds wear and tear to your air conditioner.
Check the coolant levels. A coolant leak will decrease the amount of cool air that blows throughout your home while your air conditioner is operating.
Lubricate moving parts to reduce wear and tear.
Inspect the ductwork to make certain that the air is circulating.
Inspect electrical connections & fix as needed.
Examine the blower motor and belt to ensure that they are operating at its best efficiency.
One way that you can help maintain your air conditioning system is to change your air filters monthly to quarterly. Clogged air filters can slow air flow, which makes your AC system work harder and less efficiently. Blocked air filters can lead to air conditioner failure if left unattended.
Remember, when it comes to something as important and as complex as an air conditioner system, an ounce of prevention is worth far more than a pound of cure. Call us today! 210-819-9177
A quick change of your air conditioner’s filter every month is the EASIEST STEP you can do to preserve the quality of your indoor air, increase the lifespan of your AC system, and keep your energy bills in line this summer. And it only takes five minutes!!
NO MORE Dirty air
No one wants dirty air recirculating anywhere they breath. While we can not control all locations we visit, we can help control the air in our homes. Stop to take a look at the old filter that you pull out of your system and it will give you dust for thought, we sometimes forget the consequences of breathing all the things(dust, debris, and pollutants) that work their way into our ACs. Change your air filter and put your mind at ease.
Preventative and Efficient
Just as your car does not run well with a clogged oil or air filter, neither does your AC run efficiently. Clogged filters lead to dirty coils and ducts, all adding up to a slower running system. A poorly running system means all the parts will work harder to produce the quality of air you need for the HOT Texas Summers. A harder working system requires more will show up as an increase in your energy bill.
Your comfort
Considering all the inconsistent weather in San Antonio recently, you’ve been running in your system off and on since March! You especially want your system to be ready for our all-out summer heat, since we all know it HASN’T EVEN HIT YET! A clean air filter is a good start. Your comfort is sitting on how efficiently your present system is working. Summer is an important time of year to change your air filters monthly.
The environment-Its the Green Thing
Yet another byproduct of clean filters is a boost to our ecosystem. With clean filters, your HVAC will produce less carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gases. You may not realize that by keeping your system running smoothly, you are also helping the environment.
For questions or tips on air filters for your home or business, please call our team of HVAC professionals. In San Antonio and Surrounding Areas! 210-819-9177
Staying cool this Holiday Weekend doesn’t have to mean cranking up the AC and spending a lot of money. EPA’s ENERGY STAR and Elite Air Care Heating and Air Conditioning have some low-to-no cost energy-saving tips to beat the heat and save money, too.
ALWAYS STAY HYDRATED! The first step in staying cool is making sure to keep hydrated and drink your water!
No-Cost
Program your thermostat to work around your family’s schedule–set it a few degrees higher when no one is home, so your not cooling an empty house. With proper use, programmable thermostats can save you in energy costs.
While you have guests over consider foods that can be prepared outside only so you do not have to walk in and out as much
Close your curtains, a quick and easy way to reduce heat inside.
Check your system’s air filter every month. If the filter looks dirty, change it, but change the filter at least every month. A dirty filter will slow air flow and make the system work harder.
Run your ceiling fan to create a cool breeze. If you raise your thermostat by only two degrees and use your ceiling fan, you can lower cooling costs by up to 14 percent. Ceiling fans cool you, not the room, so when you leave the room make sure to turn off the fan.
Close the curtains and shades before you leave your home, to keep the sun’s rays from overheating the interior of your home..
Low-Cost
Remember to have your HVAC system serviced annually to ensure it’s running at optimum efficiency for money and energy savings.
Seal your ducts. As much as 20 percent of the air moving through your home’s duct system is lost due to leaks and poor connections..
Make sure that connections at vents and registers are well-sealed where they meet your floors, walls, and ceilings.
Medium-to-Higher Cost
When buying a room AC unit, look for one that has earned EPA’s ENERGY STAR.
Add insulation to your attic to keep cool air in..
Hire a contractor to seal and insulate the interior ductwork in your home (the ducts you can’t reach yourself).
If your central AC unit is more than 12 years old, replacing it with a model that has earned EPA’s ENERGY STAR could cut your cooling costs by 30 percent.
For more information about keeping cool and comfortable while saving money this season, visit www.energystar.gov. Or CALL US TODAY TO Schedule your Summer Maintenance or New System Estimate!
4 Ways to Stay Cool This Summer from your favorite HVAC Experts at Elite Air Care Heating & A/C
San Antonians KNOW what REAL Summer Heat is! We also KNOW our central AC unit is a NECESSITY when the temps start going well past the 90’s and into the SCORCHING 100’s. Don’t get caught in the Stroke Incuding heat! Take a few steps (AT ANY TIME) to make sure your unit will keep you cool all year round! Cuz lets be honest Ya’ll it STAYS hot in San Antonio. Just like the People! Contrary to what Mr. Charles Barkley thinks lol.
Stay Cool This Summer, like the Fonze and Yolanda and take peek on the tips from the Trade! BE COOL HUNNY BUNNIES!
TIPS TO STAY COOL (Don’t miss out on the download from Energy Star):
MAINTENANCE YOUR HEATING AND COOLING UNITS AT MINIMUM ONCE A YEAR! All reliable sources in the HVAC industry as well as Energy.gov, Energystar.gov and leading industry experts agree in order to keep your unit running and cooling you off all summer it NEEDS to be maintained by a professional. The ideal is twice a year before each of the extreme seasons but once a year will help considerably.
Invest in energy efficient windows, sealing, insulation and fans! Making sure your home is properly insulated and the tools you already have for helping to stay cool are the most efficient and helpful is a great place to start. Checkout energy.gov or energystar.gov for great tips on how to keep your home and windows properly insulated.
Thermostat EFFICIENCY! Use your thermostats or upgrade to a Smart thermostat. Set your thermostat as high as comfortably possible in the summer. Keep your house warmer than normal when you are away and avoid setting your thermostat at a colder setting than normal when you turn on it on. It will not cool your home any faster and could result in excessive cooling and unnecessary expense.
CHANGE YOUR FILTERS AS OFTEN AS RECOMMENDED! The ideal is monthly unless you’ve upgraded your filter game as well.
Elite Air Care Heating and Air Conditioning 