Frequently Asked Questions

The SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) is how the efficiency of your heating and cooling equipment is measured. The SEER is the amount of cooling your system will deliver per dollar spent on electricity, as compared to other systems. For example, a 3-ton unit may have a SEER efficiency rating of 13, 14, or 15. The higher the SEER the more efficient the system will be. The SEER rating of any given unit can range anywhere from 13 to 21.

Your heating and cooling systems work incredibly hard to perform their functions for your home every day. The constant stopping, starting and continual operation can wear down any machine if the proper care and maintenance is delayed. However, by performing regular maintenance, you can maximize the lifecycle of your heating or cooling unit and guard against many common equipment failures. Preventive maintenance inspections performed on a regular basis can uncover leaks, rust, rot, soot, frayed wires and corroded electrical contacts. You should have maintenance completed on your system regularly to ensure maximum efficiency and prevent possible problems that may occur in the near future. Check out our Comfort Protection Club to see how we can help with this!

Heat pumps, air conditioners, furnaces and air handlers require a professional tune-up twice a year; in the spring and fall. Inspections on boiler and furnace systems should include ductwork, pipes, dampers, valves, the chimney, registers, radiators, pumps, blowers, fuel lines, oil tank and every part of the actual furnace and boiler. Meanwhile, heat pump and air conditioning unit inspections should also include inspections of the fan, compressor, indoor coils, outdoor coils, and refrigerant lines.

There are many factors that affect the sizing and specifications of your system, including square footage, insulation, window surface and configuration, geographic location of your home, duct sizing and arrangement, and many others. We can perform an in-home load analysis to determine which equipment combinations will perfectly suit your home and your family’s needs. Depending upon the construction of your home, one (1) ton of air conditioning can cool anywhere from 300 to 800 square feet of home. The only way to ensure the size of the system you purchase will be large enough to heat or cool your home, but not any larger than you need, is to have your home’s individual heating and cooling needs to be evaluated by a licensed professional.

Under the standard factory warranty, Trane covers parts that fail during the warranty period due to defect in the part. The warranty does not cover labor. A warranty certificate was included with your homeowner information packet and is specific to the model numbers, serial numbers and installation dates of your products. All Trane equipment that we install is registered with Trane Corporation to ensure your 10-year parts warranty. If you cannot find your warranty certificate, we will also be able to provide you with that information. With a Total Comfort Plan, you’ll have a ten-year parts and labor warranty on your Trane equipment.

Each home is a little different. You only need to change the filter when it’s too dirty to let air through. Pets, dirt, and dust can cause you to need to replace your filter more often. If you are unsure how often to replace your filter, take it out and hold it up to the light. If you are not seeing light through it, you are not getting enough air through it. At a minimum replace your filter at the beginning of a new season, during the spring and fall. When you replace it, if it is very dirty, try replacing it every 3 months. The purpose of the filter is to keep dirt and debris from damaging the internal components of your cooling system while still allowing enough air to move through the system. A dirty filter causes more strain on the electrical components causing them to fail sooner and your energy bill to be higher than it needs to be.

There are a couple of different levels of troubleshooting. Basic troubleshooting that anyone can do if they know what to check, and advanced troubleshooting that most people are not trained to do. Be careful how much you attempt on your own, it is easy to get in over your head and do more damage than good. We made this video to show you some easy air conditioner troubleshooting steps you can try before paying a technician to come to your home. These are the most common, preventable things our HVAC service technicians come across.

Ask yourself these 4 questions and then, based on your answers, make a decision.

How broken is it? This can range from “ok” to “it won’t turn on”. After you have an HVAC technician look at it they should be able to tell you if it is minor or major.
How old is your air conditioner?10 is the magic number, that is what they say the life expectancy is for air conditioners, give or take a few years. The closer you get to that age, take that into consideration.
How often is it breaking down? Frequency matters. If you have an 8 year old air conditioner that is breaking down every year, it is probably only going to get worse.
How much do the repairs cost? This is where personal preference comes into play. You have to weigh the costs of repairs and how often you’re having to make those repairs vs what it would cost to replace your air conditioner.

According to energy.gov, 6% of the electricity we generate goes to cooling our homes, costing consumers $29 billion a year. So the best way to reduce your cooling bill is to use your AC less, here are a few suggestions.

Adjust your thermostat up a few degrees. Most of us use our air conditioners to beat the heat but it would cost a little less if, maybe, we used them to take the edge off. The feeling of hot and cold is all relative. So in the hottest parts of the summer when it’s 100 outside, maybe you don’t need to cool the house to 68 to feel comfortable, maybe 75 or 80 would feel a lot cooler than 100 but cost less.
During the hottest parts of the day, cover the windows that the sun is shining into. Sometimes our windows can act as a magnifying glass and superheat those rooms. Draw the shades or find something to block those rays.
Turn on ceiling fans. Turning your ceiling fans on can create a breeze that evaporates the moisture from our skin and gives you a cool feeling. It doesn’t really change the temperature in the room but it feels like it does.
Don’t add a lot of humidity into the room. Humid air retains heat more than dry air. If you have a whole home humidifier, turn it off for the summer. If you have a room humidifier or defuser, use it less.
Upgrade to a high-efficiency air conditioner. Once it’s time to replace your air conditioner, ask the technician that meets with you show you more energy efficient models. They cost a little more upfront but same you more on your electric bill. You may even qualify for rebates and incentives from the manufacturer or the utility company.

If you have the fan setting on your thermostat set to “on” or “run”, causing it to run all the time, it may just be that the compressor has cycled off and there is nothing wrong. You can try adjusting the thermostat down and see if the air conditioner kicks on.

The other option is that something is not broken and it needs to be diagnosed to figure out what is causing the problem. It could be a lot of different things; frozen coils, refrigerant, bad compressor, a capacitor that has gone out, etc.

Before you pay a company to come to look at it, try these simple troubleshooting steps. You might be causing your own problem and not even realize it.

It depends. It is possible your problem is a lack of insulation in the attic or uninsulated windows. It is also possible that your air conditioner is undersized or the ductwork in your home is undersized. You could also need more return air vents.

If you suspect the issue is with your air conditioner, the first step would be to have a technician come to your home and make sure everything is sized properly, the air conditioner and the ductwork. They will also check things like the refrigerant levels to make sure they are not too low or too high.

If the problem is with the ductwork, it can be fixed. Many times it is messy and requires a lot of drywall patching and repainting. It may be that the best solution is a new ductless technology called a mini-split system. One of our HVAC supervisors can show you what options are available and the price of each option. This visit is free and there is no obligation to buy.

It only cost $59 to get a certified HVAC technician to your home to diagnose and troubleshoot your air conditioner. They will find out why your air conditioner is not working and then give you options to repair it. Check out our Specials page to find all of our current offers!

They will arrive in a truck stocked with all the parts and tools to start your repair while still at your home, unless the situation is unusual. Once you approve the work, your HVAC technician will begin. Most of the time your air conditioner repair is completed the same day we arrive.

The magic of how your air conditioner works are the refrigerant and the coils inside and outside of the home that remove heat and moisture from the air. Airflow is key in the whole process. We made this video to explain the basics of how an air conditioner works. Our hope is that with a little information and understanding you will be able to make better-informed decisions when it comes to repairing and replacing your air conditioner when the time arrives.

Whenever mold grows, wherever it grows, it releases spores up and into the air. Nearly 50% of the air your family breathes each day first originated in the crawl space. This means that those mold spores are in the air. When your family breathes them in, it can cause a wide variety of serious health problems, including: respiratory problems, asthma attacks, skin rashes, eye irritation, allergies, coughing, sneezing, or cold/flu-like symptoms.

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What Our Customers Are Saying

We presented a unique problem to the HVAC tech. There is a mineral deposit collecting on the outside of one of the pipes attached to the furnace. He thoroughly checked all systems in an attempt to find the water leak. His final thought was the old pipe was too large and air was cooling too quickly so condensation was occurring where the new and old pipes meet. He did offer a recommendation to resolve the problem.

Patricia Wright

8 hours ago

The technician was extremely professional, knowledgeable, and courteous.

Melinda Bright

22 hours ago

Stephen was professional and kind, provided helpful information about my plumbing and answered my questions in a knowledgeable and easy to understand way. He was absolutely wonderful in determining the issue and not just jumping straight to a conclusion. Highly recommend

Amanda D'Arcy

24 hours ago

Very fast. Great communication and very knowledgeable

David Hill

1 day ago

Billy was very thorough, professional, and explained things very well.

Mary Patrick

2 days ago

Dwayne did a marvelous job on the semi-annual inspection of my HVAC systems. He checked filters and checked performance of the AC systems. All done pleasantly and efficiently. Great at listening and really hearing my concerns. I'd like to have him back as my service technician.

Path2

2 days ago

Great service, top notch quality.

My Goodness

3 days ago

Excellent professional services. Replaced disconnect box in HVAC unit. Very happy customer 😀.

Khondokar Rahman

3 days ago

Excellent work and done done very quickly. Billy, the tech, was great. Knew his stuff and solved all the mysteries. Highly recommended

David Connell

3 days ago

Silas was awesome! Respectable guy with expertise and confidence in the company and his work ethic.

Courtney Howard

3 days ago

The team did a great job and was quick to respond.

Jason Chipley

4 days ago

Great service from Silas. Very knowledgeable, efficient and explains everything.

Benee Marshall

5 days ago

Silas was so easy to work with! Highly recommend!

ashleigh hale

6 days ago

Professional service and honest assessment of my systems.

Jeff Smith

6 days ago

Silas was a tremendous help. Very knowledgeable. Great company.

Tina Geoghegan

1 week ago

We had both of our heat pumps replaced by Southern Goodman this year, and the whole experience has been about as good as possible for such a large expense. The communication was excellent and friendly. I really like the continuity of working with the same receptionist (Sammy), technician (Silas), salesman (Mitch) and lead installer (Jonni) throughout the entirety of our service. Importantly, I never felt like I was being upsold or pressured. Each time, we were presented with a comprehensive set of (free) quotes, tailored to our specific situation, and each line item was clearly explained. There was always an opportunity to identify the essentials and hold off on the nice-to-haves. And they also offered short-term Band Aid solutions too, in the event that we couldn’t financially swing a full replacement. When our second system failed just 6mo after the first, they gave us a great price, as if we replaced both units at the same time. I also appreciate how they offer peripheral services, like duct cleaning and crawl space encapsulation, because I feel like I can trust them to give an honest quote and do good work (vs companies that specialize in those services and often feel a lot more shady). Crews were always clean, professional and efficient when it came time to do the actual install. When we had a minor issue (rattling sound from a loose screw) shortly after the first install, they came back and fixed it the next day for free. A 6mo inspection was included for free with the install, and I’m glad it did because we were able to identify that our second system was failing before it completely broke and left us without heat in the dead of winter. Lastly, I appreciate how our salesman took the time to educate us about best practices for maintaining the new systems. I’ve owned two houses prior and didn’t realize that we had been inadvertently doing things that were causing unnecessary wear and tear. TL;DR — good people, white glove service, fair price

Erin Hare

1 week ago

Luke came out and completed my plumbing services and some repairs and did an EXCELLENT job!! He was very professional and nice! Thanks so much for a job well done. Highly recommend this company!!

Ericka M. Kelly

1 week ago

We were very pleased with Luke and the work he did at our house in the East End to replace our leaking water heater. He was prompt, communicated clearly, and was exceptionally pleasant. The lain of the water heater made it somewhat tricky to remove and replace, but he was patient and did a great job. He left the place looking great. We very much appreciated his good work.

Mary Loos

1 week ago

Our Service Area

Proudly Serving Central Virginia

Providing HVAC, plumbing, and crawl space services to the following neighborhoods around Central Virginia:

Amelia, VA

Colonial Heights, VA

Dinwiddie, VA

Disputanta, VA

Fort Lee, VA

Glen Allen, VA

Goochland, VA

Henrico, VA

Moseley, VA

Petersburg, VA

Powhatan, VA

Prince George, VA

Richmond, VA

Rockville, VA

Sandston, VA

Frequently Asked Questions

General

Heating

Air Conditioning

Crawl Space

What is the SEER Rating?

Why is the SEER rating on the Energy Guide different than what my dealer quoted?

Why should I have preventative maintenance? And how often should I have it performed?

What equipment requires preventative maintenance?

My outdoor unit won’t come on.

Which Trane equipment will best fit my home?

Where can I get parts for my Trane equipment?

What does my warranty cover?

My furnace isn’t heating up and the fault light keeps blinking.

My furnace clicks but does not fire.

My furnace comes on at random times and blows cold air. Why?

Why can’t I find the correct size furnace filter at my local home improvement store?

How often do I need to change my air filters?

The air ducts are getting air into every room. Why is that?

The fan works but the air doesn’t get cooler.

How do I troubleshoot my air conditioner?

What are some common reasons air conditioners stop working?

How do I know if it’s time to replace my air conditioner?

How long does it take to install and air conditioner?

How do I save money cooling my home?

What should I set my thermostat to?

What are the advantages of a programmable thermostat?

Why is my air conditioner not blowing cold air?

My house doesn’t cool evenly. How do I get rid of hot spots?

How much does it cost to diagnose my air conditioner?

How does an air conditioner work?

Why Do I Need to Keep My Crawl Space Dry?

How Important is the Crawl Space Below My Home?

What Does it Matter if There is Mold in My Crawl Space? It’s Not Like I Spend Any Time Down There!

Why Should I Worry About the Humidity Levels in My Crawl Space?

What is Crawl Space Encapsulation?

How Long Does the Encapsulation Process Take?

What Our Customers Are Saying

Proudly Serving Central Virginia