5/16/2011
Ugliest and Oldest Contest
Spring 2011
Consumer must submit a picture of their existing working whole house air conditioner along with their name, address, email and phone number. Submission can be through the US Mail or via email to info@McService.com
Photo and information must be submitted prior to Flag Day June 14, 2011
Photo cannot be submitted by an employee of McAllister
McAllister will determine, to the best of its ability, the oldest unit submitted and a panel of
McAllister employees will determine, in their opinion, the ugliest unit. The term “ugly” being relative. All decisions are at the discretion of McAllister. There will be one winner for each description for a total of two (2)
Contest is limited to central air conditioning units between 18,000 BTU and 60,000 BTU (1.5-5 ton)
Eligible homes must be in Atlantic or Cape May County, NJ
To the winners, McAllister will provide a new central air conditioner and install it at their home. The installation will be limited to a new outdoor condenser and indoor coil with a retail value up to $2500. The outdoor condenser will be installed on a new composite pad. A new thermostat will be installed. McAllister trained staff will complete the installation of the components.
There is no cash value in lieu of the components.
McAllister will choose the manufacturer or brand, size and efficiency of equipment at its discretion.
The installation is not all inclusive and specifically excludes:
Electrical repairs and/or upgrades including disconnects or wiring. Many times these repairs will require a licensed electrician which the homeowner must provide and pay for.
Blowers or heaters.
If the indoor coil is an integral part of an air handler and needs replacement the whole air handler must be replaced and this cost is not included. Space Pak, Unico or any other high velocity coil is not included. Components including heating coils are not included. Additional costs associated with these components must be paid for by the home owner
Condensate drains are limited to connections to the existing drains. New drains are not included.
Indoor connections to existing distribution systems are limited to connections at a point deemed proper by McAllister. Undersized, leaky, inadequate or otherwise deficient distribution systems are not the responsibility of McAllister. Today’s equipment is very sensitive to deficiencies in distribution systems and can fail or not work properly due to inadequate air flow or high static pressure. McAllister will provide the home owner with information about their distribution system and tell them if they feel the distribution is adequate or will present any issues
Connections to the existing refrigeration lines will be made and replacement of lines for any reason is not included and will constitute a cost to the home owner.
All components must be accessible and the work area must be clean and safe. McAllister, at its discretion, reserves the right to refuse in properties due to health or safety risks.
The cost of local permits is not included and will have to be paid for by the property owner
The winners must agree to allow McAllister to use their names and picture in future promotions without additional compensation or consideration.
Heat pumps are considered a form of air conditioner but they have a heating component. A heat pump replacement will require an additional charge.
The timing of the installation of the new components will be at the discretion of McAllister and set at a mutually convenient time for both McAllister and the consumer.
Since McAllister is making this offer, if it is determined that the components McAllister is offering cannot be installed without additional costs and the homeowner is not willing to pay for these costs, the offer by McAllister will be rescinded and a new winner will be chosen. The original winner will not be eligible for any other consideration, components, compensation or good will.
All decisions by McAllister are final.
|
Posted: 10/6/2011 5:14:44 PM -
By: Bad Air
|
|
1/13/2011
A Question for Ask the Expert:
Do you know of any reliable, local, resources for me to research costs & construction needs for Radiant Heating in Floor Joist? Possibly with a Solar energy source?
If I can find a good contractor locally, who has strong experience in this type application, I would feel more confident than going out of the area. I found a site on the web of a supplier but it is in Vermont and I don't do 'Do It Yourself' work. The site is...http://www.radiantcompany.com/details/joists.shtml . It is very informative and supports my suppositions on the idea.
Background: Newly constructed in Spring of 1999, my house has a 4 foot poured concrete crawl. My duct work delivers the heat at the ceilings for my 1st level living space and 2nd level as well. Hence, my 1st floor is always cold in the morning as I turn back the thermostat at night to sleep. The 2nd level is always warm. When I asked for it, the builder would not alter the HVAC plans to put the duct work to the baseboards, even when I offered to pay the extra cost involved, prior to the time the HVAC system was being installed.
I have watched This Old House since its inception and have seen the under the floor joist application evolve from large circumference, hard tubing to smaller, more flexible materials.
I believe this application would be perfect for my needs.
Any help you can send my way will be greatly appreciated. It would be a project for the coming year, not this winter.
Sincerely,
Judy O
Your question is interesting and I’d offer a couple of suggestions. First, I understand the issue—warm air coming out of the ceiling hardly ever provides comfort. Second, you’re going to be looking at solutions with a very broad range of costs.
1 We have zoned this type of system using the existing distribution system with some success.
It includes a separate thermostat on each floor for heat & cool.
2 We’ve installed baseboard. Electric or hot water baseboard off of a boiler or even a hot water heater. Keeping in mind that the discomfort of the existing system is most pronounced in the dead of winter weather so we’re usually just looking for a supplement for those 8-12 weeks. Radiators will consume additional energy and their placement can sometimes impact furniture layout just as in floor registers from a duct system could.
3 A separate warm air heating system installed for the first floor through the crawl is an option.
4 In/under floor heating. As you’ve seen on TV, In/under the floor heating is the most comfortable heat you can find. But what doesn’t come across in a short show is that retrofitting an existing floor can be difficult. Even with the more flexible tubing there are wires & pipes to route around, framing to drill, tubing to support and proper insulation (reflective) to be installed. We use solar panels, controls and tanks made by Buderus and they’re excellent but in a nut shell it is usually a costly endeavor even with the 30% federal tax credit and state incentives. But there is no greater heating comfort.
I’d welcome the opportunity to review the options. If you’d like, I could stop by your home and take a look at the layout.
|
10/29/2010
The question is:
I have a 2 family rental apartment. Currently I am paying the heating bill which happened to be oil, however I am thinking of how to separate the bills into 2 between the 1st and 2nd floor apartment. Currently I only have 1 oil tank and 1 thermostat for the whole house. Any suggestions?
Separating the billing on a single system is difficult regardless of fuel (oil or gas) or type of heat (hot water-radiators or warm air-duct work). If you have the hot water heat, with radiators or baseboard on the wall, there are “BTU meters” that will measure the amount of heat going through the pipes. You then have to divvy up the bill and collect. We’ve never used one and we’re not familiar with their accuracy or reliability.
In our experience, most landlords with single systems and multiple tenants build the cost of the heating into the monthly rents. If you don’t know your annual consumption, your full service fuel dealer can look up the records and give you the information and suggest a cost per gallon budget so you can get an estimated annual cost. If this is your first year of ownership and there is no history, that same full service fuel dealer can probably give you a pretty good estimate of what the building should use.
Tenant occupied buildings have a number of variables. The tenant with the control of the thermostat is king. Whatever temperature they keep it at will be what everybody in the building has to live with. In addition, since they are not paying for the heat directly, there is no incentive to conserve so if they want to live at 80 degrees, it’s your $$ going out the door. No locking thermostat is fool proof but we would suggest putting a Honeywell 8000 thermostat on. This thermostat has the capability of setting the temperatures as well as temperature turn down periods, and locking the program. They can see the temperature but it cannot be changed without knowing the programming code. Thermostat settings can account for 15% or more of your annual bill. Controlling that could pay for that thermostat upgrade in the first year. Your full service fuel dealer should be able to help you with this.
Thanks for the question
|
9/14/2010
A recent visitor to our website asked the following questions:
Can the heat distribution units in the rooms be updated or changed. I've tried cleaning them, but it seems useless and they don't seem to be heating up at all in some areas of the home. Also, can I turn them down in rooms we don't use in winter? It seems I have to turn down the heat for the entire house and use space heaters. Is there an alternative?
It sounds like you may have hot water baseboard heat or radiators Yes the units can be changed but if some are not heating it may be a simple resolution. The hot water components may have air in them that is blocking the hot water from getting to the problem areas. The system can be bled which should resolve the issue. If it's a repetitive problem, there may be some issues with the piping that have to be addressed. Finally, there may be an inadequate amount of element that radiates the heat. The best way to find out would be to have a service call to evaluate the distribution.
As far as turning rooms down, unless the system has zones (multiple thermostats that control different areas) it probably can't be controlled right now. There are options available to address that.
Depending on the size of your home and your use of the rooms, space heaters usually are just a trade off from paying for the oil or gas to run the heater to paying for the electric to run the space heaters. Depending again on the home and efficiency of the central heating system, space heaters are usually more expensive to operate than central heating and may also present fire hazards on a variety of levels.
If you have an older system and would like to reduce your operating costs, there has never been a better time than now. We have never seen the amount of money available to homeowners to upgrade their heating and cooling systems. Up to $1500 in federal tax credits, up to $1900 in heating and cooling rebates from utilities, up to $1250 in manufacturer rebates. Plus the State has an energy improvement program that offers up to $3000 in rebates and up to 10 years in interest free financing (this program offsets some of the other rebates in equivalent amounts) Any way you count it, that's a LOT of $$$
|
7/22/2010
Question for Ask the expert:
I was thinking about installing gable vent fans in my attic to cool my attic down and keep my central air from working as hard. The question I have is I heard mixed reviews about adding them to your attic if you have a ridge vent in your roof. That it actually defeats the purpose. Is this true? Brian, Hammonton, NJ
Thanks for the question. We’re not a big fan of powered attic ventilators (PAV). The problem is that a typical PAV is designed to exhaust 1000-1200 cubic feet of air per minute (cfm). That’s the equivalent of a typical bedroom full of air every minute. The air that is removed has to be replaced and a typical attic does not have enough openings to the outside to make up that air. Any difference between what is taken out and the air being drawn in from the outside is made up by the fan drawing air out of the living space of your home. This air is drawn through attic hatches, recessed lighting, outlets & switches and anyplace else that allows air to pass into the attic. The air that is drawn from the house is air that you’ve already paid to cool down and it will be replaced with hot, humid air through leaks to the outside or your garage if it is attached.
Ridge vents are designed to allow hot air to escape by convection. Hot air rises in the attic and exhausts through the ridge vent. The air is replaced through gable and soffit vents but since the air is only moving by convection the air drawn out of the living space is minimized.
The heat you feel in your attic is actually caused by the radiant power of the sun and it actually heats the objects and surfaces in your attic, not the air. The air is then heated by those things and surfaces heating the air around them. There is a very good video on our web site www.McService.com that gives a better explanation. On the home page click the blue box that takes you to comfort videos. At the bottom of that page click on “hot attic solutions”. Actually, all the videos on that page are very informative and you may find them interesting.
|
4/30/2010
Planning to buy a new high efficiency Air Conditioner?
It is essential that you evaluate the duct system, and if necessary make improvements, in order to receive the anticipated energy savings. A bad duct system will drag down the performance of the new equipment. Duct testing is strongly recommended when a new heating and/ or air conditioning unit is being installed. If the existing duct system is leaky and inefficient before the new unit is installed, it will still be leaky and inefficient after the new unit is installed. In some cases you we see a better return on your money with just replacing your ductwork then installing new equipment. A renovated or brand new high efficiency duct system will save money, improve comfort, reduce dust and allergens, and lead to a healthier, more affordable home.
|
2/3/2010
THEY’RE GIVING YOUR $$ AWAY GET SOME BACK!!!
• Economic Stimulus Tax Credit up to $1,500 on Heating/AC Upgrades.
Consumers in primary residences may be eligible for 30% of their costs with a max of $1500 for energy improvement upgrades including qualifying heaters, heat pumps, air conditioners and hot water heaters.
• NJ Clean Energy Rebate up to $1,300 on New Heaters
The top level of rebates for high efficiency heaters are enhanced by $900 if a homeowner has a Building Performance Institute home energy audit but does not qualify for additional improvements under the Home Performance with Energy Star Program (below)
• NJ Clean Energy Rebate up to $300 on Hot Water Heaters
Qualifying hot water heaters including Rinnai tankless hot water heaters are eligible.
• Funding, Financing & Rebates for up to $20,000 on Improvements as part of the Home Performance with Energy Star Program.
This program requires an energy audit under the Home Performance with Energy Star Program and the results of that audit will determine customer eligibility. A Home Performance audit costs $125 and takes 2-4 hours. There are several levels of qualification under this program.
• Manufacturers Rebates
Both Carrier and Lennox will be offering spring rebate programs in the near future.
|
1/29/2010
McAllister Loves Being Green!!
"Being Green" means something different to everyone. At McAllister, being green is not just the uniforms we wear or the trucks you see everyday. Energy conservation, recycling, energy efficiency and waste reduction are important issues to us. As a leader in the energy business for over 130 years, we understand the need to reduce the impact we have on our environment.
Our highly trained technicians do much more than make repairs and keep things running smooth. They can also show you many cost saving steps you can take right now to reduce your home heating bills this winter and make your home "Greener"
|
12/1/2009
|
What is a Home Performance Energy Star Home Audit?
|
|
A home energy audit is a comprehensive evaluation of the way your houses uses energy. McAllister’s specially trained and certified auditors will assess your home from top to bottom, testing: Heating and cooling equipment, Insulation Levels, Air sealing opportunities, Windows and doors, Appliances and lighting. The results show where your home is losing energy and what steps you can take to increase your energy efficiency and lower your utility bills.
After the assessment, you will receive a report listing recommended measures, along with financial incentives available to help you pay for the recommended improvement work. Valued at $300, the assessment is being offered to New Jersey residents for just $125.
Federal Tax Credits are now available for energy efficient home improvements.
Ready to learn more? Email us at Info@McService.com or call 800-757-4122
|
|
10/8/2009
Instant Hot Water and Energy Savings
Next to heating and cooling, heating water is the highest energy user in your home. On average, households will spend $400-600 per year on heating water. New technology enables homes to have instant hot water and decrease water heating costs by up to 50% by installing a Tankless Water Heater.
Differences between Traditional and Tankless Water Heaters
Traditional Water Heaters. This type of water heater will heat and reheat the same water. A traditional water heater will heat and store water in a tank, usually 40-50 gallons at a time. If the temperature of the water in the tank drops below a certain point the water heater will turn on and heat it up again. This means that even when you don’t need hot water (at night when you’re sleeping) your water heater is still working (using energy) to help maintain the temperature of the water.
Tankless Water Heaters. This type of water heater only heats water when it is needed. A tankless water heater does not use a tank to store water, but rather “flash” heats the water when needed and provides it to you instantly. This hot water by demand system avoids the standby heat losses associated with tank storage water heaters while providing you with an endless supply of water.
Benefits of a Tankless Water Heater
Save Money and Energy. With a traditional water heater you are paying to heat water 24 hours a day, even though you’re not using it all day. It consumes energy constantly in order to keep the water in the tank hot. A tankless water heater only heats the water you need - when you need it! Many tankless water heaters qualify for the Energy Star™ program and can save a typical family upwards of $100 per year on gas bills.
Endless Hot Water. A tankless water heater provides a continuous supply of hot water, even if you are the last one out of bed for a shower. The hot water is an endless supply and will be there when you need it with as much as you need.
Space Saving Design. Tankless water heaters are wall-mounted and do not take up any floor space. This saves you a whole closet’s worth of space!
Leave your worries behind! Tankless water heaters have a life expectancy of 20 years. This is much longer than a traditional water heater. And with a tankless water heater, you won’t have to worry about water damage from tank leakage anymore.
RIGHT NOW YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR A 30% TAX CREDIT (UP TO $1500), THROUGH THE FEDERAL STIMULUS PACKAGE, FOR INSTALLING A QUALIFIED HIGH EFFICIENCY TANKLESS WATER HEATER IN THE TAX YEARS OF 2009 AND 2010. For more information on federal tax benefits, go to: www.energystar.gov
For more information about tankless water heaters, go to our products page on www.McService.com or visit www.rinnai.us.
|
Posted: 2/18/2010 12:27:50 PM -
By: steve
|
|
7/14/2009
With more than 120 years in the heating and cooling business, McAllister The Service Company is dedicated to providing the best possible service for you and your family. You can count on us to provide you with a system and solution that fits your family's unique needs and since we've installed many systems in this area, we've earned a reputation for doing the job right the first time.
To assure your satisfaction, we start by asking questions. If we don't provide what you need and want, we're not doing our job.
Second, we work with the leader in home heating and cooling equipment.
Third, we train each employee to see your job through from start to finish, making sure the unit or system performs up to your expectations.
Finally, we provide quick, professional service and complete service plans to keep your systems operating at peak efficiency. It's all part of our tradition of service- assuring your complete satisfaction.
|
7/14/2009
Karen recently asked:
I have a 2 story home and have to use a window air conditioner to keep the rooms cool. Is there anything else I can do?
Answer:
Although this is a typical problem in a multi story home served by a single system, yours sounds pretty extreme. Usually we'll see a 4-8 degree differential between floors in a home that only has one air conditioning system and the thermostat is in the 1st floor living space of a traditional home. There are several things you can do to improve or fix the problem.
1. Turn the fan switch on your thermostat to "on" as opposed to auto. This will keep the fan running and circulating air even when the thermostat is satisfied and the air conditioner isn't running. The circulation will help remove warm air that is collecting on the upper floor and replace it with cooler air. That may help to reduce the problem but running an older fan could cost as much a $1/day
2. You may be able to zone your existing system and have separate thermostats control the temperature on the 1st & 2nd floor
3. Depending on the layout of your home and your specific needs, you may want to explore installing a separate cooling system for the upper floor or a ductless cooling unit if the problem is related to a limited room(s)
With options 2&3 there are potential energy savings by regulating the temperatures on the different floors based on occupancy. For example, now you may be turning the thermostat down at night to get the upper floor cooler when you're sleeping. This over cools the first floor even though nobody is there and waste energy. By zoning or having a separate system installed you'll be able to efficiently regulate the temperature, be more comfortable in the areas you occupy. In your case, you could actually let the first floor get warmer while it is unoccupied at night while cooling just the bedroom(s)as opposed the whole house which saves energy and money.
|