Need a different solution?
We’re here to help!
Our team is here to help!
Deliveries you can count on!
Host Gary Sutton sat down with Anthony Zic, Home Services General Manager from Shipley Energy, to explore the what you need to know about caring for your air conditioner and how to know when it is time to repair or replace it.
Preventative maintenance is key: Anthony gives some of the top reasons air conditioners break down and some simple ways to prevent problems.
Know when to repair or replace: It can be difficult to know if your system needs a simple repair or needs to be completely replaced. Plus, learn the benefits of new systems and how they com come with energy savings.
Efficiency matters: Modern systems have higher SEER ratings, meaning better energy efficiency and lower long-term costs. Learn about devices like smart thermostats and ductless mini splits that offer flexible, targeted cooling and increased savings.
Catch the full episode below as Gary and Anthony take a deeper dive into what you will want to know about your home’s air conditioning and how you can save. Enjoy more episodes of the Energy Exchange podcast.
Gary Sutton: I’m with Anthony Zic this morning who is the home services general manager for Shipley Energy. How are you doing, Anthony?
Anthony Zic: Good. Yourself?
Gary: I’m doing really well. A little hot right now. But for listeners who might be unfamiliar, what are some of the common reasons that air conditioners break down?
Anthony: The most common, you know, it’s dirty. Dirty air filters, electrical issues, and really the lack of preventative maintenance.
Gary: It’s summertime, I’m sweltering right now. It’s crazy out there. What could we do to make sure that our air conditioning is taken care of in a good way?
Anthony: The easiest thing you could do is, you know, replace your air filters pretty regularly. You can keep the outdoor condenser clear of any brush or anything like that, and you could even hit it with a hose every once in a while to clean out any dirt in there. And again, most important thing is just to get it regularly maintained.
Gary: What are some of the things that you look at, Anthony, when homeowners want to prevent these kinds of things. But at the same time, there’s signs that the air conditioner is about to break down or at the end of its life as we know it.
Anthony: Any kind of new noise, you know, you get used to things after a while. And if you start hearing a new noise, an outdoor fan or inside might be a sign of an issue, or even, a pretty regular on and off that the system is running shorter than it normally does.
Gary: We like to replace things. We don’t like to buy new things, but there comes a point in time sometimes where it’s time to replace. We’ve replaced it enough, and it’s time to replace with a brand new machine. How do we know when that is?
Anthony: Oh, if your unit is 10-15 years old and the cost of the repair, you know, after a while they can get up there with parts being older, they’re harder to find. So at that point, I’d say it’s time to weigh a decision between repairing or replacing and, you know, if the repair is a costly repair, it’s a good time to start thinking about replacing.
Gary: For guys like me that were born in the Middle Ages. You know, we look at the technology and how it’s improved. We hear about eco-friendly kind of things. What are some of the things that have changed in air conditioning now since I was a boy back in the 1800s?
Anthony: The key thing is probably efficiency. You know, everything is more efficient, a little more energy minded. And everything is connected. You can see how your system is running from your phone, from work. You know, it’s so it’s all really, really great stuff.
Gary: So there’s a rating that’s out there that a lot of people have not heard about before. It’s called a SEER rating. Tell me a little bit about the SEER rating.
Anthony: So SEER stands for seasonal energy efficiency ratio. It’s basically the grading system on how efficient your system is. You go from everything from a 13 SEER which is towards the lower end into the 20s, which is the more efficient system. And like anything else, you know, the more efficient the system might be, a little more of an upfront cost to it, but it’s going to cost a lot less to run in the long run.
Gary: Why does it really matter? You know, obviously it’s going to cost less in the long run. But, you know, when someone’s looking at the SEER rating and I ask that question when I buy an air conditioner, what do I need to know about asking that question or what it means?
Anthony: One thing to keep in mind is: how long will you be in the house? You know, the longer you’re staying in a house, the more likely you’ll have your return on investment, especially with the more efficient systems. And then with the energy efficient systems, the modern AC is, you know, they’re a lot quieter.
Gary: How long does a new installation take? From the first call to having cold air again. And what should customers expect during an installation call, and an installation day with Shipley Energy.
Anthony: Okay, so, I mean, the, you know, from breakdown to the first day of an install, it could be a day or two, depending on availability of parts and labor and everything like that. But we’d like to get them in as soon as we can. And then, day of the installation, you know, you’re looking at technicians showing up nice and early, pulling out the old system and so we can get that all recycled and then really start going in with the new stuff. You’re probably looking at, a day, maybe a day and a half, depending on the extent of the installation. You know, sometimes those attics get really hot and. Right. You can’t be in there that long.
Gary: Anthony, obviously we’re looking to try to save bucks on our energy bill. How do we do that with air conditioning right now and Shipley Energy.
Anthony: I mean, with the installation of a new, more efficient system, you’re looking to significantly save on your electric bill because they’re just so much more efficient to run during those hot summer days.
Gary: Is there any idea how much savings you can get during that time, or does that kind of differ with every situation?
Anthony: It kind of varies. You know, every home is a little different, you know, depending on the temperatures and everything like that. But you’ll definitely notice the savings in your pocket for sure.
Gary: Are there any financing options or rebates available for new AC units?
Anthony: Absolutely, I mean, there’s financing available. You know, many different options. It’s very kind of a la carte. You could pick and choose which option suits you. And there are rebates available for the more efficient equipment. So yeah, might be more expensive, but they’re also more of an extensive rebate available.
Gary: Now obviously a guy like me is used to a traditional AC unit, but you also have a ductless, mini split. Tell people a little bit about those things.
Anthony: So your traditional ducted system, you know, you, you know, an air conditioner might be 1 or 2 zones. And you turn it on and it will cool a whole house through ducts, the mini splits, they have an outdoor unit and then individual heads. You could be a one outdoor unit for one inside head, or you can have multiple heads on one outdoor unit. I like to explain that kind of like a faucet. So a traditional system, if you have one zone, think of it as if you turn your air conditioner on. It’s like turning on. If you’re turning on one faucet, every faucet turns on in your house with the mini split, you know, you can kind of pick and choose which rooms you want that faucet to turn on.
Gary: So you get some nice savings there as well?
Anthony: Absolutely.
Gary: How do smart thermostats factor in the summer comfort savings Anthony?
Anthony: I mean, they, you can monitor your AC, you know, that way you can bump the temperature up a little bit when you’re not home. And even before you leave work, you can pump it back down. So that way the house is nice and comfortable by the time you get home.
Gary: What should a customer look for in choosing an HVAC provider like Shipley Energy that they can trust? What do they look for?
Anthony: I mean, first off, you want to make sure they’re licensed and insured. You know, we have roots in the community. You know, we’re not going to install something and disappear the next day. And we have 24/7 service. So you call us, we pick up the phone.
Gary: Well, the thing you said about roots and the community, Shipley Energy, that name alone, you know, there are people, the technicians, the people that own the company are right here in the community. They’re people that you’re going to see every single day. And I think that’s an important thing. This has been another Energy Exchange, this time with Anthony Zic, the Home Services general manager. I’m Gary Sutton for Shipley Energy. It’s been great being with you.
