San Gabriel Valley Pushes Back Against Natural Gas Ban for HVAC in Local Homes and Businesses Everyone wants clean power for California homes and businesses, right? After all, the consequences of pollution affect everyone. Smog is no fun: for office workers, for children on the playing field, or even for your neighborhood HVAC technician. And for many people, including ... Continue Reading
Southern California Edison Shifts Peak User Times, with Mixed Results for Commercial HVAC Users
Plan Your Utility Usage Accordingly In the heat of summer, it seems intuitive that the most expensive hours for commercial HVAC would be those hot afternoons when even the coldest iced coffee seems to melt immediately, and a team meeting can feel longer than the movie version of Anna Karenina, minus the subtitles. Indeed, it’s worked that way for a while here in the ... Continue Reading
Your Old House: Two Issues to Ponder When Enhancing Heating and Cooling in Historic Residences
Energy Saving Indoor Comfort Is Possible in a Unique Home One of the San Gabriel Valley’s hallmarks is the number of beautiful older homes that dot the landscape, even as new construction goes up all around us. Whether it’s a canyon cabin in Sierra Madre, an older Craftsman home in Pasadena, or a mid-century modern masterpiece in Eagle Rock, the past is present in the ... Continue Reading
Have a Vacation Planned? Here’s a Residential HVAC Checklist to Run Through Before You Leave Los Angeles
Avoid Cost Overages When You’re Not Home with These Easy Tips For San Gabriel Valley families, vacation getaways or even business trips can be fun, but sometimes planning for them can be a hassle. From coordinating hotels to booking airline flights, it’s always a challenge to save money where you can. But have you considered taking a look at your HVAC system before ... Continue Reading
Commercial HVAC for Data Centers: Strategies to Know
Avoid Server Performance Issues with Best Practice Installation and Maintenance For many businesses in Los Angeles, computers play a critical role in day-to-day operations. When a server is malfunctioning or down altogether, it can spell disastrous profit margins for weeks or even months to come. Nevertheless, many commercial building owners are not aware of the HVAC ... Continue Reading
MERV Ratings: Who Is Merv and Why Is He Weighing in On Your HVAC Filters?
Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) Is A Thing and You Should Probably Know About It When it comes to selecting what air filter will be the most effective, we’ll admit the process can be confusing for people. Very confusing. In fact, if you’ve decided to replace the HVAC filters yourself, one trip to the hardware store can feel like four years at a major ... Continue Reading
Get Ready: Southern California Edison Announces Tier 3 Electricity Rates Targeted Directly at Air Conditioning This Summer
Reduce Your Utility Bills by Keeping Your AC Running Efficiently In an effort to promote energy conservation and as a reflection of rising electricity costs nationwide, Southern California Edison summer rates are coming in June for everyone here in the San Gabriel Valley. In this plan, you pay not only for the amount of electricity you consume, but also for the times at ... Continue Reading
Business Owners: Trim Your HVAC Budget Costs with These Simple Energy Hacks
Little Changes in Equipment and Usage Add Up to Big Money for Commercial Property Owners We all like to save money, but it’s especially important for business owners to cut costs wherever they can to maximize profits. Check out these easy ways to streamline your energy expenses. Even using just one of them will result in more efficient HVAC performance for your ... Continue Reading
Improve Indoor Comfort and Lower Costs with Energy Efficient HVAC
Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference to Your Bottom Line. Did you know that most commercial buildings spend up to 8% of their operating expenses on heating, cooling and ventilation, according to recent US Department of Energy estimates? That translates into a lot of money for many commercial building owners, especially when you consider that increased energy ... Continue Reading
Heat Pumps: Everything You Need to Know
The All-In-One HVAC Solution for Year Round Use Few residential or commercial customers know that they have choices when it comes to heating and air conditioning equipment. Most assume an air conditioner and separate furnace are their only options. Yet, for moderate climates like ours, a heat pump can be a cost effective alternative to the standard HVAC systems with ... Continue Reading
Start The New Year Off Right: Commercial HVAC Service Suggestions
Easy Maintenance Now Translates Into Big Savings Later The fact is that even the best HVAC equipment requires regular service. To ignore these tasks is to risk later equipment breakdowns. Even worse, a commercial unit that hasn’t been maintained properly may still work, but with a severe reduction in energy efficiency. The end result? You may be paying far more in ... Continue Reading
Three Ways to Reduce Heating Costs in Your Rental House or Apartment
Conserve Energy and Your Budget If you’re a renter and watching your wallet this season, you’re not alone. Between household expenses, birthdays and holidays, crazy heating bills won’t help any tenant’s bottom line. When the weather is cold outside, it might seem like you don’t have a whole lot of options, but we beg to differ. Check out these easy ways you can reduce ... Continue Reading
Impress Your Friends and Influence Others with Your Understanding of HVAC System Components!
What is an Air Handler, Anyway? Okay, so maybe not everyone is interested in what makes up the typical HVAC system. But heck, we are! And if indoor comfort matters to you as a commercial building or home owner, well, you should be too. Today’s equipment can be complicated, so understanding some of the more common components of your system can be helpful. First, ... Continue Reading
Commercial Rooftop HVAC Units: Are They for You?
RTUs can make sense for commercial businesses. Most businesses have their HVAC inside the building. But if you’re considering updating your equipment (and who isn’t, with the new tax deductions available), check out the possibility of a new rooftop unit for your commercial property. Unlike conventional HVAC, all the components of an RTU are within one convenient ... Continue Reading
Because HVAC Is About More Than Indoor Comfort
Heating and Cooling Tells the Story of Our World We talk a lot in this space about the newest technologies in HVAC, but the fact is that the basic heating and cooling systems we take for granted are the culmination of centuries’ worth of innovation and research. Modern, reliable heating and air conditioning equipment has not only enabled the growth of business and ... Continue Reading
Lower Your Energy Bills with Improved Air Conditioner Efficiency
Now’s the Time to Streamline Your HVAC Usage to Minimize Cost With extreme temperatures come extreme utility bills. Was there a superhero who said that? So maybe there isn’t a Captain HVAC, but there’s no reason you can’t take advantage of a few insider tips to keep your air conditioning running at peak performance during any summer heat wave. You'll save real money ... Continue Reading
Forget Toby Keith. We Want to Talk About HVAC Air Filters.
Country Musicians Come and Go, but HVAC Air Filters Are Forever Sitting outside, listening to songs on your iPhone or the radio, drinking lemonade. What is there to worry about during the dog days of summer? Well, we’ll give you something. When is the last time you changed your HVAC air filter? It may seem like a small thing, but that air filter can make the ... Continue Reading
Today’s Commercial HVAC Upgrades Can Mean Serious Tax Savings
It's Time: HVAC Upgrades Now Qualify as Deductible Business Expenses for 2018 As we explain in our current White Paper, the Tax and Jobs Act of 2017 came into effect on January 1, 2018 with real savings for business owners in the form of newly allowed business expense deductions. What does this mean for you? The cost of new commercial heating and air conditioning ... Continue Reading
Choosing a New Central AC System for Your Home: What to Consider
Cost Effective Air Conditioning Is Here So your current air conditioner isn’t working. You’ve tried more maintenance, you've changed the filters, and it's still not functioning. You’ve even had it inspected by a professional who has recommended replacement before the dog days of summer arrive. But there are a lot of options out there, most of which seem to cost a ... Continue Reading
FYI: Your HVAC Economizer Is Probably Broken [INFOGRAPHIC]
What You Should Know About the HVAC Equipment You May Not Know You Had If you’re a commercial property owner here in Southern California, chances are you have an economizer along with your HVAC system. They are required by Title 24 of the California energy code. Envisioned as an easy way to conserve energy and lower utility expenditures, these air-side economizers are ... Continue Reading
Energy-Efficient Lennox Systems
Let’s face it. Nobody wakes up and says, “I want to buy a furnace or air conditioner today.” So you want to get it right the first time. That’s why there’s Lennox. They are the quietest, most innovative, energy-efficient systems around. And you can get precise comfort easily. Even on your mobile. Air-Tro puts control of your home’s climate at your fingertips. Trust ... Continue Reading
Tax Season Got You Down? Lower Your HVAC Costs with These Easy Tips.
We know, it’s never easy to write that check to Uncle Sam at this time of year. Hopefully, you’ll be getting money back. But even if you’re not, there are ways to save on your energy bills this season so that at least you’ll have some extra money in your pocket from lowered utility costs. Saving on HVAC is easy if you know the inside scoop. Give Your Home an Energy ... Continue Reading
Write It Off: There’s Never Been a Better Time To Upgrade Your Commercial HVAC System
Recent Changes to Tax Law Mean Small Business Can Deduct All HVAC Expenses in the First Year of Purchase and Installation It’s been a long time coming, but the folks at the nonprofit Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International worked hard to show lawmakers that small business could really benefit from revisions to Section 179 of the IRS tax ... Continue Reading
Getting the Best from Your HVAC Economizer: News You Can Use
System Tips for Lower Bills, Peace of Mind When it comes to owning and maintaining a commercial building, we know all too well that every dollar counts. The bad news for building owners and managers? Your energy bills may currently feel out of control, unpredictable and far too high. We get it, and we feel your pain. And drum roll, please: we may have a ... Continue Reading
Air-Tro Receives Historic Buildings Certification
Here in Monrovia, history is part of everything we do. As the fourth oldest general law city in Los Angeles County, our heritage is visible in our gorgeous neighborhoods, mature trees and scenic downtown. Having first been incorporated as a town in 1887, Monrovia may have grown significantly, but our historic landmarks, whether they be homes, or statues, or even commercial ... Continue Reading
