Sunset Air Blog: Archive for the ‘Home Improvement’ Category

The Dangers of A Clogged Furnace Filter

Tuesday, November 4th, 2014

The Dangers of a Clogged Furnace Filter

One of the most neglected home maintenance tasks is replacing your furnace filters. Believe it or not, it is recommended that the generic furnace filters be changed at least every 8 to 12 weeks. A once per month change is recommended for those with pets or those with various allergies to dander or dust. If you find you are changing your generic filters monthly you may want to invest in a higher end filter, such as an Electronic Air Cleaner (EAC).

If you have just moved in to a new house, change your filter once every month for the first 6 months to ensure that the remaining sawdust and sediment is filtered. If the dust and sediment persists, you may want to clean out the duct system to solve the problem. This would need to be done by a license professional contractor.

If you are like most of us, you probably haven’t thought about your furnace filter in awhile, or may not even know how to check for its expiration. It is too often that we go to work on a malfunctioning furnace only to find that the cause is something as simple as the furnace filter. When the filter is clogged with debris, it causes the furnace to malfunction from being overworked. It is important to maintain proper airflow to keep this from happening.

Your furnace filter could look like this.

furnace filter

If so, you could be losing money every month. With a clogged filter, the furnace must work up to 30% harder to regulate the temperature of your home. Not to mention it can cause dust and debris to be continuously re-circulated throughout your home.

Checking your furnace filter can be an easy task on some models. If you find it difficult to locate or change out, contact us at 360–456-4956.

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How Can New Windows Save on Energy

Friday, May 23rd, 2014

Summer is on its way, and with it comes an increased emphasis on saving energy. We want to keep our homes cool and comfortable, but no one likes pay more than they have to for reliable cooling. You may be inclined to check your air conditioner for ways to improve its efficiency, and those are good instincts. But you should also look into other aspects of your house, especially the windows, which are a key area in terms of energy efficiency. New window installation in Tacoma WA is surprisingly affordable, and becomes even more attractive when you understand how new windows can save on energy.

You can’t properly insulate window the way you can the rest of the house, because there’s no crawlspace for placing insulation. Radiant heat moves directly in through the glass and into your home, raising the temperature and forcing your air conditioner to work harder to do its job. Furthermore, air leaks around improperly fitted windows can cost you a great deal of cool air generated by your air conditioner, making it all the more difficult to cool your home down properly.

New windows can help with that. Properly fitted windows will cut the leaks down to nothing, while the glass can be treated with UV resistant coatings and similar advances to help keep radiant heat from getting in. In many cases, you can also install double-paned windows to form an extra layer of insulation. Such windows do even more in the winter than they do in the summer, making them a worthwhile investment no matter what the time of year.

We have years of experience with window installation in Tacoma, WA, and we can help ensure that you get the results you need based on your budget for the project. Energy savings have a way of building up over time, and the investment you make today could translate into big savings in the remaining years you own your home. Give us a call today and let us help you take that step.

For more on how new windows can save you money by saving energy, give the window installation experts at Sunset Air a call today. You’ll be glad you did!

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Benefits of Installing a Skylight

Friday, May 9th, 2014

Putting skylights into homes sounds like a luxury more than anything else. They look attractive, provide a pleasant view onto a clear starry sky, and they make a soothing pattering noise few other home surfaces produce when the rain strikes them. But what other benefits could putting a window into a ceiling bring you?

You’d be surprised. Skylights have a number of advantages for home installation that you should consider when you’re remodeling your house or adding on a new room. Sunset Air has worked on window installations in Tacoma, WA for over 35 years, so we’ve seen firsthand the little-known advantages of skylights. Contact our team today to find out more about our services for skylight installation and repairs.

The Skylight Advantages

  • Health: People in the U.S. spend 85% of their time indoors and out of the sun, which deprives them of Vitamin D that can help battle low moods and fatigue. However, too much UV radiation is dangerous. A skylight helps with both problems: it brings the natural light of the sun into a large space, and its glazing blocks and reflects harmful UV rays. A skylight can increase your mood and energy at home.
  • Reduced reliance on electricity: No other type of window in a home draws in as much light as a well-placed skylight. East- and west-facing windows only have sunlight during a brief period of the day, and north- and sound-facing windows may not receive any direct light at all. A skylight pours down many hours of lighting, and this mean less reliance on electrical lights. Even on overcast days, a skylight brightens up a room and lets you turn down the lights.
  • Space enhancement: Adding a skylight to a stuffy room that feels overcrowded will have a near-magical transformative effect. The room will feel larger, fresher, more vibrant. Sometimes the only remodeling you need is a skylight. (You can save money on electrical installation as well when a skylight does half the work.)

Skylight Repairs

Because a home’s skylight has more direct exposure to the elements than other windows, it can occasionally need repairs. Make sure that you have the best professional installation available so your skylight has proper water tightness and the most durable material; this will lower the need for repairs and give you a window on the roof of the world that will last as long as your home does.

Sunset Air provides quality window installation services for Tacoma, WA that includes skylights. We can also repair your existing skylight, and offer 24-hour emergency repairs if you need a leak fixed right away. We offer numerous services for doors and windows, so contact us whenever it’s time for remodeling.

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3 Benefits to Window Replacement

Wednesday, April 16th, 2014

People usually think of “window replacement” as something that happens after a neighborhood ball game gets out of hand and they end up with a smashed-in window. But window replacement plays a large part in home improvements, and there are a number of benefits you can receive from new windows if you have the right contractors helping you pick the replacements and install them. We’ll look at a few of the advantages of having window replacement in Puyallup, WA.

Sunset Air does more than handle air conditioners and heaters. Our team provides comfort services that improve homes with water heaters, solar power, electrical installation and repairs, and back-up generators. Our window and door replacement specialists are available to help you make your home a safer, more beautiful, comfortable, and energy-efficient place to live.

3 Window Replacement Benefits:

  1. Improved insulation for summer and winter: Windows are one of the major places where a home gains and loses heat. During cold weather, thin and insufficient windows will allow the heat inside your home to escape and make your interior colder, which will force your heater to overwork. In hot weather, the same inferior windows will allow heat to seep inside, pressuring your AC. With efficient windows in place, you’ll save money each month on your energy bills from the HVAC systems that don’t need to strain to keep you comfortable.
  2. Prevent furniture weathering: A window is clear and lets in light—but it can allow in too much light, particularly damaging UV-A and UV-B radiation. This can cause damage to your furniture such as fading. To help protect your valuable furnishings, you can have special windows with improved UV shielding put in.
  3. Better safety: Okay, let’s talk about that baseball-through-the-window for a moment. Accidents happen, and glass windows can break. However, newer windows are designed for better safety should an accident happen. Safety windows will not shatter into large, knife-edged pieces that can cut people. This is especially important as part of earthquake preparedness: in the aftermath of a temblor, you won’t have rooms filled with shattered glass along the floor, and people near windows will be much safer.

Schedule Your Window Replacements Today

Although all of the above make good reasons to have your old windows replaced, there’s always the standard reason: You simply want to have a new, fresh look in your home. Sunset Air can help you with window replacement in Puyallup, WA that will add a new sparkle to your house, while also saving you money, keeping you safe, and protecting your furnishings. Call us today for an appointment.

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How New Window Installation Benefits Your Heating and Cooling

Tuesday, April 1st, 2014

People rarely think about how their windows affect the state of their heating and cooling system. Windows need to be washed when they’re dirty, replaced when they’re broken and curtained when you and your family need a little privacy. But heating and cooling? What does that have to do with it? In fact, new windows can do a great deal to help your HVAC system, and window installation in Tacoma may be just the thing you need to cut down on your heating and cooling costs. Here’s how new window installation benefits your heating and cooling.

For more on how new window installation benefits your heating and cooling, or to schedule window installation in Tacoma, call on the experts at Sunset Air.

It helps to think of your home as a corked bottle, keeping cool air inside in the summer and warm air inside in the winter while the temperature outside is less than comfortable. An old window may have “leaks” around its edges, where time and wear-and-tear have left it a little loose in its frame. Conditioned air can escape through such cracks, costing you money in lost heating and cooling. In addition, the window itself may be made of less-than-ideal material, which not only allows conditioned air to escape, but provides little protection against external factors like sunlight and wind which can impact the quality of your conditioned air.

Replacing those old windows with new ones may be the best option for that. Energy efficient windows use vinyl frames and other tricks to keep your conditioned air where it belongs, as well as sealing up those leaks and serving as a de facto reflector for excessive levels of sunlight. The best of them carry the EnergyStar sticker, which denote extremely efficient windows that can lower your monthly bills by as much as 15%. You may even qualify for a tax credit, depending on the exact type of window.

At Sunset Air we have the experience to do the job right and we’re dedicated to you complete satisfaction, so give us a call today. You’ll be glad you did!

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