482. Top 4 Mistakes to Avoid

Foreign. I'm Derek Cole, host of the Derek Cole Podcast, and we believe in taking the time to explain how things work for your air at home or your business. Let's get into today's episode. Please listen closely and maybe even take some notes so you can remember these insights of home comfort and energy savings. And share this episode with three of your friends because we all need to share better ways to be more comfortable at home. Be sure to tag me or DM me on Instagram Derek Mcole so I can say hi. Thanks again for listening. And let's begin. Number one, not changing your air filter. Not changing your air filter Energy Energy Star states that checking and changing your air filter is one of the most important things you can do for your system. Now why is that? The air filter is designed to help protect your equipment, which is one of the top energy users in your home is your H Vac equipment. It's made to protect equipment. The dirt and debris trapped by your filter helps prevent your system from having to overcome those insulators from getting on your critical operational items of your system. So what does that mean? Heating air. Heating and air is all about heat transfer. So dirt, debris, dust, things that get on those coils that transfer the heat acts as insulators. So it has to work harder to get through to transfer the heat. Right. So the cleaner it is, the less has to work, the dirtier it is, the more it has to work. And that's going to lead to what? The harder the system has to work to overcome this buildup, the more energy it will use to try and get this heat transfer to happen. But the more energy uses, the harder has to work, it also shortens the life of those parts. So it's very important. Your air filter is one of the most important things you can keep track of and you can do. And it's as simple as even putting a reminder in your phone, every 30 days, alarm goes off, check and change your air filter. That's how simple it can be. Number two, doing it yourself. Doing it yourself. Now, when you, when you don't hire a professional, typically you don't get a professional result. And you know, I get it, hiring a professional. I, I've had to do it with my house. It's not cheap to hire a professional, but hiring a professional gives you something else. It gives you peace of mind. Peace of mind. Now in 2020, I don't ever remember receiving more phone calls than this. We received so many phone calls of homeowners requesting us to install a system they Bought off the Internet. They bought from a friend, they knew somebody. They want us to hook it up to install it. So what's wrong with that? Right? I know. Well, we can't, we can't warranty at the unit. We can't guarantee performance of that unit. We can't even guarantee it it's the right system for what your home needs. There's too many questions, there's too many unknowns, there's too many, I don't know what's going. How did it work when it left, how's it worked now? It's getting to the point with the manufacturer of equipment. Will not even let you register the equipment if you buy it online. So voids their warranties if you buy it online or buy it from a unlicensed contractor. They say when we do an install, it comes with a 10 year parts and labor warranty. Standard 10 year parts and labor warranty. We give you numerous guarantees depending on which level of system you buy. Depends on the guarantees. But all of them, regardless, all of them have a two year no limit guarantee. Meaning if the heart of the system fails, compressor, heat exchanger, if the heart fails in that system, replace that piece of equipment. So if it's the outdoor unit, if it's a compressor, replace that. If it's a furnace, heat exchanger, replace the furnace. We don't replace the heat exchanger, replace the whole furnace. We give you that warranty because we are a licensed professional contractor and we, we register with the manufacturer and then we tack on the labor on top of what we're doing. Because we're professional, we believe we've been doing it for since 1953. We knew what's going on and better yet, we had to repair, which is a little more common, having to buy a new unit, a new unit, you know, it's every, you know, 10, 15, 20 years repair is a lot shorter time period. We do a repair, we give you a repair warranty, a one year parts and labor warranty. If you're one of our club members, one of our maintenance customers, they get regular maintenance, it's doubled, It's a two year parts night warranty, it's a two year parts night, we doubled the warranty. So, so much peace of mind almost every step of the way there. You have to ask no questions. Because when a professional does the work, they know what they're doing. They know what they're doing. Kind of say this around the office. We say this. Shortcuts lead to long falls. Don't be left holding the Bag. When something goes down, give yourself a break. Give yourself a break. Pay the professionals to handle the job. Gain the peace of mind of having them do it. Number three, taking, not taking advantage, not taking advantage of regular maintenance. Now, homeowners typically fight fires. They're firefighters. They don't practice prevention. I am a, I'm a big case of this happening because I'm guilty of the same thing. A few years ago, I had a problem with the water in my crawl space. I ignored it. Like most of us, I ignored it. Maybe it'll go away, maybe it'll magically heal. And that led to replacing a huge section of my floor. The subflooring, the, the support beam. It was a lot of work. But $15,000 later, problem solved. $15,000 later, problem Solved. So I mean, out, right out. But doing regular maintenance on your heating and air, which is recommended twice a year by the manufacturer, twice a year. A simple way for you to help your energy bills, help prevent breakdowns. And with most companies you're going to get a, if you're a member of their maintenance agreement, you're going to get a discount if you do have a breakdown. So go back to our club members we talked about before. So we double the warranty. Not only do we double the warranty, but we also give you a discount on that repair. If your professional has a solid agreement program. It's almost a no brainer. It's almost a no brainer because you get priority service. You usually get a discount and you might get some other enhancements. For us with double the warranty, we'll give you a discount. You get priority service is for most, it's a no brainer. The good vastly outweighs any cost you might pay for the agreement. The cost you have to pay vastly outweighs the benefits you get from being a club member or having a maintenance agreement. Number four, avoid adjusting the thermostat. Avoid adjusting the thermostat. What does that mean? It's simple, but it's so hard because especially during extreme temperatures, you probably seen the infomercial, sit it and forget it. It's kind of the same way with their thermostat. You know, you don't need to play the games of going up and down and schedules and you know, side outside going scrolling up, scar outside and bring it down. In most cases, all the adjusting that unit, starting and stopping, starting and stopping, all that is causing is more wear and tear on that system. And it's not needed the most power or the most energy. That system Pulls is when it starts startup is the biggest power consumption. Is it starting? Not running, but starting. So you know, kind of like your car. It's. It's more efficient to take the interstate than to be stuck in stop and go traffic, right? You get better gas mileage by taking the interstate than you do if you go to that town, go downtown and have the stop and go traffic, right? Same move with the unit. It's okay if your system runs, it's fine. Especially if it's a hot day, if it's 90 degrees outside, or if it's a cold 20 degrees and your thermostat is maybe set on 75. It's fine if it runs because it pulls less power than the startup. If it's running, it's more efficient to be on be on the interstate than to be stop and go, right? If it's. If it's a comfortable temperature for you, it's fine. There is no magic temperature for your thermostat. 75, 73, 72. Whatever's good for you, whatever is good for you, leave it alone. Enjoy the comfort. Stop trying to save a few dollars by messing with the thermostat. Repeatedly missing the thermostat. I'm not, I'm not saying change your set points, not changing your set points every now and then, but some, some folks constantly watch it, adjust it, change it. All. All that stop and go for the unit is not, it's. It's just more wear and tear you don't need. Okay? So don't, don't think of it as being more efficient for it to be on and off. It's more efficient for it to be running like your car. Interstate versus stop. A good stop and go is gonna use more gas than interstate. Same thing with unit. Okay? I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Derek Cole Podcast. Tell some people about this episode. It's on each of us really to spread the better ways to be healthier and more comfortable in our homes and workspaces. I'm asking you to be the dealer of positive and life changing messages in your circle of influence. Take a screenshot right now and share this screenshot and the link to this episode with three of your friends to today share it on social media. Use the hashtag healthy home. That's healthy home. We are always giving away shout outs prizes to our community. If you would like to help me personally then please rate and review on Apple podcasts. Give us some stars. Leave a review because that stuff actually does help and I read all the comments so my last thought for today. Please remember you deserve better air at home and greater comfort at home. Don't settle for being uncomfortable for your heating air every single month. We are so thankful for having you here in our community and be sure to go deeper with us at simmons1hour.com. It.