The SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) is how the efficiency of your heating and cooling equipment is measured. The SEER is the amount of cooling your system will deliver per dollar spent on electricity, as compared to other systems. For example, a 3-ton unit may have a SEER efficiency rating of 13, 14, or 15. The higher the SEER the more efficient the system will be. The SEER rating of any given unit can range anywhere from 13 to 17.
Each split system cooling unit has a nominal SEER rating. This rating can be increased with the upgrade of the same series indoor unit. The SEER rating of a system is derived based on the combination of equipment installed in the home. The outdoor equipment (heat pump or air conditioner), as well as the indoor equipment (evaporator coil and furnace, or air handler), play a vital role in the total rating.
Your heating and cooling systems work incredibly hard to perform their functions for your home everyday. The constant stopping, starting and continual operation can wear down any machine if the proper care and maintenance is delayed. However, by performing regular maintenance, you can maximize the lifecycle of your heating or cooling unit and guard against many common equipment failures. Preventive maintenance inspections performed on a regular basis can uncover leaks, rust, rot, soot, frayed wires and corroded electrical contacts that the naked eye may not notice. You should have maintenance done on your system regularly to ensure maximum efficiency and allow prevent possible problems that may occur in the near future.
At least once a year heat pumps and air conditioners require a professional tune-up. Because gas-fired equipment functions with greater efficiency, they only need to be serviced every other year. Inspections on boiler and furnace systems should include ductwork, pipes, dampers, valves, the chimney, registers, radiators, pumps, blowers, fuel lines, the gas meter, oil tank and every part of the actual furnace and boiler. Meanwhile, heat pump and air conditioning unit inspections should also include inspections of the fan, compressor, indoor coils, outdoor coils, line kits and refrigerant lines.
As your local Carrier dealer, Sullivan Oil & Propane is your troubleshooting expert, and is glad to help you. In addition, Carrier also provides a network of troubleshooting technicians at Carrier Distribution centers across the country which Sullivan Oil & Propane will utilize to solve your concern. Should we encounter a situation that requires additional factory help, we will contact our factory supported Service Manager(s) for assistance.
We also offer a TankSure® tank protection plan.
For more information about our service plans see our service page.
Since they are electronic, programmable thermostats are more accurate and efficient than thermostats that contain mercury. With programmable thermostats you can control the temperature in your home at different times of day without ever touching your thermostat. Because everything is automatic, you will never forget to change the setting on your own.
Standard filters work to keep your system and its ductwork clean, but they don’t really improve indoor air quality. To do that you need a media filter. The media filter rests between the main return duct and the blower cabinet and will improve dust and particle removal by seven times that of a standard filter. However, upgrading to a pleated media filter will remove everything from insecticide dust to airborne viruses from the filtered air. Always choose a filter that matches your blower’s capacity. For optimum efficiency and filtration, Sullivan Oil & Propane recommends that you replace your disposable filters at least once a month. If you have washable filters, they should be cleaned once a month.
The filter shipped with your Carrier unit is made from higher-quality materials than those of the disposable filters found in retail stores. For that reason, replacement Carrier filters can only be purchased through a Carrier dealer. However, keep in mind that some Carrier filters are reusable, and can be washed by hand in cold water.
As a Carrier dealer, Sullivan Oil & Propane is the best resource for identifying and supplying the correct, current parts for your system, as well as pricing and availability.
There are many factors that affect the sizing and specifications of your system, including square footage, insulation, window surface and configuration, geographic location of your home, duct sizing and arrangement, and many others. Sullivan Oil & Propane can perform an in-home load analysis to determine which equipment combinations will perfectly suit your home and your family’s needs. Depending upon the construction of your home, one (1) ton of air conditioning can cool anywhere from 300 to 800 square feet of home. The only way to insure the size of the system you purchase will be large enough to cool your home, but not any larger than you need, is to have your home’s individual heating and cooling needs evaluated by a licensed professional.
Under the standard factory warranty, Carrier covers parts that fail during the warranty period due to defect in the part. The warranty does not cover labor. A warranty certificate was included with your homeowner information packet, and is specific to the model numbers, serial numbers and installation dates of your products. If you cannot find your warranty certificate, Sullivan Oil & Propane will also be able to provide you with the information.
Dependable Carrier products are among the longest lasting heating and cooling products available. For your specific equipment, there are many variables that affect life expectancy, and of course, the regularity of routine maintenance.
Absolutely Every day of the year!
We guarantee that we will be there within the hour or we will call you.
Usually it’s only a matter of a couple of days. We can come out to your home at your convenience during the day or in the evening. To recommend the right size system for you, we do a lot of calculations. One thing we look at is heat loss, or the amount of heat your home loses in the winter. This is just one way we figure how much Btu “power” your home’s heating system needs.
Most of our installations are done in a day and a half though every job is different and some take longer than others.
Yes. The Comfort Plan covers a multitude of things that typically go wrong with a heating system and includes annual tune-ups to maximize performance and longevity. Our Total Comfort Plan includes everything in the Comfort Plan plus coverage for many more parts and services.
We also offer a TankSure® tank protection plan.
For more information about our service plans see our service page.
Yes! Heating and air conditioning systems operate for months on end and need regular maintenance—just like your car. Without the regular maintenance of a tune-up, you lose efficiency and money.
Annual tune-ups keep your system working at peak efficiency and give our technicians a chance to catch minor problems and signs of wear before they turn into major trouble down the road.
In addition, regular maintenance can extend the life of your equipment.
The experts at P. Gagnon & Son will be happy to come to your home and calculate your heating and cooling “loads.” They will then be able to recommend a system that is the correct size and model to meet your home’s requirements. Please call us for more details.
As much as we would like to help, our first priority is always to take care of our own customers. Providing our customers with fast, high-quality service (especially in an emergency) is what we are all about. We can’t do this if our technicians are chasing calls at all points on the compass to take care of our competitor’s customers because our competitors can’t. If you buy your fuel from us, however, it will create an obligation on our part to provide you with quality service.
Before you call us, go through the troubleshooting steps below to make sure a service call is really needed. It will save you the cost and inconvenience of an unnecessary service visit, and will ensure our technicians are working where they are most needed.
If at this point you still don’t get heat, call P. Gagnon & Son immediately.
When a service technician arrives, let him know everything you did to the system before he begins working on it. You should also let him know if anything out of the ordinary happened, like an unusual noise, a strange smell or smoke.
In many cases, this will help the technician find the problem—and get your heat back on again—faster.
Heat is generated by burning oil or propane inside the furnace. This happens in the combustion chamber, which gets very hot. Air absorbs this heat in the furnace’s heat exchanger. Next, the blower sends the heated air through a system of ducts, and warm air circulates through the home.
The basic heating principle is the same. The difference is that a furnace heats air and a boiler heats water. With a boiler, a circulator pumps the hot water through a system of pipes, distributing the water to radiators, baseboards or air handlers throughout the home. Some boilers are designed to create steam, which circulates by means of a system of pipes. The pipes are connected to steam radiators throughout the home.
The heat exchanger is the main component of your furnace. If the heat exchanger has a crack or a rust hole, combustion fumes (including carbon monoxide) can contaminate the air in your home. This is a potentially deadly situation and should be addressed IMMEDIATELY. A cracked heat exchanger usually requires replacing the entire furnace. If you suspect that you might have a cracked heat exchanger, or a carbon monoxide problem caused by your furnace, turn the system off immediately. Then call us right away for service.
There are two indicators of efficiency.
As long as your heating system is working properly, you should not smell oil in your home. If you do, it means something is WRONG! An oil smell could come from a leak, combustion or burner troubles, heat exchanger failure or exhaust system problems. Call us and we’ll come over to correct the problem. If you have a leak, we’ll remove the oil and help get the smell out of your home. If you ever smell oil coming from your vents, call us immediately. That’s an indication of a faulty furnace that may be releasing dangerous gases in your home.
Different people feel comfortable at different temperatures. Pay less attention to the number on the thermostat display (or the position of the temperature indicator on a nondigital display) and more to how comfortable the room feels to you. When you feel comfortable, check the setting. That’s the right temperature for you.
Absolutely! Programmable thermostats are especially useful for people who are away from home at regular intervals. They allow for customized comfort settings around-the-clock, and they can cut heating and cooling costs by as much as 10%!
There are many factors that determine the cost of a central air conditioning system. Aside from the choice of unit, model and size, the most important factor is proper installation to ensure your new system operates as it should. Contact us today and get a FREE estimate.
We can give you a ballpark estimate if we have enough information, but it’s hard to determine an accurate estimate without visiting your home.
SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. It is used to indicate the efficiency of air conditioning systems. The higher the SEER number, the more cooling you get per unit of energy. Today’s cooling units are up to 40 percent more efficient than those made as recently as 10 years ago.
Yes. Today there are simple, ductless air conditioning options that make it possible for us to install a quiet, efficient air conditioning system in your home even if it doesn’t have ductwork.
Ductless air conditioning systems consist of one or more indoor air distribution units linked by refrigeration lines to an outdoor compressor. This flexible tubing can be positioned inside your walls and ceilings with a minimum of inconvenience. Installing ductless air conditioning costs a little more than standard central air systems, but much less than the cost of installing ductwork and a central air conditioning system.
An air conditioning tune-up and inspection will help catch most equipment problems before they result in a breakdown. Many breakdowns occur on the hottest day of the year — because that’s when your air conditioning system is under the most stress. And because a tune-up ensures that your system will run at peak efficiency, it will lower your electric bills. A system that’s running efficiently can save you as much as 10 percent on your annual cooling costs.
A price cap puts a ceiling on how high your price can go, but it also allows your price to drop if the market falls.
No, it’s the highest you would possibly pay as long the cap is in force. Any time our delivery price is less than the cap, you pay the lower amount.
Our ability to offer fuel at a capped price is based on the purchases of fixed price futures contracts, but involves one extra, important step. To guarantee that your price won’t go above a certain price, but can also go down if market prices fall below where they were on the day we bought the fixed price contracts, we also purchase “futures options.” These cost us more per gallon, and we in turn add them to your cost, but the price protection provided by these options makes the cap work.
You will simply pay our competitive daily rate for your fuel. We will continue to make deliveries on your regular schedule and if applicable, bill you monthly.
There are so many factors that affect the price of fuel—supply and demand, political events, the weather, speculation––that trying to figure out whether and when prices will go up or down is pure guesswork. Whatever happens, our pricing approach won’t change. You will always get fair and competitive pricing from us.
In an indirect-fired water heating system, the domestic water is heated by hot water from the boiler. A typical design is a water tank with coiled pipes inside. These coiled pipes connect to your boiler. Hot water from the boiler passes through the coil, which heats up the domestic water surrounding it.
Heating oil produces the hottest flame of any home heating fuel. This means an oil-fired water heater heats water fast. How fast? On average, oil-fired units heat water three times faster than gas heaters and five times faster than electric units.
Every three months, drain a gallon of water from the tank. Do it every month if you have hard water. This reduces the amount of sediment collecting in the bottom of the tank, which can make the burner or heating coils work harder.
Every year have your water heater inspected by a service technician to keep it in peak operating condition.
If you’re like many people, the frustration of an equipment breakdown can make it tempting to solve the problem with a quick-fix repair that doesn’t cost you a lot of money. That way you can get on with your busy life in relative comfort. BUT, while a quick fix may be the least expensive solution in the short run, it may not give you the most value in the long run.
It’s a fact of life: Older systems are more likely to break down. That means a bigger chance of emergency service calls and repairs—and paying for them. Worse, a breakdown could mean extensive damage to your home (no heat on a cold winter day can allow your pipes to freeze).
There’s also an ongoing cost factor. Repairing an old system can only restore it to something less than its original level of efficiency. After you’ve recovered from the repair bill and the frustration of a system breakdown, you’ll still be battling high energy bills. What’s more, even if a system doesn’t break down, it loses efficiency as it ages. A 15-year-old system doesn’t operate anywhere near the efficiency it had when it was new!
Plus, when compared with modern, technologically advanced equipment, 15-year-old heating and cooling systems are considered inefficient by today’s standards. The average homeowner can save up to 40% on heating and cooling costs with new high-efficiency equipment.
Here are some rules of thumb to help you decide whether to replace or repair.
Replace your system if:
Repair your system if:
Don’t wait for an emergency breakdown—like losing your heat in the middle of the night when temperatures are below zero.
Proper design and replacement of heating systems requires thought and planning. Not all models are in stock and immediately available. It is better—and most times less expensive—to schedule equipment installations in the off-season when we have the luxury of time and warm weather.
Remember, you can trust P. Gagnon & Son with all your installation needs. Our professional service technicians are trained in all areas of heating and air conditioning and fully licensed by the Maine Oil and Solid Fuel Board.
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