Happy Earth Day!

It's Earth Day, and the employees at Elite Service Company are participating in www.earthday.org's A Billion Acts of Green.  Joel and Sheila planted trees this weekend and Libbie helped build a raised vegetable garden from recycled lumber!  

Elite Service Company cares about the environment.  That's why we take a whole house approach to heating and air conditioning.  

Did you know that you can decrease the heating and cooling load for your home simply by having your home insulated with spray foam insulation?  Not only will this lower your heating and cooling bills by keeping your conditioned air in your home,  but it may also allow you to downsize your heating and air conditioning system.  A smaller system means you pay less at the time of install as well as on your monthly utilities.  

We also install geothermal systems which more than pay for themselves in energy savings by using water to heat and cool your home, drastically reducing your carbon footprint.

This Earth Day, we ask you to pledge an Act of Green.  There are so many simple ways to contribute:  

• Collect cans for recycling 
• start a compost heap for your garden 
• plant a tree (they recycle carbon dioxide!)
• stop to pick up trash on the side of the road 
• replace your current light bulbs with CFLs or LEDs 
• use a programmable thermostat 
• take your coffee to work in a re-usable mug instead of stopping at your favorite coffee place
• Adjust the temperature on your hot water heater
• Install a water-saving shower head
• Take a shorter shower 
• Eat local and support local businesses
• Eat organic foods

Perform your Act of Green and make your pledge at http://act.earthday.org/.  

   

Enjoying your indoor air

In spring, many people fear the outside air, due to pollen and other seasonal allergy irritants.  What many people do not realize is that indoor air pollutants may be even worse.  They include pollen, molds, fungal spores, viruses, bacteria, smoke, gas combustion by-products, outgassing from carpets, furniture, plywood, and drywall, cleaning supplies and other personal care items, pet dander, dust mites and their feces and body fragments, cockroach body parts, and more.  Disgusting! 

Worse, it’s unhealthy.  Over 50 million Americans suffer from allergies and 20 million have asthma. Tighter building envelopes in the quest for greater energy efficiency are making things worse. We spend most of our time indoors, surrounded by the indoor air pollutants.  The larger pollutants, less than 10 microns, are caught in our throats (by comparison, a human hair is 30 to 120 microns in diameter). Smaller pollutants are inhaled into our lungs where they can remain trapped for years.

There are four principle ways to fight indoor air pollution and improve filtration in your home. These are source control, ventilation, air filters, and air cleaners.

Source Control 

The starting point for a home indoor air quality strategy is source control. It makes sense. If you can control a pollutant before it becomes airborne, you’re ahead of the game. Source control strategies include the use of low emission paints, varnishes, and carpeting, no smoking, no pets, maintaining optimum humidity levels, regular cleaning, and regular servicing of combustion appliances, such as furnaces.  Unfortunately, you cannot always control pollutant sources.

Ventilation 

After source control comes fresh air ventilation. According to the EPA, the air inside your home is far worse than outside air.  Yet, when it’s really hot or really cold, who’s going to open the windows?  It’s uncomfortable and unaffordable.

There is a solution for some homes that improves fresh ventilation without the comfort or energy costs.  It’s called an energy recovery ventilator.  Not only can it improve air quality, it can actually reduce utilities in certain circumstances.

Air Filters 

Has your air quality remained the same, even after the installation of that expensive filter?  All filters have a “pressure drop,” or amount of resistance.  Even cheap throw-away filters can become problematic if not changed on a regular basis.  As dirt collects on the filter, the pressure drop rises. Far worse than low cost throw-away filters are the high pressure drop filters, which have pressure drops of 0.35” w.g. or higher (some have pressure drops exceeding 0.5” w.g. by themselves). Homeowners buy expensive filters because they want to improve the air quality and comfort in their homes.  Ironically, the filters often make things worse.

Look inside the panel of a furnace or blower for a central air conditioning system and you will find the manufacturer’s rating label.  Typically, one of the ratings is “Total ESP.”  Total ESP stands for Total External Static Pressure. When the Total External Static Pressure is exceeded in a home comfort system, the fan slows. When the fan slows, there are a couple of possible consequences.  First, there may not be sufficient air flow to ensure enough air is delivered to the end of the longest duct runs.  When this occurs, these rooms may feel stuffy and too hot or cold, even though the temperature is comfortable elsewhere. Second, the air flow passing over the evaporator coil may be insufficient to ensure proper dehumidification. If the evaporator coil doesn’t fully dehumidify, it and/or the surrounding plenum box can become a breeding ground for bacteriological growth and contaminants.

Fortunately, the HVAC industry has a number of excellent solutions for homeowners who want better filtration than the minimal amount found with a throw-away filter, but do not want the comfort or bacteriological problems of a high pressure drop filter. These include residential HEPA (high efficiency particulate arresting) filters, deep pleated media air filters, and electronic air cleaners.

Air Cleaning 

The fourth way to fight indoor air pollution is air cleaning.  Do not buy the cheap tabletop and gadget air cleaners you hear advertised.  They are a waste of money.  According to an American Lung Association® report, “The reviewed data provide little reason to endorse the use of inexpensive tabletop, appliance-type air cleaners, regardless of the technology they employ. In general, high-efficiency particle collection requires larger filters or electronic air cleaners.”

We recommend a whole-house approach with a duct mounted UV light and either a HEPA filtration system or an electronic air cleaner. The installed cost of an electronic air cleaner is roughly 30 cents a day over the life of the air cleaner. What’s appropriate for your home depends on your budget, comfort system, and family.

Whether it’s installing a new ventilation system, filtration system, or air filter Elite Service Company is happy to help with all of your comfort system needs.  Call us at 918.610.7300
© Service Roundtable

Trane CleanEffects™ Air Cleaner

As we head into spring, more than 50 million Americans will be suffering from allergies.  Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic diseases in the United States.  They are a widespread problem. 

     

Unfortunately, your home can contribute to allergy problems.  Today’s tight construction traps allergens and other airborne particles in the home.  The EPA says that airborne pollutants may be 25 to 100 times worse indoors than outside.  And we spend 90% of our time indoors!

A Trane CleanEffects™ can help.  CleanEffects is a whole-house air filtration system brought to you by a recognized industry leader.  Designed from the ground up to clean air like nothing before, Clean Effects make the air in your home feel cleaner and fresher than you thought possible.    As an accessory to matched Trane system, CleanEffects:

• Removes up to 99.98% of allergens from filtered air. 
• Traps particles as small as .1 micron in size.
• Up to 100 times more effective than a standard 1” filter.
• Can reduce your need to dust by up to 50%.
• Has had its performance verified by leading experts at the Harvard School of Public Health.
• Patented technology makes it as quiet as it is effective.

Clean Effects filtration can bring welcome relief to any with respiratory difficulties.  Many common allergens are small enough to bypass the body’s natural defenses and embed deep in the lungs, aggravating breathing ailments.  Since CleanEffects filters down to .1 micron (100 times smaller than a human hair), it is extremely effective at removing spores, mold, pollen, pet dander, dirt and dust, preventing them from entering your air and your lungs..

Most filtration systems work like a vacuum cleaner bag.  Small holes let air pass through, but not particles.  Unfortunately, the more dirt these systems collect, the more clogged they become.  This creates a bottleneck that reduces clean air output, robs system performance and reduces system life.  Trane CleanEffects uses a powerful, patented ifD corona field to charge incoming air, causing particles to adhere to the CleanEffects collection cells as air passes through.  Since your furnace or air handler isn’t struggling to work against a clogged filter, clean air flows freely.  No other filtration system can compare. 

Event he Trane CleanEffects collection element is ground-breaking.  Each layer is only .08 inches apart, with alternating charges, which makes for a stronger, more effective collection field.  What’s more, the Trane CleanEffects element has eight times the collection surface of a standard electronic air cleaner, so it’s vastly more efficient at providing clean air throughout your home.

Call Elite today for a quote on your CleanEffects air cleaner.  918.610.7300 

Federal Tax Credits For Energy Upgrades

If you are considering making energy efficient upgrades to your home, you will be interested in the Federal Tax Credits that are offered for such upgrades.  Deep within the Fiscal Cliff Bill that was signed on January 2nd, 2013 are tax credits many people are not aware of. 

These credits will apply to replacing your HVAC system as well as Spray Foam Insulation and can accrue savings of up to $500!  The tax credits are also retroactive for 2012!  If you had a new HVAC system installed in 2012, be sure to check and see if your installation meets the requirements for the tax credits!

Call Elite for more information!  918.610.7300

PSO Bill Buster Installation

Elite was is proud to have participated in energy saving programs through PSO.  The PSO Bill Buster contest was one such program.  Watch the video below to hear Elite Service Company's owner, Joel Kinsch, talk about the process and the importance of an efficient HVAC system.

ONG Energy Rebates!

PSO isn't the only utility company offering rebates for energy efficiency.  ONG has once again extended it's energy efficiency rebates!  If you are an ONG, or prospective ONG customer, they are offering fantastic rebates for replacing your existing equipment with energy efficient equipment:

$30 - Natural gas furnace check up.
$50 - Natural gas to natural gas water heater replacement
$250 - Natural gas to tankless natural gas with .82 or higher energy factor
$850 - Electric to natural gas with .67 or higher energy factor
$150 - 92% - 95.9% efficiency natural gas furnace replacement (gas to gas)
$550 - 96% or higher efficiency natural gas furnace replacement (gas to gas)
$1950 - Electric resistance to natural gas furnace replacement 
Up to $300 - Natural gas to natural gas clothes dryer replacement
Up to $300 - Electric to natural gas clothes dryer replacement

http://www.oklahomanaturalgas.com/en/SaveEnergyAndMoney/~/media/EnergyEfficiency/ONGRebates/Rebate_Application_EE.ashx

Call Elite Today for your free estimate!  918.610.7300

PSO Whole House Effieciency Program

Did you know you can save up to $5,000 on energy efficient upgrades through PSO's Whole House Efficiency Program?  

If you've been thinking about upgrading your home's HVAC system, there has never been a better time!  

The PSO Whole House Efficiency Program offers incentives for the following energy saving measures:  Attic/Ceiling insulation, knee wall insulation, wall insulation, floor/crawlspace insulation, water heater replacement, air infiltration, duct sealing, duct replacement, solar screens, Energy Star windows and doors, ground source heat pumps and HVAC systems.  

What a way to kick off the New Year!

Call Elite for details on how to participate!  918.610.7300

Elite News

Elite News is our quarterly newsletter that provides you with information on the newest products and services offered by Elite Service Company.  We include articles about products to help our customers make it through each season with optimal comfort.  

Subscribers to our newsletter will also receive coupons and special offers that are not available to the general public.

Now, you can sign up for Elite News in digital copy!  Click here to subscribe to Elite News today.

Elite on 106.1 The Twister!

Last month, Elite kicked off an aggressive radio ad campaign for the Tulsa Metro area.

This month, we are highlighting Trane's Free Furnace promotion.

Check out this month's radio spot on 106.1 The Twister, or click here to listen to it on our website.

Trane Free Furnace Promotion

Elite's Website Gets a Re-boot!

Elite Service Co. decided to start 2013 off with a new look! Thanks to Whitney Ludwig at GeekGirl Design, Elite has a snappy new image to welcome in the New Year. Take a look!