Posts Tagged ‘air conditioning’

A/C Off or On When You’re Away?

June 7, 2010  |  Posted by bschutt |  Comments Closed

Since the invention of air conditioning this question’s been around.  What will save me more, to leave my air conditioning on when I’m away, turn up the thermostat, or turn it off completely?

A conundrum indeed.  And, one you’ve likely heard different people give different answers to.  Here are some of the variables and factors that make this not a black and white issues, but rather a custom answer for your home.

One, is the size of your home.  Smaller homes will draw less energy and take less time to cool down.

Another factor is the size, efficiency, and insulation of your system and home.  This was likely determined by whomever built your home and installed your system.  In the linked article, Bob Vila gives a thorough analysis of the impact of HVAC system size and proper insulation can have to your home energy costs.

Another, and probably the most important variable, is the outside temperature.  This is pretty basic, but if the weatherman tells you it’s going to be a high of 75 vs. a high of 85, your decision becomes easier.  If it’s 75 outside, it’s not going to get hotter inside, and thus cooling your place when you get home will not take as much time and not take as much energy.

However on those muggy 85 degree days that we face in Central Indiana, the choice may not be clear.  So, we suggest doing a little experiment.  Requirements: pen, paper, ability to read electric meter.  On two three like days do the following:

  1. Note the reading on your meter before leaving work
  2. Day 1: leave A/C at your preferred temperature (for my wife and I it’s 72 degrees)  Day 2: Turn your A/C up to a higher temperature like 80 degrees  Day 3: Turn off A/C completely.
  3. For days 2 and 3, return your thermostat to comfortable temperature on your return home.
  4. After thermostat returns to your desired temperature, or a few hours after your return home, go back to meter and note its reading.

At this point, just do the addition to see how much electricity you’ve used to get back to comfortable.  Whichever uses less energy, saves you the most money, and is the customized answer to the age old question.

* A side note and helpful hint is that for every degree above 80, you save roughly 3% on energy.  Ergo, and move from 80 to 85, should save roughly 15%.

Tags :air conditioning, money savings

Building a Brand in a Commodity Business

December 11, 2009  |  Posted by bschutt |  Comments Closed

While there are hundreds of heating and air conditioning equipment brands out there, most are manufactured by three companies and have different logos slapped on the side of the equipment. So, local install/service companies generally decide what type of company they want to be by what product they work with. You want to be the high end supplier, choose Carrier, Trade or Lennox – you want to give a deal, you have Goodman or Concorde. Meanwhile, most homeowners know little or nothing about any of the brands.

So local companies have defined their brands in one of two directions. They’re either the big name provider that you hear on the radio and see in “money mailers” who compete on how quickly service techs are at your home, or they’re the one man shop that may take awhile to get there, but will cost substantially less.

At Homesense, we eschew this notion that service and price are mutually exclusive. And that’s what our brand is build upon. Customers should expect someone who’s timely and helpful, that isn’t trying to gouge them for every penny. Especially now. Unemployment’s at 10%, with real unemployment somewhere around 17%. Those that still have jobs, don’t have much confidence. We get that, and want to help you out for a fair price.

Tags :air conditioning, brand, goodman, heating, Indianapolis, lennox, trane

Customer Service by Aristotle

December 9, 2009  |  Posted by bschutt |  Comments Closed

“We are what we repeatedly do, excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”
- Aristotle

Practice makes perfect, right? No. Practice makes permanent. Whether it’s Peyton Manning throwing pass, Southwest pilots flying airplanes, or an HVAC tech working with homeowners, the human condition of unconscious habits are dictating the majority of what we’re doing. Peyton Manning threw thousands of footballs before he was drafted to the Colts, and *hopefully* your Southwest pilot spent a few hours in a plane before you jumped on board.

However when it comes to customer service, most companies are content with having someone come to your home who’s never been trained. The reality is, while there are levels of technical ability within heating and cooling, most technicians are going to have similar skills. It’s going to be the soft skills of working with the homeowners that will create an experience worth talking about. Are they looking you in the eye? Are there clothes clean and ironed? Are they answering questions and talking to you in terms you understand?

A new heating and air conditioning unit is a major purchase. As a homeowner, don’t put up with someone who is not treating you like your business matters. At Homesense we’re modeling the right behavior, so that we have customer service that would make Aristotle proud.

Tags :air conditioning, cooling, customer service, habits, heating, Indianapolis

Customer Service – She’s Just Not My Type

November 23, 2009  |  Posted by bschutt |  Comments Closed

What’s good customer service look like? We’ve asked ourselves that question a lot since starting homesense. We’ve asked a lot of other people too. In some ways, it’s like asking what type of person are you attracted to, in that everyone has their own preferences.

As comedian Mitch Hedberg said, “You can’t please all the people all the time. And last night all those people were at my show.” So how do we do service, without just doing what we’d do unto ourselves?

What we’ve started with at homesense is what we’re not going to do, instead. While it’ll probably cost us sales, we’re not going to be pushy about the need to get something done today. We are homeowners and have had technicians telling us we need (fill in the blank with technical term few people understand) and that it will cost hundreds more if we don’t get it done today. I’m pretty sure no one likes that feeling.

We’re not going to assume that we should make ourselves at home. Seems basic, but we’ve also heard about workers coming into homes with dirty shoes, smelling like smoke, B.O., or worse. We’re going to stay classy, and keep it clean.

Another thing we’re not going to do is give you only one option. We understand the tradeoffs in life. While getting your heating and a/c system repaired is almost a necessity, it’s still your choice if you want to use a space heater and extra blankets until it gets real cold. We’ll show you different systems, at different costs, and educate you on the benefits of each.

These are just a few of the won’t do’s in homesense customer service. We’d love to get your feedback on to do ideas. So, if you’ve had a great experience with customer service, or just a great idea that you think we should implement — share it!

Tags :air conditioning, cooling, customer service, heating, homesense

Welcome HomeSense fans

November 17, 2009  |  Posted by bschutt |  Comments Closed

Hello there. Homesense is a new heating | cooling company in Indianapolis. We look a little different, sound a little different, and do business a little differently than most contractors you’ve probably dealt with. That’s by intention. We’re homeowners ourselves, and have had the frustrating experience of being bullied into buying, having technicians talk over our head, and have had that sinking feeling that we’ve been taken advantage of. If you’re in the Indianapolis area, and are having trouble with your heating or air conditioning system, and want to have a professional take a look, give a second opinion, or just ask some questions – We would love to hear from you.

We hope this blog can be a venue to provide some worthwhile tips, ideas and savings to customers in our area and around the country.

Tags :air conditioning, cooling, heating, hvac, Indianapolis