Fighting An Allergy War?

Many people come to the valley of the sun looking for relief from allergies. However, some find when they get here, their allergies are actually worse. Or some who move to the valley who never had problems with allergies suddenly are plagued by them. We may have once been known as a place to come for respiratory relief because we have considerably less trouble with mildew and mold spores in our climate, but the Phoenix area is a high growth, densely populated area with a hotbed of allergens from pollen to pollution.

Have you ever noticed dust particles floating through the air in your home as the sun catches it just right on a lovely afternoon? Could be an idyllic scene like enjoying a light summer rain, but dust is composed of very small, lightweight particles from our own dead skin cells and pet dander to pollen and pollutants entering from outside. Any breeze or movement sends these particles airborne. Not exactly an appealing thought that we’re inhaling all of that floating around us. No wonder so many suffer from allergies. But indoor allergy relief is the one area you can try to control when it comes to allergens.

There are a number of simple things that can be done to reduce household dust and alleviate allergy symptoms:

• Sweeping of floors, including those corners.
• Dusting of flat surfaces and spaces where dust will settle, such as knick-knacks and window treatments.
• Use a high-quality vacuum that actually picks up and traps the dust, rather than moving it around.
• Washing throws, bedding and furniture coverings to keep dust from settling in fabrics.
• Using allergen covers for pillows and mattresses to keep them from absorbing dust. 
• Houseplants can also help improve air quality.

One of the most effective ways to get rid of dust is through your HVAC system’s air filter.  Get in the habit of inspecting the filter monthly and changing it when it begins to clog with dirt and dust. Even when you don’t need heating or cooling, run your forced-air equipment on “fan only” to get air moving through the filter.

You may still have to fight an allergy battle outside, but your sinuses will thank you when you’re in the allergy-reduced area of your home as you follow these simple steps. Contact Wolff Mechanical at (602) 814-0004 for more information on improving the air quality in your home.

Doing Our Part For the Environment

As we celebrated Earth Day this week, Wolff Mechanical is proud to be doing our part to make heating and cooling homes and businesses in the valley of the sun more energy efficient. We use a wide variety of products that are better for the environment, such as Energy Star, solar, recirculating, tankless and programmable options that reduce consumption and emissions. 

The Wolff Mechanical team are experts who can advise homeowners how to solve all of their cooling and heating issues that is more friendly to the environment, as well as their pocket. Our technicians also use service vans which operate on clean CNG gas to promote greater ecological responsibility. This allows the van to be driven in the HOV lane, resulting in the van running more efficiently and providing more timely service to our customers.

Wolff Mechanical is part of this community and we want to be involved and help where we can. As part of that, last year we wrapped one of our service vans in pink to sponsor Susan G. Komen for the Cure® to donate a portion of the pink van's revenue to the Susan G. Komen community.
http://www.prleap.com/pr/206295/

This summer you can be sure we will continue to do our part to offer money-saving, energy-efficient options to help Arizonans better manage during our most energy-consuming time of the year. Our certified expert technicians work hard to provide every home and office with the best comfort possible and we are continually evolving to use technology that is better for the environment.

If you’re interested in seeing how energy efficient your home is, you can start by visiting Energy Star’s Home Energy Yardstick. When you know your score, let us help you start exploring ways to improve your energy efficiency, reduce your consumption and emissions, as well as save money on your energy bills. We want to take care of our earth and our customers.

Image source: http://lunar.thegamez.net/greentechnology/eco-friendly-earth/eco-friendly-earthjpg-697x311.jpg

Let The Sun Do The Work

Here in the valley of the sun, even when it’s scorching outside, we still use hot water inside. Every day we need hot water for bathing, washing clothes and dishes. Solar water heaters can be a cost effective way to generate hot water for your home year round because it can be used in any climate and use sunshine, which is free!

Solar water heaters have many other advantages. First, when you purchase any solar energy products, the government offers reimbursements. Second, solar energy is renewable, making it the best green option you can use. Next, if you produce more electricity than you use, it will be fed back into the electrical grid for use somewhere else and your utility bill will carry a negative amount! Lastly, solar hot water systems can last over twenty years maintenance free.  http://www.wolffmechanical.com/water-heaters/solar/

Though there are many benefits that make solar an obvious choice for many, there are many variables that must be considered to make sure you choose the right system for you. Be sure to work with a qualified solar contractor to install your system. They will be able to guide you through choosing the best solar system for you, including teaching you about the difference between direct and indirect circulation systems, passive solar water heating, the types of storage tanks and solar collector options, and how to improve your energy efficiency and maintain your solar system for years to come.

           

Before installing a solar water heating system, these are some of the items and components of which your installation contractor should be knowledgeable:

• Evaluate your site's solar resource
• Determine the correct system size
• Investigate local codes, covenants, and regulations
• Heat exchangers for solar water heating systems
• Heat-transfer fluids for solar water heating systems  http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/solar-water-heaters

Wolff Mechanical technicians are experts in installing solar water heaters. Call us today to learn more about the cost benefits and to get a free in-home estimate. We are dedicated to helping you achieve maximum efficiency, reliability and comfort in your home. Let us show you why Wolff Mechanical is an industry leader in customer satisfaction.

Image source: http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/Storing-the-Sun-s-Heat-2.jpg/

Spring Cleaning Your Air & Bills

Its spring and we’re all enjoying the glorious weather in our dessert this time of year! Summer is the last thing we want to think about, but this is the best time to prepare for the upcoming summer temperatures. If you haven’t had your air conditioner (AC) serviced after months of non-use, we guarantee you won’t be happy when you go to turn on the AC for respite from raising temps just to discover it isn’t working properly. Even worse is having your AC go out in the middle of summer due to parts failing that could have been avoided from a routine servicing.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Scheduling an annual service appointment is often overlooked, but these service appointments will not only ensure your home feels cozy year-round, but will also make your system operate more efficiently, thus saving you money on your monthly utility bills. There are many advantages associated with keeping your air conditioning system in proper working order:

• The more efficient your system is, the greater your carbon footprint is reduced.
• You can have greater peace of mind that you have a safer, more reliable system.
• A smoother running system helps you save on your energy bills.
• You will have decreased risk of a system breakdown in the middle of extreme weather.
• Parts will stay in better working order, lessening wear and tear.

There are other things that don’t necessarily need to be done annually, but should be completed and checked periodically. These will help make sure you are maximizing your energy savings and comfort level throughout the extreme temperatures.

• Repair your ductwork – Any damage found in your ductwork is most likely causing conditioned air to leak. Also consider insulating your ducts, as this will keep warm air from seeping out during the winter months.
• Install a programmable thermostat – Why cool your home when no one’s home? This wastes energy and money. Investing in a programmable thermostat allows you to set the thermostat to automatically turn on and off, and will make a huge difference on heating and cooling bills.
• Radiant heat barriers – Have a radiant heat barrier, which is thin layer of metal insulation, installed in your attic in order to reduce the amount of heat transferred here from your home by almost 95 percent.
• Install ceiling fans – During the summer, ceiling fans make you feel cooler, allowing you to keep your thermostat a few degrees higher. Using ceiling fans throughout the year will save energy and energy costs. 

For over 20 years, Wolff Mechanical has been serving the valley of the sun for both residential and commercial needs. Our goal is to help educate our customers, offer the best technology, quality products, world-class customer service and warranties. For more information about an annual service call, please contact us at (602) 814-0004 or visit our website. http://www.wolffmechanical.com/

Image source: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=spring+cleaning+image&id=800CEFB8E127B71A601C370CA29E6A6558AF15F4&FORM=IQFRBA#view=detail&id=90EA4F76AEEFCFD373A79F3E7E5E9431976A7D11&selectedIndex=11

Invest In Your Business

Whether installing a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC) or replacing an existing system, the expense of a new HVAC system as a business owner can be difficult. When running your own business, there are usually more projects to accomplish than there is money to accomplish them all. Even when there is money, you want to be able to put it back into growing your business, not having it tied up in things like heating and cooling. Like it or not, it’s part of business, not to mention a necessity when dealing with the safety, health and comfort of employees, tenants and customers in the workplace.

Many Fortune 100 companies have learned that leasing HVAC equipment gives them the opportunity to acquire the equipment and make improvements they need for the long term, while being able to use their working capital for expenses necessary to grow their business in the short term. Some other benefits include affordable monthly payments to fit your budget and being able to maintain your borrowing capacity without typing up credit.

Commercial air conditioning financing and leasing also has tax advantages and is a good investment for those who rent out their facilities. It improves the value of your building and lowers monthly cooling costs. With the ability to roll an air conditioning and heating maintenance agreement into a building lease, more tenants renew their leases when they know they can rely on low utility bills and not having to deal with air conditioning equipment failures.

Wolff Mechanical specializes in tailoring the best energy efficient system for your facility and budget. Call us for a no cost evaluation of your current system. We’ll give you a complete description and the cost on a new HVAC system replacement, as well as answer any questions you have about leasing and financing options.

More Dreaded Than Summer In Phoenix!

Whether we like it or not, April 15th is quickly approaching. Time to get those taxes done. Taxes aren’t our area of expertise, but did you know there are many deductions and credits you can take advantage of for being energy efficient?

There are a number of reasons to make your home more energy efficient, but one of the benefits is to deduct expenses and receive credits from energy efficiency upgrades. The IRS’ website states, “Residential energy property is any of the following.

- Certain electric heat pump water heaters; electric heat pumps; central air conditioners; natural gas propane, or oil water heater; and stoves that use biomass fuel.

- Qualified natural gas, propane, or oil furnaces; and qualified natural gas, propane, or oil hot water boilers.

- Certain advanced main air circulating fans used in natural gas, propane, or oil furnaces."

As far as energy efficient property credits, "you may be able to take a credit of 30% of your costs of qualified solar electric property, solar water heating property, fuel cell property, small wind energy property, and geothermal heat pump property. The credit amount for costs paid for qualified fuel cell property is limited to $500 for each one-half kilowatt of capacity of the property."

But not all tax deductions for residential property are strictly energy efficiency upgrades. There are other household expenses you can deduct from your taxes if you have relocated due to employment.

If you meet the requirements, these deductions can apply not only to expenses related to the actual moving of your household items and members, but you can deduct certain costs associated with disconnecting and connecting household utilities.

"There are often household expenses that many have no idea can be deducted from your taxes. Take the time to go over your previous year tax records to see if you missed anything. You may find there are a number of things you missed that you could also be deducting this year." http://www.wahm.com/articles/tips-for-the-wahm-how-to-deduct-household-expenses-from-your-taxes.html

Please consult with a tax pro and don't say you did your taxes strictly based on what we found. We're experts in other areas, not taxes. But if you missed out on tax credits and deductions because you haven't made energy efficiency upgrades to your residential property, we are the pros to talk to! Give us a call.

In A Perfect World

When it comes to the perfect temperature in a room, opinions are like noses; everyone has one. There’s always someone who is going to think is too hot or too cold. So is there no perfect temperature to set every thermostat in the world to that will please everyone? As every person’s internal temperature and preference is different, you can probably guess the answer to that question. But lucky for us, there are some who take it to the next level to try and understand and explain to us, though not always in layman’s terms, just how the slightest change in a room’s temperature can have a major impact on people.

Here are a few studies we found on some common areas we can all relate to…

1.  Does room temperature affect our sleep? In the following article, experts found the temperature of your sleeping area and how comfortable you feel in it affects how well and how long you snooze. 

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/cant-sleep-adjust-the-temperature

2. Does room temperature affect office productivity? Here cited case studies seem to agree that individuals are most productive when they are in a comfortable room temperature. However it's back to finding just what that perfect temperature is that everyone agrees causes discrepancy. 

http://ergonomics.about.com/od/office/a/How-Temperature-Effects-Your-Productivity.htm

3. Why are operating rooms kept so cold? We found plenty of opinions on the answer to this. It came down to two common opinions; first, that colder temperatures help reduce infection, and second, that it’s just plain hot for surgeons and nurses under the OR lights while suited in all of their garb for extended periods of time. We did find one article from 1996 that discussed both reasons and the then-new use of warming blankets to keep patients temperature at an optimal body temperature.  

http://discovermagazine.com/1996/nov/hottimesintheope931#.UyvlIPRDt8E

Well it appears the answer to that question of the perfect room temperature is no. People simply prefer to be comfortable in their surroundings and are generally healthier and more productive when a room’s temperature accommodates that. But if you’re still having trouble finding the perfect temperature and you think we can help, give us a call!

(Image source: http://www.memecenter.com/fun/658183/hot-and-cold-people)