THE JIM BROWN COMPANY 870-425-5775
Our Family Serving Yours Since 1964
ENERGY UPGRADE QUESTIONS How do I know how much money I will save after my duct work has been blower door and duct blaster tested? The results of the test will be called into an energy office in Little Rock where data will be entered into their office software and within a matter of a few minutes the exact saving figures wil be give to you. This software takes in consideration the fuel cost and weather data of our area. Do I have to have the Jim Brown Company perform the suggested repairs ? No --- Anyone that has the tools and the ability can perform the repairs . The advantage of having the Jim Brown Company do the repairs is that they can evaluate their progress by testing the system until they have achieved the maximum result. This may take only one additional test or several to bring the system to standard. I know a system can be tested, what does the test tell me ?A system has several items that are slmost always deficient . One is dirty coils and blowers. This reduces air flow and increases cost proportionately. Systems that are not charged correctly and are low in air flow will use more energy to make less total cooling or heating. This results in more amp draw per BTU of delivered air which directly relates to energy cost and savings . I know that I can clean my condenser coil cheaper than $75.00, why does the Jim Brown Company charge so much to do this work? The cost of the repair is only part of the price of having the work done. When, in this case, the condenser coil has been cleaned the system will be retested to verify just how much good this did to improve the performance of the system. The repair is what is required to change the performance, the test is required to measure how much change the repair did. This is the only way that you will know value of the repair. Why was my system installed the way it was? My system is almost new and now the test results are telling me that additional work must be done for me to achieve the rated energy saving I purchased when I bought my equipment . Prior to our being able to test the quality of a complete system we, and all our competitors , have had to rely on our supervision and our eyes to tell us if a job was performed properly or not .That is no longer the case, the quality now can be verified and measured .The Jim Brown Company is moving forward to insure that the work they do is measured to be high quality , not just said to be . Does the JBCO install everything they do to the highest quality standard ? Unfortunately no ---Cost determines what we can or can not do. However , we will on any purchase offer the highest quality option to everything that we do and allow the customer to choose what they want to purchase. My system is new or almost new , why should I employ the Jim Brown Company to test my equipment or my whole system ? If your system has not been tested to perform to the maximum standard , then it is very highly likely that it is not performing to that standard ; brand new , recently installed , or an existing installation for many years . What will it cost me if I ask for a test on my system and nothing needs to be done ; it tests to be top quality with no changes required ? We have never had this happen, however, one day it will . When that happens we will lower the cost of the test by 50% and congratulate the owner of the system for having purchased a top quality system. Does the amount of money I pay for a system and the SEER rating not guarantee me that I have the best system possible in my home? Unfortunately no , the only way that you will know what your system is doing is to have it tested . It does not matter how much money you paid or how high the SEER rating is on the equipment , it means almost nothing unless the entire system is operating at the maximum level it can . Why has this not been done until now ? The tools and the training were not readily available prior to now .The total investment to do this work is in the neighborhood of the price of a new pick up truck. The escalating cost of energy , the lowering of the savings and the CD rates along with the slumping stock market has created the environment needed to make an energy audit become a sound investment both in real dollars and in your comfort. Energy saving has always been important, however up until now, it has not been the high quality investment that it is now. I have heard that I can get money back if I buy a high quality air conditioner ,a gas furnace or a heat pump , is that true ? There is in place right now a stimulus plan from the federal government designed to save energy .This plan will allow a qualifying home owner to receive a tax credit on their income taxes up to $1500.00 to help pay for their desired energy improvements. Does Geothermal equipment receive special treatment with the new government tax stimulus plan ? Yes it does. While standard energy improvements have a cap of $1500.00 for the tax incentive, water source equipment that qualifies for the tax credit has no llimit. A person that invests in water source equipment will receive a 30% tax credit for the full value of the installation with no upper limit ceiling. I am on a limited income and can not afford to make expensive repairs , is there anything that I can do ? Yes there is , the JBCO will allow a customer to pay for their needed repairs over a period of one year with a s simple UCC agreement similar to the co-op loan program at 3 % simple interest. In many cases the energy saving will more than replace the cost of the repairs over the period of one year. I am thinking about replacing my equipment at my home , why should I spend the extra money to have the installation tested ? New equipment is new equipment , no matter who puts it in ?Unfortunately that is wrong. Whether the JBCO or any one of the HVAC installation companies in the area install a unit , the quality of the installation will only be an opinion unless it is tested and proven to be high efficiency . What is so magical about all of this testing , and doesn't everyone in the business do good work ? What is all this fuss about testing a bout ; it sounds like a gimmick to me ?! For years a hospital operating room , a production room at Baxter Healthcare , and many other applications have had to be be tested to assure quality performance, no one, no matter who they were or what they professed to know, is allowed to work on these systems unless they are tested and proven to be the proper quality .This quality assurance has now been introduced to the residential market . There are many reasons for this , energy saving is at the top of this list of reasons. If I spend the amount of money it takes to test my system on new higher SEER unit , am I assured to save money ? Unfortunately not ...The total system performance is what you will end up with whether you put a new high SEER unit in place of your old system . Perfomance is performance , you can not purchase a racing motor and put in in your family car and expect to win at Nascar . Nor can you purchase a high SEER unit and achieve the desired results without addressing all the issues at hand . What is a blower door and what does it do ? A blower door is a device that installs in an existing outside door and evacuates the air for the structure. The amount of air extracted can be measured to determine how many leaks a structure has . This will tell us how much work must be done to deal with the infiltration these leaks create . Can I slow down the amount of dust that enters my home if I seal up the air leaks ? You certainly can .A leaky duct system and home that has leaks to the outside is the perfect environment for air infiltration . This air infiltration is not filtered so dust comes in right along with this air creating a constant dusting problem . If I was to make a choice , should I purchase the least cost lowest SEER system and test the entire system to be the best it can be made to be, or should I purchase a higher SEER unit and do not test ? The same rule applies to energy saving as it does for building boats . It is cheaper and better to have a boat that does not leak that to have a very efficient bilge pump. You would be money ahead to purchase a low SEER unit on a good total system than to put a higher SEER unit on the existing system .The best case would be to do both and that is to test the system , make the needed repairs to bring it up to standard , and install a high SEER unit . I like to do maintenance on my own equipment , why should I hire the Jim Brown Company to do this work? There is much more to cleaning and adjusting equipment then taking out a garden hose and squirting water on it . Using the proper cleaners, checking the charge to make sure it is correct , and doing just the basic things is no longer low tech checks. It takes expensive equipment and trained technicians to do this work to standard. |
