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Here are some frequently asked questions covering many important heating, cooling and air quality issues. If you have additional questions, please contact us by email at: info@dwyeroil.com.
What makes Dwyer service special?
Our technicians are trained on
site and at remote locations by in house personnel or manufacturers. This is ongoing as the technology changes rapidly and we want our technicians up to speed. We employ technicians at Dwyers who have been serving our customers from two to thirty years. When certification programs became necessary our technicians were tested and approved.
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What does the boiler do and how will I know there is a problem?
A boiler is a heating unit that uses water (or steam) circulated throughout the home in a system of baseboard heating units, radiators, radiant panels, and/or in floor radiant tubing. The common fuels used to heat the boiler water are fuel oil and natural gas. Boilers may need to be replaced if they start to leak water or if the homeowner wants to upgrade to achieve higher fuel efficiencies and save money on heating bills. See Buderus Boilers
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What does the furnace do and how will I know there’s a problem?
A heating unit that heats air by transferring heat in a metal combustion area to the air and circulating it through the house in a network of ducts. The common fuels used to heat the air circulated through the furnace are fuel oil, natural gas, and electricity. Furnaces may need to be replaced if the heat exchanger cracks or if the homeowner wants to upgrade to achieve higher fuel efficiencies and save money on heating bills. An air conditioning system can normally be added to a furnace. See KERR and CARRIER furnaces
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What does the water heater do and how will I know there’s a problem?
A water heater is a heating unit that provides domestic hot water. They can generally be direct fired (fuel oil, natural gas, and electric are common), tankless, or indirect fired (operating with the boiler). See Buderus indirect, Bradford White
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What do I need to know to initiate a service call?
Make sure that no switches were accidentally turned off. Check the thermostat to be sure it is calling to provide heat or air conditioning. Please be aware of the coverage on your service plan. Call our number and request a service call with a brief description of the problem
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What should I look for when choosing replacement equipment?
The first thing you should evaluate is your comfort needs. For example, “am I satisfied with the amount of domestic hot water that I now receive from my existing appliance?” or…. “can I reduce my energy bills by investing in a new heating or cooling system?” Generally speaking a mature, reputable company partners with quality and efficient equipment and many homeowners usually go with that equipment for replacements. The contractors choose that equipment because of several things, but most of all, dependability, efficiency, and after sale local support in the event there is a problem. The line of heating and air conditioning equipment Dwyer installs, we feel, is the best value (please link to our lines in the other sections of our web site) for efficiency, dependability, and product support. We have access to many brands of equipment and if you are doing your own research we would be happy to answer any questions you may have on comparisons.
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If I don't have allergies, why do I need an air cleaner?
The EPA says that indoor air is on average 7-10 times worse than outdoor air, even if you live in a city. Air has a direct path into our bodies and a direct effect on our health and well being. Besides allergies, poor air quality is linked to a number of problems: fatigue, asthma, respiratory aliments, the spread of flu and other disease, and even cancer.
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What's wrong with the furnace filters that I buy at the hardware store?
A furnace filter is just that: a filter to help your furnace equipment stay clean. In fact, most filters are in heating and cooling equipment to protect the equipment, not the people. They do almost nothing to improve the air quality from a health standpoint.
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What about a room air cleaner?
Most supplemental room air cleaners can help clean the air in a room or two. However, by installing an air cleaner in your home's central forced air system, you will clean the entire house. Further, many room air cleaners use high-efficiency passive filters, which require powerful, and therefore loud, fans to move the air. This can be an annoyance.
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Why not buy one of those filters advertised on the radio by Paul Harvey or Rush Limbaugh?
These are called passive electrostatic filters. Their fibers have a slight static charge. As airborne particles move through them, they can be attracted to the fibers, the way rubbing a balloon on a sweater will make it stick. They are a lot better than the $2 throwaway 1" filters, but they can cause some problems in residential systems. As a passive electrostatic fiber loads up with contaminants, its fibers become coated with particles and the "balloon effect" stops. This can happen quickly and the filter is only effective against larger particles in the air, over 5.0 microns. Further, in order for a passive electrostatic filter to work, it must be dense and therefore restrictive to airflow. In many homes this can cause poor heating and cooling in the upper level of the home or in the rooms farthest from the air handling equipment. As the filter loads up, it becomes even more restrictive. This not only makes the air conditioning equipment work inefficiently, but can actually damage it. In fact, some electric utilities tell their customers not to use passive electrostatic filters. Because Dynamic Air Cleaners use a high voltage to create an active electrostatic field inside the Panel, they are able to use a very sparse media that is not restricted to airflow. Dynamic Air Cleaners also improve in efficiency as they operate, while capturing the very smallest particles in the air, such as bacteria, smoke, mold spores, pollen and many more. In a recirculating air system, like the one in your house, a Dynamic Air Cleaner collects over 97% of the particles that are 0.3 microns and larger.
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What is a micron and why should I care about small particles?
A micron is 1/25,000th of an inch. A human hair is about 150 micros; the smallest thing that can be seen with the naked eye is about 10 microns. It is the largest particles, above 5.0 microns, that cause equipment problems and are what most filters are able to catch. However, 98% of the particles in the air are smaller than 1.0 micron. These "sub-micron" particles are not caught by most filters and get through our bodies' natural defenses when inhaled. Further, they can stay suspended in the air for days until they are breathed in. An increasing number of studies have found these sub-micron particles to be a significant health hazard. As an allergy sufferer can tell you, what you can't see can hurt you. To effectively clean the air, the sub-micron particles must be removed. Dynamic Air Cleaners will remove up to 98% of these particles on a multiple pass basis. For example, when tested by the Canadian Department of Health in a test home, after 10 hours of operation, Dynamic Air Cleaner was able to remove 97% of the particles in the 0.3-0.5 micron range and 99% of the particles larger than 0.5 microns. And our efficiency actually increases as the filter loads with pollutants.
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Does the Dynamic Air Cleaner create a snapping sound or produce Ozone?
No. Dynamics are non-ionizing air cleaners that create no nuisance noises or Ozone. Rather than ionizing, Dynamic work by assigning polarity to both the particles and in the air and the fibers of the media pad. This gives each a negative pole and a positive pole, essentially turning them into magnets. The particles are then attracted to other particles (making them easier to catch) and to the media fibers. Just as paper clips on a magnet attract other paper clips, the dirt captured becomes part of the collecting surface, giving the air cleaner increasing efficiency as it loads.
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I have had an electronic air cleaner before and noticed a thin coat of dust on a lot of surfaces, especially on my TV screen. Will this air cleaner do the same thing?
No. Dynamics do not create charged particles that will cling to grounded surfaces in the home. Electronic air cleaners to date have worked by ionizing (positively charging) the particles in the air. Then they try to capture them on negatively charged or grounded collection plates. This works fairly well at first, but as the plates load up with positive particles, they lose their attraction and the air cleaner loses its efficiency. The positively charged particles will then stick to any grounded (walls and ductwork) or charged (a TV screen) surface.
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Is the Dynamic Air Cleaner hard to install?
No. In most homes, the Dynamic will install in an existing 1" filter slot. In a few cases, a filter track may need to be installed. Dynamics require a 24 volt power input. This can be taken either off the 24 volt system of your furnace or from a plug-in transformer supplied by EDG.
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I currently have an electronic air cleaner, does it need to be removed?
No. A Dynamic Air Cleaner can fit right into where the two main cells are. A spacer will need to be installed to provide a 1" track and the power to the old air cleaner should be turned off or disconnected. This type of retrofit generally takes a 20"x25" Dynamic. To check this, measure the size of the two cells side by side.
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What is involved in the maintenance of the Dynamic and how often does it have to be done?
This will vary a little from house to house. Generally, we recommend that media be changed 3 times a year. The media pad is disposable and changing it only takes a couple of minutes. When changing the media, you should also check for face-loaded dust on the panel's outer screens. If the dust built up, it can be brushed or vacuumed off.
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Can I use any media?
No. A Dynamic will not work with standard filter medias. While our pad may look like a plain piece of media, if you look closely you will see that there is an activated carbon center screen bonded into it. This patented configuration not only absorbs odors, but also conducts the electrical charge that creates the polarizing field. Standard media cannot do this.
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Is this replacement media expensive?
Not really. It costs about $5 a month to insure clean, fresh, safe, healthy air in your home. And when compared to the time and expense of other high efficiency alternatives, it is very economical. Electronic air cleaners must be cleaned monthly. While the manufacturer may tell you to wash it in the dishwasher, the manufacturer of the dishwasher will tell you not to. This means you must take the cells to a car wash or have a service clean them. The cells should also be chemically stripped each year, which generally costs $50. If the unit is equipped with a carbon panel for odor control, these can cost $100 to $160 per year to replace. High efficiency passive filters, such as HEPA'S, costs hundreds of dollars to replace and may also have carbon inserts that further adds to the cost.
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How do I know my air cleaner size?
Pull your current air filter out of your air handler; the size should be written on the side. If your filter is media only and does not indicate the size, measure the media. If you have a filter that is wrapped around the bottom of the air handler, please call for instructions.
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How long has the Dynamic Air Cleaner been around?
Dynamics have been manufactured for over twelve years and used extensively in Canada, Japan and commercial applications around the world. They are used in "clean" manufacturing, casinos, hospitals and food processing and are now available to clean the air that is most important to you - the air that you and your family breathe.
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How should we operate the Dynamic Air Cleaner?
Any air cleaner can only be effective if the air is moving through. Therefore in most areas, for maximum effectiveness, we recommend that your thermostat be turned to the fan "on" position rather than "auto" position. This will give continuous air cleaning. This only takes a small amount of electricity, but makes a significant difference in the air quality of your home. Otherwise, the Dynamic will only be cleaning when you are heating or cooling. In the spring and fall when your air conditioning system is not on very often, we won't be cleaning the air very often either. The only exception to the "fan on" recommendation is in very high humidity areas. If you live in such an area, please consult your Dynamic dealer for operating recommendations.
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