No matter what your HVAC questions are, the experts at Olde Towne Heating & Air in North Charleston have answers. Whether you have questions about selecting new HVAC equipment to best practices on care and maintenance, we can assist. Our online FAQs answers give you a rapid response for your convenience, but if you want to know more on any topic, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 843-806-2049.

Just like you need to take your car in to the shop for regular tune-ups, such as oil changes or inspecting possible problems, your home comfort system should be subject to the same kind of attention. Regular maintenance by a skilled technician provides various benefits to your HVAC equipment, which can help your systems perform efficiently and prevent costly breakdowns.
The cost can range depending on the equipment size and different features, so we suggest contacting Olde Towne Heating & Air at 843-806-2049 to receive a quote.
Two-stage heating allows the furnace to heat at two levels of output: high for cold winter days and low for mild ones. Approximately 80 percent of the time, your homes heating requirements can be met when the furnace is set on the low setting, allowing your two-stage unit to operate for longer periods of time. Two-stage units also provide more even heat distribution, fewer temperature swings, quiet operation, better air filtration and energy efficiency.
Olde Towne Heating & Air has a selection of brands and models that are more efficient than ever and make it easier to find the correct solution for your home. There are innovative systems that make heating or cooling your home more automatic, functioning similar to cruise control to make small adjustments to help meet your comfort demands with energy efficiency. Give us a call at 843-806-2049 to learn more about the technology we offer.
Depending on how old your previous furnace was, you could experience a host of differences. Furnaces today are designed to provide more even and efficient heating than ever before. Modern furnaces also better regulate temperature and air flow, moving more air over the heat exchanger than older furnaces.

Additionally, new furnaces are crafted to operate with other high-efficiency HVAC products, such as air conditioners. The air conditioner blowers offer your heating system an extra lift so it can deliver cool air around your home efficiently. Special features like variable speed motors will also help reduce noise associated with operating your equipment and easily meet your family’s airflow needs.

The Department of Energy recently boosted the minimum efficiency levels for air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units created after Jan. 1, 2015, since heating and cooling contributes significantly to a homes total energy usage. The requirements vary by region, so call Olde Towne Heating & Air for the efficiency standards for North Charleston.
Olde Towne Heating & Air carries a number of HVAC products with high-efficiency ratings, which can help cut back the amount of energy they require to operate. Aside from picking products that have received Energy Star® certification or achieved high SEER ratings for air conditioners or AFUE ratings for furnaces, you should consider the following:

  • Making certain that your system receives regular maintenance by a trained technician can keep your system operating at its top performance.
  • Zoning systems enable you to heat or cool only targeted areas of your home, so you wont have to pay to heat or cool spaces that you don’t typically utilize.
  • Using a programmable thermostat allows you to set the temperature in your home around your schedule. They can be programmed to give you the comfort you desire when you’re home and increase or decrease the temperature while you’re not around, helping you save on utility costs.
Olde Towne Heating & Air is well-known in the North Charleston area and you can rely on them to provide quality home comfort products. We feature a variety of innovative and high-quality products. We are dedicated to offering customers high-quality service and will make sure you find the appropriate solution for your home.
Improving your home’s indoor air quality starts with four basic strategies:

    • Poor indoor air quality leaves your home full of air pollutants floating around. So, to increase IAQ, the first step is to get rid of as many pollutants as possible. You can easily do this by cleaning and vacuuming at least weekly, frequently washing linens and storing cleaning products safely.
    • Proper insulation is great for keeping your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but it also makes it difficult for airborne pollutants to escape. We carry products that help swap stale air for fresh, filtered outside air.
    • Good ventilation and regular cleaning are a start, but air filters, germicidal lights and purification systems take your IAQ to the next level by capturing microscopic particles, killing germs and getting rid of particles while destroying chemical vapors.
    • Programmable thermostats will help control the humidity levels and temperature to help prevent particles and germs from building up while also keeping your home comfortable.

We advise that you meet with one of the professionals at Olde Towne Heating & Air and have them perform an evaluation of your home and current indoor comfort system. We can help you decide which equipment will be best suited to meet your needs.

Lots of homeowners believe that air conditioners make it cooler in your house, but it actually removes the heat from inside your home, moving the hot air outside. That hot air goes across a cold indoor coil where refrigerant in the lines sends the heat to the coil in your outdoor unit, releasing the hot air outside. This cycle continues until the indoor temperature reaches the temperature you set on your thermostat.
Due to the amount of energy used by heating and cooling systems, the Department of Energy (DOE) hiked up the minimum efficiency levels for air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units manufactured after January 1, 2015. These levels are determined regionally and carry varying requirements based on your location. Olde Towne Heating & Air can answer any questions you may have regarding these minimum requirements and let you know what choices are available when you’re looking for a replacement system.
You can find these numbers on a nameplate or sticker that is near your systems service panel. The sticker should be white with black letters and have both of these numbers located near the top of the sticker. M/N denotes model number while S/N is your serial number.
There are a couple ways to determine what size system is the best fit for your home, but the most reliable way to size a system is by having your local Olde Towne Heating & Air technician come out and perform a load calculation. This calculation considers your homes: square footage, insulation value, amount of insulation, and a number of other factors.
Yes, because dirt and other debris can impede your systems ability to work efficiently. For heat pumps, it is common to have frost or ice on them during the winter, but they also are built with defrost controls to ensure they work efficiently in those types of conditions.
Two-stage cooling means that your cooling unit has two levels of operation. When summer is its warmest, the high setting is used, and when its cooler or more mild, the low setting handles the duties. Most of the time, the lower setting will take care of your cooling needs, but even when the high setting starts up, you may not realize it because it can maintain such even temperatures for your comfort. This can also mean a quieter cooling system, greater efficiency and better humidity control.
When your cooling unit freezes up, there are a couple of reasons why it could be doing so. The most typical reasons include: dirty filters, low refrigerant, a dirty evaporative coil and a faulty blower motor or relay. A dirty filter is something you can fix as a homeowner, but the others need to be completed by a professional like those at Olde Towne Heating & Air. Contact them at 843-806-2049 with any further questions you may have.
Choosing the best thermostat for your cooling system comes with a lot to think through. Thats why its nice to have such a wide variety of choices from Olde Towne Heating & Air. Whether you’re in the market for for a programmable or non-programmable thermostat or want to join the smart home trend, there are various thermostats that you have to choose from. Some thermostats will depend on what type of heating and cooling system you have, but the team at Olde Towne Heating & Air will be able to help determine what options are best for your needs and your budget.
Heat pumps can be a bit confusing due to their name, but they actually cover both your heating and cooling needs all year. When its hot outside it works like an air conditioner in that it removes heat from your home, but when it cools off, the process gets reversed and it collects heat from outside and brings it inside. Heat pumps are also very efficient, and could produce up to two or three times more heat than the energy it uses.

Of course we suggest you also replace your indoor system, but this is why:

      • All outdoor cooling systems have a matching indoor unit that they are intended to work with to ensure efficient performance. When they aren’t paired with the other unit as a total system, efficiency may suffer.
      • As with most products, advancements have brought about newer, more efficient ways of doing things. Heating and cooling systems are no different. These developments most importantly include greater heating and cooling efficiency, but also include improved air handling, filtering and noise pollution reduction to name a few.
      • Heating and cooling systems that are more than 10-15 years old typically need to be replaced. Not only do they have outdated technology, but they are also less efficient than newer models. Adding a new indoor unit at the same time means you’ll have a matched system to provide you with better comfort and efficiency for years to come.
The communication module on your home energy system could send the system’s performance records for each module to a website. You may visit this website to learn more about the system’s status, energy production and environmental benefits. The site also shows carbon offsets as it happens.
In most areas, rain will naturally clean the solar modules. If you are located in a dusty or industrial area, periodically spraying the modules with water can help improve performance. However, detergents and high-pressure hoses should never be used to clean solar modules.
The proper thermostat for you depends on your heating and cooling equipment. Olde Towne Heating & Air has programmable and nonprogrammable thermostats that can help enhance the efficiency of your HVAC systems. Check out our available products or contact us at 843-806-2049 to learn more.
Heating and cooling can make up a significant amount of your utility bill. The innovative and high-efficiency heating and air conditioning products available from Olde Towne Heating & Air can help lower these costs. If you’re searching for a new heating or cooling system, look for products with high SEER ratings for air conditioners and AFUE ratings for furnaces. SEER and AFUE are a measure of system efficiency, and the higher the number, the more efficient the product. Besides purchasing a new home comfort system, don’t forget about these additional factors:

      1. Is your system regularly maintained? Whether it’s a furnace or air conditioner, HVAC systems will operate more efficiently after regular maintenance checks.
      2. Do you need a zoning system? If there are areas in your home that are rarely used, a zoning system will allow you to heat or cool only the most used areas of your house.
      3. Are you taking advantage of a programmable or smart thermostat? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, programmable thermostats may lower your heating costs by up to 35 percent, and your cooling costs by up to 25 percent.

Zoning equipment gives you the comfort of sectioning areas of your home and control the thermostat differently in each room. Zoning equipment is ideal for when you have spaces of your residence that are seldom used or when you and your family are always in disagreement of what the temperature in each area of your home should be. Zoning systems are quiet and efficient, allowing you more control over the comfort of your family home. Find out more about the zoning equipment available from Olde Towne Heating & Air.