Category: Air conditioning

Air conditioning · Budget-wise · Energy Efficiency

Save energy while running AC. Here’s how.

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You need an air conditioning unit to save your own energy, but how do you save consumable energy?

Heat burns us out. We have to stay cool to maintain physical and mental health, but it’s hard to be comfortable when you’re stressing about energy usage.

Warners’ Stellian is an expert in heating and cooling, and we know some tricks to prevent energy bills from racking up. Now, we’re going to share them with you.

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Before the season starts.

First of all, have your unit inspected and ensure it gets its maintenance each year. If it needs cleaning out, it will work 10 times harder to produce normal results. This is especially important if you live around trees.

You should also check your ducts to be sure the areas they cool are well insulated.

 

While your AC unit is running.

  • Close the vents in the lower portions of your home. Colder air naturally accumulates in these areas. So when vents are closed, AC air flows down and pushes up the cold layer of air below. This allows cool air to circulate more effectively throughout the house.

 

  • Sunlight gives direct heat when it beats in through the windows. Keep the drapes closed so the AC can do its job. This also encourages you to go outside more!

 

  • Misplacement of furniture can block the pathways for which cool air travels through. Rearrange your furniture so that it’s not in the way of any vents.

 

  • Remember that electric lights create heat. Try to keep them off unless they are needed. Another suggestion would be to switch to LED lights. 

 

  • Don’t underestimate fans. Fans will support your unit and help regulate air so it fills the room better. Fans do produce a cooling effect as well, so they can make an impact when your unit is running low or turned off.

 

  • Learn to use the “sleep mode” properly. Some of us get hot in our sleep, but your unit should be turned down at some point to prevent overuse. It’s best to adjust to a cycle where the unit runs low when there’s no natural sunlight. If you currently don’t have this feature, you can contact your energy company to install a saver switch that will cycle your unit.

 

The heat is coming.

Warners’ Stellian is offering a pre-summer special for maintenance and inspection. We want you to be comfortable this summer, so we will make sure your air conditioning unit is running at peak performance levels. 

Fill out this short form to set up an appointment today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Air conditioning · Dishwashers · Energy Efficiency · Energy Star · Events · Refrigerator · Sustainability

Appliance energy savings — on a stick

Warners' Stellian Appliance

Warner Stellian enjoys a storied history with the State Fairgrounds. And for the last few years, our appliances have made a comeback appearance at the Minnesota State Fair.

The Eco Experience, located in the Progress Center on Randall Avenue, brings together organizations, ideas, and hands-on activities to show what the fair-goers what they can do at home to help the environment.

(By the way…while you’re saving the environment…By replacing your refrigerator, washer, dishwasher and freezer from the 1980s to new Energy Star appliances you can save an average $350 a year in energy costs. Save away!)

Warner Stellian is partnering with the Fair again this year to demonstrate the options for choosing energy efficient applicances. Our display consists of a vignette of a kitchen (with island cabinet) and ENERGY STAR refrigerator, dishwasher, and other appliances with an adjacent laundry room demonstrating a HE washer and dryer.

ENERGY STAR qualified appliances incorporate advanced technologies that use up to 50% less energy and water than older models. If you’re already in the market for new appliances, choosing ENERGY STAR appliances over standard appliances will cost you an average $80 less annually in water and energy (even if they cost a few more smackeroos upfront).

Also included is an ENERGY STAR freezer, air conditioner and dehumidifier.

You’ll find tips on how to decrease the energy you use on the appliances you already own.

If you like PowerPoint, awkward blondes and saving energy, come see me at the Eco Experience Sustainability Stage this Sunday, Aug. 26 at 2:30 p.m. I’ll be showing you how to save money and energy both when you purchase new appliances  and when you use what you’ve already got at home.

Air conditioning

Keep your house cool

Warners' Stellian Appliance

I hope you’re surviving the Twin Cities ongoing heatwave, especially now that most window air conditioner units are sold out across the area.

Not only is it important to keep the cold air inside, it’s important to not create more heat for your air conditioner to cool.

Here are some easy ways to make sure you’re not making more work for your AC!

1. Run dishwasher, washer and dryer at night

If you’re in bed with a fan trained on you, the kitchen heating up won’t bother you as much…right?

2. Dry loads of clothes back to back

Though this seems to contract No. 1, the residual heat from the previous load will decrease the amount of time your dryer needs to do its magic.

3. Substitute the microwave for your range

Do you really need to use your stove, or can you boil that water or cook that soup in the microwave?

4. Don’t preheat!

If you must use your oven, just throw your food in right away to cut down on cook time. Unless you’re baking, who cares about being precise — it’s hot out! Convection baking also will reduce the necessary temperature and time by 25 degrees and 25% respectively.

5. Cover pots and pans

You’ll prevent heat loss, boil and cook faster, thus you’ll shut off your stove faster.

6. Clean your refrigerator coils

The better your fridge exhausts heat, the less it runs, thus the less heat it will give off.
>> How to clean refrigerator coils

Air conditioning · Cleaning · Refrigerator

Save your fridge from the heat – clean your coils

Warners' Stellian Appliance1 Comment

Last summer when the fan motor on my air conditioning unit kicked the bucket, I didn’t notice anything was wrong until I opened my freezer and realized my food was thawing. The kitchen was really hot, and my poor refrigerator was working overtime.

And you could hear it.

Coincidentally, my dad (and appliance savant) swung by my house to check up on the first-time homebuyer.

Upon hearing my potential food waste disaster, he asked, “Have you ever cleaned your coils?” without skipping a beat.

Blogged about it? Yes. Actually did the work myself? No.

You’d think he was shearing a lamb with the amount of thick, linty material he undearthed from my fridge’s nether regions.

But you know what? My refrigerator breathed an audible sigh of relief before quieting itself and resuming cooling. Because my condenser coils were so clogged with dust and debris, my refrigerator wasn’t able to properly cool itself down. This problem certainly was exacerbated by my broken AC, but I’m confident I would’ve been fridgeless in a matter of hours without help from my dad.

>>Read this a post for info on how to clean your refrigerator coils

About Warners' Stellian · Air conditioning · FAQ · HOW TO

Window AC shortage means you better keep yours working

Warners' Stellian Appliance

I’ve blogged previously about this summer’s air conditioning unit shortage, which will likely not be noticed until more retailers sell out (we still have stock; we were shipped 100% of our order.).

This weekend, my brother Joe Warner shared tips on what to know when buying a window AC, and more importantly, how to keep it working for summers to come.

>>Watch video here: How to maintain your window air conditioner

Really, maintenance becomes most relevant during a manufacturing shortage. If you don’t have a window air conditioner, you probably bought one or are buying one this week.

But what if you already have one, and it breaks down in the middle of July? You probably will be out of luck when trying to replace it. So stay cool and listen to my brother’s wisdom!

As always, professional installation and maintenance is a good investment to consider, and we offer easy (no-sweat, ha!) plans for you.

Air conditioning

Like to gamble? Wait to buy your window A/C

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It's gunna be a hot one!

Not much saddened me more in my former life as a Warners’ Stellian store receptionist than the summer gamblers who’d just run out on their luck. Because everyone in town had just run out of window air conditioners.

Sweaty and restless (drowning in sweat makes it hard to breathe at night), the poor souls stumbled in and asked where our air conditioning was…as if I couldn’t tell what they were going to be shopping for on a mercury-busting, 90something-degree day.

And I’d have to break the news to them that their neighbors had beat them to the punch, and our stock was sold out.

Warners’ Stellian generally stocks so many window air conditioners that we’re last to sell among our competitors, but it happens every year, no fail.

This could be you.

Stores that carry ACs typically sell out of most sizes by early to mid-July, but it looks like stock will be gone even earlier this year. Most retailers selling air conditioning units weren’t shipped the full amount of units they tried to buy. Thankfully, we got 100% of our order — even though we bought more than last year.

But supplies are limited. Window air conditioners are a seasonal item, and there’s only so many of them. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

I’m not hating on the thrifty people. I buy generic “Ultrabright” toothpaste. I wait to see if my traffic ticket will pay itself…I get it.

But don’t gamble on this one. You won’t win. You don’t have to buy your air conditioner from us, but you should buy one before they’re gone.  Don’t wait to find out when that is.

If you’re waiting till you have help to install it, good news! You don’t have to be indebted to your neighbor/brother/dad/handyman. Check out our AC service plan.

Air conditioning

Don’t know how to install your air conditioner?

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Letting someone else do the (really) heavy lifting leaves you more time to sip lemon iced tea in your accent chair.

For many living in older homes, townhouses and condos, window air conditioners are a must. But at 45-75 pounds on the low end, a window air conditioning unit could put some major heat on your back — that’s IF you can lift it.

Some of us are good enough at cooking to accrue favors from stronger people who will install our AC unit, though perhaps not as professionally as we would like.

But the real pain comes in when you need to take the window air conditioning unit out.

And we should know. Each fall for years we’ve had customers request a seasonal window air conditioner service plan, so we came up with our No-Sweat Service Plan.

For $89.95, we’ll professionally handle your window air conditioner installation (must be purchased from us).

–OR–

In the fall, for $89.95 our professional crew will uninstall your window AC, perform a maintenance cleaning on it, move it to wherever you want to store it on your property and reinstall your basic storm windows.

You don’t have to do a darn thing. And that’s cool.