Polar Bear Air Conditioning & Heating Inc. Blog: Posts Tagged ‘McLean VA’

What Are the Two Types of Electronic Air Cleaners?

Friday, February 20th, 2015

When it comes to cleaning your air with a whole-home product, there are a lot of choices, even within the choices. The two main categories of air cleaners are mechanical and electronic, and today we’re going to talk about what an electronic air cleaner can do for your McLean, VA, home.

Two Types

There are two types of electronic air cleaners: electrostatic precipitators (also known as electronic precipitators) and ion generators. Each uses electricity to remove contaminants from your home, but does so differently.

Electronic Precipitators

This type of electronic air cleaner works by drawing particles to it and charging them so they can be captured. A fan pulls air into an enclosed space known as an ionization section. In this section, all the particles are negatively charged; as the newly-charged particle continue to move through the device until they come into contact with oppositely-charged metal plates that capture the particles. The plates should be cleaned every 3 months to ensure proper functioning.

Ion Generators

Ion generators also charge particles, but do so in a less methodical way.  The way an ion generator helps clean the air is by dispersing negatively-charged ions into the air; these ions attach to particles in your indoor air and become a single, negatively-charged unit. There are no collection plates with an ion generator; instead, the particles are attracted to your surfaces in your home, such as walls, tabletops and countertops, and collect there. When these surfaces are cleaned, the contaminants are removed.

Both types of air cleaners can be added seamlessly to your current HVAC system.

Which Is Best?

Determining which type of electronic air cleaner will work best in your home can be best decided with the help of a trained indoor air quality expert. For almost 15 years, the indoor air quality professionals at Polar Bear Air Conditioning & Heating Inc., have been helping customers throughout the Washington, DC, area improve their indoor air quality.

If you are concerned about your indoor air quality and interested in an electronic air cleaner, call the experts at Polar Bear Air Conditioning & Heating Inc., today!

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How to Tell that You Need Commercial Heating Repair

Thursday, December 18th, 2014

If you own your own business, you know that a business owner has to deal with a whole host of issues that a private citizen never has to think about. One subject on which the two share quite a few qualities, however, is heating repair. Commercial heating repair is not all that different from home heating repair, except in terms of scale and consequences. The last thing you want is customers coming into your building and being uncomfortably hot or cold. With that in mind, let’s take a look at these signs that you need commercial heating repair.

Short-Cycling

This is a nasty one. Short-cycling is what happens when your heating system keeps turning itself on and off rapidly throughout the day. It is caused by the heating system’s limit switch, which is responsible for regulating the system’s internal temperature. When the limit switch detects that the system is overheating, it shuts the whole thing down to prevent it from damaging itself. Unfortunately, this is only a stop-gap measure. Once the system has cooled off sufficiently, it starts back up and overheats again because the root cause has not been addressed. This can cause an incredible amount of damage to the system. If you notice this happening, call a professional right away.

Odd Noises

One of the classic indications of heating trouble, odd noises are almost never a good sign when they’re coming from your heating system. A squealing sound often indicates that your air handler’s fan belt is close to breaking. If that happens, your air handler will be unable to actually circulate air through the ducts.

A grinding noise is a sign that the bearings on your motor might be wearing out. The bearings are responsible for keeping the motor running smoothly. As they age, however, they can run out of good oil with which to keep the friction down. This causes the motor to fight against more and more friction until it eventually burns out.

If you are experiencing trouble with your commercial heating system, call Polar Bear Air Conditioning & Heating Inc. We provide commercial heating services throughout McLean, VA

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