FAQs

No matter what your HVAC questions are, the experts at Mitchell Heating in Washington DC have answers. Whether you have questions about picking new HVAC equipment to best practices on care and maintenance, we can help. Our online FAQs answers offer a quick response for your convenience, but if you want to know more on any topic, don’t hesitate to give us a call at (202) 621-2247.

Call Mitchell Heating at (202) 621-2247 to get a comprehensive quote on Lennox equipment.

With two-stage heating, furnaces may work on two different levels: high and low. Since you can heat your home on the low setting a lot of the time, a two-stage furnace can operate longer and more efficiently. Two-stage heating also operates more quietly than traditional furnaces and can offer more even heat distribution and fewer temperature swings.

Lennox’s Precise Comfort™ technology is an operating and control system that allows a furnace to adjust heat and airflow by very small amounts, as low as a 1 percent change. The system is automatic and operates similar to cruise control, making adjustments gradually to meet your comfort demands with energy efficiency.

Depending on how old your previous furnace was, you could experience a variety of differences. Furnaces today are developed to offer 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 designed to work with other high-efficiency HVAC products, such as air conditioners. The air conditioner blowers offer your heating system an extra bump so it can deliver cool air around your home efficiently. Special features like variable speed motors will also help lessen noise associated with operating your equipment and easily meet your family’s airflow needs.

The Department of Energy recently increased the minimum efficiency levels for air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units manufactured after Jan. 1, 2015, since heating and cooling contributes significantly to a home’s total energy usage. The requirements vary by region, so call Mitchell Heating for the efficiency standards for Washington DC.

Heating and cooling makes up a large portion of your monthly utility bill. Getting new HVAC equipment with high efficiency ratings, such as SEER for air conditioners and AFUE for furnaces, is a simple step that can go a long way in lowering energy output. Beyond these ratings, also consider:

• Routine maintenance – regularly having a professional tune-up your equipment will keep it running at its peak potential.
• Adding a zoning system – by focusing your heating and cooling on the rooms you use most frequently, you won’t have to pay to heat or cool areas of your home that aren’t used regularly.
• Installing a programmable thermostat – the Department of Energy estimates that a programmable thermostat can lower heating costs by up to 35 percent and cooling costs by up to 25 percent. Leave it up to your thermostat to turn down the heat when you’re not around and bring it back up to your preferred temperature when you’re home.

There are many reasons to pick Lennox, but the top three are:

• You know and trust the name – Lennox is known around the world for its quality home comfort products.
• Innovation and high quality – Lennox is an industry leader, providing a huge line of innovative solutions for your home comfort needs.
• Commitment to excellence – We are dedicated to offering customers not only quality products, but also quality service. You can trust Lennox dealers, like those of us at Mitchell Heating, to help you choose the right system for your home, expertly install it, and keep it running smoothly every time.

Improving your home’s indoor air quality starts with four basic strategies:

• Eliminate – poor indoor air quality leaves your home filled with air pollutants floating around your home, so to improve IAQ, the first step is to get rid of as many pollutants as possible. You can easily do this is by cleaning and vacuuming at least once a week, frequently washing linens and storing cleaning products safely.
• Ventilate – 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. Products like our Healthy Climate® ventilation system help exchange stale air for fresh, filtered outside air.
• Clean – good ventilation and regular cleaning are a start, but Healthy Climate® air filters, germicidal lights and PureAire™ purification systems take your IAQ to the next level by holding microscopic particles, killing germs and removing particles and germs while destroying chemical vapors.
• Monitor – programmable thermostats will help you keep an eye on the humidity levels and temperature to help prevent particles and germs from piling up and keep your home comfortable.

Our Healthy Solution Finder lets you select details specific to your family and home and will help you find equipment best suited to meet your needs. You may also consult with Mitchell Heating techs who can make a recommendation based on their evaluations of your home and your current indoor comfort system.

You might be surprised to know that air conditioners don’t technically make your home cooler; they actually remove the hot air and move it outside. This hot air is pushed across a refrigerant coil on the indoor unit and then is sent to the outdoor unit where it is released. Your air conditioner moves as much hot air outside as is necessary to reach the temperature you have set on your thermostat.

Minimum energy efficiency standards vary by region. Additionally, air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units made after Jan. 1, 2015, have higher minimum efficiency levels than products manufactured prior to that date. The team at Mitchell Heating can help you determine the minimum requirements for Washington DC, let you know if your current products meets those requirements or help you find a replacement air conditioner that does.

Your system’s service panel will have a white label on it, with your system’s model and serial numbers at the top. M/N is the model number and S/N is the serial number.

Since equipment size needs vary by home, the best way to find out the proper size equipment for your home is to have a technician from Mitchell Heating come out to perform load calculation tests. The tests take measurements such as square footage, insulation value and amount, and more into account to determine your home’s individual HVAC equipment needs.

Yes – debris can limit your system’s ability to function effectively. It’s not uncommon for heat pumps to have frost or ice on them in the winter, but many include defrost controls so they can work efficiently regardless of the weather conditions.

When a cooling system uses two-stage cooling, it means that there are two levels of operation. This enables the system to work more efficiently since there is one level for milder weather and another for harsher weather that demands the system work harder. Two-stage cooling also enables almost unnoticeable temperature changes so you don’t experience extreme differences in temperature. Aside from better efficiency, other benefits of two-stage cooling include quieter operation and improved humidity control.

When your cooling unit freezes up, there are a number of reasons why it could be doing so. The most common reasons include: dirty filters, low refrigerant, a dirty evaporative coil and a faulty blower motor or relay. A dirty filter is something you can take care of as a homeowner, but the others need to be fixed by a professional like those at Mitchell Heating. Contact them at (202) 621-2247 with any further questions you may have.

Mitchell Heating offers a number of great thermostat options for your HVAC systems. The best thermostat for you will depend on a variety of variables, such as whether you want one that’s programmable or not. No matter what kind of thermostat you’d like – or if you’re searching for something that can fit with a home automation system – call Mitchell Heating to hear about which thermostats you can choose from. Our team will help you find one that fits with your system, your family’s needs and your budget.

A heat pump can tackle both your home’s heating and cooling needs, offering you one HVAC system that can be used in all four seasons. In the warmer months, heat pumps act like an air conditioner, capturing the hot air from inside your home and moving it outside; in the cooler months, this process is reversed. Heat pumps can be very energy efficient and may produce two to three times more heat than the energy it uses.

• Nowadays, outdoor systems are built to work with their matching indoor system for the most efficiency. When you replace one system but not the other, you may not see the same savings on your energy bills as if you had replaced them together.
• Thanks to technological innovation, newer systems mean better efficiency. This is true for heating and cooling products as well. While the advancements focus on greater heating and cooling efficiency, they also include benefits such as better air handling, filtering and noise reduction.
• If your heating and cooling systems are over 10 years old, they need to be replaced. Older models have outdated technology that is likely adding to your energy costs due to poor efficiency. So by replacing your indoor system at the same time as your outdoor equipment, both your systems will provide better energy efficiency that helps you lower your energy bills and keep your home more comfortable.

Yes. Your SunSource® Home Energy System has a communication module that transfers the system’s performance data to a website. The website shows your system’s status, energy production and environmental benefits, as well as carbon offsets in real time.

Yes, you will need an Internet connection if you want to use the system’s online monitoring system. The system allows you to view energy production and environmental information. The monitoring service is provided at no cost for five years, and the performance-monitoring website is maintained by an independent third party, Enphase Energy Inc.

Rain will clean the modules automatically in most areas; however, if you live in a dusty area, you could see improved performance after periodically spraying the modules with water. Please note that high-pressure hoses and detergents should never be used to clean solar modules, as they can ruin the product.

Mitchell Heating can help you find the right thermostat for you based on your home and current heating and cooling equipment. We have a selection of programmable and nonprogrammable thermostats, which can help enhance the efficiency of your home’s furnace and/or air conditioner. View our thermostats or give us a call at 202-655-5523 for more information.

Your furnace and air conditioner can contribute significantly to your monthly utility bills. However, these costs can be lowered with innovative and high efficiency products from Lennox®. You’ll want to look for high SEER and AFUE ratings when you’re in the market for a new air conditioner or furnace, respectively, as higher SEER and AFUE ratings signify higher efficiency products. If you’re not purchasing new heating and cooling equipment, consider factors such as: 1. Maintenance: Furnaces, air conditioners and other HVAC equipment work more efficiently when they are regularly maintained. 2. Zoning: When parts of your home are rarely used, you’re spending more money to heat or cool them to the same temperature as the rest of the house. A zoning system enables you to section off different areas of your home and control the temperature by each area. 3. Programmable Thermostats: Programmable thermostats could help you lower your heating costs by 35 percent and your cooling costs by 25 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

A zoning system allows you to divide your home and heat or cool each area differently. While these systems work well for homes that have areas that are rarely used, they can also be beneficial in situations where you and your family can’t agree on the temperature in certain parts of your home. There are a collection of additional benefits of zoning systems, including efficiency and comfort. Browse our selection of zoning systems or give Mitchell Heating a call to see how a zoning system could work for your home.