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Residential HVAC

Your R22 Air Conditioner: Repair or Replace Guidelines

by Michael Rosone |

r22 air conditioner

This is an update to one of our most popular and helpful blog posts. We’ve added advice for those of you who have an older R22 AC unit that uses the Freon refrigerant which is being phased out. Here’s the original: Repair or Replace An Air Conditioner: The Right Way to Decide.

If you’ve got an aging air conditioner, you may be breathing a sigh of relief when Labor Day rolls around. You made it through another summer with the old unit! But don’t talk too soon, fall can still get steamy in NYC and if your unit is not performing as it should be, you could still experience a breakdown during a brutal week of Indian summer weather. Then you’ll need to decide whether to repair or replace it.

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Arista Improves Customer Service with Technology

by Michael Rosone |

customer service technology

It is a bit of a cliché, but it’s true: Most of us know the feeling of waiting for the cable repair or installation person to show up.

Not knowing when a service technician is going to arrive can be even more stressful when you’re a building owner or facilities manager who has to answer to frustrated tenants or a boss who is asking for updates.

At Arista, we firmly believe in leveraging technology to improve efficiency for our team and also to enhance communication in customer service.

That’s why we’ve now implemented a customer service technology designed to keep everyone informed when it’s time for an HVAC service or repair visit.

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10 Fall Maintenance Tasks That Prevent HVAC Repair

by Michael C. Rosone |

Avoid HVAC Repair With This Simple Checklist.

It’s hard to believe September is here already! You’re probably busy with back-to-school activities, the start of the football season, and picking out your Halloween costume (it’s never too early!). It’s a good thing we’re here to remind you that air conditioning maintenance needs to be on your fall to-do list.

Your air conditioner has worked hard all summer keeping your building cool. Once you shut down your system for the season, it needs to be cleaned, inspected and properly protected for the long winter ahead. If you skip these important tasks, you’re risking a major HVAC repair headache (not to mention a major expense) when you start up your air conditioner in the spring and find it’s not working.Read More

HVAC Service Contract vs. Homeowners Warranty

by Michael C. Rosone |

Have you recently moved into a new NYC residence? Congratulations! You’ve finally found the perfect home for you, and naturally you want it to stay that way.

Like many new homeowners, you may be thinking about purchasing a homeowners warranty to cover unexpected failures to major home systems like heating and cooling equipment. You may also have received a homeowners warranty as part of your purchase contract. If so, you probably feel like you’ve covered all the bases and you can breathe easy.

Not so fast.

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HVAC Service Contracts: Controlling Time, Quality & Cost

by Michael C. Rosone |

HVAC service contracts and the project management triangle

hvac service contracts
If you’re having difficulty comparing widely differing options when evaluating HVAC service contracts, it may be helpful to use the project management triangle as a guide.

Are you familiar with the project management triangle? It’s a model that describes the relationship between three opposing constraints that impact work: time, quality and cost. It means that your choices in one area impact what you get in terms of the others. For example, if you decide you need the lowest price for a commercial HVAC service contract, that choice impacts what you get in terms of quality and/or timeframe.

hvac service contracts: choosing time, quality & cost

The rule of thumb you’ll often hear with regard to time, quality and cost is that you can choose any two, but the contractor controls the third one. When it comes to HVAC service contracts, we find that this rule breaks down: getting the best quality for the lowest cost is not a realistic option, no matter how much time you throw into the equation. However, understanding the relationship between these three constraints for HVAC service contracts is a useful exercise for focusing your priorities and clarifying what you’re getting for your money.

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Smelly Air Conditioner? Get Spring Cleaning for Your AC

by Michael C. Rosone |

smelly air conditioner

Maybe you have noticed that the air in your home no longer smells fresh as a daisy and is even verging on objectionable, but you haven’t been able to put your finger on the source of this uninvited change in your living space’s atmosphere. Could it be that your home is the victim of a smelly air conditioner system and is in dire need of some HVAC spring cleaning?

You are not alone. Tis the season for malodorous problems to crop up and a common time to eradicate those unwanted odors coming from a smelly air conditioner system by undertaking a little HVAC spring cleaning. As a luxury homeowner or one who manages luxury properties, surely you should not have to put up with subpar breathing conditions. Let’s take a look at some of the possible causes for the smelly air conditioner, which has diminished the indoor air quality in your home.

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