D'Spain Sales and Service Blog

Is Ductless Heating in Bandera a Good Choice?

November 19th, 2014

That all depends on what you’re looking for. There was a time, not too long ago, when ductless units were almost exclusively used in apartments and other living spaces that could not afford central heating. That time is long past, and now more and more people are using ductless units as their main method of heating their home. Let’s examine why you might want to choose a ductless heating system for your home.

What is a Ductless Heating System?

A ductless heating system is comprised of a single heater with two parts, an interior and an exterior. The interior part of the unit is installed inside the room that needs to be heated, usually on the wall or ceiling. The exterior section is installed on the outside of the house, usually on the other side of the wall from the interior unit. When the heat is turned on, the exterior unit siphons thermal energy from the air and sends it to the interior unit, where it is used to warm and circulate air in the room.

There are two main differences between this kind of heating and more traditional heating systems. The first is that, as the name implies, the unit eschews ducts completely. This means that a ductless unit can only heat the room in which it is installed. The second difference is that the ductless heater does not utilize combustion to generate heat, instead operating more like a heat pump to move heat from outside the home inside.

Advantages of Ductless Systems

So, why would you want to install a ductless system to heat your home? Well, ductless systems are a very energy efficient choice for heating. They don’t lose any of their heat to duct leaks, like other systems do, and they don’t burn fuel to create their heat. All they need is electricity to operate. This can save you a great deal of money on your heating bills. They also provide a lot of control over the climate in your home. Since each ductless system is installed with its own thermostat, multiple units throughout the house can allow each person to set the temperature however he or she wants.

If you’re thinking of installing a ductless heating system, call D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. to set up a service appointment today. We provide quality heating service in the Bandera, TX area.

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How Electronic Air Purifiers Work

November 12th, 2014

If you ask around about options for improving the air quality in your home, you’re likely to hear a lot about electronic air purifiers, or “ionizers.” These ionization filters are toted as a great way to remove a lot of contaminants from your air, but few homeowners actually understand how they work. Let’s examine what makes electronic air purifiers work, and why you might want one for your home.

What is an Electronic Air Purifier?

The purpose of any air purifier is to improve air quality by removing contaminants from the surrounding air, preventing them from circulating. An electronic air purifier does this by creating a static field around itself. As air molecules pass through this static field, they pick up extra electrons that give them a negative charge. They will then be attracted to any positively charged surface. Most ionizers have one or two metal plates in them for this purpose, to attract the charged air molecules and the particulates they are carrying. The plates can then be cleaned and the particulates disposed of.

What are the Benefits of Electronic Air Purifiers?

Electronic ionization purifiers have a few advantages over other air purification systems. Because they draw particles in with ionization rather than passively filtering them out of the air, they tend to capture many more particles than other systems. Both organic and inorganic pollutants can be removed in this way. They also tend to be used more as portable units, saving you the time and expense of installing them in the actual ductwork of the house. However, there are some things you should consider before buying one.

Though the negatively charged air molecules usually end up on the metal plates inside the purifier, they can also stick to the walls, floor, and furniture of a room. They are not circulating through the air, which is good. However, these clumps of particles can occasionally manifest as black spots which can stain the objects they land on. Electronic air purifiers can also produce ozone, a gas that is itself a pollutant according to the EPA.

If you’d like to know more about electronic air purifiers, call D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. to schedule an appointment with us today. We professionally install air purifiers throughout Helotes.

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Signs You Need Heating Repair for Your Furnace

November 5th, 2014

Whole-home heating systems are designed to be durable, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be repair-free. Understanding the signs that it may be time for furnace repair helps both you and your system. It isn’t advisable for homeowners to work on heating systems themselves, so knowing when to call for heating repair in Fair Oaks Ranch, TX is necessary. The experienced technicians at D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc., can assist with any heating repair, so call us today.

Signs It’s Time for Repair

  • No heat – clearly, if you have no heat, there’s an issue with your furnace. However, there can be multiple reasons why your system won’t work: a faulty thermostat, problems with ignition or even a dirty burner. Because there is such a wide range of possibilities, it’s best to let a professional find the cause and repair it.
  • Not enough heat – not feeling enough heat blowing into your home can be an indication of fan problems, such as a malfunctioning fan motor or worn belt; faulty ductwork, which is allowing too much air to escape; or an issue with the heat exchanger. Unless you have expert knowledge of your system, call a technician for assistance.
  • Strange noises – booming, banging, clicking – these are all sounds that shouldn’t emanate from your furnace. A booming sound can indicate delayed ignition, which can be a potentially dangerous situation; banging can indicate that loose parts are bouncing around your fan area; and clicking can indicate a pilot light issue. If you hear a noise, don’t ignore it, even if your system appears to still be working. Instead, call a trained technician to determine the cause of the sound.
  • Increased energy bills – are you seeing a big spike in your energy usage, but haven’t changed the way you use your heating system? Higher energy usage can be indicative of a system under stress. There can be several reasons for this, which is why it’s best to call a professional.

Repairs do not improve over time, and will most likely become worse. If you are in need of heating repair in Fair Oaks Ranch, TX, call the people you can trust: D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc.

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Some of Your Water Filtration Options

October 30th, 2014

A clean, potable water supply is important to every homeowner. Your family’s health is your top priority, which is why so many homeowners utilize water filtration systems to keep their drinking water free of contamination. Some homeowners choose to only filter their drinking water with a localized filter in the kitchen. But if your water supply contains contaminants, every portion of your plumbing is affected, and the safest choice is installing a whole-home water filtration system.

So how do you know which type of system to purchase? An expert will always test your water first to discover what specific contaminants affect your home. Then, the technician may recommend one of the following water filtration systems. For more information about water filtration systems in Boerne, contact the knowledgeable professionals at D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc.

  • Chemical Feed Pump: A chemical feed pump is a system used exclusively to treat well water. Groundwater may be affected by pesticides, fuel leaks in the soil, or other environmental issues. A chemical feed pump can target the contaminants that are specific to your area to keep your water safe.
  • Whole-House Water Filters: A whole-house water filtration system can filter out common contaminants and some sediment, allowing few stray particles to pass through.
  • Iron Filter: You may choose to install an iron filter to specifically filter out iron, a mineral that can cause problems with your plumbing system, stain your dishes and laundry, and leave a poor taste in your mouth.
  • UV Water Treatment: A UV water treatment system uses an ultraviolet light to kill microorganisms such as viruses and bacteria.
  • Water Softener: A water softener is a safeguard against “hard water,” filtering out minerals like magnesium and calcium. These minerals can build up in the pipes over time, leading to reduced water pressure and eventually ruining your plumbing system.

Have you noticed that your water smells or tastes strange or spears an unusual color? Are you worried about the effects of hard water on your plumbing system? Do you want water testing to find out what types of contaminants may plague your pipes? Call the water treatment specialists at D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. and ask about installing water filtration systems in Boerne.

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What Is a GFCI Outlet and Why Are They a Good Idea?

October 29th, 2014

We all know that water and electricity don’t mix, and the risk of electrical shock is not worth taking a chance with your electrical appliances. However, water can come into contact with your electrical appliances even when you don’t expect it, and other electrical accidents may also occur. That’s why many bathrooms and kitchens contain GFCI outlets, which you may recognize from the “test” and “reset” buttons on the fixture.

GFCI outlets help protect you and your family members from the very real risk of electrical shock. In fact, some municipalities mandate the installation of GFCI outlets in certain areas of home, while most experts strongly recommend them. And some homeowners choose to install these outlets throughout the house for increased safety or to increase the property value.

When you need GFCI outlet installation, D’Spain Sales & Services, Inc. is an exceptional choice for a professional electrician in Bandera.

How It Works

There are three slots in any modern outlet. The larger left slot is known as “neutral” while the right slot is called “hot.” The hole at the bottom, which is non-existent in older outlets designed to accommodate two-pronged plugs, is called “ground.” The ground is meant to protect you from electrical shock from metal-encased appliances. But a ground-fault circuit interrupter provides even greater protection.

Normally, an electrical current flows from hot to neutral. Electricity flows from hot through the electrical appliance and back to the neutral slot. If something interrupts the circuit, such as water, the risk is that the current will flow to you instead, leading to electrical shock. A GFCI outlet senses any change in the current quickly, shutting off the power immediately.

Why Choose Professionals for Installation

Installing a GFCI outlet is only a job for a trained professional. This is mostly for safety reasons as a technician has the right tools for the job. A trained electrician can also let you know if additional areas of the home need protection as well, such as a laundry room or an outside outlet.

D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. is an outstanding choice when you need an electrician in Bandera. Call us today!

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Is It Time to Upgrade Your Service Panel?

October 22nd, 2014

The service panel, also known as the breaker box or electrical panel, is the steel box inside or outside of your house that controls how electricity is routed throughout your home. You need a breaker box to break up the power that reaches your home in order to distribute it to different areas and specific fixtures as needed. This panel contains various circuit breakers that allow you to quickly shut off power to the entire structure or to individual areas only. The breaker panel also trips as a safety measure when it senses an overcurrent or an electrical short in order to protect your home. For this reason, it’s important to make sure your service panel is only installed and serviced by skilled and certified technicians.

For quality electrical services in Helotes, trust the experts at D’Spain Sales & Services, Inc. whenever you need an electrician.

Reasons to Consider Upgrading Your Service Panel

Eventually, you may decide to upgrade the service panel for any of the following reasons.

  • You want to upgrade from fuses to circuit breakers. Breaker boxes are sometimes called “fuse boxes” because they once contained fuses instead of breakers. When the electrical current coming into the home was unsafe, the fuses would blow in order to protect your home from fire. Today’s service panels instead use circuit breakers that switch on and off, so you won’t need to replace a fuse every time. Many homeowners choose to upgrade to this modern feature.
  • You want to add new circuits but your panel has maxed out. Many service panels max out when the panel is installed and construction of the home is completed. If you want to add circuits for any reason, generally due to home renovations, you will need to upgrade your panel or add a sub panel along with your older one.
  • Your older service panel is of inferior quality. Finally, you may simply decide to upgrade because your older system is out of date or simply does not work as it should.

No matter what the reason for your upgrade, call D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. for a reliable electrician in Helotes today!

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Advantages of a Solar Pump for Your Water Well

October 15th, 2014

Choosing the right pump for your water well depends on a variety of factors. First, you’ll need to make sure that the type of pump you choose works best for your home, whether it is a submersible pump or a jet pump. Then, you need a qualified professional to decide which size pump works best for your needs. And one further consideration could have a major impact on your satisfaction with your pump: deciding to go solar.

Using solar energy with your water well simply involves the use of PV (photovoltaic) panels in conjunction with your well pump. Solar energy has become more and more prevalent today, so it is not too difficult to add solar energy to more of the home conveniences you rely on every day.

Learn more about the advantages of solar pumps here, and be sure to schedule water well services in Boerne with D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc., serving the Texas Hill Country for over 40 years.

Cuts Energy Spending

Water wells offer advantages over public water supplies, as you won’t have to worry about paying for water usage with your utility bills. However, your pump consumes electricity, which could add up over the years. Using solar energy for one of the tasks around your property, such as the water well pump, may significantly reduce your spending every month.

Works with Any Type of Pump

Your well uses one of two types of pumps: a submersible pump or a jet pump. Jet pumps are the most common type used in homes, pulling water from above the well using a vacuum. A submersible pump, on the other hand, is submerged in the water, pushing water up into the pipe. In either case, a PV panel can provide an alternative power source for any size pump.

Professional Service for Every Step of the Process

If you hire an experienced professional for solar pump installation, you may get better pressure and need fewer repairs over time. A technician can install the pump and the PV panels and give you professional advice about maintaining your unit for years to come.

For professional water well services in Boerne, call the experts at D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. today!

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Benefits of LED Lights for Your Outdoor Lighting

October 8th, 2014

Increasing the outdoor lighting for your home is an excellent way to make your home safer and more attractive, as well as to increase the hours you can enjoy outdoor recreational areas, such as pools and patios.

However, those outdoor lights will add up to an immense amount of wattage, making them potentially expensive to run. That’s why we recommend you have LED lights installed for your outdoor lighting in Boerne, TX. Our professionals at D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. can help create a new energy-friendly lighting scheme for the outside of your home using LED light bulbs. You will notice the difference when you hire skilled electricians like those on our team.

The Advantages of Using LED Lights

Light emitting diodes (LED) provide light as powerful as that from incandescent and florescent lights, but they require significantly less energy to run. Here are some of the benefits that LED light bulbs provide:

  • Energy saving: Imagine using 80% less energy to power the lights outside your house. That’s a huge difference, and that is what LED lights do. They only lose 20% of the energy they use to heat, where standard bulbs lose 80%.
  • Longevity: The savings grow even larger when you consider the average lifespan of an LED light bulb is 10 times greater than a traditional bulb. The average LED bulb will burn for 100,000 hours, which means it could burn steadily for 11 straight years. You’ll receive 4 times the savings over 10 times the lifespan.
  • Less heat: Because of their high energy-efficiency, LED lights emit a small amount of heat. You won’t have to worry about the lights making summer nights too uncomfortable.
  • Good for the environment: LED lights do not contain harmful elements like mercury that could end up in landfills. And you will send far fewer bulbs to the landfills because of their long lifespans: you can expect to throw away 25 incandescent light bulbs for every one LED light bulb.

LED lights do cost more to purchase upfront than standard bulbs; however, this is a small price to pay when you consider their energy savings and immense lifespan. LED lights start to pay for themselves the moment they first come on. The LED lights now available for outdoor use have expanded from the older narrow-beam models, and they can now fill a variety of functions. Ask your electrical installer about ways to make the most out of your new outdoor lighting set-up with LED light bulbs.

At D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. we offer many different options for outdoor lighting in Boerne, TX and the rest of Texas Hill Country. Contact us today to learn more about our different lighting and electrical services, and the ways that we can help you conserve energy.

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Why You Need a Whole House Surge Protector

October 1st, 2014

When people think of power surges (also known as voltage spikes), they usually imagine a lightning bolt striking an electrical cable, causing all the lights in a home to suddenly glow bright white and then go to black. This is a realistic scenario…but it is also not one of the more common causes for power surges in a home.

The voltage spikes that are more likely to affect your house on a routine basis are the smaller ones that happen because of power fluctuations along the electrical lines that occur when a large appliance (a refrigerator, air conditioner, heating system, etc.) make an increased demand on the power supply. The voltage imbalance causes a sudden increase in power flow to one or more of the outlets. This may not cause a light to burn out or a circuit breaker to trip, but it can damage precision appliances over time.

The best way to defend against both small and catastrophic power surges is with a whole-house surge protector installed into the electrical panel. You can contact D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. in Bandera, TX for electrical services that will hook up your home for comprehensive surge protection.

What Whole-House Surge Protection Does

You might wonder why you need a whole-house surge protector at all when you already have power strips on the outlets. Power strip are an effective level of defense against surges: they serve as a fuse that cuts off the power from an outlet when it rises above 120 volts, and this helps protect high-end devices like computer hard drives and entertainment systems that contain microprocessors susceptible to high voltage.

However, point-of-use power strips are rarely enough. To protect all of the appliances in your home, you would need power strips for every single outlet, and it would still not be enough since many appliances are hard-wired directly into the electrical system. Power strips are also insufficient defense against massive surges that can come from lightning strikes or utility company errors; these simply overwhelm the power strip and reach the appliance anyway. A whole-house surge protector can defend against these massive voltage spikes because it redirects the energy from the surge down into the grounding of the home.

Having a whole-house surge protector installed doesn’t mean you should throw away the power strips you use for computers and other equipment with microprocessors. It’s always wise to have added layers of protection for valuable appliances…just don’t depend on the power strips alone.

Only professional electricians should install a whole-house surge protector. The device must be wired into the electrical panel, and it must be the proper size for the electrical system. Call D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. when you need surge protection that goes beyond power strips: we are a leading provider in Bandera, TX of electrical services, and we offer quality surge protection throughout the Texas Hill Country area.

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When Is the Best Time for New Air Conditioning Installation?

September 24th, 2014

Your air conditioner is nearing the end of its life and you know it will soon need replacement. But if you think it may still be able to run for a little while longer, you may worry about spending money unnecessarily on a new unit. This is an understandable concern, and many homeowners are not quite sure when is the right time to say goodbye to their older air conditioner. In this guide, we’ll tell you some of the signs to look for when deciding whether to replace your system, and why these signs mean that now may be the perfect time for air conditioning installation.

  • Old Age: Unfortunately, any AC will fail at some point, and the best predictor is sometimes the age of the unit. Check with your manufacturer for the most accurate estimate of how long your unit is meant to last. In general, units over ten years old are far more likely to fail.
  • Frequent Repairs: If it seems like you’ve called a technician for repairs again and again, there is a chance that the components of your system are simply too worn to function as they should. This means you may end up replacing part after part, which will be more expensive than replacing your entire unit now.
  • High Energy Bills: A final indicator that it’s time for your unit to go is high bills. When your energy bills spike unexpectedly, it could mean wear and tear on your system is causing it to fail, particularly if you have an older unit.

If any of these signs lead you to believe it’s time for replacement, don’t wait to call a technician. Older air conditioners are inefficient and at a much higher risk of repairs and breakdowns. Besides, broken down units are often more costly to replace, and you don’t want to risk a sudden failure when you need it most.

The best way to determine whether or not your unit needs replacement is by talking to a specialist, like the friendly technicians at D’Spain Sales & Service, Inc. When you have questions about air conditioning in Helotes, TX don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and talk to one of our experts today!

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