When Esther Mittl bought her Trane air conditioner nine years ago, she paid an extra $397.67 for an extended warranty.According to the contract, the warranty covered repairs through Aug. 13, 2013, including parts and labor.So when the air conditioner broke last summer, the 95-year-old Lincolnshire resident called the store where she bought the unit, Gleason & Elfering in Wauconda.A technician arrived July 12 and replaced the air conditioner's motor and capacitor. Despite the 10-year warranty, the technician charged Mittl $791.12, which she immediately paid by check.Weeks later, her daughter, Elizabeth Dlouhy, was going through Mittl's finances and discovered the paid repair bill.Realizing the repair should have been covered by her mom's warranty, Dlouhy began calling both Gleason & Elfering and Trane, asking for a refund.On one call, she was told she had waited too long to file a warranty claim, she said. On another, she was told the old parts had to be returned to Trane. And so it went, for months.

After Dlouhy called several more times, Gleason & Elfering sent Mittl a check for $152.92, leaving a balance of $638.20.Dlouhy said she was never told why her mother received only a fraction of the repair cost.Convinced her mom was entitled to the remaining $638.20, Dlouhy sent a letter toWhat's Your Problem?this month."This experience has been akin to an adult version of a Whac-A-Mole game, much to the detriment of the reputation of Trane and its dealer, Gleason & Elfering," Dlouhy said. "Every time I respond to an objection as to why the contract cannot be honored, the dealer or Trane finds another excuse to not reimburse my mother for this warranty-covered expense."The final straw, she said, was when Trane told her the claim was too old."It would not have been old had the claim been promptly processed," Dlouhy said.Last week, the Problem Solver called both Trane and Gleason & Elfering.A short time later, Maria Weber, a spokeswoman for Ingersoll Rand, the parent company of Trane, emailed to say the situation had been fixed."

I read through everything again and saw that Ms. Dlouhy's original note to my president went to the wrong address, otherwise we might have seen this case sooner," Weber said. "We are very sorry that Ms. Dlouhy's mother had an unpleasant experience but believe and hope the issue is now resolved."Karen Lewis, service manager at Gleason & Elfering, said the technician who serviced Mittl's air conditioner in July did not know she had an extended warranty. Had he known, he would have used a Trane motor, which would have been covered.portable ac unit at costcoBy the time Dlouhy called to inquire about the warranty, it was too late, Lewis said."cdi box ac or dcWe had already bought and put the motor in," she said. armstrong 5 ton ac unit"We put it through Trane, but because we didn't put in one of their motors," they rejected the claim.

Lewis said that after the Problem Solver called Trane, the manufacturer called Gleason & Elfering and offered to throw in another $147.Gleason & Elfering decided to cover the remaining $491.20 and sent Mittl a check for the remaining $638.20."We ended up just eating it," Lewis said. "Long story short, we still service her and we want to keep servicing her."TRANE AIR CONDITIONERTrane XL 20i Air Conditioner XL 19i Air Conditioner TRANE GAS FURNACEThe Ultimate in Comfort, is one of the first things to consider when purchasing a gas furnace, along with its efficiency. By replacing an old, low efficiency unit with a new high efficiency model, more of the fuel is turned into heat. Our Trane’s XV 95 is the most efficient choice. TRANE HEAT PUMPSTrane XL 20i Heat Pump Trane XL 15i Heat Pump DUCTLESS AC & HEAT PUMP Click here for more information: GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPSChaves Heating & Air Conditioning wanted to offer our customers a renewable "green" energy alternative

and decided that geothermal energy was an attractive solution.  You can save as much as 70 percent on your energy bill by relying on geothermal instead of a conventional fossil fuel furnace to heat or cool you home. said by GusHerb94:Have any of these companies run a Manual J heat loss calculation in order to quote you with a furnace that is properly sized for your home?This post gets my vote. I know HVAC pricing varies from area to area, but those prices seem extremely high for 1300 square feet with easy access. I would be willing to bet they aren't sizing properly.As for the single vs 2 stage, I'll add in that I have been extremely happy since moving to a 2 stage blower. We leave it in the "on" position, so it is always running. It then ramps up when heating or cooling is called for. We have a 2 story house, and the constant circulating air really helps regulate temperature between floors.As we approach the height of summer, household central air conditioners are beginning to really get a workout.

Keeping the A/C on helps keep you comfortable, but it can also become expensive. That's why it is so important to make sure your system is running well. If you find that your A/C system running constantly is driving up your bill, then it's time to look into the cause. There are numerous reasons why your A/C system may seem to be running non-stop throughout the summer. The truth is, this may not always be a bad thing. Some of the reasons below may indicate a problem with your system and others may alert you to other issues in your home that you can take steps to correct. It's important to start our discussion with this fact: a properly sized, energy-efficient central air conditioning system will run fairly continuously in the summer to maintain a constant, desired temperature in your home. These systems operate at their highest efficiency level when allowed to do their job at "full tilt." Unit Too Small: If your central air conditioner is too small, then it is going to have to work harder to cool your home.

Over time, this will increase the wear and tear on your unit and reduce its life. You will also never achieve the desired coolness in your home, even though the system runs often. In addition, breakdowns will be likely. Unit Too Large: If your system is too large, it won't effectively remove moisture from the air in your home, resulting in an output of moist, clammy air. It will actually have shorter run times than it should and use excessive amounts of electricity, resulting in higher utility bills. Wrong Duct Size: The size of your ductwork should be relative to the size of your air conditioning unit.  If your ducts are the wrong size, they may not be able to handle the airflow or distribute cool air efficiently to all parts of the home. If your system seems to never shut off, there may be an issue with your thermostat. It may be that your home has reached the correct temperature, but the thermostat is not registering the conditions in the home. In this case, your A/C unit will continue running.

One way to check the thermostat is to place another thermometer near the location of the thermostat. After an hour or two, check the reading. If it is at or near your desired home temperature, there may be a problem with your thermostat. Poor sealing or insufficient insulation is another common culprit which can cause your unit to run constantly and inefficiently. If your home is not closed up tight while your A/C system is in use, you may be losing that precious cool air that you need during the summer through small holes or non-insulated walls or roof. If you are losing the cool air in this way, your home may never reach your desired temperature, causing the A/C unit to run more than needed. Our related blog post here gives you some background on why sealing and insulating your home is so important, especially for A/C efficiency. Air conditioning units need regular maintenance to continue running smoothly, much like other appliances in your home. Ideally, maintenance should happen twice a year, in the spring before the warm weather hits and in the early fall after things have cooled off and it is no longer in use.

If your system is not clean, including your ducts, coils and air filter, you will likely encounted airflow problems and inefficient cycling. A professional technician will check to make sure everything is clean and lubricated. He/she will replace worn parts and confirm that the thermostat is working properly. Regular maintenance of your A/C unit will not only help ensure that your unit is in good working order, it will also extend the life of your cooling system. Air conditioners have a life span. Even if your unit has been properly maintained, it will eventually wear out. At this point, you may want to consider replacing your old, inefficient unit with a new one. This will save you money in the long run, because newer units run much more efficiently than old ones. You can read here about some of the latest technology available for home central air conditioning. Any of the above reasons can cause your air conditioner to run more often than it needs to, which will cost you a whole lot of money.