Arizona Public Service (APS) provides an online free energy survey to help you better manage your energy use and save money. This quick and easy survey can provide an excellent evaluation of your home’s energy use and help you pinpoint the exact measures that can increase energy efficiency and lower your bills.

As air conditioning in Arizona makes up more than half of your energy expense in the warmer months, this is a very useful tool. To access the survey, visit www.aps.com/letter. If you are one of the many homes served by APS, you can download your actual energy use for even more customized results when you register with aps.com. There is no charge for this valuable service.

While you are at www.aps.com/letter, check out the “Save Energy” section for more tips on how to reduce your energy consumption and save money.

If you have questions about your results, or like to see them improved, contact Arizona Air Conditioning by Jay for answers.

For those homes served by APS for their electricity, you receive by mail an Energy Use And Costs report annually for your home. It details your monthly energy usage and costs, and compares it against the previous year.

This very useful report lets you see how many kWh (kilowatt hours) you are using per month, how much was on peak and off, your total energy costs for the month, and averages out your costs per day. With this report you can see exactly where and when you are using the most power and your total energy expense for the year.

As they say, anything that is measured can be improved. You can better manage your Phoenix air conditioning energy expense by using less during the peak times, 9am to 9pm Monday Friday. By shifting your heaviest air conditioning time to off peak, you can save money. You can also do your clothes washing, running your dishwasher to off peak hours to increase your savings.

The Trane Residential Air Conditioning System Model XL 19i was awarded the ‘Best Buy’ in the premium category by Consumers Digest, with a SEER rating of 19.50, the highest efficiency rating of any air conditioning system available today.

When connected to the Trane Clean Effects air cleaner to remove dust and pollutants everyone in your home will breathe easier. It is even proven to remove 99% of the common flu virus from your home’s filtered air.

This top-of-the-line air conditioning system will save up to half of your current summer time electric bill when installed by a certified and licensed air conditioning contractor, while it filters the air better than most stand-alone air filters you could buy.

When it’s time to replace the old equipment, be sure to consider this system when only the very best will do.

AC by Jay is proud to carry a full line of Trane equipment. To schedule an appointment or to get more information, go to www.acbyj.com or call Valley wide at 602-266-3678.

Your air conditioning duct work could be costing you a lot of money. Duct work is hidden in the cavities of your house and rarely seen or inspected. If there are holes or the system was improperly installed, you could have conditioned air going into non-living spaces.

Arizona Public Service (APS) will help you pay for the cost of testing & repairs by offering a rebate of up to $250. To get the details of this program, click here.

AC by Jay, an APS certified contractor, would love to help you by inspecting your ductwork. For more information or to schedule an appointment, go to www.acbyj.com or call Valley wide 602-266-3678.

Arizona Public Service (APS) is offering a rebate of $100 when you replace your old air conditioning system and use a certified APS contractor.

This is in addition to rebates of up to $400 when you replace your old system with new high efficiency units.

You can find an APS certified contractor by clicking here.

Arizona Public Service (APS) rolled out a rebate program for Arizona Homeowners who replace older air conditioning systems with new, high efficiency units.

Depending on the new equipment you install, APS is offering rebates up to $750, depending on the SEER and EER ratings. APS points out that today’s systems are at least 40 to 50% more efficient than units that are 15 years old, which can result in much lower electric bills over the summer months.

You may also be eligible for a Federal Tax Credit of up to $300 when you replace your old system. See your APS certified contractor for more information on this program.

AC by Jay is proud to be an APS certified contractor. You can find us on the web at www.acbyj.com, or call 602-266-3678.

Arizona Public Service (APS) is recommending that all Arizona home owners get their air conditioning system serviced before the start of the hot weather.

They have set up a special referral service to make sure you get an APS certified contractor who will perform the service and make any repairs necessary and help save you money on your electric bills due to an inefficient system.

If you are in need of an immediate contractor referral, call the APS Energy Answer Line during normal business hours at (602) 371-3636, or (888) 890-9730 outside the Phoenix area. If you have a few days to wait for a reply, you can request an APS Qualified Contractor Referral by sending an e-mail to the Arizona Electric League.

Of course, AC by Jay is an APS qualified contractor! Contact us by visiting www.acbyj.com or call (602) 266-3678.

Arizona Public Service (APS) has a program for residential customers to save energy and money on your electric bill by replacing your regular incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFS).

Although not offering a rebate, APS has teamed up with local retailers who are giving large discounts when you purchase Energy Star CFS bulbs. Here are the reasons you want to change out your bulbs:

• Energy Star CFS bulbs use 75% less energy than conventional light bulbs
• They run much cooler, so they don’t heat up your house in the warmer months
• You will save more than $30 per bulb over the life of the bulb
• They are available in many different sizes and shapes

To find a list of retailers participating in this program near you, visit the APS website.

According to APS, if every American household replaced just ONE bulb with a CFL, it would save enough energy to light every Arizona home for one full year!

Air Conditioning Contractors Of America (ACCA), a national organization, honored Phoenix contractor Air Copnditioning By Jay as one of the finalists in their Contractor Of The Year Award.

This country wide competition focuses on excellence in residential air conditioning contracting. The key measurements were standards, customer service and growth.

Who says that good work and high standards of customer satisfaction goes unrewarded! We are pleased to be recognized by our peers and to be in the company of other organizations that recognize that commitments to under promise and over deliver are the keys to success.

If you need air conditioning or heating service and want to deal with a licensed, qualified, contractor, contact our customer service department at 602 266- 3678 and see award winning service in action.

Everyone knows that it makes sense to conserve electricity. We shut the lights off when we leave a room, we turn down the air conditioning at night because it saves us money on our electric bill.

But did you know that APS (Arizona Public Service) that serves most of the valley has rebates to help you cover the costs of repairs and new equipment to help you afford them? Take a look at some of the current rebates that are available.

APS AC Rebates

High Efficiency AC Rebates
Residential customers replacing existing heat pumps or AC systems with high efficiency equipment may be eligible for up to a $400 rebate from APS.

Quality Installation Rebate
Quality installations of new heat pumps or AC systems help ensure you get the most value and efficiency from your system. You can earn an additional $100 rebate from APS on qualifying systems that are installed by an APS Qualified Contractor.

Duct Test and Repair Rebate
Improve the comfort and energy efficiency of your home by having a professional contractor seal your home’s heating/cooling duct system. And you could also qualify for up to a $250 rebate from APS.

So now there is no reason to put off those repairs or getting rid of inefficient older equipment that is causing you to throw money out the window.

I also want you to know that APS knows what they are talking about when they say the rebates are available to people who have a professional contractor do the work. It’s just not something that a handyman without the training and licensing is going to be able to qualify you for the rebate.

To have A/C by Jay, an APS qualified contractor, give you an estimate or give you more information about the rebate program, please contact our customer service department at 602 266-3678 or visit our website at www.AcByJ.com.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved new heating efficiency standards for furnaces and boilers. Don’t worry, these standards do not take affect until 2015. Remember our post about AFUE, the unit of measurement that gauges how much energy used by a furnace is converted into usable heat?

The new standards raise the levels for the following heating devices:
Natural Gas Furnaces from 78% to 80% AFUE
Natural Gas Boilers from 80% to 82% AFUE
Oil Boilers from 80% to 83% AFUE

In prior post we covered a variety of units that already meet or exceed the new standard. Some units exceed a 90% AFUE rating, so if you are looking at a new purchase, rest assured, the furnace you buy today can easily meet or exceed the government’s newly established efficiency rating.

If you are curious about your current’s units efficiency rating, it should be posted in materials from the manufacturer. If you cannot find that information, feel free to contact us at AC By Jay and a member of our comfort team can help determine your units efficiency rating.

SRP is proposing summer rate hikes of 9.3% as a way to prompt customers to conserve more energy during the hottest hours of summer.

The rate hikes would take place in July and August when energy use can spike with the temperature. When that happens, utility companies must purchase energy from the Pacific Northwest or other areas.

Their proposed plan dramatically increases temperatures from 3 to 6 pm when the demand is the highest and the price on the open market, from other providers, is similarly high.

Mark Bonsall, SRP’s Chief Financial Officer indicated that customers who “invest in a thermostat with a time can easily take advantage of the time-of-day plan and cut unneeded peak-energy use while they are at work.”

Here at AC By Jay, we’ve explained the benefits of a programmable thermostat. Such a thermostat would allow you to program your cooling system to use less energy while you are at work but start cooling your house before you get home.

If you are concerned with this rate hike and want to find out other ways to help reduce your cooling bill, to prepare for those coming hot summer months, contact a member of our Comfort Team.