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NSPG has been providing the tools that allow contractors to
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Long Hot Summer
 As
we approach the end of another long, hot summer, here
are a few article links that highlight Air Conditioning articles from
newspapers and web sites from around the world. One of the
underlying themes of most of the articles is the need
for properly maintaining the AC system. These
articles could be used to build your sales as the
cooling season ends and help reduce the inevitable slow
down between the seasons.
Here's an article from the
Washington Post that tells consumers how to clean
their AC system themselves. Here's a section that
should convince your customers to call you rather than
doing it themselves.
If you don't want to spring for the
annual checkup, ask yourself whether you're the type who
can usually get pieces back together even when you don't
have a diagram to fall back on. Most manufacturers
recommend professional cleaning of condenser coils, so
they don't give detailed instructions. If you pass this
test, start by turning off power to the system. Open the
cover to the evaporator coil, which is usually next to
the fan. Look inside and see whether the coil and fins
are easy to reach. If so, wipe them clean using warm
water and maybe a little soap. If the fan motor is
underneath, protect it with plastic so you don't drip
water onto it. Also avoid using any cleaner that
contains ammonia or other ingredients that would damage
the aluminum fins. Professionals use solvent-based
cleaners and sometimes resort to steam-cleaning -- after
first removing the coil and taking it outside. If that
is what's needed to get the coil clean, you'll wish you
had started with a call to a pro.
 The
Free-Lance Star of Fredericksburg Virginia puts the
preventive maintenance message in stronger terms.
Because air-conditioning units in this
area typically are constructed to withstand outdoor
weather no higher than the mid-90s, triple-digit
temperatures can push them to the brink.
The solution: having units professionally
checked out one or two times a year, in the spring or
fall, and changing filters every one to three months.
Some companies even offer maintenance contracts.
"Probably 30 percent of people do what's
considered preventative maintenance," said Jim Crozier,
manager of Bakers Appliance Heating and Air Conditioning
in Fredericksburg. Crozier's shop received between 35
and 40 calls daily this week.
"If you service it on a regular basis,
it'll hold up a lot better. A good operating
air-conditioning unit can save you as much as 20
[percent] to 30 percent on your electric bill," said
Larry Wolfrey, owner of 72 Degrees Air Conditioning and
Heating.
The
NewBuilder web site highlights how air conditioning
may be contributing to climate change. This site
is a strong argument for upgrades to high efficiency
systems.
While this might stop us sweating on
stifling summer days, it also adds around 50 per cent to
the energy costs of a building and in cars increases
fuel consumption by 10 to 14 per cent - a major concern
when it comes to the environment.
 The
Independent has an article about Eskimos buying air
conditioners. We don't know how you can use this
to improve your sales, but it's an interesting little
story.
Selling ice-cream to Eskimos used to be
the definition of a tough sales pitch - but now it has
been put in the shade. For as the world heats up, the
Inuit are scrambling to install air conditioning, and
electricity prices north of Quebec have been slashed
specially to enable them to do so.
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Resources
 How Air
Conditioners Work
The
How Stuff Works web site has a simple explanation of how
Air Conditioning works. You might want to take a
look and use this non-technical language in your sales
efforts.
A good, simplified explanation of your
technology can make your employees appear more expert
and build trust with your customers to help close the
sale.
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