Frequently Asked Questions

Like any product you want to keep in good shape, HVAC equipment requires proper care in order to deliver the greatest benefits. Trained technicians can service your heating and cooling products to make sure they’re working at their top potential and help prevent more costly repairs in the middle of the hottest or coldest months of the year.

Falls Mechanical Services LLC in Great Falls can price out individual systems or multiple home comfort products for you. Call 406-761-7283 to learn more.

Two-stage heating permits the furnace to heat at two levels of output: high for cold winter days and low for mild ones. Approximately 80 percent of the time, your home’s heating requirements can be met when the furnace is left on the low setting, permitting your two-stage unit to work for longer periods of time. Two-stage units also provide more even heat distribution, fewer temperature swings, quiet operation, better air filtration and energy efficiency.

Precise Comfort™ technology is an operating and control system used in Lennox furnaces. The technology can automatically adjust heat by increments as little as 1 percent, boosting energy efficiency and helping you experience more comfort.

Modern furnaces are designed with a host of innovative features older furnaces don’t have. Today’s heating systems provide more even heating and are better at regulating airflow. Although the air coming out of your vents may seem cooler than your old furnace, the airflow is much better and more efficient.

Another perk of modern furnaces is their ability to integrate with other HVAC products as part of a high-efficiency whole home comfort system. When combined with a high-efficiency air conditioner, furnace blowers can more easily accommodate add-on cooling. Other innovations, such as Precise Comfort™ technology and variable speed motors, will help your furnace work more efficiently and quieter than ever.

The Department of Energy recently increased the minimum efficiency levels for air conditions, and the standards vary by region. Contact Falls Mechanical Services LLC at 406-761-7283 to find the requirements for the Great Falls area.

Lennox carries a variety of HVAC products with high efficiency ratings, which can help reduce the amount of energy they require to operate. Aside from picking products that have received Energy Star® certification or achieved high SEER ratings for air conditioners or AFUE ratings for furnaces, you can think through the following:

• Maintenance – ensuring your system receives regular maintenance by a trained expert can keep your system operating at its peak performance.
• Zoning – zoning systems permit you to only heat or cool only specific areas of your home, so you won’t have to pay to heat or cool spaces that you don’t usually use.
• Programmable thermostats – using a programmable thermostat allows you to set the temperature in your home around your schedule. They can be programed to provide the comfort you desire when you’re home, and increase or decrease the temperature while you’re not around, helping you save on heating and cooling costs.

There are a number of reasons to pick Lennox, but the top three are:

• Lennox is a name you know and trust – known throughout the world for quality HVAC products, you can rest assured Lennox will provide you with high quality equipment.
• Innovative and high quality products – Lennox has been on the leading edge of innovation in the heating and cooling industry for years. High quality furnaces, air conditioners and home comfort systems include innovative features to help your home stay more comfortable and energy efficient.
• Reputation of excellence – high quality products are not the only arena Lennox excels in. Lennox dealers, like Falls Mechanical Services LLC, provide high quality service at all times, from your first consultation to your routine maintenance appointments.

Strategies to boost your indoor air quality can be as basic as vacuuming your home to something as large as adding a new ventilation system. Overall, good IAQ has four strategies:

• Eliminate – get rid of the pollutants floating in your air by cleaning your home often, particularly vacuuming carpet, washing linens and safely storing household chemicals.
• Ventilate – make sure your home is well-ventilated to move airborne pollutants out of your home. In newer homes, well-done insulation will prevent ventilation, so Lennox systems such as the Healthy Climate® ventilation system can help. These systems bring fresh air from outside into your home and direct the stale air out.
• Clean – the right air filters, such as our Healthy Climate® air filters, will make sure the smallest particles don’t get through and are let out into your home. Germicidal lights can kill the germs that do make it through, and purification systems like the PureAir™ will help get rid of odors and chemical vapors.
• Monitor – keep your humidity levels in check with a programmable thermostat. High temperatures and humidity levels can increase concentrations of mold, mildew and germs. A programmable thermostat will ensure your home is comfortable without letting humidity run rampant.

Try utilizing our Healthy Solution Finder, where you can pick the indoor air quality problems that affect your home. After you select the items that apply, the system will show the IAQ products that fit your needs. You can also call Falls Mechanical Services LLC and walk our techs through some of the concerns you experience. They can evaluate your home and needs and provide options and explanations.

Lots of homeowners believe that air conditioners make your home cooler, but it actually removes the heat from your home, sending the hot air outside. That hot air moves across a cold indoor coil where refrigerant in the lines sends the heat to the coil in your outdoor unit, releasing it outside. This process continues until the indoor temperature reaches the desired level that you set on your thermostat.

Due to the increasing amount of energy used by heating and cooling systems, the Department of Energy (DOE) raised the minimum efficiency levels for air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units manufactured after January 1, 2015. These levels are determined by region and carry varying requirements based on your location. Falls Mechanical Services LLC can help answer any questions you may have regarding these minimum requirements and let you know what choices are available when you’re looking for a replacement system.

These numbers are located on a nameplate or sticker that is near your system’s service panel. The sticker should be white with black letters and have both of these numbers located at the top of the sticker. M/N denotes model number while S/N is your serial number.

There are a handful of ways to determine what size system is the best fit for your home, but the most reliable way to choose a system is by having your local Falls Mechanical Services LLC technician come out and perform a load calculation. This calculation considers your home’s: square footage, insulation value, amount of insulation, and a number of other factors.

The short answer is “Yes,” because dirt and other debris can impede your system’s ability to work efficiently. For heat pumps, it is normal to have frost or ice on them during the winter, but they also are built with defrost controls to ensure they work efficiently in that type of weather.

Two-stage cooling means that your cooling unit has two levels of operation. When summer is its hottest, the high setting starts up, and when it’s cooler or more mild, the low setting handles the duties. Most of the time, the lower setting will take care of your cooling needs, but even when the high setting kicks in, you may not realize it because it can produce such even temperatures for your comfort. This may also mean a quieter cooling system, greater efficiency and improved humidity control.

Your system could be freezing up for a couple of reasons, but the most frequent are dirty filters, low refrigerant, a dirty evaporator coil and/or a faulty blower motor. Changing a filter is something you, the homeowner, can take care of; however, you’ll want to call the professionals at Falls Mechanical Services LLC at 406-761-7283 for other problems or if you have other questions or concerns.

Picking the best thermostat for your cooling system comes with a lot to think through. That’s why it’s nice to have such a wide variety of choices from Falls Mechanical Services LLC. Whether you’re looking for a programmable or non-programmable thermostat or want to join the smart home trend, there are various thermostats that you have to pick from. Some thermostats will depend on what type of heating and cooling system you have, but the experts at Falls Mechanical Services LLC will be able to help determine what options are best for your needs and your budget.

Heat pumps can be a tad confusing due to their name, but they actually take care of both your heating and cooling needs throughout the year. When it’s hot outside it operates like an air conditioner in that it removes heat from your home, but when it cools off, the process gets switched around and it collects heat from outside and brings it inside. Heat pumps are also very efficient, and could produce up to two or three times more heat than the energy it uses.

Of course we advise you to also replace your indoor system, but this is why:

• All outdoor cooling systems have a matching indoor unit that they are intended to work with to ensure efficient performance. When they aren’t paired with the other part as a total system, efficiency can be affected.
• As with most products, advancements have brought about newer, more efficient ways of doing things. Heating and cooling systems are no different. These improvements most importantly include better heating and cooling efficiency, but also consist of improved air handling, filtering and noise pollution reduction to name a few.
• Heating and cooling systems that are more than 10-15 years old normally need to be replaced. Not only do they consist of outdated technology, but they are also less efficient than newer models. Adding a new indoor unit at the same time means you’ll have a matched system to provide you with better comfort and efficiency for years to come.