No matter what your HVAC questions are, the experts at Precision Mechanical in Rapid City have answers. Whether you have questions about picking new HVAC equipment to best practices on care and maintenance, we can assist. Our online FAQs answers provide a rapid response for your convenience, but if you want to know more on any topic, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 605-702-0850.

Just like you need to take your car in to the shop for routine tune-ups, such as oil changes or inspecting potential concerns, your home comfort system should receive the same kind of attention. Regular maintenance by a trained technician provides a variety of benefits to your HVAC equipment, which can help your systems work efficiently and prevent costly breakdowns.
The cost varies depending on the equipment size and different features, so we advise contacting Precision Mechanical at 605-702-0850 to obtain a quote.
Two-stage heating enables the furnace to heat at two levels of output: high for cold winter days and low for mild ones. About 80 percent of the time, your homes heating requirements can be met when the furnace is left on the low setting, allowing your two-stage unit to operate for longer periods of time. Two-stage units also offer more even heat distribution, fewer temperature swings, quiet operation, increased air filtration and energy efficiency.
Precision Mechanical has an assortment of brands and models that are more efficient than ever and make it easier to find the right fit for your home. There are innovative systems that make heating or cooling your home more automatic, operating similar to cruise control to make small adjustments to help meet your comfort demands with energy efficiency. Give us a call at 605-702-0850 to learn more about the technology we carry.
Depending on how old your previous furnace was, you could experience a host of differences. Furnaces today are designed to provide more even and efficient heating than ever before. Modern furnaces also better regulate temperature and air flow, moving more air over the heat exchanger than older furnaces.

Additionally, new furnaces are crafted to operate with other high-efficiency HVAC products, such as air conditioners. The air conditioner blowers offer your heating system an extra bump so it can deliver cool air around your home efficiently. Special features like variable speed motors will also help reduce noise associated with operating your equipment and easily meet your family’s airflow needs.

The Department of Energy recently raised the minimum efficiency levels for air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units made after Jan. 1, 2015, since heating and cooling contributes significantly to a homes total energy usage. The requirements vary by region, so call Precision Mechanical for the efficiency standards for Rapid City.
Precision Mechanical carries a number of HVAC products with high-efficiency ratings, which can help reduce the amount of energy they require to run. Aside from selecting products that have received Energy Star® certification or achieved high SEER ratings for air conditioners or AFUE ratings for furnaces, you can consider the following:

  • Making certain that your system receives ongoing maintenance by a trained technician can keep your system operating at its top performance.
  • Zoning systems enable you to heat or cool only specific areas of your home, so you wont have to pay to heat or cool spaces that you don’t typically utilize.
  • Using a programmable thermostat allows you to set the temperature in your home around your schedule. They can be programmed to give you the comfort you want when you’re home and increase or decrease the temperature while you’re not around, helping you save on heating and cooling costs.
Precision Mechanical is well-known in the Rapid City area and you can trust them to provide quality home comfort products. We carry a variety of innovative and high-quality products. We are dedicated to offering customers high-quality service and will make sure you find the appropriate solution for your home.
Improving your home’s indoor air quality starts with four basic strategies:

    • Poor indoor air quality leaves your home full of air pollutants floating around. So, to enhance IAQ, the first step is to get rid of as many pollutants as possible. You can easily do this by cleaning and vacuuming at least weekly, frequently washing linens and storing cleaning products safely.
    • Proper insulation is good for keeping your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but it also makes it difficult for airborne pollutants to escape. We offer products that help swap stale air for fresh, filtered outside air.
    • Good ventilation and ongoing cleaning are a start, but air filters, germicidal lights and purification systems take your IAQ to the next level by capturing microscopic particles, killing germs and eliminating particles while destroying chemical vapors.
    • Programmable thermostats will help control the humidity levels and temperature to help avoid particles and germs from building up while also keeping your home comfortable.

We advise that you meet with one of the technicians at Precision Mechanical and have them assess your home and current indoor comfort system. We can help you determine which equipment will be best suited to meet your needs.

Lots of homeowners believe that air conditioners make the air in your home cooler, but it actually removes the heat from inside your home, sending the hot air outside. That hot air goes across a cold indoor coil where refrigerant in the lines sends the heat to the coil in your outdoor unit, releasing the heat outside. This procedure continues until the indoor temperature reaches the desired level that you set on your thermostat.
Due to the amount of energy used by heating and cooling systems, the Department of Energy (DOE) hiked up the minimum efficiency levels for air conditioners, heat pumps and packaged units manufactured after January 1, 2015. These levels are determined regionally and carry varying requirements based on your location. Precision Mechanical can answer any questions you may have regarding these minimum requirements and let you know what choices are available when you’re in the market for a replacement system.
You can find these numbers on a nameplate or sticker that is near your systems service panel. The sticker will be white with black letters and have both of these numbers located around the top of the sticker. M/N stands for model number while S/N is your serial number.
There are a couple ways to determine what size system is right for your home, but the most reliable way to size a system is by having your local Precision Mechanical technician come out and perform a load calculation. This calculation considers your homes: square footage, insulation value, amount of insulation, and a number of other factors.
The short answer is Yes, because dirt and other debris can inhibit your systems ability to work efficiently. For heat pumps, it is common to have frost or ice on them during the winter, but they also feature defrost controls to ensure they work efficiently in those kinds of weather.
Two-stage cooling means that your cooling unit has two levels of operation. When summer is its warmest, the high setting starts up, and when its cooler or more mild, the low setting gets the job done. Typically, the lower setting can take care of your cooling needs, but even when the high setting is in use, you may not realize it because it can maintain such even temperatures for your comfort. This can also mean a quieter cooling system, greater efficiency and enhanced humidity control.
When your cooling unit freezes up, there are a couple of reasons why it could be doing so. The most common reasons include: dirty filters, low refrigerant, a dirty evaporative coil and a faulty blower motor or relay. A dirty filter is something you can fix as a homeowner, but the others need to be done by a professional like those at Precision Mechanical. Contact them at 605-702-0850 with any other questions.
Picking the best thermostat for your cooling system comes with a lot to think through. Thats why its nice to have such a big variety of choices from Precision Mechanical. Whether you’re looking for a programmable or non-programmable thermostat or want to join the smart home trend, there are a number of thermostats that you have to choose from. Some thermostats will depend on what type of heating and cooling system you have, but the experts at Precision Mechanical will be able to help determine what options meet your needs and your budget.
Heat pumps can be a bit confusing due to their name, but they actually take care of both your heating and cooling needs throughout the year. When its hot outside it runs like an air conditioner in that it removes heat from your home, but when it cools off, the process gets reversed and it collects heat from outside and brings it inside. Heat pumps are also very efficient, and might produce up to two or three times more heat than the energy it uses.

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

      • All outdoor cooling systems have a matching indoor unit that they are created to work with to ensure efficient performance. When they aren’t paired with the other unit as a total system, efficiency can be affected.
      • As with a lot of products, advancements have brought about newer, more efficient ways of doing things. Heating and cooling systems are no different. These advances most importantly include better heating and cooling efficiency, but also involve 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 have outdated technology, but they are also less efficient than more recent models. Adding a new indoor unit at the same time means you’ll have a matched system to provide you with even more comfort and efficiency for years to come.
The communication module on your home energy system could send the system’s performance records for each module to a website. You can visit this website to learn more about the system’s status, energy production and environmental benefits. The site also shows carbon offsets as it happens.
In most areas, rain will naturally clean the solar modules. If you reside in a dusty or industrial area, periodically spraying the modules with water could help improve performance. However, detergents and high-pressure hoses should never be used to wash solar modules.
The proper thermostat for you depends on your heating and cooling equipment. Precision Mechanical offers programmable and nonprogrammable thermostats that can help improve the efficiency of your HVAC systems. Browse our available products or contact us at 605-702-0850 to learn more.
Heating and cooling can make up a big amount of your utility bill. The innovative and high-efficiency heating and air conditioning products available from Precision Mechanical can help lower these costs. If you’re shopping for a new heating or cooling system, look for products with high SEER ratings for air conditioners and AFUE ratings for furnaces. SEER and AFUE are a measure of system efficiency, and the higher the number, the more efficient the product. Besides purchasing a new home comfort system, don’t forget about these additional factors:

      1. Is your system consistently maintained? Whether it’s a furnace or air conditioner, HVAC systems will operate more efficiently after regular maintenance checks.
      2. Do you need a zoning system? If there are rooms in your home that are rarely used, a zoning system will allow you to heat or cool only the most used areas of your house.
      3. Are you taking advantage of a programmable or smart thermostat? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, programmable thermostats may reduce your heating costs by up to 35 percent, and your cooling costs by up to 25 percent.

Zoning equipment gives you the comfort of sectioning portions of your home and control the thermostat differently in each room. Zoning tends to be best for when you have spaces of your home that are seldom used or when you and your family are constantly in disagreement of what the temperature in each area of your home should be. Zoning systems are almost noiseless and efficient, allowing you more control over the comfort of your family home. Find out more about the zoning equipment available from Precision Mechanical.