Rumer-Loudin Inc. is excited to announce a third location as of July 1, 2023, located in Moundsville, West Virginia. We purchased the long-time home service company of Whipkey Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning at 1407 1^st Street, Moundsville, WV.

The location remains the same as does the employment of Jake Whipkey, son of Pam and Jerald Whipkey, the founders of the company. High demand for their services meant they needed a bigger team to back them up so a purchase agreement was arranged. The 20 employees of Rumer-Loudin ensure quick service for the residents of the area. Danae Rose will head up customer service in the office.

Rumer-Loudin is an independent Trane dealer, as Whipkey was, and any Trane warranties currently in place will be honored as well as any service parts and the labor to change them for the year after installation. The phone number, 304-845-8354, is also the same as under the Whipkey name. Estimates on new installations are free so call for one as soon as possible. You can also contact Rumer-Loudin via our website at www.rumerloudin.com

Women in HVACR

15 Home Comfort Tips for Heating Season

Looking for ways to keep your home comfortable during the colder months? Here are 15 home comfort tips for the heating season.

During the a/c days but heating nights, be sure your thermostat is in the correct mode to accomplish what you need.
Make sure your furnace works before it is an emergency.
Check your flues to be sure they are clear from obstructions like bird/bug nests, leaves, etc.
Check any fuses or breakers to be sure they haven’t blown or tripped.
Check and change or clean your air filters regularly
Ensure all registers are open and uncovered, not blocked by rugs or furniture.
If the sun shines in a certain window, keep coverings open so you can use the sun’s heat gain to help warm your home (unless the windows are leaky!)
If your thermostat screen is blank, check for batteries and change as needed.
Check your gutters to be sure they are not leaking onto the outdoor unit of your heat pump, which can then freeze and damage your condenser fan blades and motor.
Make sure you have propane or oil in your tanks.
Always have a form of back up heat such has an electric or kerosene heater or on the wall gas heater.
If you need to have service done, make sure there is access to the furnace.
Consider adding insulation to your attic for better heat retention. If the snow melts off of your roof when at or below freezing, then you need more insulation.
Consider covering leaky windows with a layer of plastic for better heat retention.
Block those drafty doors with improved threshold seals.

When Ice in the Summer is Not a Good Thing

When the weather is hot, ice may sound like a good idea… but not when it concerns your air conditioner.

If you see ice or frost on your refrigerant lines or your outdoor unit, you should take action. This build-up means the coil in the metal box, called a plenum, above or below your furnace is already iced over.

That ice is working its way down the lines to the outdoor unit. To perform a repair, the ice needs to be melted and the unit should be turned off.

Airflow restriction is a common cause of icing. So, check your filters to be sure they are not clogged. Also, be sure all registers are open and exposed.

Sometimes the air conditioner will run, ice up, then thaw when it cools in the evening and then ice up again during the day. A sign of this is water under the furnace.

Another cause of icing is a low refrigerant level, which means there is a leak somewhere and a service repair call is needed. Sometimes a leak can be found and sometimes not, which can be discussed with a service technician.

How to Help Your Air Conditioner

Here is some information to help your air conditioner cope with higher than normal temperatures.

Close your curtains or blinds to reduce heat gain from the sun hitting your windows.
Make sure all of your registers are open and exposed, not covered with furniture.
Check your filters to be sure they are not clogged.
Also, especially when the temperatures are soaring, don’t shut off your air conditioner in the evening or when you go to work. You are better off turning the thermostat up a couple of degrees rather than turning it off altogether because it has to start dehumidifying all over again.
Make sure your outdoor unit’s coil is not clogged with mown grass or dirt nor constricted by plants.
Lastly, please don’t build a deck over your outdoor unit. You should keep four-foot clearance around the top, front, and sides. This also makes it difficult to work on.

Hopefully, these tips will help extend the efficiency and life of your air conditioner. If you need a repair or free estimate on a new installation, make a comfortable decision.

Why Doesn’t My Air Conditioner Shut Off?

When the weather is extremely hot, we often get requests for service because the system is running all of the time and won’t shut off.

However, when we check the system, we find nothing wrong with the unit. It is simply doing all it can to keep up, so we thought we would explain why this happens.

When sizing the cooling load for a home, contractors use Manual J. This references design temperatures to use to determine what the demand will be 99% of the time spent in cooling months using a 30-year average. With that data, they size the equipment to cool 20 degrees below the outdoor temperature.

The design temperature for our area, using data compiled from Zanesville in 2017 (the most recent data available), is 87.4 degrees. 20 degrees below that is 67.4. That means when we reach outside temperatures above 87.4, which occurs only 1% of the time out of the total cooling hours, our system begins to have to run longer and longer and may not shut off when our area reaches 90 degrees and higher extremes.

The equipment is sized for the design temperatures, not the rare extreme temperatures. Why, you may wonder? If equipment is oversized, then under normal design temperatures, it will not run long enough to dehumidify, leading to a clammy type atmosphere, and comfort is compromised.

Most systems are on full blast or off. However, there is variable speed equipment available which ramps up or down gradually according to demand. You would need to decide whether the increased cost of that type of equipment is a sufficient trade-off for increased comfort.

Wheeling’s Experts On Demand Podcast

Recently, Rumer-Loudin’s own Kellie Loudin sat down with Teddy Michaels on the Wheeling’s Experts On Demand Podcast to talk about a variety of topics.

In the first episode, Kellie talks about choosing the right contractor, which systems best capture the coronavirus, and warranties on your heating and cooling systems.

For the second installment, topics covered include home warranties, the importance of good air flow in your home, and more!

Next, we discuss topics like geothermal energy benefits and why you should consider a career in HVAC.

Finally, we talk about what to look for as you test your heating system before winter hits. Plus, the differences between various heating systems, advice on when to shut the A/C off for the winter, and more.

Loudin Elected to the Ohio Leadership Council for NFIB

NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business), the state’s leading small business association, has announced the election of Kellie Loudin to the group’s statewide leadership council. Loudin is with Rumer-Loudin, Inc., a leader in HVAC, at locations in Barnesville and St. Clairsville, Ohio, and has been a member of NFIB for over 20 years. She has been active in local NFIB meetings in Southeast Ohio.

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HVAC and High Efficiency Homes

Thinking about building a high efficiency home? Or maybe you already have one, and have questions about it’s heating and cooling system. We found a great article from our friends over at ACCA Now that helps explain special HVAC considerations when choosing a system for high efficiency homes.

Behold, the home of the future! The home with special high-efficiency windows, doors, appliances, and lights. A space-age ventilation system that exhausts harmful pollutants and brings in healthy clean air for the family, pets, and plants; so they all flourish in this virile environment. The home’s space-age construction, nearly airtight and well insulated, ensures that it is effortless to heat and cool. The home’s integrated control system works seamlessly (and best of all, the whole house functions on a small steady stream of power produced on-site. Won’t it be great to live in the house of tomorrow?

This technological marvel is built every day, but some of these houses are as comfortable as a cave, and not a capsule. Why? HVAC contractors MUST follow good design practices, or their customers will suffer because of three big challenges.

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Rumer Loudin Opens Third Location in the Ohio Valley

Rumer-Loudin, Inc Adds Third Location