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Local company takes part in missing children program
By Staff reports
GateHouse News Service
Thu Jul 19, 2007, 11:11 PM EDT

FALL RIVER - Bullock Road's Advance Air & Heat Co. will likely feel proud tonight in the fact that it displays magnetic posters of missing children on its service vans. Advance Air & Heat Co. belongs to Mechanical Service Contractors of America and is one of 200 contractors nationally to participate in program that will be recognized nationally on NBC Nightly News on Friday, July 27 at 6:30 p.m.

Proud Participant in www.projecthomeagain.com

Project Home Again, a national missing children's program, will be profiled on the final segment of NBC Nightly News' "What Works."

According to MSCA Executive Director Barbara Dolim in a written release, Project Home Again began in 1998. Since then, MSCA contractors have displayed more than 6,000 posters of at least 200 different children on service vehicles across the country, and more than 130 children have been found.

The MSCA works with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Dolim said the posters displayed on trucks were likely not the sole factors behind the success rate, but she says, "I'd like to think the posters help."

"It has been proven in the past that the posters do make a difference," Dolim said during a telephone interview.

Advance Air & Heat Co. Inc. Operations Manager Karen DeSousa said her company began displaying the posters in 2004.

DeSousa said it was still a fledgling program three years ago but it has grown to be a success. "It seemed like such a perfect fit for us," she said, adding that the company's service vans travel all over southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod and park at various public locations. "It just made perfect sense to us."

DeSousa said the group usually displays the 12-inch by 18-inch posters for approximately one year or until the company receives reports that the child has been found, and then it will display a new poster. And if that is the case, the company is provided with "found stickers."

DeSousa said all 15 company vans have the posters displayed and all the technicians are happy to participate.

The magnetic posters include a photo of the child in addition to biographical and contact information, according to a written release from the MSCA.

In 2001, Project Home Again was the recipient of two national American Society of Association Executives awards for a "program that truly embodies the spirit of the Association's Advance America campaign," according to a news release from the MSCA.

Article courtesy of Fall River Herald News. Copyright © 2006–2007 GateHouse Media, Inc.

HVAC News 2007 Spring Edition!

Inside this issue: "Shining the Light on Energy Consumption" & "Don't Let High Fuel Costs Drive You Nuts" click to read>>>

Summer 2006 - Smart Motors - Saving Energy by Running Motors Smart Instead of Hard

Honeywell VFD

Yet another HVAC innovation that may save you money and help your HVAC equipment last longer and work more efficiently is the Variable Speed Drive (VSD) or Variable Frequency Drive (VFD).

VFD and VSD drives control the speed of motor-driven equipment such as fans, pumps, compressors, etc. That doesn't sound very sexy, but when you think of how a motor runs, it becomes much more appealing.

Motors generally have two speeds, full speed and stop. VFDs and VSDs allow the motors to run at varying speeds to produce the precise level of comfort you need in a much more efficient way. To put a number on it, motors running at full speed use nearly 8 times the energy of a motor running at half speed.

nearly 8 times the energy of a motor running at half speed. The drives function like a brain for the motor. They tell the motors exactly how fast and how long to run to maintain desired temperatures, airflow, etc. At lower speeds, your motor is still able to provide you with ideal comfort but at much less cost.

Because the majority of time, motors don't need to be running at full speed, systems without VFD or VSD drives use dampers and valves to get rid of the extra cooling or heating. It's similar to flooring the gas pedal on your car and using the brakes to regulate speed. In addition to being an enormous waste of energy, it's also very hard on the car. The drives reduce this kind of wear and tear on your motors.

In addition to saving energy and reducing wear and tear on your equipment, the drives can also alert you of potential problems or needed maintenance, minimizing equipment downtime. In some cases repairs can be done even before anyone notices a problem.

To find out how VFD/VSDs can work for you, please call Advance Air at 508-763-3738 or send an email to info@advanceair.net.

Summer 2006 - Going Above and Beyond in Your Maintenance Agreement

For those of you who are already Maintenance Agreement customers, you know the service that you get from Advance Air goes above and beyond the usual contractor.

Most HVAC contractors will perform maintenance and make sure your equipment starts. However, equipment that runs, doesn't necessarily run correctly. Better contractors will test the equipment, but then immediately convert the free maintenance into to a billed service call to diagnose any problems.

Advance Air not only tests your equipment but most often diagnoses any operational problems as part of our maintenance visit. That way, you know what the problem is before we start charging you. You get more for your budgeted maintenance money and have more information and better piece of mind before you authorize a repair.

To find out how our Maintenance Agreements can work for you, at 508-763-3738 or visit Equipment Maintenance page.

Spring 2006 - Advance Air Joins NSTAR to Improve Efficiency of Existing HVAC Units

New technology is available that adds an entirely new dimension to HVAC maintenance, far beyond what could be accomplished through existing methods.

More than 60% of the HVAC units operating today are NOT running at peak efficiency, even though they maintain cooling temperatures. This means that your HVAC units may be running longer and working harder than they have to, costing an additional 5 - 40% in cooling costs.

So, how do you know if your unit is running efficiently? Advance Air has partnered with NSTAR to bring you a cost-effective way to test your equipment's efficiency and diagnose efficiency-reducing problems. With the Honeywell Service Assistant, the most advanced portable diagnostic tool on the planet, we can actually show you how efficiently (or not) your unit is. If it needs repair, we can show you the dollar value of your future energy savings (see sample report below). And we can even apply for rebates through NSTAR for qualifying repairs.

Here's how it works: we attach the digital tool to the HVAC equipment. The tool takes readings from the equipment then automatically calculates them. It then connects via the Internet to a comprehensive database of standards of operation for that particular unit. Based on these comparisons, the tool analyzes the efficiency and operating capacity of the unit, and provides recommendations for upgrades or repairs to increase efficiency.

If your budget is tight - and these days, whose isn't - we can provide you the information you need to budget and prioritize repairs and upgrades, including the return on investment or payback period.

Call us now at 508-763-3738 to schedule your efficiency analysis!

The analysis takes approximately 1½ per unit, at a cost of $150/unit. Mention that you read about the Efficiency Analysis Program on our website, and receive $25 off the regular price.

A report like this will be generated from the Efficiency Test. Once repairs are made, a second report will show the improvements in efficiency and operating capacity of the unit. The Savings referenced above are based on calculations provided by NSTAR Electric for one year of normal unit operation.