May 1st is here… What is that about a grey cat?

If your ac’s filter looks like a grey cat, it is time to change it! (Art by Caitlin L.)

Hello Everyone!

Because it is the 1st of May, I thought it would be a great time to remind you of a simple task that may make your life better. It may even help your pocketbook or checking account.

Oh, wait, I guess you are also wondering about the title of this post? Well, the two are related. Go check out your air filters for your air conditioner… RIGHT NOW… seriously… RIGHT NOW… I will wait for you.  If they look like a grey cat, then it is most likely time to change them.

So, why is it important to change your ac filter(s)? Well, it is best explained if you pick up a straw and pinch it off. If you try to suck air through that pinched off straw, you are going to start straining to get air through it. You will probably turn a few shades of red and maybe even purple. You will begin to sweat, and a large vein may even form in your forehead.

This is the same with a “grey cat” filter. If the filter is clogged, your ac begins to strain to get air. It puts a strain on your entire system. If your system is older, this additional stress could do your system in for good.

In addition to it being important to change your air filter (or at least check to be sure it is not filthy), it is a great time to give your air conditioner some TLC (Tender Loving Care). Call today to set up a preventive maintenance check. These “check-ups” are extremely important, and can help catch minor problems that could become major, if they are not dealt with.

Currently, we are running a special in the Summerville/Greater Charleston Area for this service.  Click here to get your coupon.

A special “Thank You” to Caitlin L. for providing me with custom art for this blog.

Have a great day… and, May God Continue to Bless You and Your Family!

Are you considering a new air conditioner?

6 Reasons to say YES!

Now, may be the right time!

(Bullet points are below if you don’t feel like reading…LOL.  A link to our specials is also below.)

I am sure that you are thinking…”Of course the AC company thinks now is the time for an ac replacement”. But there are actually a few good reasons to get your ac replaced now.

1. The weather is nice right now. That means that when you get your ac replaced, you won’t be baking in your home while the work is being completed. Let’s face it, South Carolina can be down right HOT and MUGGY in the summer. What is worse is when you have invited people to your home for a celebration, a holiday, or to just get together, and the air conditioner goes out. Usually, it is on the weekend when rates are at an all time high.
2. With the “trade” issues that are going on between the US and China, our manufacturers are already warning us of increases in equipment costs. Why, you might ask? METAL. We are being told that prices could increase between 8 – 10%. If you know you need an air conditioner replacement, don’t wait until the costs of the equipment go up.
3. If you are a SCE&G Customer, the rebates have increased for certain energy efficient models. The rebates can range from $300 to $500 per unit that is replaced.
   

   Call for details on the SCE&G Rebates that are available.

4. R-22 is at all time highs! What is R-22? It is a type of refrigerant that has been used for the last 30 – 40 years in air conditioners, heat pumps, and other “refrigeration”.  Why is it being phased out? The US Environmental Protection Agency has deemed that R-22 will become illegal in the United States on January 1, 2020. After this date, R-22 will not be able to be manufactured or imported into the United States. How does that effect you? R-22 used to be an inexpensive refrigerant. Now, the cost for a jug of R-22 is over $700 wholesale. The retail cost of R-22 is between $90 -$150+ per lb. Please remember that refrigerant doesn’t just evaporate; it either leaks out or it is let out. If your unit is “completely empty”, don’t “refill it” without repairing the leak (if that is even possible).
5. More efficient units are available now! When you purchase an air conditioner or heat pump, in most cases, you are buying a unit with better efficiency than the older unit. With a higher Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER rating), your unit uses less electricity and you end up saving money on your electric bill. How much can it save? In some cases it can save as much as $100+ per month. Arctic Air can help you decide which SEER rating makes the most sense for you and your family.
6. There are some great financing options available for those with approved credit. There are plans with 0% interest when paid in full by a designated time. There are other plans that are as low as 5.99%. We have financing options for those with “good” credit and “not-so good” credit. Please give Arctic Air a call to discuss the details, and how this type of financing can help you fit a new air conditioner into your budget.

If you just scrolled through and didn’t want to read the information, here are the bullet points.

• WEATHER – You won’t bake while having your unit installed.
• TRADE – Metal that is being imported into the US may have tariffs added. Prices may go up 8-10%.
• SCE&G Rebates – Rebates have increased
• R-22 – R-22 is being phased out and costs for it are outrageous.
• Save $$$ – Save money on your electric bill with an energy efficient unit.
• Financing – We have financing for those with good credit and “not-so good” credit

Please feel free to give us a call at 843-821-0937 to schedule your preventive maintenance, service call or free appointment for a replacement unit.

LINK TO SPECIALS HERE

Thank you and we hope that you have a great day!

My Happy Place… Grand Turk – 2018

Hello Friends,

I have lived in South Carolina all of my life! I cannot remember any snow storms like the one that the Charleston area is experiencing right now. At our home, we have at least 6-8″ of the white powdery stuff. As I was heading to meet with a customer on Wednesday, I drove from the Summerville exit to the College Park Rd exit. I think that there were about 12 cars in the ditch and that was just in the east bound lanes. I called my customer and told him that I thought it would be best for me to turn around. Thank God, I did. Shortly after I turned around, the sleet stopped and the snow fell, and fell, and fell. It was definitely a beautiful thing to see!

Our hope is that you are either safely at home, or safely at work. My neighbor is a firefighter, and he was leaving at around 6am to head into work. There are people around us that really do sacrifice their own safety, to be able to serve our community. So, whether you are a firefighter, police officer, EMS, 911 operator, military personnel, doctor, nurse, and the list goes on…Thank you! And a thank you to those who have less glorified positions… waitresses, cooks, cashiers. Whoever reported to work today to serve someone else… Thank you!

With this extreme cold, we know that there are many families without heat. Because of the conditions on the roads, we are not able to get out today. We are taking calls and as soon as it is safe, we will be getting out to provide help. Please call ASAP, so that we can get you in the line up.

Our technicians will be working on Saturday to try to get to as many people as quickly as possible.

We appreciate your patience and understanding!

You can place a service call by calling 843-821-0937, or by going to www.arcticairincsc.com to place an online service call.

Please feel free to share your photos of your wintery weather scene!

Sincerely,

Mike & Staci

Thanks to Theresa F. for this photo opportunity.

Koda all tucked in!

It was too cold for us to go out, but our neighbors and their kids were having the best time (Jesse, Theresa, Mackenzie, Logan and Mason).  Cooper, the golden lab, had a ball outside too!

Lighting the way.

Koda all tucked in!

The view from our front porch.

The view from inside of our home.

Hello Everyone!

We are so excited! The Holiday Season is here… Thanksgiving and Christmas! YES! This is time that we get to spend with family and friends to give “THANKS” for all of the blessings that we have. The United States of America may not be perfect, but I am so thankful for our country and what it stands for. I am thankful for the men and women that serve in the military, the police departments, the fire departments and other “first responder” positions across our great land. The media loves to report the “not-so-great-news”! I am saying, let’s focus on the “Good News”, the great people in our lives, and the blessings that we have been given.

I must say that this year has been a tough one. Nonetheless, I am still VERY thankful for all of the blessing that I have in my life. Some of you may know that I have been in the hospital several times this year. Medically, it has been tough, but I still count myself blessed. Though, I am not out of the woods yet, I have a great team of Doctors (MUSC Doctors, Nurses and  staff ROCK!).  I am thankful that my Dad is still with us. Last year, he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. He has gone through several rounds of chemo-therapy, and keeps fighting everyday. Again, tough stuff, but, as a family, we are still thankful!

What are you thankful for? Feel free to post in the comments section of Facebook, Twitter or Google.

In other news… Summerville Journal Scene – Readers’ Choice Awards – Voting Begins!

Arctic Air, Inc. was nominated for the Summerville Journal Scenes’ Readers’ Choice Award. So, basically, we have gotten through the first step. The next step is to have our friends, family, customers, and others vote for us. It would be such an honor to receive this award. And, to be honest, it would give us bragging rights for the next year! So, how do you vote? Simply click the link below. If you haven’t already, you may have to register, but it is not a long process at all!

Please click the link below and vote for Arctic Air, Inc!

Summerville Journal Scene – Readers’ Choice Voting – Vote Arctic Air, Inc in the Heating and Cooling Section

Thanks in advance & Happy Thanksgiving!

Many of you have used Arctic Air for your ac and heating needs, and we have been honored to serve you!

We have been selected as a 2017 Summerville Journal Scene’s Readers’ Choice Award nominee. We could use your help… and here is how….

**VOTING ENDS NOV 4, 2017 – The Summerville Journal Scene (our local newspaper in Summerville) is taking nominations/votes for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Arctic Air, Inc. has been nominated (they have us listed as Arctic Heating and Air). We would be honored to have this award, and we need YOUR help!

Please click the link below, then scroll down to the “Heating and Cooling Co” section. Click the arrow to open the list of nominations. Then select “Arctic Heating and Air”. Easy Peasy!

http://journalscene.secondstreetapp.com/l/Readers-Choice-2017Nomination-1/Ballot/GoodsampServices

Thank you for taking time to place your vote! ?

Extra – Extra – Read All About It!

Arctic Air is looking for experienced, quality service technicians to join our family and our team.

Are you looking for a quality company to grow with? Are you looking for a company that appreciates your hard work? Are you looking for a long term career? Are you wanting to spend more time with your family? Take a look at Arctic Air!

Arctic Air has been in business for over 24 years in the Summerville/Greater Charleston/Mt. Pleasant Area. Arctic Air is family owned and operated.  We believe in treating each and every employee with respect and appreciation. We believe in maintaining a high standard of work ethic. We always strive to be better tomorrow than we are today. Therefore, we are willing to invest in you with continuing education to help make you the best service technician you can be.

This position is for a career, but we also believe that your family is extremely important. Therefore, we are able to plan for your family events. Do you need to be off on a certain day or time to make it to your child’s school performance? No problem, we can work with you to make sure you don’t miss out on these important events.

Would you like an opportunity to make more than your hourly salary? There are opportunities throughout each day to do just that!

We do not hire in the summer, then fire in the winter. We want to keep our techs for the “long haul”.

HVAC SERVICE TECHNICIAN – RESIDENTIAL

Residential and Light Commercial (Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration)

Responsibilities

• Dependability – Arrive at jobs on time.
• Quality – Diagnose and make the repair right the first time.
• Friendliness – Treat customers and co-workers with respect, compassion and consideration.
• Drug Free – Arctic Air has a ZERO Tolerance policy for illegal drug use.
  Additional responsibilities include:
  • Service Calls – including driving to customer sites, greeting customers, troubleshooting, and diagnosing/resolving problems.
  • Describing options and costs, obtaining approval, and making repairs.
  • Performing preventive maintenance.
  • Repairing systems.
  • Checking condensation drain lines to ensure proper drainage.
  • Documenting services, explaining guarantees/warranties, collecting/recording and delivering fees.
  • Ensuring that all repairs and installations are accurate, serviceable, meet safety and regulatory standards and codes.
  • Ordering parts and/or materials for jobs.
  • Promoting service agreements.
• Required Credentials
  • 6 months – 1 year of related HVAC service experience in addition to training, or equivalent combination of experience and advanced training.
  • EPA certification and advanced knowledge of electrical and gas diagnostics and air flow.
  • Current driver’s license with a good driving record.
  • Strong communications and interpersonal skills
  • The ability to regularly move, lift, and carry objects weighing up to 75 pounds, including ductwork, air handlers, furnaces, tools, etc.
  • Willingness and ability to occasionally work evenings. Rotation schedule for weekends.

Preferred Credentials:
• High school diploma or GED equivalent.
• Two or more years of electrical/HVAC service training, or completion of an approved training program.

Compensation:
Full-time employees receive competitive pay; comprehensive paid training; insurance allowance; uniform allowance; paid time off and holidays; and 401(k) with company match.

Company provided vehicle, gas card, cell phone, laptop, hotspot!

Arctic Air, Inc. is looking for experienced, quality service technicians to join our family and our team. In order to make things as easy as possible, we have set up two Saturdays for interviews. The first Saturday is on July 24th between 9am – 2pm. The second is set for July 8 between 9am – 2pm.

BEAT THE COMPETITION… CALL FOR AN EARLIER APPOINTMENT OR APPLY ONLINE!

(Holiday hours are listed at the bottom of this post)

As we approach December 25, 2016, we would like to wish all of our friends, family members, customers and employees a very Merry Christmas!

Arctic Air has always been a family based business. We all have to make money in order to live in this world. Money is a tool that is used in our daily lives, and yes, money is important. Money is not the most important thing in our lives though. As we get older, we begin to realize that time spent together, family, friends and relationships are much higher on the list.

The Arctic Air Team is just like family. We are extremely proud of each person in our family. Working with this group of men and women is a great honor. We all care about each other, each other’s families. We would like to wish John, Valarie, Staci, Mike, Chuck, Troy, Craig, Vitaliy, Kathy, Zack, and Becky, and their families a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! We greatly appreciate all of you!

We would also like to thank all of our customers/friends for the support you have given us over the last 23 years. We care about you and your families. We hope that you have a great time with your friends and family this Christmas. Merry Christmas to all of you!

At Christmas time, we get a chance to get together, share stories, life experiences and make memories together. It is always nice when our friends who work with us bring in their families. This year we got to visit with some special people. Craig brought in his family and his two new boxer puppies, and Troy brought in his son, Benjamin (who absolutely loves coming to the shop).

We would like to share some of those photos with you ….

We will be closing the office at 2 pm on Friday, December 23rd and we will reopen the office on Tuesday, December 27th. If you need us, please call the office at 843-821-0937,  and a live person will answer your call. We do have a service technician on call for the weekend and the holidays.

May God Bless you and your family through the Holidays, and throughout 2017.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!

Well, it seems like Christmas is a long way off, but it is actually sneaking up on us rather quickly! On Saturday, December 3, 2016, Arctic Air had its annual Christmas Get-Together. In the past, we have gone to local restaurants to celebrate. The problem that we have found with going to a restaurant is that it becomes a bit difficult to talk to everyone. This year, we wanted to do something a little different, and that is what we did. Thanks to the help of Kathy, Staci, and Chuck, we were able to transform our warehouse into a cozy, warm venue.

We are so blessed as a company.  We have a group of great service technicians, office staff and owner’s… bar none! The air conditioning and heating industry is not for the faint of heart. It is a profession where our technicians are working in the extremes of the weather. Throughout the summer, the attics in most residences are over 150°F. When our customers are hot, our technicians are even hotter. In the winter, in the brutal cold of South Carolina (our friends from the north are laughing here), our technicians are out in the cold, wind and rain trying to fix systems to make our customers comfortable.

Thankfully, each of our staff have very supportive spouses that encourage and help keep them going throughout the year.

We would like to express how much we appreciate each person and their significant person on the Arctic Air team.  So, John and Valarie, Kathy and Johnny, Chuck and Tammy, Troy and Jessica, Staci and Mike, Craig and Jennifer, Vitaliy and Diana, Zack and Meghan, Becky… Thank you for being such and important part of the Arctic Air Team. We appreciate you and the sacrifices that you make to keep our customers happy and our company successful.

Merry Christmas to you! We are looking forward to a successful 2017. We have a great team and are looking forward to continued growth.

Finally, we would like to wish all of our customers a Merry Christmas also. You are a great part of our success and we are thankful for the trust and loyalty that you have placed in Arctic Air. We promise to work hard to be better tomorrow than we were today. We want to serve you with dependability, honesty and integrity.

Arctic Air, Inc. says “Thank You” to all of our First Responders!

Arctic Air would like to say “Thank You” to all of our First Responders for the sacrifices that you make everyday!

We live in a great area!  The majority of people are kind, caring and compassionate. It seems that whenever Charleston gets hit with something bad, the people of Charleston rise up and do great things. (When I say the Charleston area, I mean: Charleston, North Charleston, Hanahan, Goose Creek, Mt. Pleasant, Johns Island, James Island, Moncks Corner, Summerville, Ladson, Lincolnville, Ridgeville, Daniel Island, Jedburg, and others.)

All of us would like to say THANK YOU to all of our First Responders. It is pretty easy to just say “Thank You” and move on, however, I live next to a Charleston County Fireman. I watched him rush to get his house ready for the storm, get his family all together and packed up, and then help move them to a location that they would feel safe. I watched him leave his family, so that he could help the community. Not only did he make sure that his family was ok, he also came over to our house to see if there was anything we needed help with! Jesse Faircloth, we appreciate all that you do, and the sacrifices made by you and your family (Theresa, Mackensie, Mason and Logan).

When I say “Thank You”, it is a deep, heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for those who are leaving their families to help people they don’t even know.

To the Fireman, Police Officers, EMTs, Shelter workers, those at the Emergency Command Center, Nurses, Doctors and others who made sacrifices for others…  THANK YOU!

Below you will find a Super Special just for First Responders (Police, Firemen, EMTs, 911 Dispatchers, National Guard, Military). If I have missed your profession, but you are a considered a First Responder, this applies for you too!

In addition to this special, we will also discount any repairs that need to be made on your ac / heating equipment.  You have to tell us that you are a First Responder in order to get this special.

Please feel free to pass this on to other members of your team!

Before you get to far into this blog, I would love to have you comment on any positive, random acts of kindness that you may have witness before, during or after Hurricane Matthew.  Please post on our Facebook or Twitter pages.

(Scroll down to see the super special – good until 10/31/2016)

What a week! With so much devastation in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, we count ourselves as blessed.

As a survivor of Hurricane Hugo, I personally know the hardship that comes after the storm. My family went without power for 6 weeks. Talk about changing your world!

Also, I have seen the struggles with the “1000 Year Flood” from last year. Some, still have not recovered from that. I know that is tough. And, you are being prayed for by so many.

I will say that I am very proud to be living in the Greater Charleston Area. The majority of people are kind, caring and compassionate. It seems that whenever Charleston gets hit with something bad, the people of Charleston rise up and do great things. (When I say the Charleston area, I mean: Charleston, North Charleston, Hanahan, Goose Creek, Mt. Pleasant, Johns Island, James Island, Moncks Corner, Summerville, Ladson, Lincolnville, Ridgeville, Daniel Island, Jedburg, and others.)

The corner of Varnfield Dr and Sheep Island Rd in Summerville SC

Until this morning (October 11, 2016), Arctic Air still did not have power. Again, thankfully, we were able to still work, but it sure was nice to have power back.  It is amazing how something like electricity can change your life so dramatically. Not to mention, if you are without power at your home.

All of us would like to say THANK YOU to all of our First Responders. It is pretty easy to just say “Thank You” and move on, however, I live next to a Charleston County Fireman. I watched him rush to get his house ready for the storm, get his family all together and packed up, and then help move them to a location that they would feel safe. I watched him leave his family, so that he could help the community. So, when I say “Thank You”, it is a deep, heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for those who are leaving their families.

So to the Fireman, Police Officers, EMTs, Shelter workers, those at the Emergency Command Center, Nurses, Doctors and others who made sacrifices for others…  THANK YOU!

There are others that volunteered and just went out of their way to help another family or friend, we say “Thank You” to you also. In our own neighborhood (Weatherstone – behind Kohl’s in Summerville SC), there were so many acts of kindness. People watching other’s homes, people helping secure items down, people offering help with clean up, people offering up their refrigerators and freezers… It was a wonderful to experience the Weatherstone at its best.

Finally, we would like to offer a Super Special for Residential AC or Heating service calls in our normal service area. This special ends on 10/31/2016. You must mention this special when you call in.  This is a true special!