The Legendary Douglas Raymond Farnik

September 18th, 2018

Our beloved boss passed away and he will be greatly missed. We are thankful for his life and for sharing his wisdom with us so we can continue the business that he created that has served so many. RIP Doug, we love you.

The legendary Douglas Raymond Farnik, age 70, passed away Friday, Aug. 10, 2018, from a severe heart attack at his home in Joshua Tree.

Doug was born in Havre, Montana, on Feb. 23, 1948, son of Joseph and Dorothy Farnik.

He was raised on a farm 8 miles north of a small rural town, Hingham, population 150.

He loved animals: cows, pigs, chickens, his horse Sye and especially dogs. He helped his dad on the wheat farm from an early age, learning to operate all kinds of equipment. His mother, Dorothy, started him playing the keyboards at age 9, going 100 miles one way to Great Falls once a week for lessons. Doug played organ at Inverness Supper Club with his mother on Saturday nights when he was a teenager. He continued to perform and played almost every weekend and New Year’s Eve until recent years.

He graduated high school from Hingham High in 1966. He played basketball, did many science projects and acted in several plays. His high school selected Doug to go to Montana Boys State. American Legion Boys State is among the most respected and selective educational programs of government instruction for high school students.

He attended the College of Great Falls and the University of Montana in Missoula to pursue his pharmacy degree while playing music at country clubs and bars, making many lifelong friends. In Missoula, the band OPUS 3 was formed. In 1969, the OPUS 3 moved to the LA area to join a show band called The Rising Generation, which toured the United States and Canada and appeared with Tennessee Ernie Ford and Red Skelton. The Rising Generation did a USO tour during the Vietnam War where he played in Guam, the Philippines, Korea and Japan.

In 1972, he began his career in the appliance/central air, construction business, which he has been currently running for over 45 years. In 1983, he married the love of his life, JoNell, while living in Whittier. In 1990, they moved to Joshua Tree, and continued to live in both cities for 28 years.

He enjoyed cooking, reading, gardening, entertaining, traveling, mentoring, solving problems, building houses and listening to jazz music and was a private pilot. His travels and cruises took him all over the world and he especially enjoyed the Czech Republic’s food and beer; that was where his grandfather immigrated from. Most of all, Doug enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, especially the grandchildren.

He is survived by his loving wife, JoNell; his children, Jennifer Ciccone (Harold), Jimmy Meyer, Melody Farnik and Billy Meyer (Sarah); his brothers Jerome (Marilyn) and Michael (Denise); nine grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father, brother Eddy and his favorite dog, Togo.

A celebration of Doug’s life will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25, at the Sportsman’s Club at 6225 Sunburst St., in Joshua Tree.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in honor of Doug to his daughter’s nonprofit: animalactionleague.us or P.O. Box 1413, Joshua Tree, CA 92252.

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The Details To Consider When Choosing An AC

May 15th, 2023

When it comes to selecting an air conditioning system for your home or office, it’s crucial to make an informed decision. With a variety of options available in the market, considering the details becomes essential to ensure optimal cooling, energy efficiency, and overall comfort.

We can help you determine the key factors to consider when it’s time for a new AC installation, enabling you to make a well-informed and satisfactory purchase that’ll serve your home for many years to come.

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Is a Heat Pump Right For You?

May 1st, 2023
heat-pumps-beside-house

If you’re asking yourself questions about heat pumps, it’s probably because you’re ready to have your old HVAC system replaced, or else you have a new home and need to make a choice about how you’ll heat and cool it.

The majority of homes in our area use a standard HVAC system that combines an air conditioning system and a furnace. With a heat pump, you only have a single heating and cooling system: the heat pump does both jobs using the same methods.

Essentially, a heat pump is an air conditioning system that can reverse the direction it moves heat. In summer, it pumps heat out of the house. When the temperatures drop, it can switch so it pumps heat into the house.

Back to the original question: is a heat pump installation in Whittier, CA the right choice for your house?

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Here’s What AC Services We Offer

April 17th, 2023
air-conditioning-collage

We’ve had a cold and often rainy winter in Southern California, and so far the early spring hasn’t got much warmer. But make no mistake: the hot weather is on its way and we can anticipate another summer of scorching heat. This is when scheduling air conditioning service can turn into the top priority for a home.

We offer air conditioning service in Whittier, CA and throughout SoCal—we’ve been experts in both commercial and residential air conditioning since 1956, so we definitely know how to best deal with the California heat. When people think of AC services, they often just consider repairs. Our AC services go much further. Below are some of the air conditioning services you’ll find at our company.

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5 Factors to Know About Commercial Indoor Air Quality

April 3rd, 2023
woman-with-allergies

Indoor air quality (IAQ) plays a vital role in the operation of your commercial business. It’s as important as maintaining proper indoor temperatures, but people often don’t realize it. 

If you haven’t given much consideration to the indoor air quality of your commercial facility, we strongly advise you to give some thought to it. Below we’ve listed five factors about commercial indoor air quality that we think you need to know.

1. Poor Commercial Indoor Air Quality Is a Common Problem

You might think that poor air quality isn’t something that most commercial buildings have to deal with. Unfortunately, the air inside buildings is often four to five times worse than the air outside, the opposite of what most people expect. The EPA has determined that poor IAQ is a major health concern, and commercial buildings have a high amount of indoor pollutants that can easily become trapped indoors and create low IAQ.

2. Poor IAQ Creates Immediate Health Issues

You can read some scary statistics about the long-term health effects of poor IAQ. But there are immediate effects as well that can create problems for your business. Poor indoor air quality leads to headaches, nausea, asthma, and flu-like symptoms, sometimes creating “sick building syndrome.” This can mean a drop in productivity among employees and customers/clients who don’t want to spend much time in your facility.

3. HVAC Maintenance Is an Important Part of IAQ

There are many reasons to always stay current with maintenance for the heating, air conditioning, and ventilation system in your commercial property. You might not have realized that IAQ is one of them. It’s difficult for a dusty and dirty HVAC system to keep the air in the building clean.

Clogged air filters also lead to serious IAQ problems. Poorly maintained ACs will create higher humidity indoors, which is an IAQ problem all on its own. When you have your HVAC equipment maintained on a regular schedule, you’ll conquer many basic indoor air quality concerns.

4. Proper Ventilation Is Essential for Quality IAQ

One of the basic ways to improve indoor air quality for a commercial building is to ensure proper ventilation. A common issue in commercial facilities is negative air pressure: this is when too much air is vented from the building but not enough is vented back in.

Poor ventilation also means numerous contaminants getting trapped inside the facility and continuing to circulate through the HVAC system. Your commercial space may need upgrades, retrofits, and replacements to your property’s ventilation in order to combat IAQ issues.

5. Humidity Control Is Part of Better IAQ

We mentioned above how a lack of maintenance for an air conditioning system can lead to increased indoor humidity. Imbalanced humidity in general is a major IAQ problem. It not only affects the comfort and health of people inside the facility, but it can also cause damage to electronic equipment, promote mold growth, and cause a steep rise in energy usage. 

When you’re ready to improve your commercial indoor air quality in Whittier, CA or elsewhere in Southern California, reach out to the team at Greenleaf. 

Trust to Greenleaf Heating & Cooling: Your Residential and Commercial Experts Serving All of Southern California Since 1956.

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Is a Commercial AC Also a Server Room Cooler?

March 20th, 2023
temperature-gauge-at-right-temperature

This is a common misunderstanding people have about commercial cooling systems. People are often more familiar with the residential air conditioning systems that cool down their homes, and extend that knowledge to commercial cooling.

There are many overlaps when it comes to residential air conditioning and commercial air conditioning in Whittier, CA. Refrigerant-based split systems are common to both, and the packaged units found on the rooftops of so many commercial buildings are sometimes used for smaller homes (although they often aren’t on the roof). But commercial systems are larger, more complex, and more varied because they must target a range of different needs within a facility. This is where we get to server room cooling.

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Why Invest in a Commercial Indoor Air Quality Unit?

March 6th, 2023
changing-air-filter

Spring is around the corner and with it, allergy season. Just because you have four walls and a roof over your business space, it doesn’t mean that the air indoors is going to be the right quality. And there is nothing like a sneezing fit or itchy skin to ruin someone’s concentration.

Investing in a commercial indoor air quality system means investing in better comfort for clients, customers, and employees. Here’s what you should know about your IAQ system options and the benefits they can bring to your space.

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It’s Never Out Of Season To Consider Server Room Cooling

February 20th, 2023

Have you ever walked into the house of someone who plays video games on their PC? You likely noticed that the heat from that computer alone warmed the house on a cold day. This gives you a real-life example of just how much heat computers and internet servers can generate.

Most commercial businesses utilize some form of technology. If you’re a business that uses a larger amount of network server resources, you likely need a server room. And, if you didn’t know this already, those servers will produce a lot of heat.

Heat and computer servers don’t mix. So if you need to install a reliable server room cooling system in Whittier, you’re in the right place to get started.

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Choosing Your Next Heater

February 6th, 2023

We all know how chilly Long Beach can get. Just think about those days with high wind or heavy rainstorms that can catch even the most well-prepared Californians by surprise. We don’t see temperatures in the negatives, but it can certainly get more than cold enough to need the help of a good heater to get through the day.

This can be a tough ask if you don’t have a heater to rely on. It pays to invest in a quality heating installation in Long Beach, CA. You can start by learning what your options are. Here’s what you need to know about your heating system options before you schedule an installation.

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What to Expect With Commercial HVAC Installs

January 23rd, 2023

Getting a new commercial HVAC system installed in your building or facility is no small job. The sheer size of the building and the amount of work the system has to do are vastly different than the requirements of a residential system. And that’s just the start of things.

Installing new commercial HVAC in Long Beach, CA is a job that requires a professional who is fully trained and certified to handle these types of systems. When you have pros, you’ll enjoy peace of mind knowing your new system is installed correctly. Here’s what you should know about getting a new commercial heating and cooling system installed.

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What’s Wrong With Your Ducts?

January 9th, 2023

If you aren’t familiar with the ductwork in your home and what it does, we want to give you a small crash course. The ducts in your house serve as the delivery system for all the temperature-controlled air produced by your duct-based comfort system. When you run your ducted heat pump, central AC, or furnace, the air that these systems create is pumped through the ducts and vents and into the rooms around the house.

As you may have guessed by now, a problem in your ducts means a problem with your comfort.

Ducts can wear down over the years, the same as your home comfort systems can. The difference is that your ducts are out of sight so you can’t assess their condition. Plus, leaks or holes are much harder to find than issues like a broken fan! Here’s what you need to know about duct issues and how to handle them.

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