Archive for the ‘Air Quality’ category

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Did the Clean Up Crew Miss a Spot?

January 30th, 2012

Remodeling projects and repairs leave a big mess in the home especially if the repairs involve drywall. Drywall dust and debris can get all over everything and if your contractors did not take the necessary steps to prevent making a mess, you could have this stuff all over your home and the clean up won’t be easy. You may think that they cleaned everything up but a few cycles of the furnace will prove that they missed a very big spot. The duct work and the furnace are probably filled with debris from your construction project and the only way to get rid of it is to have a professional cleaning performed.

HVAC Clean Up:

  • Duct Cleaning: Every time air circulates through the home it will pick up debris from the job that was done. This along with years of dust and other debris may be lurking in your HVAC reeking havoc on the air quality in your home. A professional duct cleaning will clear out everything that is inside your ducts and collect it safely outside the home for disposal. This will leave you with much cleaner air inside the home.
  • Heating and Cooling Systems: Now that the ducts are clean lets take a look at the furnace and air conditioner. Many homeowners use cheap fiberglass filters that do little to protect the furnace from the particles that flow through the air in the home. All of that construction debris may have found its way into your heating and cooling systems and it needs to be cleared out. A dirty furnace or air conditioner cannot do its job properly or in an efficient matter. You will end up wasting money on excess energy use that could have been prevented with a simple cleaning. » Read more: Did the Clean Up Crew Miss a Spot?

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Purifier, Air Quality, Duct Cleaning, Heating, Home Services, Maintenace

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How Much Electricity Does Your Furnace Use?

December 12th, 2011

All furnaces were not created equal, and when it comes time to purchase a new system for your home, this fact will become overwhelmingly obvious. In the past, most furnaces were similar, but with all of the technological advances in the heating industry, furnaces have many different gizmos and gadgets to choose from. All of these advances are designed to improve performance and many are also made to increase energy efficiency. If you are looking for a new high performance furnace, AFUE ratings will tell you a lot about the systems energy efficiency, but they don’t tell the whole story. Gas furnaces don’t just use gas to heat your home. You need to consider how much electricity your unit will require as well.

The Furnace and Its Blower Motor

Many homeowners don’t even realize that gas powered furnaces use electricity, but if you have a unit with an inefficient blower motor in it, your furnace could be using a lot more electricity than necessary. The standard blower motor has one speed: high. The unit comes on and the blower forces air all over the home until the home reaches the desired temperature. If you have an air purifier, humidifier, or fancy air filter, you may keep the fan running between cycles as well. This helps improve air quality and evens out the temperature in the home. However, these old motors waste much more energy than necessary and there is a better option out there. » Read more: How Much Electricity Does Your Furnace Use?

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Posted in Air Purifier, Air Quality, Furnace, Heating, Information

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Wood Floors and Moisture Don’t Mix!

November 23rd, 2011

Many homeowners that are looking to add value and beauty to their home add wood floors to one or several rooms. This is a wise investment for many and could end up increasing the selling price of the home down the line. However, if you don’t keep these floors in good shape, it could have an opposite effect. Repairing wood floors is much more costly that simply protecting them from damage in the first place. Moisture and lack of moisture are a couple of your wood floors biggest enemies and unless you can maintain proper moisture levels in the home, you may find yourself spending more than you wanted just to maintain or repair this large investment.

Moisture Levels and the Changing Seasons:

  • Summer’s Moisture: The summer months in most areas of the states are plagued by extremely high humidity. This is the kind of moisture that can creep in between your floor boards and cause warping, discoloration, and rot. A fully functional central air conditioning system can remove this humidity from the home if used on a regular basis during the summer. You could also consider a whole house ventilation system coupled with a dehumidifier if you do not want to invest in central air conditioning. Either way you will be able to bring the humidity level down to a tolerable and safe level. » Read more: Wood Floors and Moisture Don’t Mix!

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Quality, Heating, Home Improvements, Home Repairs, Home Services

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Keeping Your Home Safe and Comfortable All Winter

November 21st, 2011

There are a few things that homeowners can do to help keep their furnace running properly for the upcoming winter season. There is nothing more inconvenient than having to schedule an emergency service in the middle of the holiday season. With all of the guests and party planning, who has time to be without heat? No one does, so it is best to take this time to get the furnace and the other protective appliances in your home working properly.

Change Batteries

One thing you can do is change the batteries in the thermostat twice a year. Once prior to the heating season and again prior to the cooling season this will help to ensure that your thermostat will read the proper temperature in your home and operate the equipment properly when needed. As long as you’re changing batteries, this would be a great time to go ahead and change the batteries in your smoke detectors and co detectors. Don’t wait for the annoying beeping to be set off by a dead battery to act, and change all of these batteries now. » Read more: Keeping Your Home Safe and Comfortable All Winter

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Posted in Air Quality, Furnace, HVAC Repair, Heating, Maintenace, Safty

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Wrong Duct Work for Your Dryer Vent

November 2nd, 2011

Many homeowners think that their home is basically fire proof because they have taken some basic fire prevention precautions. You have the furnace cleaned out yearly, blow out candles, and use space heaters properly. You may even have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers all throughout the home, but if you haven’t checked your dryer vent, all of those protective measures could quit literally go up in flames. The dryer vent is the duct work that your clothes dryer uses to exhaust combustion fumes to the outdoors. Most homeowners don’t even know that they have this line of duct work in their home, but neglecting it could cause a major home disaster.

Accordion Duct work and Your Dryer Vent

Accordion duct work consists of some sort of material like plastic or aluminum that is coiled to form a long tube. It is flexible and can be easily installed, but it should never be used to vent a dryer. This type of duct work is usually safely used for add on duct work in the HVAC system, but there are two reasons why it should not be used to vent combustion gasses from your dryer.

  1. Friction: The coiled design of this type of duct work encourages lint to become lodged within the duct. Overtime this can be what creates a buildup of lint within the vent. Lint is extremely flammable and a simple spark of static can set your dryer ablaze. » Read more: Wrong Duct Work for Your Dryer Vent

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Posted in Consumer Protection, Duct Cleaning, Home Services, Maintenace, Safty

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Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality

October 26th, 2011

The air inside your house is said to be 4 x dirtier than the air outside, and this dirty air can be one of the many things that contribute to a decrease in the energy efficiency of the heating and cooling system. If this is true, it only makes sense that someone replacing old and inefficient equipment would also want to purchase that best indoor air quality products available to them.

Air Quality should Matter to Everyone

Indoor air quality products are most commonly purchased by to those with medical issues, and they are seen as unnecessary by those without medical concerns. The fact is the air in your house is dirty enough to cause damage to the new equipment, and once you make a big investment like that, you should want to do everything to protect it from harm. The other major concern consumers have is energy efficiency and the cost of their utility bills. This is often the reason why homeowners upgrade their equipment in the first place. However, the efficiency of the new unit is adversely affected by the poor indoor air quality. » Read more: Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality

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Posted in Air Purifier, Air Quality

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Outdated Duct Work

October 10th, 2011

So you are purchasing a new HVAC system for your home, and you have already found the perfect furnace and air conditioner to replace your old outdated units. You have the systems installed, but once you really start using them, you don’t notice much of a difference between the way the old units worked and the way the new systems work. Sure the energy bills are a little bit lower, but did you really get the return on the investment that you were expecting? If not, the problem may not be with your new systems. The problem is probably located in the most commonly neglected portion of the HVAC system: the duct work.

Assessing the Ducts

            The duct work is more important most homeowners think. Sure, the ducts may not have any fancy gadgets, but their ability to transport air effectively is crucial to the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems. If the air they are conditioning cannot get to the target rooms effectively, you will pay more every month for wasted energy that could have been saved by simply caring for this part of the system. The first step towards getting your ducts working the best that they can is to have them inspected by a professional. A true pro can give you an honest assessment of your ducts, and if they can be salvaged, the repair job is simple. If some parts need to be replaced, it may take a bit more effort, but it is necessary to complete so you can get the most out of your new heating and cooling units. » Read more: Outdated Duct Work

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Posted in Duct Cleaning, Furnace, Go Green, Home Services, Insulation, Money Saving

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Don’t Forget Your Humidifier!

September 21st, 2011

When you start to think about keeping your home comfortable during the winter, the first thing that comes to mind is the furnace or in some cases the boiler. These units are the central component to home comfort during the cold winter months, but they are supported by another system that is often neglected when it comes to yearly maintenance and repairs. The humidifier adds to the comfort within your home, and if you haven’t had this system looked at in years, you could find yourself without it this winter season. As with most things, you don’t truly recognize their value until they are no longer working, but this can be prevented by having your HVAC contractor include this system in your fall furnace tune up.

The Value of Your Humidifier   

Some homeowners can see the value in having a system that adds moisture to the air, but others don’t see the need. We suspect that this is simply due to the fact that they don’t truly understand how their humidifier could help boost comfort and even produce savings during the winter months. It works on the basic principle that moist air can hold more heat than dry air. As the furnace runs, it can eliminate any moisture that may have been in the air leaving the home dry and uncomfortable. » Read more: Don’t Forget Your Humidifier!

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Posted in Air Quality, Furnace, Heating, Maintenace

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Imbalanced Blower Motors

August 24th, 2011

Furnaces and air conditioners can make many different noises, but when the source of the noise is your furnace, odds are the blower motor is having a problem. This fan is probably the one part of your HVAC system that is worked the hardest and longest. Whether you are using the air conditioner or the furnace, the blower motor is up and running pushing air throughout the home. The slightest disturbance in the rotation of this blower can devastate the part and require replacement.

Costly Part Replacement

What kind of things can disturb your blower motor? Well, years of caked on particles and small pieces of debris that find their way into the blower compartment are enough to throw the blower off balance. These find their way to the blower through your ducts, and more often then not, the problem is caused by a lack of maintenance to the HVAC system. The slightest imbalance will cause the part of burn out much earlier than it would if it were balanced, and trust us, you don’t want to replace that blower motor more than necessary. » Read more: Imbalanced Blower Motors

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Duct Cleaning, Heating, Maintenace

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Condensation Leaks

July 20th, 2011

Summer is characterized by two things: heat and humidity. Both are uncomfortable, but having a humid home is simply unbearable at times. Luckily, air conditioning systems are designed to remove both humidity and heat from the interior of your home. The system will condense the moisture in the air into water to be collected by a draining system. Once the moisture is gone, the air in the home will start to feel cooler. Without this capability, air conditioners would offer much less comfort, but if we do not take special care of this component of our air conditioning systems, we could find ourselves with a couple major problems on our hands.

Your Condensation Drain System

After the water vapor in the air is changed to liquid form, it travels to a condensation drain pan to be collected and then drained through the actual condensation drain located near the air conditioner on the inside of the home. You may also have a drain line or pipe that feeds directly to the drain. If any portion of this system becomes clogged, it will appear as though the air conditioner is leaking. » Read more: Condensation Leaks

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Quality, HVAC Repair, Maintenace

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