Archive for the ‘Furnace’ category

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Snow and Your High Efficiency Furnace

November 28th, 2011

It is the middle of winter. Through the night several inches of snow have fallen and suddenly the furnace won’t kick on. Everything seems to be working properly, but there is something standing in the way between you and your comfort! If you are the owner of a high efficiency furnace, finding yourself in this situation may be common, but luckily, there is a quick fix that may not even require the help of an HVAC serviceman.

New Technology

The technology that makes it possible for your furnace to operate at such high efficiencies is relatively new, and because of this fact, you may not be aware of some of the differences your new system has compared to the unit you had in the home before it. By improving the way that the system is vented, the manufacturers of your high efficiency furnace were able to get more energy out of the natural gas that the furnace would consume. However, this new venting system can become easily obstructed and the obstruction will trigger safety systems to prevent proper function of the system. » Read more: Snow and Your High Efficiency Furnace

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Posted in Furnace, Go Green, HVAC Repair, Heating, Safty

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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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Types of Furnaces and Choosing the Right One for Your Home

October 31st, 2011

Today consumers have many options when it comes to the type of furnace that they can purchase for their home.  Gone are the days of only having energy inefficient furnaces to choose from, and now is the time to really think about saving energy with a new system.  When choosing a new furnace, pay the most attention to the Gas Furnace Efficiency Rating, which is measured as AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency).  Furnaces of the past with an AFUE of 60-80% were very common.  Today, furnaces have reached 95% AFUE and some are even higher!

Understanding AFUE Ratings

AFUE ratings can be a little hard to understand for the average homeowner, but a good way to understand this would be to use the example of money.  An 80% AFUE furnace delivers .80 cents worth of heat for every dollar of natural gas that it burns.  The remaining amount is wasted through your flue or chimney pipe during the combustion process.  If you live in the Chicagoland area, you will operate your furnace for an average of 6-8 months per year.  Therefore, you should buy the highest efficiency unit that you can afford.  The initial cost may be more, but it will pay you back from month to month in lower utility bills. » Read more: Types of Furnaces and Choosing the Right One for Your Home

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Posted in Furnace, Heating, Information, Money Saving

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Customized Furnace Sales Pitch

October 19th, 2011

Most of us learn from the mistakes that we make. We do something wrong and then make a point to change something in the future to prevent a repeat mistake. Some homeowners, however, keep making the same HVAC mistakes over and over and it isn’t necessarily their fault. The problem lies with the HVAC contractor that installed the furnace and air conditioner in their home.

A Common Mistake

The salesman who recommended the unit that was installed fell into the all too common trap of recommending a unit based on the preexisting model that is in the home. For example, he recommends a 20,000btu furnace just because the furnace that has been heating the home for the past however many years is a 20,000btu unit. This can create problems if the old unit isn’t actually the right unit for the home. You deserve a customized sale that involves assessing your needs and the requirements of the home. » Read more: Customized Furnace Sales Pitch

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Consumer Protection, Contractors, Furnace, Heating

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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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Protect Your Family, Home, and Health

October 5th, 2011

Heating tune-ups help prevent breakdowns and potential hazards, and a through furnace cleaning done correctly can save you money and time, and it can also improve the efficiency of your current system. What we don’t know, can hurt us, and this is defiantly true when it comes to the condition of your furnace heating system. Most people never think about their heating unit until it breaks down. This is due to the fact that most gas furnaces are very reliable, and they are often kept “out of sight, out of mind.”

Catastrophic Failures

The problem is, despite its reliability, a catastrophic failure of your furnace could occur at any time, and that failure could result in a gas leak, fire or carbon monoxide poisoning. The only way to prevent that type of disaster is with regular inspections of your heating system. » Read more: Protect Your Family, Home, and Health

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Posted in Boiler, Consumer Protection, Furnace, Heating, Maintenace, Safty

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Lennox Furnaces Stand the Test of Time

October 3rd, 2011

People are always asking, “Who is the best HVAC manufacturer?” There really isn’t a straight forward answer to that question because no matter who made your furnace, it will not be its best without proper installation and yearly maintenance. With that said, we recently dealt with a customer who was very satisfied with his Lennox furnace. He had scheduled a serviceman to check over the system for the season, and though it was found that the unit needed to be replaced, the customer couldn’t have been happier with what he had gotten out of his unit over the years.

37 Years of Service

            This customer’s Lennox furnace was installed back in 1974. This made the unit 37 years old, and when you consider that the typical furnace will last 20 to 25 years, this unit truly did stand the test of time. When we asked about the history of the unit, the customer was proud to tell us that over the years he only had one minor repair done to the system. The thermocouple was replaced about 15 years prior, and when you consider the number of expensive things that can fail on a furnace, this one low cost repair was truly remarkable. » Read more: Lennox Furnaces Stand the Test of Time

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Posted in Contractors, Furnace, Heating, Maintenace, Value

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Put a Stop to Reoccurring Furnace Problems

September 26th, 2011

Every year as the weather turns colder and people turn their furnaces on for the first time and many discover that the unit doesn’t work. After all it has run for most of the previous winter along with the entire summer without being tuned up, so you have to ask yourself, “What did I expect?”

Preventing Inconvenient Breakdowns

How can you prevent this unexpected and inconvenient situation from continuing to happen? Its simple, just have regular maintenance preformed on your furnace and air conditioner every year. According to industry leading experts, regular maintenance of your equipment extends the life of the systems, helps to prevent untimely breakdowns, and allows them to use less energy. All of this adds up to having a system that is saving you money while it keeps you warm. » Read more: Put a Stop to Reoccurring Furnace Problems

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Posted in Boiler, Furnace, Heating, Maintenace

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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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A Safe Furnace

September 19th, 2011

Everyone wants a safe furnace. No one wants to wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of a smoke detector or carbon monoxide detector going off. Yet there are those among us that never have their furnaces cleaned or safety checked. Cleaning a furnace is basically the same for thirty year old furnaces as it is for two year old furnaces. Yes the new the furnaces have more sensors that need cleaning than their older counter parts, but things like burners, blowers, sensors and heat exchangers all get dirty. Age doesn’t mater. A dirty burner will not burn as cleanly or as efficiently as a clean burner. The same is true of sensors, dirty sensors are more likely to fail compared to clean ones. The need for cleaning and adjustment of all furnace components is necessary for trouble free operation.

Cleaning and Safety Checks

Safety checks are the most important part of the yearly furnace clean and safety check. If your furnace breaks, you don’t have heat, but if the furnace becomes unsafe, you could have much bigger problems. Newer furnaces have more sensors and safety devices than the older ones. These new sensors and safety devices were not put in your furnace so the manufacturer could charge more for their furnace. They were incorporated in the design to protect you from catastrophic failures. Having these safety devices checked annually will insure the safe operation of your furnace. » Read more: A Safe Furnace

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Posted in Boiler, Consumer Protection, Furnace, Heating, Safty

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