Tag Archive for Four Seasons

Kate Miller | March 5, 2013
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Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Awareness: Diagram

As we spring forward this coming weekend and set our clocks forward an hour, we should also take this time of year as a reminder to make a few other checks around the home. Local fire departments typically use this as an opportunity to increase awareness about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and give homeowners a checklist of areas in the home to check and protect.

Carbon Monoxide Leak Protection and Prevention

Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning, the Midwest’s largest and most award winning heating and cooling contractor, has gone above and beyond this year to support this awareness movement. One of the ways that they are getting the word out is through the graphic below. This diagram of a house is the perfect way to illustrate where to check for carbon monoxide leaks in your home and how to protect your home from this harmful gas. Check it out, and protect your home this spring, and all year round, from the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

(Click for full sized image)

carbon monoxide poisoning prevention

Category: Air Quality, Helpful Tips, Safety | Tags: , , , , ,
Kate Miller | February 4, 2013
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Win a Free Furnace in Chicago and Northwest Indiana!

furnace contest, free furnace

 

At 24 Hour Heating and Cooling News, we don’t often promote offers from heating and cooling companies, but sometimes a company has an offer that is just too great to pass up. Right now, homeowners in Chicago and Northwest Indiana have an opportunity to win a free furnace from the area’s leading heating and cooling contractor, Four Seasons Heating, Air Conditioning, and Plumbing.

Searching for the Oldest Furnace

The Four Seasons Prehistoric Furnace Contest is Four Seasons’ attempt to find the oldest furnace heating system still in operation within their service area, Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. Homeowners are encouraged to snap a photo of their ancient furnace and submit it to the contest along with information like the system’s make and model. From February 1st through April 15th, Four Seasons will collect entries, and on the 16th of April, they will announce the winner. Read more

Category: Contractors, Furnace, Heating, Helpful Tips | Tags: , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | January 28, 2013
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Impressive Insulation Statistics!

Unfortunately, when it comes to improving the energy efficiency in the home, many homeowners take the wrong approach. They believe that because they cannot afford to make massive changes they shouldn’t bother to make changes at all. Needless to say this is not the best approach to take to improving energy efficiency.

You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on major projects like geothermal heating or solar panel installation to save money on your energy bills! There are alternatives, and adding insulation to the home is one of the most cost effective ways to lower your energy costs without spending an outrageous amount of cash up front! Check out this infographic from Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning for some impressive insulation statistics, and if you live in the Chicagoland area, give them a call to take advantage of the many benefits insulation has to offer.

Category: Go Green and Energy Efficiency, Home Services, Insulation, Money Saving | Tags: , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | January 11, 2012
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Boilers Teetering on the Edge of Replacement

Boilers may be considered an alternative form of heating for the home, but for many homeowner that have had a boiler in their home for years would never switch over to forced central air. Boilers do have their perks over the more common forced air furnaces, and one of these perks is the ability to last for extremely long periods of time. Some boilers can even go up to 40 years before breaking down entirely, and if you have never replaced the boiler that is currently operating your home, ask yourself, “How old is my boiler?” Odds are the unit is getting on in the years and because everything has been working fine, you probably have not even thought to check the condition of the system. Doing so may have you leaning towards replacement in the very near future.

2 Big Old Boiler Problems:

  • Lack of Energy Efficiency: Boilers that are over 20 years old, even if well maintained, cannot hope to be very energy efficient. These old systems were simply not built for energy efficiency and in many cases, the unit is somewhere around 50% inefficient. Every time that old boiler kicks on it waste tons of your money, and unless you want to keep paying more than necessary, you should replace the unit with a new high efficiency model. Read more
Category: Boiler, Heating, Helpful Tips, Money Saving, Safety | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | December 28, 2011
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Don’t Turn Off the Furnace!

As you head out the door this holiday season to visit family and friends for an extended period of time, there is one crucial mistake that you must not make. Do not turn off the furnace. Many homeowners are looking for any way to save money, and you may assume that since no one will be home to need the comfort of the furnace, it won’t matter if it is shut down for a few days. However, you would be wrong! Leaving the furnace off during winter puts your home at serious risk for water damage, but it can be prevented!

How Your Pipes Will Freeze

When the furnace is turned off completely, the home has no protection against the elements. All you need is one extra chilly night to surround your home and suddenly you will have frozen pipes around the house. Within hours the temperature will begin to warm as the sun rises and those pipes will begin to thaw. The ice will have expanded the pipe and could have caused cracks that compromised the integrity of the pipe. As it thaws, water will begin to force its way through and the pressure may cause the pipe to burst! Read more

Category: Boiler, Furnace, Heating, Home Services, Insulation, Money Saving, Plumbing, Safety | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Raymond S- HVAC Specialist | September 5, 2011
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Spots on the Ceiling, Moisture in the Attic

The last time you painted your ceiling did you notice spots around the outside walls? Those spots are usually an indication that the insulation in the attic is starting to loose its R value, and condensation may be the source of your problem.

Attic Insulation and Year Round Condensation

During the summer and winter the poorly insulated attics will accumulate condensation. In the summer this moisture can leak into the lower level ceilings of the home once it soaks through the insulation, and it could also become a source of mold growth. Once wet, insulation is useless and no longer carries an r-value. In the winter this moisture becomes frost in your attic that further diminishes the effectiveness of what little insulation you may have up there. This situation can be corrected by adding blown in insulation to your attic. This blown in insulation will help to minimize future spots from occurring on your ceiling, but more importantly it will help cut your heating and cooling bills. Read more

Category: Home Improvements, Home Repairs, Insulation | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | April 18, 2011
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The A/C is Cooling, but the House is Still Warm!

One thing that I have learned over my years as a service technician is that if an air conditioner is blowing out cold air but the home doesn’t seem to be cooling down, heat gain may be the source of the problem in that home. Heat gain is the amount of heat entering the home through windows, doors, poorly insulated walls and ceilings, and we cannot forget the heat gained by having kids constantly running in and out of the house. As a homeowner, there are many ways you can increase your energy efficiency by decreasing your home’s heat gain.

Keep the Heat Out!

  1. Check Insulation: During the hottest time of the day feel your walls and ceilings. Do they feel warm to the touch? If they do feel warm you have located a major source of heat gain. Having a specialist come out and check the insulation in your attic can be a true money saver. They will be able to tell you how much insulation you are lacking and help you resolve this problem. There are a variety of insulation materials and depending on the company you hire, each will have their own type that they prefer. Read more
Category: Air Conditioning, Home Repairs, Home Services, Insulation | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,