Posts Tagged ‘Furnace’

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Chicagoans Can Still Save Big on HVAC!

February 1st, 2012

The thick of winter in Chicago didn’t show up until January. For many of us the mild winter meant less use of the furnace and odds are the system really hadn’t been put to the test until the first big snowfall of this year. Now you may be faced with the need to replace that old furnace. For many this is their current predicament and they are kicking themselves for not acting sooner. The federal tax credits and rebates ran out at the end of 2011. Many homeowners have accepted the fact that they are going to have to pay full price, but wait a second! There are still substantial savings out there to be had, but you need to know where to look!

Two Ways to Save:

  • Gas Company Rebates: The local gas companies in Chicago, Nicor and People’s Gas, are still offering rebates on high efficiency furnaces and air conditioners. Replacing both units can get you up to $800 in rebates, and even if you can only afford to replace the furnace, you could still get up to $200 back on your purchase. Every penny counts and the savings could be enough to make buying that high efficiency furnace worth it.
  • Lennox Home Comfort Systems: If the furnace and air conditioner you plan to purchase are from Lennox Home Comfort Systems, you could stand to save even more! They are currently offering manufacturer rebates up to $1450! » Read more: Chicagoans Can Still Save Big on HVAC!

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Go Green, Heating, Money Saving, Value

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Furnace Outage Quick Fix

January 4th, 2012

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could avoid having to call a professional every time your furnace broke down? Well, in many cases there is little that you can do to prevent the need for a professional assessment, but there are a couple steps you can take on your own that may get the unit to kick on again. With any luck, you will be able to get the unit to heat the home at least until you can have a maintenance check performed. Most homeowners don’t realize that the majority of furnace breakdowns are caused by a part of the furnace needing to be cleaned. If you could get the unit to start up again, you could avoid the cost of an emergency call and schedule a cleaning for the unit instead.

Reboot Your Furnace

When the computer freezes up, the only thing you can really do is shut it down and reboot. Nine times out of ten this will solve the problem and this could also solve the problem with your furnace. Sometimes the system’s cycle is thrown off or maybe a breaker will pop and the unit will not kick on like it should. One of the easiest things any homeowner can do is shut the unit down completely, flip the breaker, and then turn the system back on at the unit switch. This is how you can quickly and easily reset the system, and sometimes it is enough to get the unit going. » Read more: Furnace Outage Quick Fix

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Posted in Boiler, Furnace, HVAC Repair, Heating, Maintenace, Money Saving

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How Your Water Tank Prevents Erosion

January 2nd, 2012

The hot water tank seems to be a rather simple device. Water enters the tank, is heated by the burners, and then transferred throughout the home, but if you really think about it, how is it that the water tank is able to come in contact with so much water and remain rust and erosion resistant? For some homeowners, stopping the tank from eroding isn’t such an easy task. Although there problem usually lies in a lack of proper hot water tank maintenance. There is one very valuable part of the tank that is checked during a maintenance cleaning, and if this part is no longer doing its job, the tank will quickly become vulnerable to erosion. Don’t wait until the bottom of your tank rots out to find out you have a problem.

The Anode and Its Function

The part of your hot water tank that we are talking about is the anode. This vital component of your system sacrifices itself to corrosion and spares the integrity of the tank. However, over time, this part will lose this ability. The aluminum or magnesium that is being corroded will eventually be gone, and the tank itself will begin to break down. This can be prevented though by having the anode checked and replaced why necessary. Some home needs to have the anode replaced as frequently as every 4 years, but other can last up to 6 or 7 years before replacement is needed. Either way, you will not know when you anode needs replacement if you do not have the tank maintained yearly. » Read more: How Your Water Tank Prevents Erosion

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Posted in HVAC Repair, Heating, Home Services, Hot Water Tank, Maintenace, Plumbing

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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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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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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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Conserving Energy without Sacrificing Comfort

October 24th, 2011

More and more Americans are becoming energy conscience from both a conservation and a cost standpoint. A generation ago our grandparents would have sacrificed comfort to save a few dollars, but today’s modern family looks for better more efficient ways to keep energy usage and energy cost down. Most homeowners look for the products with the ENERGYSTAR logo when purchasing household appliances. You can find the ENERGYSTAR logo on items such as high efficiency furnaces and air conditioners also.

High Efficiency Furnace and Air Conditioners

Today’s furnace and air conditioner models conserve more energy which in turn leads to a lower cost on your energy bills. You no longer have to sacrifice comfort, and instead you can look for other ways to make your home more energy efficient. For the interior of your home, you can either buy a high efficiency furnace, or you could save a few bucks and just add attic insulation to your home. » Read more: Conserving Energy without Sacrificing Comfort

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Go Green, Heating, Home Services, Insulation

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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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