Posts Tagged ‘Heating’

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New Year, New Home!

January 25th, 2012

The beginning of a new year is usually taken a symbol of new beginnings, and maybe 2012 can be a year of new beginnings for your home. We all have our to- do lists and if you haven’t done much to make that list shrink odds are it is just getting bigger. These problems are not going to solve themselves, and we need to be honest when it comes to our limits as amateur handymen and women. Take a moment to assess your list or sit down and compile one if you haven’t done so already. Don’t just look at what you think you can handle, consider everything that goes into a job before you ever take it on. Over reaching could increase the cost of the repair and hiring a handyman pro may be a better option.

Consider This Before Tackling a Repair:

  • Time: Many of the jobs on your list will take more than a day to complete, especially if you have no experience with the repair. Many of us only have a couple days on the weekends to work with when it comes to finding time for these repairs, and if you don’t have the time, you need to accept that you are never going to get these jobs done on your own. The pros will be able to check many of those repairs off your list in one day!
  • Tools: Another aspect of performing repairs in the home is the supplies that are needed to complete the job. Many of us don’t have power tools, painting supplies, and other basic tools of the trade, and renting or buying them could make doing the repair on your own pointless. Consider all of your costs before taking on a job by yourself. » Read more: New Year, New Home!

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Posted in Contractors, Home Improvements, Home Repairs, Home Services, Plumbing

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Icicles Causing Power Outages

January 18th, 2012

If your neighborhood is prone to power outages, you may already know that wet, heavy snow and icicles can cause power outages during the winter months. Every neighborhood that experiences large amounts of snow fall or freezing temperatures is susceptible to these types of power outages. If you have ever had a power outage in the middle of the winter, you already know how terribly inconvenient they can be. They not only cut out the lights, but they also cut out the furnace and the sump pump. Depending on the extent of the outage, it may take days to return power to the home, and unless you want to cough up the money for a hotel or spend that time in an emergency warming shelter, we suggest seeking out alternatives.

An Alternative Power Source

An alternative to no power would be to have an automatic generator installed in your home. It would automatically kick on in the event that your home is cut off from the electrical grid. Through the use of natural gas, the system will create electricity for the various parts of the home that are hooked up to the generator. When this system is installed there are no extension cords to hook up or tanks of fuel to fill. Everything kicks on automatically and is hard wired into the home. » Read more: Icicles Causing Power Outages

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Posted in Consumer Protection, Furnace, Heating, Home Improvements, Home Services

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Boilers Teetering on the Edge of Replacement

January 11th, 2012

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: Boilers Teetering on the Edge of Replacement

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Posted in Boiler, Heating, Information, Money Saving, Safty

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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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Don’t Turn Off the Furnace!

December 28th, 2011

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: Don’t Turn Off the Furnace!

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Posted in Boiler, Furnace, Heating, Home Services, Insulation, Money Saving, Plumbing, Safty

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A Burn Free Winter: Water Heater Safety

December 26th, 2011

Having small children in the home highlights the many hazards that stand in the way of their safety. We lock up cabinets that house dangerous chemicals and cover sockets, but have you taken the necessary steps to prevent your children from experiencing a scalding burn? As our children age, they begin to take showers on their own and turn on and off the water when washing their hands. One wrong turn and your child could set the water so hot that it literally burns their skin. What may be hot water to your skin can spell disaster for your child, but luckily there is a simple way to childproof the water in your home as well!

Set Back that Tank!

The problem lies in the settings on your hot water tank’s thermostat. Many homeowners have never even touched this device and probably have no idea that there are different temperatures that you could set your tank at. When the tank is set at or above 150 degrees, it takes about 2 seconds to experience a scalding burn. No one needs the tank set the high, and odds are if you are tank is set at this point, you are also overpaying on your monthly energy bills. Set the tank back to 120 degrees and you will be surprised at the lack of difference it makes in your morning showers. » Read more: A Burn Free Winter: Water Heater Safety

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Posted in Furnace, Heating, Hot Water Tank, Safty

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Quiet Performance from a Variable Speed Furnace

December 19th, 2011

We have all had that feeling when we are home alone that someone else was sneaking around upstairs or in the basement. Every house makes noises that can trick the imagination into thinking something scary is lurking around the next corner, but for the most part, these noises can be ignored. However, if you have an old furnace with a traditional single speed motor in it, you may find that the sound of the furnace kicking on is one noise you simply can’t ignore. It is a whooshing, whistling noise that rattles through the ducts until your mind can tune it out. For many, the noisy furnace even interrupts their sleep, and at some point they decide they have had enough!

Why is My Furnace So Noisy?

The reason why furnaces with these types of motors are so noisy is because they only run at one speed: high speed. There is no in between and there is no time wasted working up to top speed. Instead the fan immediately starts up and a sudden blast of air is pushed out into the home creating the noise that wakes you in the night. This problem can be solved with a simple fan upgrade or you would make sure that your next furnace is built to not experience this problem. » Read more: Quiet Performance from a Variable Speed Furnace

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Posted in Furnace, Go Green, HVAC Repair, Heating, Money Saving

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Why Does My Furnace Cycle On and Off Every Few Minutes?

November 30th, 2011

The average homeowner is not a furnace repair expert, so when something goes wrong with our system we often rely on the pros to make it all make sense. However, it is difficult to just trust a stranger at their word especially if you have never used that company before. That is why it is smart to get at least a general idea of some of the potential causes of your problem. A popular problem that many homeowners face is called short cycling. If this is a problem in your home, you will notice that the furnace turns on and off every few minutes and the temperature set on the thermostat is never reached. This can be very frustrating and disruptive for the homeowner and there are several causes that could be contributing to this problem. Some of the more common causes of this problem include:

  • Filthy Filters: A dirty filter will stop the proper amount of air from getting into your furnace. This leads of overheating that will trip the furnace to turn off as a safety mechanism. Simply change the filter and you could be back in business.
  • Lack of Air Flow: Snow and other debris can block the ventilation system of a high efficiency furnace. If this is your problem, the harmful gases created by the furnace will back up into the unit and force a protective shut down which will look like short cycling. Clean away the obstruction and you may be able to restore proper operation. » Read more: Why Does My Furnace Cycle On and Off Every Few Minutes?

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

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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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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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