Year: 2014

A Furnace Tune Up Today Can Prevent Costly Repairs Later

The best way to take care of a home’s heating system is to have the furnace maintained by a professional. An Annual Furnace Maintenance inspection will keep a furnace in proper working order, which prevents issues that could arise later. During a normal preseason furnace maintenance inspection a technician will go over the internal and external components of a furnace. By checking the wiring system, cleaning the burner, checking pipes and connectors for leaks, changing the filter, clearing vents if necessary and calibrating the thermostat to regulate the temperature, serious mechanical problems can be avoided. Think of the maintenance required for a furnace to be similar to that of a car. Regular inspections and maintenance keeps a car running longer, the same is true of a furnace. Over time a lot of furnace parts can wear down, dirt can build up in orifices, leaks can be caused, and a furnace can start to struggle to work. A dirty filter will also cause a furnace to struggle and consume more energy to operate. Changing the filter regularly can lengthen the life of a furnace, improve efficiency, and prevent respiratory illnesses. Having an expert HVAC inspection can help prevent costly emergency repairs

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Lack of Maintenance Can Cause Furnace Problems

When the fall season approaches, most homeowners turn their attention to maintenance and repairs that may have been put off over the summer months. One of the most important tasks to complete before the cold winter months arrive is making sure the heating system, beginning with the furnace, is in excellent condition and ready to keep your family warm. Although any one of the many components to a heating system may need repairs, following are five of the most common problems that need to be addressed. 1. Lack of Maintenance If maintenance on any furnace is neglected, it may cause a breakdown just when heat is most needed. Unfortunately, this often happens during the coldest of winter nights, when the furnace has to work the hardest. Even if your furnace does not actually quit working, it may cost more in wasted fuel if it is not properly maintained. 2. Ignition Control or Pilot Light Problems If the ignition control component or the pilot light system is malfunctioning, the result may be sporadic heat or no heat at all at times. 3. Filters Clogged or Dirty If the filters are clogged, the result will be a restricted air flow, causing the

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Why Is SEER Used for Rating Heating and Cooling Devices?

People using any type of cooling device should know what is SEER. Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio or SEER is used to rate cooling appliances. The rating is based on energy efficiency performance of systems like HVAC, air conditioners and heat pumps. The rating is calculated taking into account an appliance’s cooling output for a given unit of energy that it consumes. Higher rating is given to systems that output more cooling while consuming less energy. The benefit of using such devices is that it results in lower electricity bill. Such a device is eco-friendly because it releases less green house gases. Rebates are available to users who use systems with high energy efficiency. Devices that have higher SEER ratings provide greater efficiency. Federal government has made it mandatory for central air-conditioning equipment manufacturers to sell only those units that have minimum SEER-13 rating. Buyers should know that air-conditioning equipments with SEER rating of 18 or even 23 are available. An air-conditioning system having a minimum of SEER-16 rating should be installed to realize the advantages of using energy efficient system. Users who want to calculate their savings can easily do so by using Cooling Calculator. The calculator can be used

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Why work with nate-certified technicians?

NATE certified technicians usually don’t render services as individual contractors; they mostly represent an organization. It, therefore, makes sense to scout for companies with NATE certified technicians onboard, rather than look for experts offering private services. A NATE certification simply signifies the technician under consideration possesses the required knowledge and skills to carry out HVAC-related jobs, in the most efficient and professional manner possible. The technician usually has to pass through a series of tests to earn the certification. With multiple service provider options available as far as HVAC technicians and companies in the market are concerned, it can be quite a task to pick one up from the lot post analysis and due diligence. The much easier route is hiring a NATE certified technician. Irrespective of the company these technicians work for, they have the necessary aptitude and expertise to execute any HVAC repair or maintenance job with tremendous aplomb and effect. The certifications tests by NATE are comprehensive in their scope and methodology, consisting real-time situations in refrigeration and air conditioning. To pass through these tests, a technician must have solid experience and skills backing their ability to comprehend multiple systems and address cooling and heating complications. The

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Why Should I Purchase a Service Agreement?

The question as to what to consider when purchasing a service agreement is one that all HVAC equipment users should ask themselves, and, then, answer relevantly. It is important to have all heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment checked and serviced regularly. Regular maintenance keeps the equipment operating efficiently, up to 30 percent more efficiently and prevents abrupt breakdowns. A service agreement not only gives the HVAC users peace of mind but also saves them money. Service agreement considerations Every AC owner and user must consider several things before purchasing a service agreement for his/ her AC. First, he/ she should understand that his/ her AC is made up of various components (some parts are static and others are mobile) that need regular servicing to function optimally. Most of these components need to be checked, cleaned, replaced or repaired accordingly in order to keep the whole AC functioning optimally. AC users should only purchase service agreements from qualified HVAC contractors. Benefits of a service agreement: Guarantees AC efficiency With a service agreement from a professional HVAC contractor, AC users can rest easy knowing that their air conditioner will be checked and serviced regularly. Most HVAC contractors schedule AC check-up and

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How Do I Know the Technician Is Qualified for the Job?

Today, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) sector is bigger than it has ever been. Now more than ever, the need for qualified technicians to do these jobs is very high. Cooling and heating systems are complex and only a person with the right technician qualifications should handle them. A person with the right qualifications will be careful to follow the industry standards of installation and safety. There are several things that you should look for when you want differentiate between qualified and unqualified technicians: Experience It is always advisable to use the services of a technician who has on-the-job training. Limit your search to technicians with over 2 years of experience in working for an HVAC company. This way, you will be assured that they know a thing or two about electrical wiring, combustion systems, refrigerant and airflow for the home environment. An incompetent HVAC technician could mess up your HVAC system. A malfunctioning exhaust system, for instance, could produce carbon monoxide. License A licensed technician will have been vetted by governmental organs and found fit to practice. There are websites that give you information on the state of your contractor’s license. Use this to authenticate their qualifications.

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Modern Heating and Cooling Technology

Technological advancement has very many benefits to citizens of different countries. The heating and cooling technology has been through some remarkable evolution in the recent years. The systems have seen a lot of improvement that makes them more efficient to use. Heating and cooling technology has been made more energy efficient. This means that the amount of energy required to use them has been spiraling down in the past few years. This means that you will be able to make use of these systems with more efficiency in the energy utilization. Therefore, the electricity bills will no longer be a problem as they will be manageable. Energy efficiency ensures that the environment is taken care of. This is because there is less emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere. There is also efficient use of resources that are used in energy production. This reduces the rate of depletion of these resources and thus conserves the environment. Depletion of the ozone may also be caused by refrigerants used in the cooling and heating technology systems. However the world is moving from the use of harmful refrigerants due to technological advancement by eliminating chlorine use. Systems now make use of a refrigerant

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What is Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: How To Prevent It

Carbon monoxide poisoning may happen if CO from sources such as water heater, or heating system, or other similar gas, oil, or fuel burning appliances build up in an enclosed area. If proper ventilation is not attached to these systems, this can result in build-up of CO above safety levels in an enclosed or semi-enclosed space. Breathing the air in such a space with an over-concentration of CO may lead to CO poisoning in people and animals living in that space. The common symptoms of CO poisoning include nausea, chest pain, sleeplessness, weakness, dizziness, etc. The problem is that the same symptoms may result from many other underlying conditions, so if a CO built-up in a space is not detected, the symptoms may aggravate and may lead to serious illnesses. It may also lead to death in extreme cases. In fact, each year four-hundred deaths are reported in US which are caused by unintentional CO poisoning. What is carbon monoxide poisoning? The poisoning occurs mainly because our red blood corpuscles have a tendency to attract carbon monoxide quicker than they do oxygen. This means that CO can quickly replace oxygen in our blood, and this will prevent proper oxygen circulation

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Home Energy Efficiency Tips to Help You Save Money

Chances are, if you want to save money, you are doing everything you know how to do. Do you know how to save money on your electric bill? In the paragraphs below, we are going to give you some energy efficiency ideas that can go a long way.Here’s our home energy efficiency tips … Check the Energy-Efficiency Ratio Before You Buy an Air Conditioning Unit Before you go out and by an air conditioning unit, check to see what its energy-efficiency ratio is. You can find out the energy efficiency ratio by taking the unit’s cooling capacity and dividing it by the energy requirement. If it comes out with an EER of 10 or more, that is great, while 6 or 7 is fair.Go for the Smallest Air Unit Possible So many people are under the impression that bigger is better. Don’t go out and buy the biggest system out there — go for the smallest one that will meet your needs. Energy Efficiency Tip for Doing Laundry When doing laundry, wash full loads. By doing this, you will be using the machine less and saving energy. Energy Saving Tip for Your Refrigerator When it comes to saving money on

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How does air conditioning work

Air conditioners work using a very simple scientific principle which is called phase conversion. According to this, when a liquid gets converted to a gas, the process absorbs heat from the air. In case of modern air conditioners, the chemical compounds used in the form of a liquid are called refrigerants. They are kept inside the evaporator coils, so that when the indoor air enters the circuit of the coil, the refrigerants are converted to a gaseous form, thereby absorbing the heat and cooling the indoor air. There is also a fan used around the coils and the fan helps to blow the air over the refrigerant coils in an even manner, so that the cooling process can occur more efficiently. This is how it happens in separate units. In central air conditioners, the principle used is the same, only there a more sophisticated and intricate system is used. Central ACs, for example, use a whole complex of ducts which funnel the indoor air to and from the refrigerant coils.How does air conditioning work: The other end of the process This is only one part of the story, though. For the conditioners to go on working, the liquid that is

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