We Recommend Wi-Fi Thermostats—Here’s Why

January 23rd, 2017

wi-fi-thermosataThe poor thermostat! It’s often the most overlooked and neglected part of any home’s heating and cooling system, even though it’s one of its key components. After all, the thermostat is the control panel for the HVAC system, the place where a homeowner interacts with the air conditioning and heating. But since the thermostat is such an unassuming device, designed to blend in with the home décor, people often take it for granted.

But ignoring a home’s thermostat can mean trouble. An inferior thermostat will lead to poor comfort and increased energy waste. As we wrote about a few weeks ago on this blog, simply taking the time to properly adjust the thermostat during the year can help lower your energy bills. Imagine what a major thermostat technology upgrade can do!

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Should I Have an Air Purifier or an Air Filter Installed?

January 16th, 2017

Last week we addressed an important part of looking for an air filtration system: understanding their efficiency ratings. A quick re-cap for those who came in late: if a filter is put into a home’s HVAC system that is too efficient, it will impede airflow and end up putting immense strain on the blower, leading to high energy bills and a system shutdown.

We also briefly brought up another issue that we want to go into deeper today, which is using an air purifier as a way to eliminate smaller particles when an air filter powerful enough cannot be installed.

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Understanding the Efficiency of Air Filters

January 9th, 2017

Winter is often the trouble time for homes when it comes to indoor air quality. A house needs proper insulation to keep heating systems from wasting energy because of drafts. But that also means stuffy air filled with plenty of unwanted particles swarming through the house. Air filters (not the filter in the HVAC system, which isn’t for air quality) are one of the best ways to solve this problem.

Here’s the tricky part, however: there is no such thing one-size-fits-all air filter. Air filters have different efficiencies, and going for the strongest efficiency you can find for air filters is a bad idea!

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Don’t Let Warm Weather Trick You: Schedule Heating Repairs!

January 2nd, 2017

We’ve been enjoying a warm stretch of weather here at the end of the year and the start of the new one. It’s been warm enough that it’s easy to think that you might not really need your heating system working in top shape.

But winter is far from over. The average low temperature in January is in the mid-30s, and you can expect that we’ll experience a few weeks of weather when heating systems will need to put in steady work. If you noticed trouble with your heater during December, you can’t afford to ignore it and hope the system will get through the rest of the season. Always schedule heating repairs as soon as you notice problems… no matter the time of year.

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The Secret of Thermostat Settings in Winter

December 26th, 2016

This blog title sounds a touch ominous and mysterious, doesn’t it? But if it got your attention, then it’s done its job—because the “secret” we’re going to share here can help you save on your energy bills over the winter and give your heating system a longer, less-troubled service life.

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Ways to Save Money with Energy-Efficient Appliances

December 19th, 2016

Everybody wants to save money in their home, and there are many ways to cut down on expenditures. A way that we can help you with lowering annual costs is through installing special energy-saving HVAC and IAQ (indoor air quality) appliances and products. Below are a few suggestions.

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Commercial Kitchen Repairs: Why You Need Pros

December 12th, 2016

Are you the owner or operator of a commercial kitchen or a business that relies on a commercial kitchen? Then you already know how vital it is to have every piece of equipment in that kitchen working properly from day to day. This includes freezers, ice makers, ovens, ranges, grills, toasters, bun warmers, deep fryers… well, it’s a long list.

And when you have problems with one of these commercial kitchen appliances, who should you contact for the repair work? You could call on a conventional appliance repair service; they might be able to get the job done. But do you want to roll the dice on might when it comes to your business? We didn’t think so.

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Carbon Monoxide Testing: Why It’s Important

December 5th, 2016

Do you use natural gas in your home? Whether you use it for powering appliances in the kitchen, running a furnace, or both, it’s important that you test your home for the presence of harmful levels of carbon monoxide (CO). Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of the incomplete combustion of natural gas (as well as other fuels, but the principle concern in homes comes from natural gas) and it can leak from malfunctioning appliances or become backed up into a home if it isn’t properly vented.

Even homes that don’t rely on natural gas can have CO problems if they have an attached garage: fumes from vehicles can easily enter the living spaces. Other CO sources include kerosene heaters and poorly vented fireplaces.

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Have Your Heating System Tuned-Up—It’s Still Not Too Late!

November 28th, 2016

Thanksgiving is over—and the winter holiday decorations are already up while shopping ads flood the airwaves. It may not be “officially” winter yet, but the season is almost here. And that means the cold weather is almost here as well.

But if you haven’t already arranged for an inspection and tune-up for your home heating system, don’t despair! There’s still time—and you shouldn’t skip it, since it’s the best way to see that your heating system works for many years to come.

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Some Fun Facts about Thanksgiving

November 21st, 2016

Thanksgiving means many different things to many people. For some, it’s a great day for football. For others, it means Twilight Zone and Mystery Science Theater 3000 marathons. And plenty of people love it just for the food and the company. And why not have all of those together?

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