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February brings us Valentine’s Day, a chance for people to show their loved ones that they’re loved.
But what about your HVAC system? When was the last time you showed it some love? We’d be hard-pressed to argue that your heating system is a member of the family, but it is an important part of your home. When you give it the care and maintenance it needs, it will take care of you.
Writing a heating and cooling blog can be tricky around this time of year.
All it takes is an unseasonably warm winter – or for that matter, an unusually mild summer – to make topics like “How to Keep Your Home from Feeling Cold” seem a little misguided.
Our country loves the Superbowl, so much so that we use this unofficial holiday to pit other things against each other, from beers to chicken wings to puppies.
We’re not immune to this trend either. Consider this blog post the Superbowl of home heating, where we put oil heat up against gas.
Both types of heat offer pluses and minuses, so it’s important to review your furnace installation options before you make your pick.
Oil heat has typically been much more costly than gas heat, with annual heating bills in the range of $2,000-$2,500.
We should note, however, that the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects home heating costs to drop a bit this winter due to warmer overall temperatures. On average, natural gas and electric bills will decline by one percent, while home heating oil costs could drop by four percent.
Heating oil tends to cost more because much of it comes from overseas, making its prices subject to a host of international market influences.
However, oil remains a reliable fuel source – especially for customers in colder climates – because it offers more heat per BTU than other fuels.
It’s also a convenient heating source for people in remote areas. You may not be able to tap into a gas line, but as long as your property has room for an oil storage tank, you’ll have heat.
Just keep in mind that oil furnaces will need more maintenance than their gas counterparts due to dirt/soot accumulation. Plan to spend a few hundred dollars each year getting your chimney cleaned and your filters replaced.
Gas furnaces may cost more in terms of installation, but fuel prices tend to be lower and more steady than oil prices, because most natural gas comes from North America.
Gas is a far more common form of home heating in America, with about half of all households using it (compared to oil, which accounts for less than 10 percent).
You won’t need much maintenance with gas furnaces, and because they connect to a gas line, you won’t need to have a storage tank on your property.
Gas furnaces offer better heating efficiency than their oil counterparts and run quieter and cleaner. However, your home must be in an area where gas is available.
With a gas furnace, you can attach a permanent generator to your home that’s connected to your natural gas line. If your power goes out, you’ll be able to operate your generator and run your appliances without having to worry about fuel shortages.
If you’re looking for a new furnace installation, pay attention to its AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) rating, which indicates how efficient the furnace is compared to other models. The higher the score, the greater the efficiency.
Most oil furnaces have an AFUE rating between 80 and 90 percent, while gas furnaces carry a rating between 89 and 98 percent.
You may also want to look into Pennsylvania’s Home Heating Equipment Rebate Program, which offers rebates to customers who purchase energy-efficient gas and oil furnaces.
If you’re looking for a new furnace installation and want to make the switch from oil to natural gas, All Seasons Comfort Control can help.
Our heating repair and service team is ready to help keep your home warm and comfortable this winter with our complete selection of American Standard heaters, the country’s number one brand.
Get in touch with us today to learn more about our furnace installation options for your home.
Our corner of Pennsylvania welcomed the new year with a stretch of unseasonably warm weather. At one point in early January, temperatures got into the high 60s.
But our luck can’t hold forever. Cold weather and winter storms will eventually return. And with those conditions comes the risk of property damage.
In this week’s blog post, we’ll look at some ways you can protect your home – and your heating and cooling system – this winter.\
It’s the season for chapped lips, for itchy, dry skin. For waking up with sore throats and the occasional bloody nose.
In other words, it’s winter, when the air in your home is typically dryer than normal. In this week’s blog post, we’ll explore some ways you can make your home more comfortable, including investing in a whole house humidifier.
With luck, you’ll never need the information in this article. Your furnace will perform admirably all winter, keeping you and your family warm.
But if you do have furnace issues, it helps to be ready and informed. In this blog post we’ll look at some issues you might want to watch out for, while also discussing the benefits of the Mitsubishi Electric heating and cooling system.
Live in your house long enough and you’ll get used to the sounds it makes. The hum of the refrigerator. The garage door opening. That one step that always creaks.
Then there are the sounds you don’t expect, like the ones that emanate from your furnace duct work. If you’re wondering when to schedule HVAC maintenance, it’s when you hear things coming from your furnace like:
This sound can be unsettling, but it’s not an end-of-the-world HVAC issue. Rather, it’s a sign that your ductwork is either sized improperly or has simply come loose. When your furnace is firing, it will cause loose ducts to rattle against each other.
Again, it’s not a huge issue, but it is giving you a bigger energy bill, as loose ductwork can lead to a loss of heat.
We might associate whistling with feeling carefree, but this sound coming out of your furnace is in fact more like wheezing, likely the result of a constricted air flow.
Look to see if you need to replace your filter. If that’s not the answer, check your vents to make sure they’re clear of debris. Like the rattling sound, it’s not a serious issue, but this could lead to bigger problems. Have your HVAC tech look at the furnace during scheduled maintenance.
These noises typically signal a clog in the air flow return section of your heating system, which can lead to a massive drop in air pressure. The smaller the blockage, the longer the humming or vibrating noise will last. If you have a near-total blockage, it will announce itself with a short, loud, sudden hum.
In this case, you’ll need to call an exterminator rather than wonder when to schedule HVAC maintenance. The buzzing and scratching is probably mice, insects and other pests making a winter home in your ducts.
When you hear a loud squealing coming from the engine of your car, it’s often a sign that one of the belts is about to give. The same is true for your furnace. A loud, persistent squeal can be a sign that the fan or motor belt is about to break and needs to be replaced as soon as possible.
This might be a serious issue. When you hear a soft, infrequent boom, you might be hearing the furnace plenum, its air distribution box, expanding.
However, a loud, frequent boom is the sound of a delayed furnace ignition, which can be a threat to the entire system. When you hear this sound, call your local HVAC expert as soon as possible.
Nearly any unusual noise from your system is your furnace telling you when to schedule HVAC maintenance. (One exception: a snapping and popping noise when your system turns on, which is just the sound of ducts expanding and flexing because of a change in air pressure.)
Do you need to schedule maintenance on your HVAC system? Are you hearing weird noises from your ducts? Talk to All Seasons Comfort Control. Our team can examine your heating system for problems, allowing you to rest comfortably all winter.
Unless your job requires it – or you just really don’t mind the cold—we’re willing to bet you won’t be spending a lot of time outdoors over the next few months.
And while the idea of holding up at home to wait out the winter seems appealing, it’s important to make sure you have a healthy indoor climate. In this blog post, we’ll discuss ways to improve your indoor air quality and how products like the Air Scrubber Plus can give you the gift of clean air in 2020.
The official start of winter is almost here. Your hats and scarves are out of storage, there’s a snow shovel near your front door and all-weather tires on your car.
You might be ready, but is your furnace? How much thought have you given to furnace safety?
It’s one of life’s cruel ironies: Just as winter weather chases us inside, the indoor air quality in our homes begins to plummet.
And so begins a vicious cycle: we build our homes to keep out drafts, which keeps us warm but keeps allergens and pollutants in and prevents fresh air from circulating.
Check out all of the benefits of our Partner Program, which include your seasonal tune-ups.