Blog - Page 3

How to Deal with Temperature Swings

by Chris Long - November 20, 2018

Winter and fall don’t always feel like winter and fall. Some years we find ourselves shoveling snow before Thanksgiving and doing our last minute Christmas shopping on a 65-degree day.

And at times like these, it’s tempting to switch back and forth from your heating system to your air conditioning to keep things comfortable.

But as any heating and cooling repair company can tell you, that’s an easy way to drive up your energy costs and put a strain on your HVAC system.

That’s why we’ve put together these tips for dealing with unseasonable temperatures without having to touch your thermostat. (They’ll also come in handy if you’re looking for ways to lower your heating and cooling bills.)

Saving Energy in the Fall and Winter

by Chris Long - November 15, 2018

Fall is here!

Well, technically, fall has been here since September 21st, although most of September and the first week of October felt more like late summer.

Then we woke up on this morning – it’s mid-November as we write this – and we could feel it. There was a crispness in the air, the humidity had vanished, and autumn had truly arrived.

Don’t Wait for Winter to Get Your Heating System Inspected

by Chris Long - November 8, 2018

For nearly every misfortune we encounter, there is also what we’ll call the “if only…” moment.

You lock yourself out of the house, and you say to yourself “If only I’d checked my pockets before I walked out the door.”

You get stuck behind a slow driver on the way to work and think “Wow, I wish I’d left earlier.”

Or your furnace breaks down on a day when the temperature won’t top 20 degrees, and you realize, “I guess I should have had a heating repair company inspect my furnace when I had the chance.”

This is a point that we’ve made again and again, because we’ve seen far too many homeowners suffer through a brutally cold stretch of winter thanks to an issue that we might have caught during routine furnace service.

5 Fall Heating Efficiency Tips

by Chris Long - November 1, 2018

Ah, fall.

The gorgeous colors of the changing foliage. The comforting smell of a nearby bonfire. The…sinking feeling of opening an unexpectedly high heating bill?

Nothing can suck the enjoyment out of the season like the realization that you’ll be paying more than you expected to heat your home.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to make your heating system run more efficiently, which will in turn lower your energy costs. Here are a few ways you can help your HVAC system this fall:

HVAC Repair Horror Stories for Halloween

by Chris Long - October 25, 2018

It’s almost Halloween, and that has us thinking about horror movies, and all the different types of horror movies there are to choose from.

There are zombie films, like Night of the Living Dead, stories about sinister Satanic forces like Rosemary’s Baby or The Omen, or monster movies like Alien or The Thing.

Then there’s the haunted house. We’d argue that these movies are scary because they’re so relatable. We know deep down that zombies or vampires aren’t real, but we’ve also been home alone at night, wondering What Could Have Made That Noise?

We’re not saying ghosts aren’t real, but most of the time, an unexplained noise is usually a sign that you need an HVAC repair service, not an exorcist. Here are a few of the ways that your heating and cooling system might be “haunting” your house.

Running Your Air Conditioner in the Fall

by Chris Long - October 18, 2018

The calendar might say that we’re in the middle of autumn, but fall can be a tricky season.

Summer temperatures can often linger well into October, leaving us sweating when we’re ready for sweater weather, and relying on our air conditioning systems more than we’d expected.

In fact, that’s what we can expect this year, according to AccuWeather, with warm temperatures hanging around throughout the northeast for several weeks.

“While autumn may take longer than usual to arrive, it will be a picturesque season if forecasters are correct,” Accuweather says on its website. “Dry weather in the Northeast paired will cool nights will pave the way for vibrant leaves to emerge across the region.”

Don’t Make These Mistakes When Buying a Furnace

by Chris Long - October 11, 2018

American Standard furnace

Have you ever bought something only to find yourself wishing you had a time machine so you could go back and stop yourself?

It’s a phenomenon known as “buyer’s remorse,” often associated with big purchases like cars or homes…or home heating systems.

It’s something we see far too often in the heating and cooling repair business: People who’ve made costly mistakes when buying their furnaces, often due to assumptions they made about their purchase.

All Air Conditioners Need Maintenance, No Matter How Old or New

by Chris Long - October 4, 2018

You’ve secured your financing, filled out the paperwork and the salesman has handed you the keys. And just like that, you’re the proud owner of a new car.

But what if that was the last time you checked in with the dealership? What if you waited until you’d put tens of thousands of miles on the car before, say, getting an oil change or rotating the tires?

We know that sounds silly, but it’s an attitude that we see far too often when it comes to heating and air conditioning service: Many people seem to think HVAC maintenance isn’t important for newer systems.

What Is AC Refrigerant and Why Is It Important?

by Chris Long - September 27, 2018

Dad daughter in their cool comfortable livingroom

The next time you’re enjoying sitting inside a cool house on a hot summer’s day, spare a thought for hydrofluorocarbons.

These are the chemicals that make up refrigerant, the substance that is critical to any central air system. In this blog post, we’ll look at what refrigerant is and why it’s so essential.

Common Furnace Installation Questions

by Chris Long - September 21, 2018

Furnace technician checking heat output on an older furnace

Many thousands of years ago, humans learned an important lesson: we could use fire to cook food and keep warm.

Eventually, we learned how to control fire, to bring it indoors. The Roman Empire developed the concept of central heating. The centuries that followed brought the first furnaces, the first radiators and the first electric heaters.

But despite all the advances we’ve made in furnace efficiency, no one has developed a home heating system that will never break down or need to be replaced.

And when breakdowns happen, you’ll be faced with a few different questions: Should I repair my furnace, or replace it? What will it cost? Should I switch from oil to gas? What size do I need?

Below, we’ll explore the answers to these questions so that you have a better idea of what to do if and when your furnace stops working or better yet, if you’re being proactive in your research before the system breaks down.

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