Winter is here and with it comes the holiday season - and with the holiday season comes the need for preparing your HVAC system. Let's take a look at a few tasks that will help you address holiday HVAC concerns including home comfort and vacation safety.
Here in Indiana, we tend to spend a lot more time inside our homes once the weather turns cold, so winter indoor air quality is a serious issue. If you have concerns about your winter air quality, it's important to learn why it plummets during the colder months, and what you can do to improve it.
HVAC , Air Quality , home comfort , Indoor Air Pollutants , IAQ , winter comfort
A backup generator is a valuable resource to have during a power outage, but it's vital to operate a generator safely to prevent accidental fires, electrocution, and exposure to deadly carbon monoxide (CO) gas. While you should always consult your manufacturer's operating guidelines, here are some basic generator safety practices to follow:
HVAC system , Tips , generator , Heating , safety tips
Upgrading to a condensing furnace puts you on the fast track to energy savings in the winter. Such a furnace has substantially better energy efficiency than a standard, noncondensing furnace or boiler. The term “condensing” refers to the last step in the heating cycle the furnace goes through.
HVAC system , energy efficiency , Tips , Savings , HVAC , Condensing Furnace , furnaces
If you ask your kids what’s important to them about Halloween, they’ll undoubtedly say it’s the candy. But when you ask the grownups about their priorities, it may be jack-o'lantern preservation. Some people put a considerable amount of energy into their creations, and if you’re wondering how to keep the pumpkin looking good, consider these tips:
IAQ , halloween , halloween decoration , fall , fall decor , jack-o'lantern
It’s sometimes tempting to use a space heater in the fall before heating season is in full swing. You may need heating in one small area only or you haven’t had the heating system serviced yet. Space heaters will supply the heat you need for a specific area, but before you go forward, consider their pros and cons.
heating and cooling , Heating , space heater , pros , cons
Everyone's getting into grilling these days. And why not? It's an easy way to cook for company, and you eliminate cooking odors and mess from the indoors. But grilling, as with anything using combustible fuels, should be conducted with care. We're not just talking about preventing fires and explosions, but also eliminating negative effects on IAQ, or indoor air quality.
Air Quality , IAQ , improve air quality , co poisoning , CO monitors
Attic safety is a concern at any time of year, but particularly in summer. While many homeowners avoid visiting the attic as much as possible, it’s sometimes necessary to inspect the structure, check for roof leaks or retrieve items stored there. Unfinished attics are not constructed to the same safety standards we take for granted in living spaces below. Persons entering the attic must recognize hazards and take necessary steps to guard against injury. Here are some specific attic safety issues to be aware of, especially during hot summer weather.
home safety , safety , attic , attic safety , heat
Major national safety organizations now agree that carbon monoxide detectors are every bit as essential to home safety as smoke detectors.
Carbon monoxide (CO) , Carbon Monoxide , home safety , Carbon monoxide detectors , carbon monoxide exposure
Your HVAC system contains some of the most costly and essential equipment in your home, so it's normal to want to know how long the components should last.
HVAC system , HVAC , maintenance , hvac lifespan , instillation
If your sunroom is simply too hot to occupy during the summer, why not consider different sunroom HVAC solutions to make it cooler. There are practical ways to bring air conditioning to this room that are effective and affordable.
HVAC system , air conditioner , HVAC , ductless mini split , sunrooms
Inevitably, a time will come when you'll have to replace your heater. You don't have to wait for a total breakdown to do so. Here are the signs that tell homeowners it's time to consider making heater replacements.
energy bills , maintenance , heater replacement , heater , repairs
The first thing most of us do to make sure our home comfort level is acceptable is check the thermostat, but there’s more to it. It’s a combination of humidity, air quality and the responsiveness of the HVAC system to alter the actual air temperature and our perception of it.
Summer is here and you know what that means - it's hot outside! Yes, these dog days of summer can be excruciating, but there are definitely ways for you to stay cool. Here are a few of our favorites:
Tips , Cooling Tips , summer , cooling , summer heat
In the summer, bugs get everywhere. They're on your clothes, they're raiding your food... They're even in your HVAC system! And once they're there, they can use the ducts to find their way pretty much anywhere else in your home. So it's important to quash that infestation before it starts. Here are some tips for preventing bugs in your HVAC system.
What do you know about refrigerant? You're probably aware that there is refrigerant in your air conditioner, but you may not know much more about it than that. Understanding what refrigerant does, why it's important to handle it properly and changes in rules regarding the use of different types of refrigerant can help you save money by avoiding problems.
Here are some things to know about refrigerant.
refrigerant , A/C , safety , to know
Lots of things affect your energy bill, but obviously, weather is a major factors impacting how much you spend on maintaining a comfortable temperature in your home. In the summer and winter, when temperatures are colder or warmer, we use more power and our bills go up. But weather can affect our energy bills in other ways too. Here's how to understand some of them.
Think of the HVAC parts in your home as instruments in a symphony orchestra. They all have to play together well. A comfortable indoor environment in summer and winter depends on the interaction of numerous system components. HVAC parts can be affected by lack of proper preventive maintenance or simply normal wear and tear. If even one part is marginal, however, overall system performance, reliability and efficiency generally suffer.
Here are four critical HVAC parts that play a role in producing cool comfort or cozy warmth, depending on the time of year.
HVAC , homeowners , hvac parts
If you have a forced-air HVAC system and a gas-fired water heater like many homes in the Fort Wayne area, you might not think they're related in any way. However, both are essential in your day-to-day life, and they're the two biggest energy consumers in your household. This makes HVAC and water heater maintenance equally important in terms of energy savings and comfort.
If you're looking forward to getting away from it all this summer, you want to be sure you've left your home in good shape and minimized the chances of anything going wrong while you're gone. The best way to cover all the bases is to create a vacation plan checklist and go through it systematically. No doubt you'll set the timers on the sprinkler system and indoor lights to make the home look lived in, clear out the refrigerator and find someone to bring in the mail and water the indoor plants.
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