Making the most out of my time away

When I learned that I was going to be travelling for a month for work I decided that it was a perfect time to have some work done on the house.

I have a neighbor that is willing to let my contractor in and out and keep an eye on things so I knew that the timing was perfect.

Seeing as I live alone, no one would care if the water and HVAC system was off during that time. I had to leave the electric and gas on so that the HVAC technician could test the new system I was having installed. I had wanted to have some of the windows replaced with ones that didn’t leak and the HVAC system upgraded for a long time but having all of that going on while I was home would make me very uncomfortable. I need to have things in order or else I get very stressed and the idea of living in a construction zone seemed like an impossible situation. I decided at the last minute to have some of the plumbing replaced that still had the old lead pipes too. I met with the general contractor and went over all the plans. I felt like I was living in one of those makeover shows and I would come home to everything all new and updated. I left for my trip feeling great about the choices I had made. When my HVAC dealer called to walk me through installing the app for my new programmable system I felt even better. After that I was really looking forward to going home from my business trip.

 

Heating and air conditioning system

Solving the dust problem in my home

Did you ever feel as though you do at the same job over and over again but never accomplished anything? This is definitely the case when it comes to housework.

Everyday I have the same routine when the kids get on the school bus, clean up the mess from breakfast and then start my routine of vacuuming and dusting.

Always the most people that I know only do this job a couple of times a week but it seems like I have to do it daily. It doesn’t help that my kids think it’s funny to write their name in the dust on the table and I really need to find a better solution for what is going on. The other day I was talking with a friend and she said that I should call my HVAC dealer to see if my ductwork needed to be cleaned. I had never even heard of that being done so I placed a call to have a technician come out to take a look. My husband has always been diligent about changing the air filter every 3 months so I couldn’t imagine there would be that much build-up. Why was I surprised when they said my ducts had lots of dirt in them and it was probably causing my problem. I signed up to have a complete cleaning of my system done and on the day they arrived I was shocked at how many pounds of dirt and debris came out of them. They did recommend that I change the filter more frequently for the next couple of months because any leftover debris would be caught in the new ones. This has definitely made a difference when it comes to how often I have to clean my home as well.
hvac system

Does my HVAC manufacturer even exist anymore

When we purchased our home over thirty years ago it had a brand new boiler installed. We live in an area where winters are mild so it gets very little use. For all of these reasons we never had it replaced. It is a simple hot water system so we never really had it serviced on a regular basis either. Looking back this may have been a mistake. When it failed on us a few weeks ago, I placed a call to the local HVAC repair shop to have a technician sent to the house. The young man arrived and took one look at it and called his boss. He had never even heard of the brand we had so he had no clue where to start. I pulled out the owners manual for him and then began to research online to find out if the company even existed anymore. When I typed in the brand I was surprised to find that the original company had changed names several times over the years. The new name was a commonly known household brand and it said that they did still have parts for the system that I had. I gave the information to the technician and he was able to order the ones he needed. Through buyouts and restructuring many large manufactures change hands but with a bit of searching you can usually find the new name. When large companies change hands they usually acquire all of the trademarks and equipment to produce items for the models that were sold under the previous name.
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Knowing the best time to buy your new HVAC unit

I like to think that I am a savvy shopper.

By this I mean that I know how to spot a bargain and take advantage of deals whenever possible.

I am always on the lookout for coupons and sales in order to make my hard earned dollars stretch as far as possible. There are, however, times when I forget the simple rule of saving money, never buy an item that is out of season. I am not simply referring to the items in the grocery store either. Did you ever stop to think that things like appliances have a season too. Take my HVAC unit I purchased this summer, I went air conditioner shopping on the hottest day in July. This was the worst time to buy a portable air conditioner because the prices were jacked up and there were no deals to be found. Stores and dealers knew that if you were buying a unit on a day like that you would be willing to pay anything just to cool your home. If I had thought about it last fall when all of them were at the end of the summer prices I would have gotten a far better deal. The same can be said for your furnace. If you need to replace it in the middle of winter then you need to be prepared to pay top dollar for it. If you know that your system is failing you may want to look into the replacement in the middle of Spring or Summer as the prices will be lower. HVAC companies are trying to get rid of last year’s models at that time to make room in their stores for new inventory.

 

 

residential heat and ac

Adding extra layers to save money

I think for the most part many of us have the same thing in common when it comes to the things our parents used to say.

By this I mean certain phrases like, “close the fridge, were you born in a barn?, and who left the lights on?”, were common in most people’s home.

All of these centered around one common thing, saving money on energy bills. Now that I am an adult with children of my own these are common in my home as well. My wife and I are constantly trying to save money on the electric and gas bill. As winter approaches this is more important than ever because we always see an increase of at least twenty percent during those months. We decided to have an energy assessment done on our home to see if there were improvements we could make to help out. It is more than just putting on an extra sweater to lower the cost and if we could invest a bit to save a lot, it would be worth it. We hired a company to come in and check for leaky windows, doors, or areas that needed more insulation. To our surprise they found that the attic needed an additional layer of insulation and there were several leaks in the ductwork that were causing us to lose valuable heat. We had all the repairs done and I am looking forward to seeing if it will make a difference this coming season. I sure hope it does because out budget can barely handle the added expense we ensure each winter.
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Removing the humidity was all that was needed

Often times, when people are feeling uncomfortably warm it has more to do with the amount of moisture in the air instead of the temperature.

It can be as warm as eighty degrees but if the humidity is low, you can feel very comfortable.

This is why when people move to the Southwest they always say it is a “dry heat”. I am not sure I agree with the fact that one hundred degrees is comfortable without humidity but I get their point. In my own home I have found that simply turning on the dehumidifier on a warm summer day eliminates the need for the air conditioner. In fact, when I run the entire system the house actually feels too cold in some cases. Simply removing excess moisture is really all that is needed. When I had my new HVAC system installed I made sure to add on a powerful dehumidifier that could be operated independently. I know that the regular AC removes moisture too but it also artificially cools the air. I don’t really like going from the temperature outside to a freezing cold house. I would set the temperature to seventy but on a ninety degree day it felt like I was walking into an ice box. I found that simply running a dehumidifier, at the time a portable one, seemed to make it cool but tolerable. Not everyone agrees with this and most people just like the air conditioning and that is fine too. I did find that using this device saved me money during the summer months to so it could be worth looking into for your own home.

 

 

Heating contractor

Our tenant is jacking up my energy bill

Owning rental properties can be a great thing for investing in the future.

However, when you live in a double and rent out the other half, it can be a hassle as well.

This is mostly because you see your tenant on a day-to-day basis and know everything that they are doing. If you hear a loud crash or see something that is damaged you may tend to overreact. This is the case with my husband and I because when we decided to purchase our first home we knew we wanted something that would help pay the mortgage. We decided that purchasing a duplex was our best option and for the most part it has been. The rental agreement that we have with our tenant includes the cost of heating and that became a problem. When we first bought property we were renovating it so we knew that heating both spaces was expensive but felt that it could be kept under control. When’s our first tenant moved in we realized that we no longer had the ability to adjust the temperature on their side and we found out that they were using way more energy than we had done. We decided to talk to her HVAC dealer and see if there was some way to have a programmable system put in that we could adjust when needed. We had a talk with the tenant and told her that we would be controlling the temperature and ask them what they wanted it set at. When she told us that she would like her apartment to be at 80° we told her that was unreasonable. She did not like the cold Winters but we told her that if she wanted her place to be that warm she would have to pay her own energy cost. This made a big difference in her choice and she agreed to keep it at 70 instead.

hvac home services

Why radiant heat may be a better choice

Working as a salesman is tough.

Most times people just shut you down before you have the time to really present your products to them.

I can’t say as I blame them because there are so many scams out there that people have become skeptical of anyone that wants their money. My job is a bit different too because I work in Marketing for an HVAC company. When a client is in need of a new or upgraded system it is my job to go out and access the space then make recommendations based on their needs. Just walking in the door my customers know that it is going to cost upwards of a thousand dollars in many cases. Many people are not looking forward to spending the money but know that it is a necessary thing. There is one particular system that I try to sell that takes a bit more convincing. In my opinion radiant flooring is the best way to go when it comes to complete comfort in a home. There are no messy air ducts to keep clean, dust is at a minimum because the air is not blowing around all the time and the days of cold drafty floors are in the past once the system is installed. The system also requires little maintenance. The downside of the installation is that flooring must be changed in order to put the system in. The upfront expense and hassle of doing this is a hard sell for sure. I try to stress the efficiency of the system and how great the house will feel with nice even heating and in some cases this works. Many times people will at least consider it but in the end simply don’t want to make that major of a change.

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Eldery population in need of better heating

Local news station do the segment last week that really got me thinking about helping out.

They always try to highlight at least one organization that is in need of assistance each week and this one really touched my heart.

They interviewed the director of a local nursing home where those less fortunate spend their last days and highlighted the dire situation that they were in. Apparently the HVAC system in their facility had been failing for years and the cost of repairing it was becoming too much so they were holding a fundraiser to replace it. We live in the Northeast where Winters can be severe and very long so the last thing that people need, especially in their golden years, is to have to deal with freezing cold temperatures in the place where they live. I jotted down the information about the fundraiser and the day it was going to be taking place but that day when I went into work I sat down and had a talk with my boss as well. You see I work for a local HVAC company and thought that we could do something more than just attend the fundraiser. I knew I couldn’t convince a couple of my other coworkers to donate their time or the installation as well but I wanted my boss to provide the new system at cost. It took a bit of convincing but in the end he realized that this would be great for business because it would show that we cared about people and he agreed with my plan. Place a call to the director of the facility to let them know what was going on and what the final cost would be should they decide to go with our company for the purchase of the new HVAC system. They were thrilled because this would make their goal of raising money a bit easier and we are looking forward to working with them.

heating and cooling equipment

Blowing off steam

I am sure that you have, at one point in your life, seen an older building or home with steam heat.

These old radiators that are found in historic homes can be dangerous if not maintained. They can also cause damage to wood floors or walls due the excessive moisture that they can put in the air. There are valves on these old radiators that release steam if the pressure is too great and this can be a problem. The other thing you will notice in a home or building that uses steam heat is the constant noise that comes with them. You will often hear the pipes clanking as they heat up or cool down. You may also hear the hiss of steam as it escapes from the valves. There is one advantage of steam heat over hot water heat that you may not realize. Steam heat adds moisture to a very dry environment during the winter. Hot water heat does not. If you can imagine a boiler system that produces heat in the form of vapor it would be like living with a humidifier in the room all the time. Hot water, closed loop system do not produce any moisture and you need to introduce it in other ways. If you are in a home or building that was built prior to the 50’s you probably will see this type of system. Don’t be alarmed when you hear all those creaking and clanking noises or even that hiss of steam as it means that the system is working as it is supposed to.

Furnace filter