Winterizing Your Home (The Frugal Way)
Winterizing your home should start with thinking about
Safety First. The best way to ensure the safety of your HVAC system is to get a heating
tune-up to be sure its efficient operation throughout the cold season. After that’s accomplished, all you have to do is be sure you’re not wasting additional energy. You can reduce your heating costs further by doing a few simple things yourself that won’t cost a ton. One way to find out if you’re wasting energy is to do your own 5-step Energy Audit:
- Take a walk around the exterior of your house and check for cracks around windows and doors where cold air can come in. Also examine brick work, stucco, siding and the foundation for any gaps. And be sure to check around gas and electric lines and plumbing, too.
- Your next step is to get to the hardware store to purchase weather stripping, caulk and foam. The money you save on energy will be well worth the small price you pay for these materials. Then take your check list and plug those cracks and install the weather stripping. It shouldn't take more than a couple hours depending on the amount of cracks and the size of your home.
- Do a similar inside audit, checking for air infiltration around windows, doors and switch plates on outside walls. To find air leaks use a piece of tissue on a tooth pick or an incense stick. Air coming in will make the tissue flag wave or disperse the incense smoke. Temporary caulking can be used around windows and then removed in the spring. Foam inserts behind switch plates will eliminate that infiltration problem (be sure power to switch plates is turned off when adding insulation).
- Take your Energy Audit into the attic and crawl space. Since insulation gets compacted over the years, add insulation to keep the heat from escaping.
- Here’s an important item that should not be overlooked when doing winterization. It won’t save you energy, but it could save you a huge amount of grief and money. Turn off the water supply to outside faucets, and even cover them with insulating material. Water damage caused by broken pipes can result in untimely, expensive repairs.
A programmable thermostat that can be set to your family’s individual lifestyle can also go a long way to energy savings. Adding storm windows or putting in new energy efficient windows can cut heat loss by 25 to 50 percent and will also save more money.
Posted on: 9/17/2008 1:21:49 PM by Sam
With energy prices spiraling upwards, it's a very good time to upgrade from an inefficient, money-wasting home comfort system. Between peak heating and cooling seasons is the optimum time to upgrade. From now until November 14th, many
Service Experts locations are offering end-of-season clearance specials on high-efficiency home comfort systems.
During the peak summer season we're busy serving customers in need of air conditioning repairs, so we don't typically offer these major discounts. The same is true for our peak heating repair season. But with summer coming to a close, we can provide some serious savings.
It's now the best time of the year to get a furnace tune-up, and consider replacing an old HVAC system.
The benefits of a new heating and cooling system are clear:
- Up to 60% savings on energy bills, the system nearly pays for itself over just a few years.*
- Ultra-quiet technology. If you still have one of those ancient systems, you'll hear the difference from day one. Many customers don't realize the noise they've been living with!
- Hybrid technology, saves you even more by automatically switching from gas to electric power (just like hybrid vehicles).
Why wait? Don't miss this chance to save big on getting the energy savings a new heating and air conditioning system provides... or your purse may suffer when Jack Frost comes calling.
*Savings may vary based on system age, condition and lifestyle
Posted on: 9/17/2008 8:52:13 AM by Sam
The Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (
AHRI), in collaboration with the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, The Edison Electric Institute, the U.S. Energy Association and North American Technician Excellence (
NATE), yesterday announced the launch of the
2 Degree Pledge initiative. The Pledge offers simple steps homeowners can follow to help achieve lower energy bills through greater energy efficiency.
One of the simplest measures you can take is to install a programmable thermostat and set your thermostat temperature back when you leave home…but that is just the beginning. With a few other simple steps and some smart choices, you can save even more energy – without sacrificing your comfort.
Press Release
Posted on: 9/16/2008 3:16:04 PM by Sam
Comprehensive Routine System Maintenance
In the first and second posts in this series, we discussed how important it is to choose the right home comfort company to repair or replace your heating and air conditioning system. All of these characteristics, like being informed on what to expect, no-pressure sales tactics, up-front pricing, financial stability, Standards of Excellence and a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, are important to your comfort level and decision making.
Now we’re going to learn where the rubber meets the road, and discuss the real ‘you-get-what-you-pay-for’ information.
Over the years, some heating and air conditioning repair and sales companies have gotten a bit of a bad rap. Understandably, they’ve been lumped into the other mechanical trades, like auto repair, where less than trustworthy scoundrels have given the whole repair or service industry a bad name.
Fortunately, with the advent of the internet, things have changed. Consumers can now research qualitative information on heating and air conditioning contractors, like customer testimonials, company history and BBB reports. These well-informed customers are helping the dependable, reliable and customer service focused home comfort companies grow and flourish, while the rest are falling to the wayside. This is good news for the HVAC industry and consumers alike.
Maintenance Matters
When I visit my customers, the one thing I let them know is that preventive maintenance for heating and air conditioning equipment matters most of all. If your car’s engine never gets tuned-up, it’s going to break down sooner rather than later. When it does, you simply can’t drive.
If your furnace, air conditioner or other home heating and cooling equipment doesn’t get tuned up, it will also break down sooner. And, depending on how extreme the heat or cold is, you and your family might not be able to stay inside your own home, perhaps for several days! Believe me, that’s worth a little time and effort to keep from happening.
What A Proper Heating & Cooling Tune-up Actually Does
A
tune-up on a furnace and air conditioner is very similar to the tune-up on your car. Although there is not usually ‘oil’ to change on home comfort equipment, there are standard maintenance steps for properly cleaning, lubricating and correcting the temperature control system, all of which might get out of balance over time. Well-performed tune-ups will clean and balance the system, and ensure all parts are operating as safe and efficiently as possible. Tune-ups vary by company, but they should consist of:
- A complete visual system inspection
- An operational assessment
- Safety component and thermostat calibration check
- Measurement and correction of temperature difference between the source and return air
- A system cleaning and standard air filter replacement
- Gas or oil pressure and pilot light adjustments (for heating equipment)
Generally, most homes consist of a heating system and a separate piece of cooling equipment, so there is a separate
detailed tune-up process for each one of these components.
A tune up for each should usually be performed before the homeowner intends to run the system regularly, before the hottest or coldest seasons of the year. The easiest way to remember to get a tune-up for your home comfort system is to make it part of your spring cleaning checklist and early Fall festivities. Having a tune-up at the right time helps to ensure the system will operate properly when being used the most. At these between-season times, when weather is generally mild, heating and cooling companies are also more available to perform tune-up service, and in most cases at discounted rates. It’s no different than tuning up your vehicle before a summer road trip.
Certification Is The Key
It’s very important that heating and air conditioning tune-ups be performed by trained, experienced, and certified technicians. Any equipment that heats up to very high temperatures, like a furnace, is potentially very dangerous and unsafe. You wouldn’t let the neighbor with zero mechanical training rebuild your car’s brakes, would you? I can’t stress enough how extremely important it is to have a qualified, properly trained technician perform tune-ups on your HVAC equipment, if for no other reason than for your family’s personal safety.
In the heating and air conditioning industry there is only one nationally recognized technical certification, called
NATE (North American Technician Excellence). NATE is an independent, third party certification body for HVAC/R technicians. The organization tests HVAC technician’s true working skills, and provides certification for those technicians who pass the various competency exams they offer. You can find out more about NATE at their website,
www.natex.org. Be sure to ask any company you speak to if their technicians are NATE-certified.
Properly maintaining your heating and cooling system by choosing certified professionals helps ensure your home has years of comfortable enjoyment. Locally or nationally, you want to choose the best company to maintain your home comfort system. You will get what you pay for, so ask the tough questions, get documented guarantees and choose the right company for you.
Posted on: 9/15/2008 5:09:43 AM by Sam
Safety first.
Inside your home, the winter cold can be more hazardous than summer heat, because heating a home can be done in so many different (and potentially unsafe) ways; wood fireplace, gas fireplace, radiant heat, electric heat, oil or gas furnace, boiler, even leaving open an oven! Conversely, there are few ways to cool air temperature; you can either circulate the air, pump in cool air (air conditioning) or pull out warm air (heat pumps).
Turning on that furnace for the first time after months of inactivity is often a shock. It can literally be a shock to your heating system, or it might be a shocking experience when you get your first heating bill! But there are
common sense things you can do to get the your heating system ready for winter. And, take it from a tech who visits a variety of homes every day, most people do not adequately prepare their home for the peak winter months. Here is some advice to consider before the next big chill.
Service Experts highly recommends having a fire extinguisher next to your furnace, fireplace or heating system at all times, especially when turning on the system for the first time.
Turn your furnace on now.
Don't wait until it's freezing out to see if the system works normally. Do it now. No, really... I mean right now. Go ahead, I'll wait...
Got it switched on? Good. Now stop and immediately check your common
senses:
1. Smell: Does it smell like something is burning? If so, first check to be sure there is not an actual fire or smoke coming from the heating system. If there is, turn the system off immediately (you have that fire extinguisher, right?) Put out any flames or get out. Call emergency fire services or 911.
If there's not a fire, wait and see if the burning smell subsides. If not, this is a sign that the system needs to be
tuned-up.
2. Listen: Does it sound like the system is struggling? Is the noise level or airflow excessive? This is also a sign that the furnace needs to be tuned-up.
3. Feel: Feel the ducts and walls. Is there vibration? If so, I recommend a
Performance Inspection to identify the cause.
4. Look: Check your carbon monoxide detector's readings. If the carbon monoxide alarm goes off or is above 30, turn the system off immediately and call Service Experts for a furnace Performance Inspection. This is a sign that there could be a potentially hazardous condition. Open windows to air out the house and do not turn the heat on again until it is checked by a professionally qualified,
NATE-certified heating technician. You may want to also exit the home until the reading falls below 30.
After you've tested your heating system and followed your common senses, you should have a pretty good idea if the system is working normally. By design, any appliance or equipment that heats up can be a potential danger, so always put safety first when it comes to your furnace. Checking your heating system early in the heating season not only helps you know if there are problems now or on the horizon, you can also beat the peak heating repair service rush, when heating repair companies are in high demand. Of course,
PLUSTM customers never have to worry about that anyway!
Posted on: 9/8/2008 7:11:48 AM by Sam