October is Bat Appreciation Month
Bat-proof your home to protect yourself and our winged friends. Does the sight of a bat send shivers down your spine? Or are you thrilled knowing that a single brown bat, one the most common bat species in North America, devours 1,200 insects an hour? Hopefully, you’re in the second category. Be a bat lover! Bats get a bad rap. Not one of them has ever actually been found to be Dracula. And our only flying mammals eat so many insects that they’re essential to controlling the
Top 10 HVAC Fails
What follows is just a sampling of some of the funnier HVAC “hiccups” that we’ve come across on the web in the last few months – unless, these particular systems belong to you (in that case, we apologize.) Enjoy! Fail #1 Courtesy of hvac-hacks.com Why bother to fix a problem when you can just warn the next guy to proceed with caution? Fail #2 Courtesy of hvac-hacks.com We’re not sure if this is actually an HVAC system or post-modern art. Fail #3 Courtesy of hvac-hacks.com Qui
Add to the List of "Things that ain't Good": Water Underneath the Furnace
So, you’re down in your basement adding strawberry preserves to the food cache you’ve stockpiled in preparation for the Zombie Apocalypse. Or, maybe you’re just down there doing laundry. As you navigate your way around the shop-vac, duck under some cobwebs, and zero-in on your destination, something in the back of your brain sounds an alarm. Not everything is as it should be. You pause for a second and wonder what exactly your subconscious picked up on. Then a brief shock of
How to Help Your Furnace This Winter
For most of us, whenever we feel even the slightest tinge of temperature discomfort, like automatons we seem pre-programmed to reach for the thermostat and dial-in quick relief. This shouldn’t be our default tactic in warding off the winter chills. There are easier and cheaper means of keeping cozy, rather than throttling the furnace, while Jack Frost is up to his dastardly deeds. In terms of winter home comfort, a furnace is the go-to weapon in your arsenal for warmth, preve
When brushing snow off your car this winter - do yourself and your wallet a favor - brush off the ou
When Old Man Winter touches down, accompanied by arctic gusts, freezing temps, and snow, most of us are primarily concerned with the interior state of our HVAC system. That is, as long as toasty air is blasting indoors, and we can go about in relative comfort, all is well with the HVAC unit. The condition of the exterior portion of the system rarely gets a second thought. However, this is no time to get complacent about the outdoor elements of your heating system; especially
Why Isn’t My Heater Heating?
Sleigh bells are ringing, Jack Frost is nipping at your nose, and you are freezing your behind off! Unless you’re literally sitting in a snowbank, this means the heater ain’t working. So, after you put on a couple extra sweaters, but before you call the HVAC professional, there is a host of usual suspects to check off the list of probable malfunction causes. Troubleshooting and fixing some common problems regarding the furnace is not out of the realm of possibility; it’s not
“You're hot then you're cold, You're yes then you're no, You're in then you'
An old, temperamental heating and cooling system can be a pain in the neck on so many levels. It’s inherently inefficient which puts a hurt on your wallet. It’s an inconvenience, in that one minute you feel on the verge of hypothermia, and the next minute you swear you’ve been relocated to a sweat lodge. These old units, with their “bangs” and “clangs,” are jarring. They can also be tremendous space hogs where square footage is coveted. The best way to overcome all these issu
Rake Leaves, Check. Clean Gutters, Check. Central A.C. TLC, Check (or should be).
Now that Autumn is in full swing, and crisp, cooler temps are the norm it’s time to devote some TLC to your air conditioner. In less than an hour you can fully prep your outdoor air handler so it can easily withstand harsh winter weather; not only will it be shielded from snow and ice, it will also thwart potential rust and corrosion. Here are some simple steps that anybody can undertake to safeguard their HVAC investment. First, hit the kill switch on the exterior power to t
“Heatless in Seattle” or How to Avoid a Furnace Breakdown This Winter
Take a second and mentally fast-forward to that first prolonged cold front that will arrive in your area. It’s inevitable. And it’s not far off. This is the exact moment when you DO NOT want your heating system to quit. Realistically, however, this exact scenario is what prompts the most calls to HVAC techs come winter. That first cold snap. Due to the constant output required by your heater to ward off the freezing temps the risk of a breakdown increases. This is especially
Duct Cleaning: Scam, Sham, or Legit?
Chances are that if you talk to a friend who recently had the ductwork in their home cleaned out, they’ll babble incessantly about all the benefits to be recouped by undergoing the process. “I can breathe so much easier!” “The house smells fresher.” “My allergies have practically disappeared!” Etcetera, etcetera. Well, all those benefits could be figments of your friend’s imagination. In other words, there are opposing factions of HVAC professionals who debate the efficacy of
