Gearing Up For The Fall Heating Season by Nick Messe
It seems like only yesterday that folks were looking forward to the lazy hazy days of summer, and now the focus is rapidly turning to thoughts of new backpacks and notebooks for school, colored leaves and fresh fall air.
We've dutifully had our spring tune ups for our air cooling systems and now it's time to give heating units the once over. Whether you share a fairly new basement space with your furnace or need to venture down rickety stairs into an old fashioned cellar, it is important to know a thing or two about your furnace.
Even if you have a maintenance program in place, there a some chores that you should take care of. For example, just as you have the air filter on your car checked at each oil change, your furnace filter should also be replaced on a regular basis.
As a general rule filters should be inspected monthly in winter and monthly year round if you have an air conditioning system that utilizes the same unit. This is especially true if there are allergy sufferers in your family because a good filter can reduce the dust, pollen, and other allergens in the air.
Filters run the gamut from relatively cheap to fairly expensive. Check your furnace manual and buy a filter with the best specifications you can find. It probably won't need to be changed as often, and will certainly cut down on colds and sniffles this coming winter.
If the heating monster in your basement has been a little temperamental the last couple of seasons maybe it's time for a new high energy system. Perhaps you've awakened to a very cold house and have had to wear a couple of sweaters and a hat while you waited for the repairman to arrive.
Today's modern furnaces are designed to keep you and your family in complete comfort with efficient heat at all times. With your old unit, you probably find that the heat coming out of the registers is quite warm, and then the house cools off quite significantly before the next blast.
A high efficiency furnace has much more air flowing over the heat exchanger and the heat you feel coming out of the ducts doesn't feel as warm. However with increased airflow the temperature in your home will remain more constant. Be sure to choose a heating contractor who offers Energy Star systems that can save you up to 30% on your heating costs.
If you are going to purchase a system that combines heating and cooling be sure to select one that has a variable speed blower that can adjust to either heated or cooled air. Cooled air is heavy and so the fan must speed up. This can cause creaks and groans in old ducts that have only been used for heat.
With a blower that can adjust, at least you'll have a quieter system when the heat's on. In the summer you'll sleep comfortably right through the new sounds as the temperature hovers around seventy-two degrees rather than eighty plus!
Nick Messe is the founder and president of Lead Frog LLC. For Energy Star heating or cooling systems for Canton or Alpharetta Heating Repair or Cumming Air Conditioning see Comfort Zone Heating and Air in the Atlanta area.
Article Source: ArticleSnatch Free Article Directory
It seems like only yesterday that folks were looking forward to the lazy hazy days of summer, and now the focus is rapidly turning to thoughts of new backpacks and notebooks for school, colored leaves and fresh fall air.
We've dutifully had our spring tune ups for our air cooling systems and now it's time to give heating units the once over. Whether you share a fairly new basement space with your furnace or need to venture down rickety stairs into an old fashioned cellar, it is important to know a thing or two about your furnace.
Even if you have a maintenance program in place, there a some chores that you should take care of. For example, just as you have the air filter on your car checked at each oil change, your furnace filter should also be replaced on a regular basis.
As a general rule filters should be inspected monthly in winter and monthly year round if you have an air conditioning system that utilizes the same unit. This is especially true if there are allergy sufferers in your family because a good filter can reduce the dust, pollen, and other allergens in the air.
Filters run the gamut from relatively cheap to fairly expensive. Check your furnace manual and buy a filter with the best specifications you can find. It probably won't need to be changed as often, and will certainly cut down on colds and sniffles this coming winter.
If the heating monster in your basement has been a little temperamental the last couple of seasons maybe it's time for a new high energy system. Perhaps you've awakened to a very cold house and have had to wear a couple of sweaters and a hat while you waited for the repairman to arrive.
Today's modern furnaces are designed to keep you and your family in complete comfort with efficient heat at all times. With your old unit, you probably find that the heat coming out of the registers is quite warm, and then the house cools off quite significantly before the next blast.
A high efficiency furnace has much more air flowing over the heat exchanger and the heat you feel coming out of the ducts doesn't feel as warm. However with increased airflow the temperature in your home will remain more constant. Be sure to choose a heating contractor who offers Energy Star systems that can save you up to 30% on your heating costs.
If you are going to purchase a system that combines heating and cooling be sure to select one that has a variable speed blower that can adjust to either heated or cooled air. Cooled air is heavy and so the fan must speed up. This can cause creaks and groans in old ducts that have only been used for heat.
With a blower that can adjust, at least you'll have a quieter system when the heat's on. In the summer you'll sleep comfortably right through the new sounds as the temperature hovers around seventy-two degrees rather than eighty plus!
Nick Messe is the founder and president of Lead Frog LLC. For Energy Star heating or cooling systems for Canton or Alpharetta Heating Repair or Cumming Air Conditioning see Comfort Zone Heating and Air in the Atlanta area.
Article Source: ArticleSnatch Free Article Directory