How a Malfunctioning Furnace Can Affect Your Home’s Air Quality

January 3rd, 2022

woman-with-allergiesWhen you run your HVAC system, it circulates air throughout the house, first drawing it in through return air ducts and then sending it back out it the rooms through the supply ducts. During the winter, you’ll run the furnace to heat up this air, and that means the effects of the furnace are felt all around the house. So it makes sense that if the furnace isn’t working right, it can have an effect on your home’s indoor air quality … aside from making it less hot, of course.

Below we’ll look at several ways a malfunctioning furnace can have a negative effect on the air quality in your house.

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How to Manage If Your Furnace Fails This Winter

December 20th, 2021

cold-sweater-manThe average low temperature during our winters is 15°F. Some other parts of the Midwest get even colder, but 15°F is still extremely cold and nothing you want to face in your house unless you have a powerful and reliable furnace to warm you.

The good news is that if you have the right furnace and you’ve already scheduled its pre-season maintenance from HVAC professionals, the heater likely will make it through the season without an emergency breakdown. But there’s always a chance you might have a failed furnace at some point in the season, probably on one of the coldest days because that’s when the furnace has to put in the most work. 

In the event your furnace fails, run through a series of troubleshooting steps, such as this one we posted two years ago. If those don’t work, shut off the furnace completely at the furnace switch (this will help keep you safe) and call our experts for furnace repair in Brighton, MI. We’ll be there as soon as we can, but you’ll need to find ways to manage the cold temperatures until then. We have some tips about that:

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Let’s Talk Boilers as a New Heating Installation

December 6th, 2021

boiler-residentialWhen you’re considering getting a new heating system for your home, you’ll probably be looking into a forced-air heater of some kind: an electric furnace, a gas furnace, a heat pump. These heaters all raise the temperature of the air and then send that air through ductwork to the rooms. If your home already has ductwork, then you’ll almost certainly will be looking into a forced-air heater.

The other major option is a boiler. Boilers don’t use ducts, instead sending heated water to terminal points (often baseboard heaters or in-floor elements, although some use traditional radiators) to radiate heat indoors. You may be interested in a boiler system if you are building a new home or doing major renovations on one. 

So let’s talk about getting a boiler for a home, if that’s a possibility. Boilers have several tremendous benefits that make them worth considering if you’re in a situation where they’re a viable choice.

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What’s the Difference Between a Heat and Energy Recovery Ventilator?

November 22nd, 2021

question-markWhen you’re looking for better indoor air quality in Flushing, MI combined with savings with your heating and cooling, an option we recommend is to install either a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) or energy recovery ventilator (ERV). Our HVAC professionals can install one of these devices into your home’s ventilation system to give you the power to circulate fresh air through the house without putting extra pressure on either the heater or the air conditioning system. An HRV or an ERV is a year-round helper when it comes to having healthier air without sacrificing money to run the heater or AC more often.

But does it matter which one you get? What’s the difference between these two devices? These are good questions, and we’ll get to them below.

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If Your Heating Bills Seemed Too High Last Winter…

November 8th, 2021

Frustrated-man-looking-at-laptopIf you looked at your heating bills during the previous winter and wondered why they seemed higher than normal, this post can help. We know you probably spent more time in your home last winter than usual (pretty much everyone did), so that will account for some of the increase in how much you paid for heat. But if you factor out that, as well as any rise in energy costs, and the price still seems too steep, then there are several steps you can take.

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Is Your Furnace Older Than 15 Years? We Have Some Vital Advice!

October 25th, 2021

furnace-with-pipesA common question we hear from customers is when to replace their natural gas furnace. Homeowners want to get the most years possible out of their investment in a central heating system, but they also know that no furnace can last forever. At some point, a furnace will become less effective, less energy efficient, and even less safe. At what point is a furnace replacement ready?

There are several factors that can help tell you when a furnace needs to be replaced, such as regular malfunctions and soaring heating bills. But one solid determining factor is the furnace’s age. If you have a gas furnace that is older than fifteen years, our advice is to replace it. And we’re not the only people offering this same advice…

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When Your Heater Isn’t Working, Don’t Try to Rely on Space Heaters Rather Than Repairs!

October 11th, 2021

space-heater-electricWhen the winter arrives in Michigan, central heaters in homes across the state come on to keep people warm. You can’t afford to go without some kind of heating system for your home if you want to make it through the winter. Unfortunately, we can tell you plenty of stories about people who tried to patch together a “cheap” solution to home heating when their furnace or other central heater went out. 

The most common “fix” for heat when a central heating system fails is to use space heaters. These can work as a temporary solution … and by temporary we mean “until our HVAC technicians arrive.” When you need heating repair in Brighton, MI, please don’t delay with calling for the service. Trying to get by with space heaters for a stretch can end up disastrous.

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Schedule Heating Maintenance Now and Beat the Rush

September 27th, 2021

service-reminderFall started officially on the 22nd of September, but most people think of the season starting after Labor Day, or when the calendar leaf flips over to September. Now it’s almost October and the reality of fall (and a certain even colder season that follows it) will strike homeowners. They’ll start making cold weather preparations. One of the most important preparations is arranging for professional HVAC technicians to do a maintenance inspection and tune-up on their heating system.

We can’t overestimate the importance of annual fall heating maintenance. It helps home heating systems work at high energy efficiency with little chance of repairs cropping up. The peace of mind that comes along with heating maintenance is worth the cost alone. 

Although you can have heating maintenance done anytime in the fall, or even during early winter, we urge you to have it scheduled as soon as possible. Or just “now.” Why?

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The Sinking AC Condenser: How This Can Be Bad News

September 13th, 2021

ac-on-slabGo outside your house and look at the condenser cabinet for the central air conditioner. You’ll notice that it’s placed onto a concrete slab, rather than just set on the ground. This is because the condenser is a heavy object and it would start to sink right down into the ground if it wasn’t put on a solid foundation. Laying down a concrete pad is a critical part of putting in the first AC for a new house.

That doesn’t mean the concrete slab won’t start to sink at some point! If you noticed during your trip to look at the condenser (and how often have you really looked at this critical part of your home comfort system?) that the unit appeared a bit uneven, then you may have a sinking condenser. 

No, the condenser isn’t going to vanish into the ground. But an uneven condenser because of a sinking slab is still a problem that calls for air conditioning repair in Brighton, MI. Read on to learn more!

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August AC Tips So You Have a Cool End of the Summer

August 16th, 2021

outdoor-acAugust brings two challenges for air conditioning systems:

  1. It is usually the hottest month.
  2. ACs have already put in several months of hard labor dealing with the heat.

The combination of these two mean air conditioners face a higher chance of malfunctions and breakdowns in August. It’s definitely one of the busiest times of the year for us! Our technicians tackle many emergency calls for air conditioning repair in Flushing, MI and throughout our service area. 

We’re always happy to help with AC repairs whenever you need them, but we also want to provide the service of prevention. If you already schedule preventive HVAC maintenance in spring, you got your AC off to a good start. The tips below can help your AC have a good end to the season, which means you’ll enjoy it more too!

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