The thought of snow, cold and blowing winds lead to thoughts of warm blankets, furnaces and glowing fires. Most of us take our home heating and air conditioning system for granted. Until it breaks, that is. Then all we can think about is immediate relief.
The size of your home will dictate the size of the furnace needed. The two most common household furnaces are combustion and condensation.
How Furnaces Work:
Utilizing gravity to allow the warmer air in the top of a building to slowly displace the cooler air downwards through a complex series of vents and ductwork passages, air conditioning and heating installation engineers must design a system that utilizes both gravity and forced air to move warmer or cooler air to wherever its needed for comfort. At the furnace, cool air passes into the furnace, usually through an air filter, through the blower, then through the heat exchanger of the furnace, whence it is blown throughout the building.
High Efficiency Furnaces
There are several types of furnaces available but I recommend a High Efficiency furnace. Unless you have a particular need for another heat source ( Electric Furnaces , Mini-Duct Systems, Corn Stoves, Wood Stoves, etc.), generally speaking, the High Efficiency furnace is the way to go. High Efficiency furnaces are convenient, affordable, quiet, and of course very efficient.
Two-speed units and variable-capacity high efficiency furnaces generally operate at lower noise levels, run for longer periods of time, give better circulation and maintain a more consistent temperature in the house. Professionals believe that high efficiency natural gas furnaces are the perfect fit for any home.
Buying a High Efficiency Furnace
A free estimate for the purchase and installation of a new heating and air conditioning system is available through most HVAC dealers. Here are a few pointers when shopping for a New Furnace and A/C unit:
- Check Angies list for reputable HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) companies in your area if you dont already have an HVAC company you are working with and trust.
- If replacing a furnace, do not simply go with a model that is similar to the old one.
- Request a load calculation before choosing the furnace for your home. Your Heating and Cooling Contractor will provide this for you which will in turn help you make better buying decisions.
- A new high efficiency furnace will help keep you from receiving higher and higher energy bills every month.
- Choosing a brand of furnace that has a history of quality and reliability can be less costly in the long run.
- Determine the level of efficiency that will save you the most money.
Shop around, become familiar with the various brands of furnaces and get a few quotes to insure you get the best price.
Air Duct Cleaning - $99 or $189 - Complete!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Are You Due for a New Furnace?
Here is an excerpt of an article with tips regarding buying a furnace in Minnesota.
- Choose a heating and cooling system that has the best costs with the features you feel are most important.
- When buying a new furnace, you might want to consider installing a humidifier at the same time. Proper humidity reduces heating costs by stopping wood shrinkage, which reduces cold air infiltration around door and window frames. In turn, you'll feel warm at lower temperatures.
- Choosing a brand of furnace that has a history of quality and reliability can be less costly in the long run.
- When purchasing a furnace consider the furnace noise level. Unfortunately, all furnaces do not come with a standard rating system for sound unlike heat pumps and air conditioners.
Buying a furnace in Minnesota
With a little research, buying a new furnace does not need to be difficult. Here are a few suggestions which Duct-911.com recommends when shopping for a New Heating and Cooling System:- Choose a heating and cooling system that has the best costs with the features you feel are most important.
- When buying a new furnace, you might want to consider installing a humidifier at the same time. Proper humidity reduces heating costs by stopping wood shrinkage, which reduces cold air infiltration around door and window frames. In turn, you'll feel warm at lower temperatures.
- Choosing a brand of furnace that has a history of quality and reliability can be less costly in the long run.
- When purchasing a furnace consider the furnace noise level. Unfortunately, all furnaces do not come with a standard rating system for sound unlike heat pumps and air conditioners.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
10 Ways to Help Lower Your Utility Bill
Here are 6 of the 10 energy saving tips as mentioned by James Bickers, an independent writer for the Courier-Journal. While the Mr. Bickers mentions cleaning the coils on the back of the refrigerator, he fails to mention the coils inside the air ducts.
As stated on the Duct-911.com website; "Dirty coils reduce the system's ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer, increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment. (energystar.gov)". Also, CleanMyFurnace.com, a Minnesota air duct cleaning company quotes the EPA saying; "A build up of .042 (1/20) inches of dirt on the heating or cooling coil can result in a decrease in efficiency of 21%".
At any rate, this article offers a few good pointers which homeowners can use to save money on their electric bill and we applaud him for it. Below are 6 of the 10 energy saving tips mentioned in the article:
2. Install a programmable thermostat. Abby Buford of Lowe's said a properly used and installed ENERGY STAR-compliant thermostat saves a homeowner up to $100 a year.
3. Raise the temperature. Got your new thermostat installed? It's time to use it. Even on the hottest days, try increasing the temperature by a degree or two, gradually acclimating yourself to the change. Consumer Reports estimates that for every degree you raise your cooling system, you'll cut about 3 percent off your energy bill. And learn about the programmable functions too -- have it automatically adjust upward by a few degrees overnights and when the house is empty.
5. Use your ceiling fans. While you're inching that thermostat up, use the noble ceiling fan to stay cool. They're very energy-efficient: David Schiff, book editor for Consumer Reports, said the average fan uses about as much electricity as a 100-watt bulb -- and it can take some of the load off the air conditioner. "You can use it for pennies a day, and you can probably nudge the AC up by about four degrees," he said.
6. Use a clothesline. Yes, a clothesline. Sure, some of your neighbors might look at you askance; the progressive ones will admire you. Electric dryers use a whopping amount of energy, and their work can just as easily be accomplished by Mother Nature on a sunny day. Plus, your clothes will last longer. "The stuff that's in your lint trap is really just your clothes falling apart," said Schiff.
7. Clean your refrigerator coils. Take off the grill at the bottom of your fridge. Chances are, you'll see some serious dust build-up on the coils behind. This area should be cleaned at least once a year, using a special tapered brush available at any hardware store. The result is a fridge whose motor won't have to run as often.
10. Keep your air conditioner clean and exposed. The A/C unit has to do something with the heat it draws out of your environment -- and while it's tempting to landscape around the big unit in your backyard, doing so will make it work harder to release that heat. Keep the area around the unit clean and open, with at least 2 feet of empty space all around.
If you would like to read this article in full Click Here
As stated on the Duct-911.com website; "Dirty coils reduce the system's ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer, increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment. (energystar.gov)". Also, CleanMyFurnace.com, a Minnesota air duct cleaning company quotes the EPA saying; "A build up of .042 (1/20) inches of dirt on the heating or cooling coil can result in a decrease in efficiency of 21%".
At any rate, this article offers a few good pointers which homeowners can use to save money on their electric bill and we applaud him for it. Below are 6 of the 10 energy saving tips mentioned in the article:
2. Install a programmable thermostat. Abby Buford of Lowe's said a properly used and installed ENERGY STAR-compliant thermostat saves a homeowner up to $100 a year.
3. Raise the temperature. Got your new thermostat installed? It's time to use it. Even on the hottest days, try increasing the temperature by a degree or two, gradually acclimating yourself to the change. Consumer Reports estimates that for every degree you raise your cooling system, you'll cut about 3 percent off your energy bill. And learn about the programmable functions too -- have it automatically adjust upward by a few degrees overnights and when the house is empty.
5. Use your ceiling fans. While you're inching that thermostat up, use the noble ceiling fan to stay cool. They're very energy-efficient: David Schiff, book editor for Consumer Reports, said the average fan uses about as much electricity as a 100-watt bulb -- and it can take some of the load off the air conditioner. "You can use it for pennies a day, and you can probably nudge the AC up by about four degrees," he said.
6. Use a clothesline. Yes, a clothesline. Sure, some of your neighbors might look at you askance; the progressive ones will admire you. Electric dryers use a whopping amount of energy, and their work can just as easily be accomplished by Mother Nature on a sunny day. Plus, your clothes will last longer. "The stuff that's in your lint trap is really just your clothes falling apart," said Schiff.
7. Clean your refrigerator coils. Take off the grill at the bottom of your fridge. Chances are, you'll see some serious dust build-up on the coils behind. This area should be cleaned at least once a year, using a special tapered brush available at any hardware store. The result is a fridge whose motor won't have to run as often.
10. Keep your air conditioner clean and exposed. The A/C unit has to do something with the heat it draws out of your environment -- and while it's tempting to landscape around the big unit in your backyard, doing so will make it work harder to release that heat. Keep the area around the unit clean and open, with at least 2 feet of empty space all around.
If you would like to read this article in full Click Here
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Installing an A/C System Everyone is Cool With Takes a Pro
It Takes a Pro to Put In an AC System Everyone's Cool With
By Tim Carter
Saturday July 21, 2007
WashingtonPost.com
Q: DEAR TIM: The air conditioning in my home has never seemed to work well.
My recent promotion and transfer has me moving to home that is in the early stages of construction. What can I do to ensure that the new home has a central air-conditioning system that keeps all rooms comfortable no matter the outdoor temperature? Is it possible to have all rooms nearly the same temperature? My existing home's second floor feels like an oven.-- Julie
A: DEAR JULIE: I can think of many reasons why the central air conditioning in your existing home does not cool properly. Some of the problems might have been corrected with a simple service call from an expert at air-conditioning troubleshooting. It's also possible that you have had serious air-conditioning-system design flaws that would have cost thousands of dollars to correct.
The central air-conditioning system, plus the heating system, is one of the most important parts of a home, after a sound roof and indoor plumbing. The systems create an artificial climate.
It is realistic to expect this climate to be the same in each room. In my home, each room, no matter the outdoor temperature or time of day (this is very important), can be within one or two degrees of any other room. That keeps my family and me comfortable.
It is unrealistic to expect your home to be a certain temperature no matter what the outdoor temperature is. In other words, if the outdoor temperature is 115 degrees, I would not expect you to be able to cool your home to 72 degrees without considerable discomfort on days when the temperature is, say, 85.
Central air-conditioning systems are designed to operate in a given range of temperatures. For example, the range in your part of the country may be 20 degrees. This means there is only a 20-degree difference between the outdoor temperature and the lowest temperature the system can maintain indoors. It is possible to create a wider temperature spread, but oversizing an air-conditioning system can result in short-cycling when the air conditioner has little work to do.
If an oversize air-conditioning system short-cycles, or has to drop the temperature only a few degrees, it does not run long enough to remove humidity from the air. When this happens, the temperature inside the home gets to the desired level, but you feel cold and clammy. Properly designed central air-conditioning systems run for 10 or 15 minutes at a time, which allows them to extract humidity as the air flows across the cooling coils in the air handler.
The key to getting a central air-conditioning system to work properly is to have a professional size the equipment and install a duct system that delivers the right quantity of air to each room of the house. Each room must also have a return-air duct that vacuums hot air from the ceiling and returns it to the central system to be cooled once more.
A professional air-conditioning technician can analyze your new-home plans with computer software to determine the heat gain and loss for each room. This same exercise can be done on existing homes. With this data, the technician can ensure that the proper size equipment is bought and that the ductwork is sized correctly.
Tim Carter can be contacted via his Web site, http://www.askthebuilder.com/printer_Submit_Question.shtml
By Tim Carter
Saturday July 21, 2007
WashingtonPost.com
Q: DEAR TIM: The air conditioning in my home has never seemed to work well.
My recent promotion and transfer has me moving to home that is in the early stages of construction. What can I do to ensure that the new home has a central air-conditioning system that keeps all rooms comfortable no matter the outdoor temperature? Is it possible to have all rooms nearly the same temperature? My existing home's second floor feels like an oven.-- Julie
A: DEAR JULIE: I can think of many reasons why the central air conditioning in your existing home does not cool properly. Some of the problems might have been corrected with a simple service call from an expert at air-conditioning troubleshooting. It's also possible that you have had serious air-conditioning-system design flaws that would have cost thousands of dollars to correct.
The central air-conditioning system, plus the heating system, is one of the most important parts of a home, after a sound roof and indoor plumbing. The systems create an artificial climate.
It is realistic to expect this climate to be the same in each room. In my home, each room, no matter the outdoor temperature or time of day (this is very important), can be within one or two degrees of any other room. That keeps my family and me comfortable.
It is unrealistic to expect your home to be a certain temperature no matter what the outdoor temperature is. In other words, if the outdoor temperature is 115 degrees, I would not expect you to be able to cool your home to 72 degrees without considerable discomfort on days when the temperature is, say, 85.
Central air-conditioning systems are designed to operate in a given range of temperatures. For example, the range in your part of the country may be 20 degrees. This means there is only a 20-degree difference between the outdoor temperature and the lowest temperature the system can maintain indoors. It is possible to create a wider temperature spread, but oversizing an air-conditioning system can result in short-cycling when the air conditioner has little work to do.
If an oversize air-conditioning system short-cycles, or has to drop the temperature only a few degrees, it does not run long enough to remove humidity from the air. When this happens, the temperature inside the home gets to the desired level, but you feel cold and clammy. Properly designed central air-conditioning systems run for 10 or 15 minutes at a time, which allows them to extract humidity as the air flows across the cooling coils in the air handler.
The key to getting a central air-conditioning system to work properly is to have a professional size the equipment and install a duct system that delivers the right quantity of air to each room of the house. Each room must also have a return-air duct that vacuums hot air from the ceiling and returns it to the central system to be cooled once more.
A professional air-conditioning technician can analyze your new-home plans with computer software to determine the heat gain and loss for each room. This same exercise can be done on existing homes. With this data, the technician can ensure that the proper size equipment is bought and that the ductwork is sized correctly.
Tim Carter can be contacted via his Web site, http://www.askthebuilder.com/printer_Submit_Question.shtml
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Eco-Friendly Blog Offers Some Great Energy Saving Tips
For some very helpful, money saving, energy conscious tips you might want to visit the
eco-friendly blog called Keetsa! They recommend doing things like; changing furnace filters, installing programmable thermostats, closing the drapes during the day while you are away and much more.
In addition to eco-friendly/energy saving tips, they also have information ranging from solar power to "green" transportation. Even though they didn't specifically mention air duct cleaning, I am sure they soon will post a blog about air duct cleaning. After all, dirty air ducts reduce air flow and make your furnace work that much harder.
eco-friendly blog called Keetsa! They recommend doing things like; changing furnace filters, installing programmable thermostats, closing the drapes during the day while you are away and much more.
In addition to eco-friendly/energy saving tips, they also have information ranging from solar power to "green" transportation. Even though they didn't specifically mention air duct cleaning, I am sure they soon will post a blog about air duct cleaning. After all, dirty air ducts reduce air flow and make your furnace work that much harder.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Indoor Air Pollution - EPA Calls it an Urgent Environmental Problem
Poor indoor air quality could affect your respiratory health
Published - July, 12, 2007
Kate S. Peabody
kpeabody@pnj.com
Kate S. Peabody
kpeabody@pnj.com
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Portable Air Conditioners - Cheap and no Installation!
A portable air conditioner might be the way to go if you have a hot spot in your home and have a means to run an air duct outside. This article explains how they can be a great alternative for businesses that have a room or area that is always hot, perhaps due to computers and other office machines.
Summer makes it hot outside, but data centers tend to be too hot inside every day of the year. Ever thought about installing an air conditioner in the bottom of your server rack?
While speaking at the ITEC conferences this month, I noticed every show has at least one exhibitor showing off portable air conditioners. In Detroit, I stopped and talked to the folks at Spot Coolers about their products. You can see my interview on video here.
The smallest unit fits inside a standard 19-inch cabinet. Obviously you have to run a duct for the exhaust, because the Laws of Thermodynamics and modern manufacturing dictate more hot air gets created than cold air (about 20 percent more). But each cooler includes a standard size air duct for the exhaust to be routed out of the room or into the ceiling.
Why roll in a cooler? People do it for many reasons, including emergencies when their main systems fail or they want to cover new hardware editions while expanding the house system. Small installations sometimes go for the portable coolers while waiting for the "real" air handling system to be installed, or while waiting to move to a new location.
Greg Lawhorn from Spot Coolers (meet him in the video) said they can deliver units quickly and they start working immediately. Imagine getting your building's HVAC group to add a few tons of cooling in one day. The smallest unit is about one ton of cooling and they go up from there. Prices start at under $3,000 for the small one and go up, but not way way up for the amount of cooling provided. Have a data center in a truck? They're all the rage in the news, if not reality. Lucky for you, Spot Coolers has an air conditioner on a trailer. Those bring 25 tons of cooling to a building or your data center on wheels.
No matter what you spend on a portable unit, it will be cheaper than an installed system, if not neater and more convenient. But for offices that move now and then, it's easy to roll out your portable air handler and maintain your cooling investment. Try taking the building system you upgraded with you, and transporting that in a standard pickup truck.
James E. Gaskin writes books (16 so far), articles and jokes about technology and real life from his home office in the Dallas area. Gaskin has been helping small and medium sized businesses use technology intelligently since 1986. Write him at james.gaskin@itworld .com.
Cool Down
ITworld.com 6/22/2007Summer makes it hot outside, but data centers tend to be too hot inside every day of the year. Ever thought about installing an air conditioner in the bottom of your server rack?
While speaking at the ITEC conferences this month, I noticed every show has at least one exhibitor showing off portable air conditioners. In Detroit, I stopped and talked to the folks at Spot Coolers about their products. You can see my interview on video here.
The smallest unit fits inside a standard 19-inch cabinet. Obviously you have to run a duct for the exhaust, because the Laws of Thermodynamics and modern manufacturing dictate more hot air gets created than cold air (about 20 percent more). But each cooler includes a standard size air duct for the exhaust to be routed out of the room or into the ceiling.
Why roll in a cooler? People do it for many reasons, including emergencies when their main systems fail or they want to cover new hardware editions while expanding the house system. Small installations sometimes go for the portable coolers while waiting for the "real" air handling system to be installed, or while waiting to move to a new location.
Greg Lawhorn from Spot Coolers (meet him in the video) said they can deliver units quickly and they start working immediately. Imagine getting your building's HVAC group to add a few tons of cooling in one day. The smallest unit is about one ton of cooling and they go up from there. Prices start at under $3,000 for the small one and go up, but not way way up for the amount of cooling provided. Have a data center in a truck? They're all the rage in the news, if not reality. Lucky for you, Spot Coolers has an air conditioner on a trailer. Those bring 25 tons of cooling to a building or your data center on wheels.
No matter what you spend on a portable unit, it will be cheaper than an installed system, if not neater and more convenient. But for offices that move now and then, it's easy to roll out your portable air handler and maintain your cooling investment. Try taking the building system you upgraded with you, and transporting that in a standard pickup truck.
James E. Gaskin writes books (16 so far), articles and jokes about technology and real life from his home office in the Dallas area. Gaskin has been helping small and medium sized businesses use technology intelligently since 1986. Write him at james.gaskin@itworld .com.
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