6 Essential Gas Furnace Maintenance Tips

If you rely on a gas furnace for heating, autumn is the perfect time to ensure it’s in top-notch condition. Regular maintenance can keep your gas furnace operating efficiently and safely throughout the heating season. Here are six tips on maintenance that will help your gas furnace remain in good condition for many more years. 1. Cleaning or Replacing Air Filters One of the most critical maintenance tasks for a gas furnace is either cleaning or changing out the air filters. The air filters trap dust, debris, and airborne particles. This helps to prevent any particles from getting into your heating system. Over time, these filters can also get blocked. As a result, air circulation becomes restricted, and the furnace’s efficiency decreases. Air filters should be checked monthly and replaced if they appear dirty or clogged. If the filter is clean, the furnace can circulate air more effectively. This means your furnace doesn’t have to work as hard to keep your home at a comfortable temperature, and that saves you money. 2. Lubricating Moving Parts Gas furnaces have several moving parts that require regular lubrication to reduce friction and prevent premature wear and tear. Neglecting to apply oil to these...

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What To Expect During Furnace Maintenance

Routine tune-ups are incredibly important to get the most from your furnace, including the best efficiency and the longest life span. However, it’s easy to put off heater maintenance or skip it if you don’t understand what is included in the service. Visual Inspection Your technician will start with a visual inspection of your unit, with particular focus on the following areas: Furnace Exterior Your technician will start by checking the unit’s exterior, looking for evidence of corrosion. A little rust may not be concerning and could result from damp conditions in your basement. However, excessive rust could be an indication of an exhaust issue. If your furnace is not venting properly, the heat and gases leaking into your basement can accelerate the rusting process. Internal Components Once they check the outside of the unit, they’ll pull off the access panels and begin inspecting the interior parts of the unit. They’ll look for signs of excessive wear and parts that need replacing. These may include things like worn fan belts and failing capacitors. Heat Exchanger A heat exchanger is a metal conduit between the combustion chamber and the blower that works to dispense heated air from the furnace into your...

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Comparing the Cost of Heat Pumps vs. Electric Heat

Electric heating has reigned as the most popular home heating option for decades, but a new player is entering the field: heat pumps. Heat pumps offer an energy-efficient alternative to electric heaters and are becoming increasingly popular in both residential and commercial settings. But is a heat pump more cost-effective than traditional electric heating? To answer this question, we must compare the two types of heating systems on several different levels. The Basics of Each Type of Heating System Electric heaters are the most common type of heating system today. They work by passing electricity through metal coils, which heat up and transfer their warmth into the air. This heated air then circulates throughout your home through air ducts or radiators, providing a comfortable living environment during cold winter months. Heat pumps, on the other hand, are a bit more complicated. They operate in two distinct ways: air-source and ground-source. Air-source heat pumps are placed outside your home and use refrigerant to collect heat from the surrounding environment (even when it’s cold outside) and transfer that heat inside your house. Ground-source systems utilize pipes buried underground to collect natural heat from the earth and deliver it inside your living space....

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How Can I Improve Indoor Air Quality?

Updated On: 11/7/23 One of the most important ways to stay healthy is good indoor air quality. The air you breathe can affect your health in various ways, including respiratory issues, allergies, and if the air quality is bad, you can have a lowered immune system. The best way to defeat health concerns is to improve the indoor air quality in your home. Keeping It Clean Keeping your home clean helps improve indoor air quality by keeping dust, allergens, mold, mildew, and other harmful contaminants under control. Cleaning regularly can also help keep pests away from your home. Cleaning can help control dust mites as well, which contribute to indoor air quality issues because of the waste they leave behind. Plants and Indoor Air Quality If you have issues with indoor air quality, moving your plants outside may help. Many plants can contribute to lowering indoor air quality by releasing mold spores into the air. Plants also can have flowers and release pollen that can be a source of allergens for some people. The soil your plants are in can also have soil-borne microorganisms, bacteria, and fungi. These can become airborne and affect indoor air quality. Plants can also cause...

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Heat Pump vs. Air Conditioner: Which Is Better?

When it’s hot and steamy outside, you probably want to find a way to stay comfortably cool indoors. There are multiple options when it comes to cooling your home; heat pumps and air conditioners are two of the most common, but which is better depends on your needs. Here’s an overview of the differences between a heat pump and AC. How Air Conditioning Works An air conditioner is a component of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Air conditioners pull in air from inside of your home and blow it across coils that are filled with refrigerant. That refrigerant absorbs heat from the air the system takes in, then flows outside to disperse the heat away from your home. Meanwhile, the air that has been cooled is circulated back into your home, bringing the temperature down to keep you comfortable. This process repeats as many times as necessary to get your home to the temperature you set on your thermostat, though your system will take breaks between cycles as part of its normal operation. How Heat Pumps Work Heat pumps do the same thing as air conditioners: extract heat from the air they circulate, then push that heat...

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When Should I Replace My 20-Year-Old Air Conditioner?

It is normal for air conditioners to lose efficiency over time. However, it can be hard for the average person to know whether an AC unit needs a simple repair or requires complete replacement altogether. Since the typical air conditioner lifespan is 10-15 years, units that are over 20 years old often exhibit telltale signs of the need for replacement. A look at some of the top signs that it is time to replace your air conditioner can help you make an informed decision for your unit. Your Air Conditioner Frequently Breaks Down One of the first indications that you need to replace your older unit is that your air conditioner frequently breaks down. Air conditioners that receive consistent HVAC maintenance and yearly tune-ups should not experience constant breakdowns during the summer. Some of the most common air conditioner problems occur due to inconsistent maintenance, and a trained technician can also preemptively identify problems before they cause major damage. If you skipped the recommended annual tune-ups, however, your air conditioner lifespan might end up shorter than expected. Your unit can also break down more often due to extreme temperatures or frequent use. For example, individuals who live in notoriously hot...

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Steps for Troubleshooting AC Problems

Central AC systems are fairly complicated and have numerous components that could experience an issue and prevent the system from cooling effectively. Various issues could cause the system to run longer than needed, shut off too soon, or even prevent your AC from running at all. Most AC issues will require hiring a technician to diagnose the specific source of the problem and perform an AC repair service, but there are also issues that you may be able to easily overcome on your own. With that in mind, here are some steps for troubleshooting your AC system. These steps may help you to diagnose the problem or at least rule out certain issues. Make Sure the System Didn’t Trip the Circuit Breaker If you ever find that your AC won’t turn on when the thermostat calls for cooling, you should first check your main electrical panel to make sure the circuit breaker that controls your HVAC system isn’t tripped. If the circuit breaker is tripped, switch your HVAC system off at the thermostat before resetting the circuit breaker. If not, the system could immediately overload the circuit and cause the breaker to trip again. If the breaker does trip again...

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Can You Service Your AC Yourself?

In the heat of summer, a well-functioning AC system is critical for maintaining a comfortable indoor environment. When it comes to servicing your air conditioner, is it possible to do it yourself? Unfortunately, the answer is both yes and no. While there are several tasks that you can perform yourself, some aspects of AC maintenance are best left to professionals. Here is an overview of which tasks you can tackle independently and when it’s best to call in the experts. Cleaning and Replacing Filters One of the most critical aspects of air conditioner maintenance is regularly cleaning or replacing the filters. Dirty filters restrict airflow and can significantly decrease the efficiency of your unit. Of course, you can and should perform this task regularly (every 30-90 days, generally speaking), but an HVAC technician will also do this during a routine maintenance visit. Cleaning the Condenser Coils Over time, plenty of dust and debris can accumulate on the outdoor condenser coils of your AC unit. All this dirt and debris can reduce the efficiency of your system. Cleaning the coils is a task you can handle yourself, but it requires caution. An HVAC professional can also perform this task to save...

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Is It Possible to Actually Cool a Home With a Swamp Cooler?

Whether you already have a swamp cooler in your San Antonio, TX home or you’re thinking about putting one in, it’s important to understand how they work. While air conditioners, heat pumps, and ductless mini-splits dramatically lower indoor temperatures, swamp coolers only provide a limited amount of cooling. Read on to find out more about the drawbacks and limitations of these units. Humidity Is a Major Factor in a Swamp Cooler’s Cooling Abilities Also known as an evaporative cooler, a swamp cooler uses heat energy from the indoor air to evaporate water. Functioning much like the cooling system that your body uses when temperatures rise, swamp coolers offer a low-cost alternative to conventional air conditioning in moderate climates. When you sweat, heat energy from your skin causes your sweat to evaporate, thereby leaving you feeling a bit cooler. In a like manner, an evaporative cooler uses indoor heat to evaporate indoor moisture. Many swamp coolers work well in temperatures as high as 95 degrees Fahrenheit, but they aren’t much use when the weather becomes significantly hotter. This is especially true during times of high humidity. If there’s already excess moisture in the air when you turn your swamp cooler on,...

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Why an Air Filtration System Is Well-Worth the Investment

Like many homeowners, you may think that regularly changing your HVAC air filter is enough to keep your indoor air quality (IAQ) consistently high. Unfortunately, this component is largely intended to protect the health of your heating and cooling equipment. If you want clean indoor air, better rest, fewer allergy symptoms, and superior sleep, you should install an air filtration system in your San Antonio, TX home. Read on to find out why whole-house air filtration is definitely worth the investment. Whole-House Air Filtration Picks up Particulates That HVAC Air Filters Do Not Standard HVAC air filters pick up dirt, dust, dander, and other large-sized particulates. These units are designed and installed by HVAC manufacturers to prevent this debris from coating the sensitive, interior components of their equipment. Although standard HVAC air filters provide limited health benefits, there are many allergens and other contaminants that can flow right through them, including: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Mold Bacteria Viruses While you can certainly upgrade the filters in your HVAC system, even filters that have significantly higher maximum efficiency reporting value (MERV) ratings can leave plenty of contaminants behind. Worse still, HVAC air filters with higher MERV ratings can compromise airflow and...

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