Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog: Archive for the ‘Heating’ Category

More About Furnace Efficiency: Why Are New Furnaces More Efficient?

Monday, January 30th, 2017

Last week we went into details about gas furnace efficiencies, specifically the AFUE rating and whether it means you’ll save energy with a high-efficiency furnace or not. It’s a question that is best left to a professional to answer.

However, we want you know that we definitely encourage consumers to look into high-efficiency furnace options when they start looking around for a new installation or a replacement for an older heater. The AFUE ratings of furnaces are higher than they’ve ever been: older furnaces used to average between 56% and 70% AFUE ratings, which meant wasting between 44% and 30% of the natural gas the furnace burned. Today, furnaces range from 85% to 98.5% AFUE, and the ENERGY STAR requirement for a furnace is 90%.

But why exactly are furnaces able to perform at such energy-saving levels today? There are several reasons.

Tags: Burlington, Gas Furnace, Heat Pump installation
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Does a High AFUE Rating Guarantee I’ll Save Money with a New Furnace?

Monday, January 23rd, 2017

Planning for a new furnace installation in Plattsburgh, NY means balancing out multiple factors to find the right furnace model to meet your home’s heating needs. You probably already know about at least one important furnace stat: AFUE, which is the standardized measure for furnace energy efficiency. Does it make sense to purchase only a furnace with the highest AFUE rating you can find? Is that a guarantee you’ll save money on heating your home in the future?

There’s a Simple Answer—But It Needs a Longer Explanation

The simple answer is: “no.” AFUE is not a guarantee you’ll save money. AFUE is information about how the furnace performs, but it doesn’t automatically mean the furnace will reduce household energy bills during the winter. We’ll explain further how AFUE is measured and how it can affect your decision for furnace installation.

Tags: furnace replacement, Heat Pump installation, Plattsburgh
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Why Isn’t My Gas Furnace Providing Heat?

Monday, January 16th, 2017

This is definitely not a question you want to find yourself asking during a winter in Northwest Vermont! But if you do run into the situation of a furnace that simply isn’t doing what it’s supposed to, you’ll need to get to the bottom of it fast. In some cases, you can remedy the trouble on your own. Others will require you call on heating professionals.

Tags: Burlington, Heating Maintenance
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Is Your Furnace Tripping the Circuit Breaker?

Monday, January 9th, 2017

Furnaces, if they receive annual maintenance in the fall, will run with few problems during each winter. However, repair problems can still crop up, and one of the more common ones is when the furnace causes a circuit breaker to trip. This will cause the furnace to stop working until the breaker is reset. Sometimes this will only happen once.

But if the furnace continues to trip the circuit breaker, there might be something wrong with the furnace or the electrical panel that will require professionals.

Tags: Burlington, Furnace Repair, Gas Furnace Repair
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Let’s Keep Your Heating an Energy-Saver through the Winter

Monday, December 12th, 2016

No question about it… winter has already arrived here in Vermont. It doesn’t matter that the actual start date of winter is December 21. Vermont’s winter snow doesn’t follow any timetable!

If you’ve already had heating maintenance done for your furnace or heat pump (make sure to do this every fall), then you are already off to a good start with a heating system that will work at the highest energy efficiency throughout the season. But there are more steps you can take now that the winter is here to see that the heater gives you the best value for your comfort until spring arrives:

Tags: Burlington, Heating Maintenance, heating tip, Thermostats
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The Dangers of a Cracked Heat Exchanger in a Furnace

Monday, November 21st, 2016

Are you one of the many people who use a natural gas furnace to provide heat for the winter? If so, then you probably understand why they’re so popular for home comfort: gas furnaces are dependable and provide a level of heating that few other systems can top—and that’s especially important in our part of the country, when it gets cold.

You need to take some special precautions with gas furnaces, however. They aren’t automatically dangerous—they’re built with safety uppermost in mind—but they may run into some troubles that might lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. (Always have CO detectors in your home if you use natural gas.) Perhaps the most worrying problem is a cracked heat exchanger, which we’re going to look at now.

Tags: Gas Furnace, Gas Furnace Repair, Plattsburgh
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How to Catch Furnace Repair Problems Early

Monday, November 7th, 2016

When temperatures plummet in the middle of winter, the last thing you want to happen is for your gas furnace to suddenly quit working. Although you can call for emergency repairs, you’re still in for an uncomfortable wait… especially if many other homeowners are experiencing the same problem. The best strategy when it comes to repairing a furnace is to have the repairs done as soon as you notice anything wrong with the furnace, even if it’s minor. A furnace rarely suffers a complete breakdown without some warning. We’ve put together some specific warnings to watch for during the late fall when your furnace starts to run regularly.

Tags: Heating Repair, Plattsburgh
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Does Your Furnace Have a Repair Hangover from Last Winter?

Monday, October 10th, 2016

Here’s a situation that you don’t want to run into when the first chilly day of winter arrives: a furnace that breaks and stops working almost as soon as it turns on. You might think, “What’s the chance of that happening?” But if you let your heating end the previous winter with possible repair issues left unattended, you’re taking a big chance that it won’t work when you need it from the coming winter.

Tags: Furnace, Heating Maintenance, Heating Repair, Plattsburgh
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Take Your Furnace for a Test Run

Monday, October 3rd, 2016

Now that it’s October and we’re fully into the fall season, getting ready for the coming cold weather is a major priority. Have you already scheduled your annual heating maintenance with our professionals? If you haven’t, contact us and have it arranged as soon as possible. If you think that you may need a new furnace, as we talked about last week, you should also make arrangements with us right away.

Tags: Burlington, Gas Furnace Repair, Heating Maintenance
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To Replace or Not to Replace? That Is the Annual Furnace Question

Monday, September 26th, 2016

This is a topic we bring up at the start of each fall, because it’s important for homeowners to keep tabs on the furnaces that heat their homes through the winter. Each fall, you need to ask if your furnace will make it through the next winter in good shape, performing at high energy efficiency levels, and without safety concerns. Eventually, you will need to have the furnace replaced—no mechanical device can last forever—and maybe this is the year to schedule the replacement job with our HVAC professionals.

Tags: furnace replacement, Gas Furnace, Plattsburgh
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