Temperatures are dropping in Burlington as winter approaches. You probably have already run your home heating system a few times to keep the house warm, especially during chilly evenings. Make sure that you keep a close watch during these early days of the heating season for any indications that your furnace, heat pump, or other heating system needs repairs. If you do notice a problem, call professionals to fix it right away so that your heater will be prepared for the even colder days ahead.
Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog: Archive for the ‘Heating’ Category
How to Keep Safe with Your Gas Furnace This Coming Winter
Monday, November 2nd, 2015
It is mostly a myth that a gas furnace is a “dangerous” type of heating system to have warming a home. The modern furnace has multiple safety precautions built into it, such as a limit switch that will shut off the furnace if it begins to overheat, and a sensor that will shut off the gas burners if the pilot light or igniter fails so that unburned gas doesn’t buildup in the combustion chamber. For the most part, you shouldn’t feel worried that your gas furnace poses a health risk to your household.
Give Your Furnace a “Test Run” This Fall
Monday, October 26th, 2015
The cold weather hasn’t arrived in Burlington, VT yet, but we all know that it’s coming. Now is the best time to find out if your home heating system needs repairs or replacements done so you can have the heater ready to go when the temperature drops.
A Reminder for Heating Season: You Still Need to Change the Air Filter
Monday, October 19th, 2015
As we come closer and closer to the cold weather of heating season, it’s important to schedule maintenance and any necessary repairs that your heater might require, no matter what type of system you use for winter weather comfort. One important task that you must take care of during the coming winter is to change the air filter for your forced-air heater (such as a furnace or heat pump) once a month. If your heating system uses a permanent filter, you need to remove it and clean it each month.
Why HVAC Contractors Recommend Scheduling Fall Heating Maintenance
Monday, October 5th, 2015
This is something you will hear from any HVAC contractor: each fall, you must arrange for a professional technician to come to your home and provide your heating system with an inspection and tune-up. It doesn’t matter if you rely on a heat pump, electric furnace, gas furnace, boiler, or some other type of central heating system. It needs to have this maintenance done before the winter weather arrives.
We’ll explain below a few of the reasons why this is a universal recommendation from professionals.
It helps prevent surprise breakdowns
The #1 reason that you need maintenance for your heater is it will help avoid an unpleasant system breakdown during one of the coldest days of the year. If the heater doesn’t have checks to find repair issues and cleaning and adjustments to relieve stress on it, it will run a higher risk of failing when forced to do a large amount of work. Thanks to maintenance, you probably won’t find yourself in a panic trying to get emergency repairs done.
Should You Replace Your Furnace This Fall?
Monday, September 28th, 2015
It’s almost October, and before you know it you’ll be clearing away Halloween decorations, then Thanksgiving dinner leftovers… and the cold weather will be here! Right now is the ideal time to make sure that the furnace in your home is prepared to handle the chill. One of the best ways to do that is to schedule annual maintenance from a professional.
Is It Too Early to Schedule Heating Maintenance?
Monday, September 14th, 2015
The weather in the Burlington area is still warm. In fact, it’s probably as pleasant as we can expect to have during the year. That may make it hard to imagine that you should attend to your home’s heating system and arrange for its annual maintenance visit. Doesn’t it seem just a bit too early for it?
What’s Involved with Boiler Installation
Wednesday, March 25th, 2015
When it’s time for a new boiler, there’s a lot you have to think about. How long will the process of installation take? What will be the impact on your home? And who should you call for the job? While the steps of boiler installation very depending on the size of your home and the state of your older heating system, the most important thing is to choose a company with plenty of experience on the job.
To get in touch with a heating contractor experienced in heating installation in Burlington, VT, call on the help of the skilled technicians at Red Rock Mechanical.
Some of the Steps of Professional Installation
The fact is that new boiler installation will take quite a while: multiple days, in most cases. Removing the older boiler can take several hours, as can determining the state of the existing pipes. Furthermore, the technician will have to size your home and make some careful measurements regarding the type and size of system to use as a replacement.
Sizing a boiler is not as simple as using the measurements from the older unit. It’s possible that your existing boiler was sized improperly for your home or that you need a different type of system to accommodate your home. An oversized boiler consumes far too much energy, while a smaller boiler can become overworked and fail early on. Your technician will work with you to select an energy efficient heating system that will save you money over time.
The actual installation process requires a professional for several reasons. First, your technician will make sure that your new installation is up to code. And the installation process itself can be difficult, tedious, and unsafe. Experienced heating technicians use years of training to make sure they use the most up-to-date installation techniques only and make sure to check their work thoroughly. It’s difficult to detail the installation process for your particular needs, as it depends on whether you need in-floor piping, baseboard units, or any additional fittings for your home. Most likely, the process will take several days.
Call Red Rock Mechanical today for heating installation in Burlington, VT. We’ll detail the process so that you stay informed every step of the way.
When Is Heating Repair Urgent?
Wednesday, March 11th, 2015
We’ll say it right off the bat: every heating repair need should be treated as an urgent matter. Sometimes, a heating repair need may not seem like something that necessitates immediate attention. A strange noise coming from your furnace is a minor annoyance, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t get through your day. And a decline in heating power might not appear to be so much of a problem, just a slight inconvenience as you add an extra layer and wait for the home to reach the desired temperature setting.
However, these problems will not improve on their own. In fact, what’s far more likely is that the heating trouble will worsen. Consider this: when one part of your heating system is in need of repair, it still has a job to do. Often, the other parts step up in order to attempt to raise the temperature. This wears down multiple parts, resulting in a more costly repair than what was originally needed.
Furthermore, if you delay scheduling heating repair, your system may shut down entirely. When there’s not enough heat in the home, it may be due to a faulty blower fan. If the blower fan cannot push enough heat over the heat exchanger, the furnace plenum could overheat. Many decades ago, this may have resulted in very dangerous conditions (including a potential explosion), but today’s units have safety measures that prevent this. The furnace limit switch detects if the plenum is overheating and shuts off the unit. This keeps your home safe, but it also leaves you without any heat.
You should always take heating problems seriously, and you should not try to fix the trouble on your own or leave it to an untrained amateur. When it comes to gas heating systems, your health and safety may be at risk, and experts know the right way to inspect and diagnose a heating system while determining the proper method of repair.
Call Red Rock Mechanical today to schedule an appointment for our professional heating repair service in Essex, VT. Our team has years of experience installing and repairing both furnaces and boilers in the area and can get your unit back to normal fast.
Choosing the Most Efficient Furnace
Wednesday, February 25th, 2015
The word “furnace” actually represents a wide variety of different heating systems today. Though they all share a basic function (they are all forced air heating systems) the method by which they accomplish that function can be vastly different. For a homeowner looking to install a new home heating system, the sheer number of options that furnaces provide can be overwhelming. Fortunately, we’re here to help. Here’s a look at some of the factors that you should consider when looking for the most efficient furnace to meet your needs.
AFUE
“AFUE” stands for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, and is one of the primary metrics by which furnace efficiency is judged. As the name suggests, the AFUE number is an approximate measurement of how efficiently the furnace uses its fuel over the course of one year. The number is displayed as a percentage, indicating how much of the fuel the furnace burns is converted into heat and how much is lost as waste. Generally, you’ll want to look for a furnace with an AFUE rating of at least 75-80%. Any less than that, and you’ll be spending an undesirable amount of money on fuel that’s not being converted into heat.
Size
The size of a furnace is actually quite important to how well it performs in a home. A lot of homeowners simply go for the largest furnace that they can physically fit in the space, in the mistaken belief that bigger furnaces are more desirable. In fact, if a furnace is either too large or too small it will break down much more often and have a shorter overall lifespan. You should consult a professional if you are uncertain of what size furnace you should install.
Fuel Type
Always be aware of what kind of fuel best fits your situation. Natural gas is the most popular kind of fuel, but it requires a gas line installed in your home by the city in order to work. Electric furnaces will work anywhere that electricity is available, but they are more expensive to operate than other furnaces. Always do your research, and consult a professional if you aren’t sure which furnace is best for you.
If you need to have a new furnace installed, call Red Rock Mechanical to schedule a service appointment. We provide professional heating services throughout Stowe, VT.
