The official end of winter and the start of spring is March 20, less than a month away. But as anybody who has lived for a few years in Northwest Vermont and Northeast New York can tell you, the weather is extremely unpredictable during this last period of winter. The saying that March “enters like a lamb and leaves like a lion” (and sometimes vice versa) is a short way of saying that you never quite know what the temperatures are going to be like until it finally settles into spring weather. Your heating system still has some work ahead of it.
Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Burlington’
The End of Winter: Watch for These Heating Troubles
Monday, February 27th, 2017
The Benefits of a Boiler for a Home Heating System
Monday, February 13th, 2017
If you are currently in a situation where you have to make a decision about a heating system for a new home, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the amount of choices available. The most common way to heat a home is with a furnace, which must have a network of ducts to carry heated air to the various rooms. Heat pumps are another form of forced-air heating that relies on a ventilation system (although there are also ductless mini split heat pumps).
A boiler system, on the other hand, is an option that runs differently from forced-air heating. A boiler uses radiant heating, which is heating up objects in rooms so they send out heat waves through the space. Boilers can use radiators, baseboard heaters, or in-floor piping to spread warmth around a house.
Selecting a boiler for winter heat is a major choice, but there are a number of reasons that you may wish to make this your choice for your new home heating in Burlington, VT:
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.
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.
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.
Post-Holidays: A Good Time for Drain Cleaning!
Tuesday, December 27th, 2016
The holiday season is almost behind us. January is the month when we return to work and look ahead at the year and think of important chores that need to be done. January is a “clean-up and maintenance month.” One bit of house-cleaning that we recommend is drain cleaning.
You may not have thought about arranging for professional drain cleaning services before (no, pouring chemicals down the drains is not “drain cleaning”), but you’ll be impressed at what a difference it will make during the rest of the year.
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:
Preparing Your Outdoor Air Conditioner for Winter
Tuesday, November 29th, 2016
Taking care of your home’s heating system to prepare it for winter is an essential step to take during the fall. However, your air conditioner requires some attention at this time as well. If you have a standard split-system AC (i.e. it has both indoor and outdoor components), it’s important to follow a few steps to “winterize” the air conditioner over the long months of cold when it won’t be running. This will help ensure its best operation when it starts up next year. These steps will protect the unit from snow as well as from rust.
Fixing Pinhole Leaks: Examples of How We Do It
Monday, November 14th, 2016
Among common plumbing issues that we take care of in our day-to-day work, pinhole leaks in copper pipes are among the most frequent. Copper pipes are corrosion-resistant, but there’s a special type of corrosion, pitted corrosion, that can affect them. This corrosion comes from chemicals often found in water and is difficult to prevent. When small pinhole leaks start up, however, they aren’t difficult for professional plumbers to fix. We’ll take you on a little tour of some of the ways that we solve these plumbing aggravations.
Reasons to Schedule Professional Duct Cleaning
Monday, October 31st, 2016
The ducts that make up a home’s ventilation system pick up dust, lint, dander, and various other particles over time. After a year, a thin layer of debris will already be clinging to the ductwork walls. After a few more years, this build-up can be substantial enough that it will have a negative effect on the performance of the heating and cooling system. Getting rid of this accumulation in the ducts requires professionals with special equipment.
You might think that duct cleaning isn’t that important, but there are a number of benefits to having it done every few years:
