ARCO Home Comfort Blog

Seal Your Ductwork, Then Watch Energy Efficiency Rise

Brian Friedman — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 08:00:23 +0000

An average home can lose 20 percent of its heated or cooled air through compromised ductwork, according to Energy Star. In Northeast Ohio, where summers can be mighty muggy and the furnace usually starts working in October, this means your money is flying out of those rips, tears and loose connections. You can stop wasting all that conditioned air — and your money — by sealing your ductwork. Then watch your energy efficiency rise.

Detecting problems in your ductwork
The easiest way to spot problems in your duct system is to inspect the sections that you can get at easily. Holes, tears and bad connects are easy to find. Two other telltale signs that you have problems:

Some rooms seem too hot, too cold or stuffy for no apparent reason.
Your utility bills have spiked.

Sealing your ductwork
Fixing the ductwork that you can access easily is a relatively simple project. You can seal the ductwork yourself. Avoid using rubber adhesive tape, specifically duct tape, as it will not hold up to the heat. Instead, use mastic, which is heat-resistant.

For best results, consider working with your trusted heating and cooling contractor. He can get at the ductwork that’s hard to reach and ensure a thorough job. And after all the ductwork is sealed, consider having it insulated. This is especially important for ductwork that runs through any uninsulated spaces, such as an attic or crawl space.

With your ductwork adequately sealed and insulated, you should see your energy bills drop noticeably. And here in Northeast Ohio, we can use all the energy savings we can get.

Have any questions about keeping your home warm and comfortable this winter? Contact Arco Comfort Air Heating and Cooling. Like you, we live in Northeast Ohio, and we know the importance of energy efficiency.

Our goal at Arco Comfort Air is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Planned Annual Service Can Save You In More Than One Way

Brian Friedman — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 08:00:22 +0000

Here in Greater Cleveland, residential furnaces get a good workout from fall to spring. You rely on your furnace to keep you warm and comfortable round-the-clock for more than half of the year. Given how much you need that heat, it makes sense to keep your furnace well maintained.

You see, a furnace that isn’t maintained not only wastes energy, but also tends to break down more easily than a furnace that’s serviced annually. A neglected furnace can fail prematurely, forcing you to replace your unit before you would have, had you had your system maintained properly.

With a planned service agreement, you can avoid these costly and inconvenient problems. At Arco Comfort Air, we offer several planned service agreements covering one or more systems in your home. A planned service agreement for your furnace will ensure that your unit is thoroughly checked at the beginning of the heating season, and the terms of your warranty are honored. Here’s what to expect during your annual service check:

Your thermostat settings will be checked to ensure their accuracy.
All working parts will be cleaned and lubricated.
All electrical connections will be inspected.
Gas pressure, burner combustion, the heat exchanger and other fuel sources will be checked.
The unit will be tested for carbon-monoxide leaks.
Worn or broken parts will be replaced.

Most importantly, any problems will be discovered and corrected before they become major issues.

It’s easy to see how annual service can save you money. And with a planned service agreement, you can rest assured that your furnace will serve you well for a long time. To get expert advice about heating your home, contact Arco Comfort Air, your preferred HVAC maintenance expert in Cleveland. We’re happy to answer all of your questions.

Our goal at Arco Comfort Air is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about furnaces and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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An Energy-Efficient Furnace: Your Ticket To Savings

Brian Friedman — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 08:00:09 +0000

If you suffered through a winter of high utility bills last year, it’s smart to have an HVAC-system expert check your furnace now and advise you on the wisdom of getting a new unit.

You may dread doing that, considering the cost of replacing a furnace. But getting a high-efficiency unit now, rather than later, could wind up saving you money in the long run. Make the replacement this fall, and you’ll start saving right away.

If your furnace is 10 years old or even older, it’s most likely very inefficient. Its annual fuel-utilization efficiency could very well be lower than 70 percent. In contrast, today’s gas-fired furnaces have a base efficiency of 78 percent. And the best furnaces can have an AFUE rating of nearly 100 percent. That means your furnace will use almost all of the fuel it consumes, your energy bills will go down, and you’ll start recovering the money you spent on your new system right away.

When you’re shopping for your new furnace, take a look at these features, as well as the AFUE ratings:

Sealed combustion draws combustion air from outside the house through a plastic pipe. No room air is being burned and sent up the chimney.
A variable-speed motor conserves electricity.
Stainless steel primary and secondary heat exchangers help to ensure clean operation.
Multi-stage gas valves adjust the amount of fuel going into the burner, based on the amount of heat needed.

After you’ve looked at your options, your qualified heating contractor will make sure your new system is properly sized, further boosting your efficiency. The sizing procedure takes into account insulation, air infiltration, window efficiency and the cubic footage of your home. Furnaces installed a decade and more ago were frequently oversized, so it’s likely that you’ll be able to buy a smaller, less-expensive unit. To ensure that you get that smaller unit, take steps beforehand to lower your heating load. You can do that by adding insulation, sealing all air leaks and ductwork and getting new energy-efficient windows.

To learn more about an energy-efficient furnace for your home, contact Arco Comfort Air. We’ve served Northeast Ohio homeowners for more than 50 years.

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NATE Certification Means You Can Rest Easy

Brian Friedman — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 08:00:09 +0000

You can feel confident that your home heating and cooling system is installed and repaired correctly when you hire a NATE-certified technician to do the work. NATE certification ensures that the job is in good hands, so you can rest easy.

North American Technician Excellence is the certifying body for the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration industry. NATE certified technicians have passed rigorous testing to demonstrate their working knowledge in service and/or installation of HVAC systems.

NATE-certified technicians must have one to five years of experience before they can qualify for testing, so it’s no wonder that most homeowners prefer technicians with NATE certification. When you hire a NATE-certified technician, you benefit from:

A job well done.
Fewer callbacks, which can be inconvenient and irritating.
Your utility bills will be lower when your unit is installed and maintained efficiently.
Service will be quick and efficient when it’s done by a trained and experienced technician.
Your system will run smoothly and perform efficiently with professional installation and maintenance.
NATE-certified technicians are educated and knowledgeable in the area of HVAC systems and can answer your concerns or questions.
Peace of mind, knowing your unit is in the hands of a trained professional whose expertise is supported by certification.

Don’t put your heating and cooling unit in the hands of an uncertified, inexperienced technician. When you call an HVAC contractor, request a NATE-certified technician.

For more information about NATE certification or home comfort issues specific to HVAC systems, contact Arco Comfort Air. We serve Northeast Ohio’s homeowners.

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Furnace Troubleshooting Checklist

Brian Friedman — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 08:00:33 +0000

If your furnace is giving you grief, following a furnace troubleshooting checklist could very well help you pinpoint the problem and get it corrected in no time.

First, grab a flashlight and the owner’s manual for your furnace. You probably haven’t thumbed through it in awhile, so now is the perfect time to reacquaint yourself with the components. Don’t be intimidated. Basically, your furnace is a big box that draws in cold air, cleans it via a filter, heats the air and then sends it through ductwork into the rooms in your home.

Now get ready to put these furnace troubleshooting tips into action:

Make sure your thermostat is set on “heat.” If your furnace is not running, turn up the temperature a few degrees to see if it fires up.
Inspect the circuit breaker or fuse box. You may have tripped the circuit breaker or blown a fuse. Reset the circuit breaker or replace the fuse, as necessary.
Make sure the pilot light — if your furnace has one — is on. If it isn’t on, relight it.
Check the filter by shining a flashlight behind it. If you can’t see any light, the filter is dirty, so replace it. A dirty filter can cause a furnace to shut down.
Conduct a room-by-room check of your home’s heat registers to make sure they’re not blocked by furniture or other obstructions.

If your furnace still isn’t sending out any warm air, you’ll need to contact your HVAC-system pro. Arco Comfort Air Heating and Cooling can diagnose and repair a myriad of furnace problems, ranging from a faulty ignition switch to burners that aren’t working correctly.

You might say that we make the perfect furnace fix-it team. You do the initial troubleshooting, and we respond to those issues that only a certified technician can fix. Call us today to get your furnace running the way it should.

Arco services the Northeastern and Greater Cleveland area of Ohio. Visit our website to see our special offers to get started today!

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Winter’s The Time For A Humidification System

Brian Friedman — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 08:00:28 +0000

Winter is the time when the air in your Cleveland-area home can become very dry. You may not be aware of it until you notice how dry your skin is feeling, or you continually wake up with a scratchy throat. Perhaps you even experience a recurring bloody nose. Your prized wood furniture and woodwork can also take a hit, developing cracks over time. A whole-house humidification system can remedy this situation. And there’s a bonus: You’ll feel more comfortable overall and may be able to turn down your thermostat a few degrees.

A whole-house humidification system is installed in your HVAC system. It delivers a continuous supply of vapor throughout your home, depending on the season and your requirements. A whole-house system has several advantages over a portable unit:

Your entire home — not just a single room — is humidified continually via your duct system.
No daily emptying and cleaning of the unit is needed.
Because moist air feels warmer that dry air, you can turn down your thermostat and feel just as comfortable. You could lower your heating bill by as much as 4 percent by turning down the thermostat just one degree.
The annoying static electricity so common at this time of year will go away, because it’s related to dry weather.

Just as important, moist air is easier to breathe — no more dry noses and scratchy throats. Family members who suffer from allergies will feel more comfortable. And when you come down with a cold or the flu — and it’s inevitable in Cleveland, isn’t it? — you may find that your respiratory symptoms don’t feel quite as bad.

Have any questions about home humidification? At Arco Comfort Air, we can answer those questions and help you with any other home-comfort issues. Get in touch with us. We’re Angie’s List Super Service Award winners, and we take pride in the work we deliver to our many Cleveland-area clients.

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Fall Preventive Maintenance Starts With Your Heating System

Brian Friedman — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 08:00:37 +0000

With fall quickly approaching, now is the best time to schedule preventive maintenance for your heating system. This will help to ensure that your system is ready to go when temperatures plummet in Northeast Ohio.

Why chance a furnace breakdown and jeopardize your family’s safety and comfort this winter? Even if your system is not that old, HVAC professionals recommend a yearly tune-up. Start that regular maintenance early on and your system will experience fewer breakdowns over the years, because issues will be caught and corrected before they become problems. Your system will operate much more efficiently and will have a longer life than a system that has been neglected.

What will your service technician do when he comes to your home to tune up your system? He will:

Tighten any loose electrical connections.
Verify voltage and electrical currents.
Lubricate the motor and all moving parts.
Check the safety controls.
Clean and inspect the coils.
Inspect the gas connection and pressure.
Clean and inspect the burner and heat exchanger.
Test and calibrate the thermostat.
Clean or replace the filter.

Your technician will also take a look at your ductwork, checking for loose connections and other breaches. He will recommend sealing the ductwork if he finds any leaks.

The filter is a crucial part of your HVAC system, and it should be changed or cleaned frequently. Check it regularly during the heating season, and change or clean it as soon as it looks dirty. A clogged filter forces your furnace to work harder than it should. And if you want your system to run even more efficiently, consider insulating any ductwork that runs through uninsulated spaces, such as an attic or crawl space.

At Arco Comfort Air Heating and Cooling, we have the expertise needed to keep the furnace in your home in tip-top shape. Contact us for your fall maintenance. Like you, we live in Northeast Ohio, and we know just how cold it can get and how much you rely on your heating system.

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Want To Cut Your Energy Consumption? Start Here

Brian Friedman — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 08:00:41 +0000

Fall is an excellent time to cut your energy consumption and get ready for winter. Winters in Northeastern Ohio can be exceptionally cold, but it doesn’t take long or cost much to look around your home for ways to reduce your bills.

The Department of Energy says that half of your energy bills goes toward heating and cooling, followed by water heating, so paying attention to these systems has a big impact.

Seal the air leaks. Look at the joints around your window frames, and seal any gaps you see with caulk. Cold north winds can infiltrate, and warm air can escape via these gaps. Also seal spots where wiring, cables and plumbing penetrate exterior walls. Remove worn weatherstripping, and apply fresh weatherstripping around your exterior doors.
Add insulation. If your attic doesn’t have at least 16 inches of insulation, you could use more, which is what the Department of Energy recommends as the minimum for our climate. Lowering thermal transmission through your ceiling is one of the best ways to cut energy consumption. Consider insulating any ductwork that runs through uninsulated spaces.
If you have a forced-air heating and cooling system, make it a point to check the air filter monthly. Clean or change it when you can’t see daylight through it. Dust slows the passage of air and makes your system work harder. Dirty filters are a primary cause of premature HVAC-system failure.
Insulate your water heater with a water-heater blanket. You can find these blankets at home-improvement centers. Electric water heaters are easy to cover, but if your water heater is gas-powered, have your plumber or HVAC contractor do the job.
Turn your water-heater thermostat down to 120 degrees.

For more information about lowering your energy consumption, contact Arco Comfort Air Heating and Cooling. We provide home-comfort products and services to homeowners in Northeastern Ohio.

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Insulation Basics To Help Keep Your Home Warm This Winter

Brian Friedman — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 08:00:32 +0000

It’s natural for heat to flow from warmer to cooler spaces, which is why you need to know insulation basics if you hope to keep your home warm this winter.

With plenty of insulation in the walls and along the attic floor, heat flow is decreased, and your furnace doesn’t have to work as hard to keep your home comfortable. Here are some useful insulation basics to consider if you’re making home improvements before the cold weather sets in.

Rolls and batts: These flexible insulation products are made from mineral fibers including rock wool and fiberglass. They come in standard sizes to fit between wall studs and floor joists. Rolls and batts are most appropriate for new construction applications and can be installed as a do-it-yourself project.
Rigid foam: Polystyrene and polyurethane are typically used in rigid foam. Applications for this type of insulation include unfinished basement wall sheathing, foundations and attic hatches. Rigid foam provides excellent R-value in a very thin package.
Loose fill: This insulation is usually made of cellulose, rock wool or fiberglass. It is the most common type of insulation added to attics because it is cost-effective and can fill in nooks and crannies. Loose-fill insulation should be blown into place with pneumatic equipment, meaning you need a professional technician to do the job for you.
Foam-in-place: This insulation can be blown into walls, under floors or along attic surfaces to seal gaps and minimize air leaks. Foam-in-place insulation can fill any irregularly shaped space and is applied with a small pressurized canister.

Knowing these insulation basics will help you choose the right type of insulation for the job. If you have questions, contact Arco Comfort Air in Cleveland. We can help you get ready for the winter heating season. And should you need new equipment, we provide efficient systems and quality service.

Our goal at Arco Comfort Air is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about insulation and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Boosting Home Heating Potential With Ceiling Fans

Brian Friedman — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 08:00:49 +0000

Anyone who has lived through a muggy Northeast Ohio summer knows how a cool lake breeze offers relief on a hot July or August afternoon. And any homeowner who uses ceiling fans knows how the breeze they provide provides comfort — and even helps an air conditioner do its job. But did you know that you can use a ceiling fan in the winter to boost your heating potential, as well?

The fact is, ceiling fans can be useful both when it’s hot outside and when it’s cold.

In the summer, the blades of a ceiling fan run in a counterclockwise direction, producing a wind-chill effect, which dries the perspiration on your skin and makes you feel cooler. This dynamic can allow you to turn up your air conditioner thermostat by as much as four degrees and feel just as comfortable. And an air conditioner that uses less energy doesn’t cost you as much to operate.

In the winter, the fan blades can be adjusted to spin in reverse — or clockwise. As the fan blades spin in this direction, warm air at the top of the room is pushed down along the walls and into the occupied space. This added warmth can allow you to turn down your thermostat for energy savings.

In addition to keeping you more comfortable in the winter, ceiling fans can reduce window condensation, which develops when the warm air in a room hits the cooler glass. Condensation has the potential to damage window frames and even drywall. Prolonged moisture can invite mold growth.

Ceiling fans are a low-cost investment in energy savings that you can enjoy from one season to the next for many years. Have any questions about additional ways to save? Contact Arco Comfort Air for assistance. We also offer a broad line of home-comfort systems and expert service. We’ve served Northeast Ohio homeowners since 1955.