7 Day Minneapolis Weather Forecast

Thursday – Foggy in the morning, but mild. High 40.

Friday – Mostly cloudy. High 39.

Saturday – Nice start to the weekend.  Partly cloudy and high of 39.

Sunday – Another mild day. Partly cloudy and high of 39.

Monday – Partly cloudy and high of 41.

Tuesday – Return to February like temperatures. High of 29.

Wednesday – Still cooler. High of 34.

Source: weather.com

Author’s Note: The weekly weather update is a new series from Welter Heating & Air Conditioning.  We hope these weekly updates will keep you prepared for the best and worst Twin Cities’ weather has to offer.  Check back often for weather updates, as well as our regular heating and air conditioning tips. 

The first two weeks of January 2012 have felt more like March than the coldest month of the year, but it looks like we are heading for a change in the upcoming week.  After a relatively mild start to the week, bitterly cold temperatures move into the Metro area Wednesday evening.  Wednesday night marks the first subzero reading of the winter. Despite the artic feel to the middle of the week, temperatures are forecasted to be back on the rise by the weekend. Temperatures in the mid-30s and a chance of snow are on deck for this weekend.  So crank up your Minneapolis furnace and stay warm throughout those chilly January nights.

7 Day Minneapolis Weather Forecast

Thursday – Sunny and bitterly cold. High of 2.

Friday – Warming up slightly, chance of a snow shower. High of 16 degrees.

Saturday – Mostly cloudy with a high of 32.

Sunday – Another chance of snow. High of 33.

Monday – Colder and partly cloudy. High of 28.

Tuesday – Mostly cloudy. High of 28.

Wednesday-Chance of snow. High of 33.

Source: weather.com

Proper Sizing Prior to Furnace Installation

The key to any mechanical installation is sizing up the job correctly. A licensed HVAC service technician will have visited your home to evaluate equipment size and ease of installation. Not all homes are alike, and many require additional time for tricky workarounds.

Your contractor will take measurements of your home then perform calculations to verify the right size for your air conditioner, furnace or heat pump. Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to performance and comfort.

During the Install: Sealing Ducts & Optimizing Air Flow

You can buy the best gas furnace available, but if your ducts are damaged or not sealed properly, you’ll be heating the outdoors and wondering why your high-efficiency gas furnace costs more than its replacement. A qualified technician will measure for duct leakage and make the necessary repairs to minimize energy waste.

In order to operate at peak efficiency, a heating or cooling system needs to have the proper volume of air flow. Your contractor should also measure air flow and make the necessary adjustments.

Creature Comfort Factors

Most people want to know if they have to hang around all day or if they’ll be without heat. Well, there’s good news and bad news.

Most installations can be performed in one day. It’s also not necessary to remain at home all day. If your technician is bonded—which they should be—they’ve been vetted, so their reputation is solid. If you’ve done your due diligence and checked their references, it’s generally okay to run a few errands while your new furnace is being installed.

The not so good news is that, since the old system will be disconnected, you won’t be able to run your heat (which makes leaving the house sound like a good idea). And, depending on the complexity and type of the installation, expect to be without heat for a few to several hours.

If you are considering the installation of a new furnace, call Welter Heating and Air Conditioning at 612-825-6867.

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1. Wiggle into your fleece lined jeans and your favorite fleece hoodie and make your mark in the snow. Any recent snow fall will do. Build a snowman. Walk snow covered streets under the moonlight. Go sledding, ice skating, tobogganing or snow-shoeing. Let’s not forget a trip to your favorite confectioner’s for a cup of hot chocolate. That should be enough to take you through February.
2. When the cold has worn thin, how about making plans for a vacation to a warm climate? It can still be chilly in Florida in February, so think Caribbean for Valentine’s Day, Key West for St. Patrick’s Day and Orlando during Easter break.
3. Indoors can be fun too, especially during school “snow days.” Who doesn’t have great memories of building tent forts inside and playing board games by flashlight? Build a crackling fire and pull out the classics like Monopoly, Risk and Sorry!
4. If you don’t have a fireplace, then be thankful that your gas furnace is working at peak efficiency to improve the “snuggle” factor during nap time. Naps aren’t just for kids anymore.
5. Think about your favorite comfort foods and prepare something from your thumb-worn cookbook for a month of Fridays. Let’s see…there’s mac ‘n cheese, firehouse chili, stuffed cabbage, meat loaf and mashed potatoes and Swedish meatballs and noodles. Mmm.

What’s on your list of comfort foods? How do you enjoy winter weather?

If you need service on your heating or air conditioning system, call Welter Heating and Air Conditioning 612-825-6867 for service or installation.

Sign up for regular “Welter My Shelter” heating and air conditioning tips.

There’s really no shortcut to determining the best furnace to buy; you need to do your homework. Having supplied furnaces to Minneapolis homeowners for years, our research and experience can help.  What you need to decide for yourself, though, is how important is energy conservation vs. cost? Choosing between natural gas and electric makes a difference to the environment and where your money goes.

Benefits of Natural Gas

The advantage to choosing a natural gas furnace is, that due to the natural properties of gas, the energy works harder and more efficiently for you, which means less waste. It’s a clean fuel with lower emissions compared to other energy choices, and it’s produced domestically in the United States.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, direct use of natural gas reduces energy waste. More than 90 percent of the natural gas that is produced is delivered to your home and used directly by your natural gas appliances. Natural gas appliances in your home reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent.

According to the American Gas Association, 70 percent of the energy used to generate electricity is lost during the process of generating, transmitting and distributing the electricity to your home.

This means electric heating appliances, even supposedly highly efficient ones, actually waste large amounts of energy. By contrast, from the wellhead to your home, natural gas loses only about 10 percent of its useable energy.

Pros and Cons of Electrical Heating

Electric furnaces are considered safer because automatic breakers protect them from overloading. You can get an electric furnace started quickly, and they operate quietly. Since an electric furnace has no flame, you don’t have to relight a pilot light or deal with combustible fuels in the house.

Electric furnaces are often less expensive than other heating options, so your up-front costs are lower. They don’t require additional fuel pipes and expensive fuel storage tanks. Electric furnaces also don’t need venting, eliminating material costs and reducing installation time. We all know how fast service hours can add up!

Because electric furnaces have fewer moving parts, they’re easier to maintain than a natural gas furnace, so your maintenance costs may be lower, making electric an affordable choice. The downside is your electric bill. Heating with electricity is often more expensive than heating with natural gas or fuel oil.

Choices for Your Home

Now that you know the difference—pros and cons—between natural gas and electric furnaces, let us help you determine the best solution for your home and budget.  Call Welter Heating and Air Conditioning and talk with one of our experienced sales representatives.

If you need service on your heating or air conditioning system, call Welter Heating and Air Conditioning 612-825-6867 for service or installation. During the winter months, our team is on call 24-hours a day for emergency service.

Sign up for regular “Welter My Shelter” heating and air conditioning tips.

Holiday Happenings

Holidazzle – No Twin Cities holiday would be complete without a trip to the Annual Holidazzle Christmas Parade. Take advantage of the many merchants and heated skyways along Nicollet Mall. You can view the parade from the skyways, but the good viewing spots fill up fast, so arrive early. Check out their website for the parade schedule.

Minnesota weather can be unpredictable in December and performances are sometimes canceled due to extreme cold, so watch the local television news for unexpected cancellations.

Holiday Lights – If you’re a lover of festive outdoor décor, then the Holiday Lights in the Park is a sure bet. Embrace the holiday spirit this season, and drive along a trail featuring more than 50 large-scale light displays and moving sculptures. The event, open daily through December, will benefit a handful of local charities, including Second Harvest Heartland, Union Gospel Mission, Saint Paul Parks Conservancy and UnderConstruction.

A Christmas Carol – Round out the holiday with Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol, performed at the Guthrie Theatre and running through December 30^th. Last season (2010), the Guthrie featured a fresh interpretation on Scrooge’s ghost story with a new adaptation by British playwright Crispin Whittell, an impressive set and costumes, beautiful music and fantastical aerial effects. Don’t miss your chance to share this holiday favorite with your whole family.

Happy Holidays from Ours to Yours

Whether you’re embarking on creating your own holiday tradition or continuing one worn soft through the generations, one of the best things about the Twin Cities is its ability to welcome the old with the new.

If you need service on your heating or air conditioning system, call Welter Heating and Air Conditioning 612-825-6867 for service or installation. During the winter months, our team is on call 24-hours a day for emergency service.

Sign up for regular “Welter My Shelter” heating and air conditioning tips.

1.  How do I pick the right fuel source?

A Minneapolis furnace is most likely going to be using natural gas or propane. These energy sources are more economical than electricity in northern climates where home heating is required a good portion of the year.

2. How do I choose the right furnace system?

The best way to be certain you buy a properly sized unit is to calculate your home’s heating requirements. A reputable furnace dealer will provide a load calculation for your home. You could do this yourself, but it’s time consuming and requires that you know the various insulation levels of each part of your home.

You also need to consider air filtration and flow, especially if you or a family member suffers from allergies. You’ll want to weigh budget parameters and energy efficiency. For example, will the monthly savings over time offset the cost of the new unit or energy-saving option you’re considering?

3.  How long should my furnace last?

If you have a qualified technician perform regular preventative maintenance and service suggested for your unit, industry averages suggest that a gas furnace should last long as 20-25 years.

4. How often does my duct work need to be cleaned?

While there are EPA guidelines on frequency of cleaning, a qualified technician can help you determine a maintenance schedule based on your families’ health concerns, surrounding environment, pet dander and/or interior remodeling projects.

5.  Should I change my indoor coil?

When replacing your heat pump, the answer is most likely yes. The efficiency ratings that are advertised for a home heating system are based on the performance as part of a matched system. If only the outdoor portion is changed, the efficiency and savings could be less than that of a matched system.

Energy Efficiency & Regular Maintenance Saves You More

With the purchase of any mechanical device, the actual efficiency of your gas furnace depends on how it’s operated and maintained. An oversized unit will waste energy by cycling on and off too often and only blowing heat up the flue. An undersized furnace may not provide enough heat for comfort during very cold weather.

Properly matching the size of the furnace to the heat load of your home ensures that your furnace is operating at peak efficiency (saving you money) and you won’t pay for a larger unit than you need (saving you money).

If you need service on your heating or air conditioning system, call Welter Heating and Air Conditioning 612-825-6867 for service or installation.

Sign up for regular “Welter My Shelter” heating and air conditioning tips.

We know you’re wondering, “What the heck do jokes have to do with my home furnace?” Minneapolis winters are no joke, which is exactly why we wanted to lighten the mood as we transition from the crisp cool days of autumn into the stark days of winter. Without further adieux, following are our top five Ole and Lena jokes courtesy of Uff da!.

Ole, Lena & Sven Walk Into a Bar…

Ole was telling Sven, “I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it’s state-of-da-art. It’s perfect.”

“Really,” answered Sven, “what kind is it?”

Ole gets home, runs into his house, slams the door and shouts, “Honey, I just von da lottery? Pack your bags!”

Lena says, “Great! Vhat should I pack for? Da ocean or da mountains?”

Ole is sitting at home alone when he hears a knock on the front door. There are two sheriff’s deputies there.

He asks if there is a problem. One of the deputies asks if he is married and, if so, can he see a picture of his wife.

Ole says, “Sure,” and shows him a picture of his wife, Lena.

The sheriff says, “I’m sorry sir, but it looks like your wife’s been hit by a truck.”

Ole and Lena went to a lawyer to see about getting a divorce.

“How old are you folks?” asked the lawyer.

“Vell, I’m 96 and Lena is 92,” said Ole.

“How come you are getting a divorce now?” asked the lawyer.

Ole & Sven are Standing at the Gates of Heaven

Two guys, Ole and Sven, are standing at the gate of heaven. Trying to be friendly, Ole asks Sven, “So, how did you get here?”

Sven replies, “Hypothermia. How about you?”

“Well,” Ole said, “I vas sure my wife, Lena, vas cheating on me, so one day I came home early to catch here in da act. I searched da whole house, but dare vas no one dare. I felt so bad about da whole ting dat I had a massive heart attack.”

Doesn’t laughter warm the heart?

If you need service on your heating or air conditioning system, call Welter Heating and Air Conditioning 612-825-6867 for service or installation.

Sign up for regular “Welter My Shelter” heating and air conditioning tips.

Festivals & Fairs

The summer crowds have departed, and Minnesotans saved some of the best festivals for fall.

There are dozens of festivals, art fairs and craft shows from now until early November. Visit the Minnesota Festival Network to find events in your area.

Fall Cleanup & Garden Prep

It’s not too early to prepare for a beautiful garden next spring and summer. Fall leaf cleanup may seem like a chore to some, but we love the earthy smell of freshly fallen leaves and the exertion that comes with raking and bagging them. If you’re a gardener, then laying the leaves on your garden beds for insulation is an added bonus.

You can sprinkle some grass seed over dead patches in your lawn, pull up perennial weeds, and snip any dandelion or other seed heads that remain to prevent germination in your lawn and flower beds next year. Mow the last of the dead and dying flowers and trim the hedges to ready them for their winter hibernation.

Magnificent Minneapolis Fall Colors

No list would be complete without mentioning the leaf color changes throughout the state. Nature knows when to get ready for the upcoming winter season. Longer nights and lower evening temperatures prompt small changes in the outdoor world, even if it’s not obvious.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages a great website, which is updated regularly with pictures and color peak ranges across the state.

Temperatures in parts of northern Minnesota are dipping into the 20s and 30s. A few more nights like that and the colors will really start peaking!

We hate to say “good-bye” to one of the prettiest times of the year. But, we also love the vigor and splendor of the natural world before the blast of winter forces us to kick on the furnace for good.

If you need service on your heating or air conditioning system, call Welter Heating and Air Conditioning 612-825-6867 for service or installation.

Sign up for regular “Welter My Shelter” heating and air conditioning tips.

Here are a few tips to get you started in finding the perfect A/C contractor:

5 Tips to Help You Make a Wise Decision

1. Check Out Online Reviews – Before you call any contractors, you should do your research. Sites like Google, Yelp and the Accredited Business Directory are great sources to find reviews on local contractors. An air conditioning company that has a lot of positive reviews is likely to have a great customer service. It can also help you start screening out contractors who do not offer the best customer experience.

2. Have a Type and Brand of Air Conditioner in Mind – Before calling around to local contractors, it is a great idea to research the types and brands of air conditioners available. Are you looking for an energy-efficient model? Do you want a top brand known for reliability? If there is a particular brand or features you are looking for, then make sure you look for a contractor who offers those options.

3. Check Out the Company’s Reputation – Log some time on the company’s website and find out how long they have been in business, what types of services they offer and where their physical location is. A stable business that has been around for a long time is most likely doing something right for its customers and would be a good choice for your home.

4. Look for Great Customer Service – Once you have selected certain contractors to come out and give you a bid, it’s a great opportunity to get a feel for their customer service levels. First and foremost, you want a contractor who is reliable and professional. Their people should be prompt and courteous.

The way you are treated during the bid process is reflective of a way the company will treat you during installation and after if you ever require service.

5. Make Sure You Get a Written Bid – A good company will give you a written bid (or proposal) outlining the equipment to be installed, the work to be done and the price, including labor costs. This will ensure they are accountable for the work they do and price they have quoted you.

A Caution About Price Shopping

Price was not first on our list for a reason. When you consider that your air conditioning unit is an investment that will last for years, you want to be sure that the Minneapolis contractor you choose knows how to install and maintain the equipment so that it operates safely, reliably and efficiently.

It’s always a good idea to get estimates from at least three contractors, but don’t let price be your only criterion. Better contractors may charge more because they offer better value in terms of technical skill and years of industry experience.