Winter is the most stressful time of year for furnaces, which of course means that it’s also the time of year when furnace problems are most prevalent. If you’re using a furnace to keep your home warm this winter, you’re going to want to keep an eye out for any problems that may develop. The sooner you can get problems repaired, the more damage you can prevent. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some furnace problems that you should know about.
Touchstone Heating & Air Inc. Blog: Archive for the ‘Heating’ Category
Furnace Problems You Should Know About
Monday, December 28th, 2015Beware of Furnace Short Cycling
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2015Have you noticed your furnace turning itself on and off every couple of minutes? That’s called “short cycling,” and it’s a serious threat to the health of your system. If not fixed as quickly as possible, it can easily shorten the life of the system and make breakdowns more likely. Let’s take a look at why short cycling happens, and the damage it can cause.
The Problem of Short Cycling
Monday, November 23rd, 2015Winter is finally here, and that means you’re probably relying on your furnace on a daily basis. There are a couple of precautions that you need to take while you’re using your furnace that often, one of which is cleaning the air filter every couple of months. If you don’t do this, you run the risk of causing short cycling to occur in your system. Let’s take a closer look at short cycling, and the damage it can cause to your furnace.
Do I Need to Replace My Furnace?
Monday, November 16th, 2015Winter is here, and if you aren’t yet relying on your furnace on a daily basis you soon will be. Along with that added use comes added stress, and some of us have furnaces that just won’t be able to cope. If your furnace can’t get you through another winter, it’s highly advisable that you have it replaced now. Otherwise, you may have the system break down on you in the middle of winter. No one wants to be without heat for a week or more while they scramble to find a new heating system. Keep an eye out for these signs that your furnace needs to be replaced.
Strange Furnace Noises, and What They Mean
Monday, November 9th, 2015As the days start to get colder, you’re going to start relying on your furnace to keep you warm on a day-to-day basis. At some point, you may start to hear strange noises coming from your furnace. Unusual noises are often the first sign of a problem with your system. Let’s take a look at some of the more common noises that you need to listen for.
Now is the Time for Heating Maintenance
Monday, November 2nd, 2015Floridians are lucky when it comes to winter; we don’t have to deal with cold weather until December at the earliest. However, that doesn’t mean that you should neglect your home heating preparations until the last minute. Heating maintenance is a vital part of making sure that your system can handle the onslaught of winter. Read on to find out more about the benefits of heating maintenance, and why you should schedule it this fall.
Install a Zone Control System this Fall to Improve Your Heating
Monday, October 19th, 2015We have a bit of time before the cold weather really hits here in Florida. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for it now. If you haven’t already scheduled heating maintenance for your system yet, you should. That’s not the only way to improve your home’s heating situation, though. Let’s take a look at zone control, and how it can help make your home more comfortable and energy efficient this winter.
Should I Install a Geothermal System this Fall?
Monday, October 12th, 2015Here in Florida we haven’t quite gotten to heating season yet, even though most of the rest of the country has. However, it’s never too early to prepare your home for the cold season. If you’re in the market for a new home heating system, why not take a look at geothermal heating. Let’s examine how geothermal heating operates, and why you might want to install one in your home.
Get Your Ducts Sealed This Fall
Monday, October 5th, 2015Fall is here, and while most of us probably won’t be turning on our heating systems for a couple more months, it’s still a good idea to prepare for winter. When you think about getting your home ready for the cold season, you probably think about things like heating maintenance. While it’s a good idea to make sure that your heater is in good condition, you should also make sure that your ducts are in good condition. Let’s take a look at why you should get your ducts sealed this fall.
What Is a Hybrid Heating System?
Thursday, January 15th, 2015Although many people outside of Florida assume that we have warm, sunny weather all year long, residents know that the weather can get very chilly. And since your air conditioner uses so much energy the rest of the year, you may dread running your heater if the system you currently own is somewhat inefficient. So when you need to replace your heater, you might decide to go with a hybrid heating system, one of the most energy-efficient heating systems available.
Hybrid heating systems contain both a heat pump and a gas furnace, so that homeowners get the efficiency of a heat pump and the performance of a gas furnace. A hybrid heating system is a heat pump first and foremost, but it uses a furnace as a backup. Let’s look at how a heat pump and furnace work to see how this unit can help your home to run more efficiently.
Heat pumps are essentially just air conditioners with a couple of extra components and settings that allow for both heating and cooling. In air conditioning mode, refrigerant moves from the compressor unit to the indoor air handler, absorbing the heat from the home and then moving it back outside. In heating mode, refrigerant moves in the opposite direction via an additional component called the reversing valve. The reversing valve allows refrigerant to flow the other way while check valves help it to avoid passing through the components reserved for cooling mode.
Moving heat from one area to the next is a very efficient way to heat a space, usually more so than generating heat. But generating heat via combustion, as a furnace does, means reliable heating in any weather. Furnaces don’t rely on outside conditions to heat a home, and all of the parts are located indoors. While a heat pump may struggle to heat when outdoor temperatures drop too low, a furnace typically will not. This means it’s there a source of heating when the temperatures drop or when a component of your heat pump breaks and you need a backup source.
Call Touchstone Heating and Air Inc. to learn about all of the ways homeowners benefit from installing hybrid heating systems in Gainesville.