Spring isn’t the only time when air quality starts to suffer. During the winter, homes are sealed tightly against the outside cold, and this often leads to an increase in the concentration of airborne pollutants inside them.
Purl's Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Madera’
Indoor Air Quality Problems during Winter
Monday, January 11th, 2016The Importance of Gutters on Your Home
Monday, December 28th, 2015Why Are Furnaces Today More Energy Efficient?
Monday, December 21st, 2015Technology improves with each year, and this applies to gas furnaces as much as it does to computers and smart phones. Although gas furnaces have been around for a long time, they have undergone many improvements to make them both safer and more effective.
One area where gas furnaces have seen a tremendous enhancement is in energy efficiency, i.e. how well a furnace converts its energy source into actual heating power. At one time, the average furnace would only convert 60% of its fuel into thermal energy, wasting 40%. But today, most furnaces waste less than 20%, and there are special high-efficiency furnaces that only waste 3%. This is one of the reasons you should consider replacing an aged furnace (15–20 years old or more), even if it’s still working at providing your house with heat. You could save large amounts on your monthly heating bills with a newer furnace.
Some Checks to Make on Your Furnace During the Winter
Friday, December 18th, 2015We want to open this blog by emphasizing that only trained professionals should handle furnace repairs. Although we’ve provided a list of tips below for ways to check that your furnace is operating as it should, you should never attempt to diagnose a problem or perform a maintenance task (other than changing or replacing the filter) on your own. If you suspect that your furnace has a fault or it’s running inefficiently, call our service technicians. We’re here to serve you seven days a week.
The Importance of Having Your Furnace’s Heat Exchanger Checked
Monday, November 23rd, 2015We emphasize scheduling fall heating maintenance for a number of excellent reasons: not only does this help your heater achieve the longest lifespan possible while working at its highest energy efficiency, but it also keeps it running safely. This is especially crucial if you use a gas-powered furnace, as many homes do. Although gas furnaces are not immediately “dangerous” appliances, they can pose hazards from carbon monoxide if they don’t receive regular inspections and tune-ups.
The key component of a gas furnace that requires a professional inspection each fall is the heat exchanger.
How to Get the Most from Your HVAC System This Coming Winter
Monday, October 26th, 2015Fall is the time of year to start preparing your home for the cold weather that will soon arrive. You can’t simply trust that your heater and its ventilation system will do the job they are supposed to without some assistance, both from you and from professionals. Below are a few steps you can take to see that your HVAC system will perform at top level during the coming winter season:
What Does a Whole-House Fan Actually Do?
Monday, September 14th, 2015At Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning, we’re always looking for ways to grow and offer new services to benefit our customers. Recently, we started to offer installation of whole-house fans. Although whole-house fans aren’t actually a new invention—they were popular in the 1950s and ‘60s before central AC was common in homes—they’ve made a comeback because they provide an energy-saving way of cooling and providing better ventilation throughout a house.
Does a Heat Pump Need Maintenance in Spring as Well as Fall?
Monday, April 13th, 2015One of the biggest advantages of a heat pump is that it works as both an air conditioner and a heater. If a heat pump is right for your home, you can have both your winter warmth and summer cooling taken care of with one installation.
When Is the Best Time for New Furnace Installation?
Wednesday, February 25th, 2015No matter how well you take care of your furnace, you will eventually have to replace it with a new one. Parts break down, wear out, and even go out of production. Eventually, the cost of repairing all of your furnace’s problems will outweigh that of a new furnace installation. The sooner you recognize that your furnace has reached the end of its service life, the more money you can save by replacing it. If you have any questions regarding whether you should repair or replace your furnace, call the skilled technicians at Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning.
Let’s take a look at some of the indicators that you should have a new furnace installed.
Increase in Repairs
Every system will occasionally run into problems that require professional repair. As a system ages, however, the frequency and cost of those repairs will increase. As wear and tear accumulates on the furnace, the individual parts of the system will begin to fail. Since each part wears out at a slightly different rate, this will eventually result in multiple parts failing in rapid succession.
Decrease in Efficiency
Not all drops in heating efficiency are a sign that a furnace needs replacement. There are several different issues that could contribute to a loss of heating ability. However, a furnace that seems to be permanently handicapped, even after multiple repairs, is a sign that you should replace the furnace with a new one.
Age
An older furnace doesn’t necessarily need replacement, but you need to take age into consideration when other symptoms, like those above, start to appear. If your furnace is older than its manufacturer’s estimate lifespan and experienced other performance issues, it’s a good idea to look into replacing it. If you have an older furnace and that is still performing fine, make sure you continue with regular professional maintenance and consult with your technician about when a replacement is cost-effective.
If you think you need a new furnace installation in the Madera area, call Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning to schedule an appointment.
Is It Time to Replace My Heat Pump?
Wednesday, January 14th, 2015If a heat pump receives regular maintenance from professionals, as well as skilled repairs when necessary, it should continue to keep a home warm during the winter and cool during the summer for many years. But no mechanical appliance can operate forever, and with the amount of work that a heat pump does around the year in California, it will eventually wear down to the point that it should be replaced.
If you suspect that you need to retire your home’s heat pump in Madera, CA, call up Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning. We provide excellent service for heat pumps, including repairs, maintenance, and new installation.
Below are some of the ways to tell that you should call us regarding heat pump replacement:
- Rising energy costs: A sudden increase in electrical bills during periods when a heat pump is running is usually a warning that the system has a fault somewhere in it that is causing it to drain additional power. Targeted repairs will usually fix such problems. But if the rise in the bills is more gradual and it does not decrease due to repairs or maintenance, it often means the system is too old to work efficiently any more. Heating technicians can look into the unit and determine if replacing it is the best route or not.
- An increase in repair jobs: Approximately 85% of the repairs that a heat pump or other heating system may need occur during the last two years of its service life. When you find yourself calling for repairs more than once or twice during a year, it’s time to think about retiring the heat pump. As a good rule of thumb, if a repair would cost half or more of the price to replace the heat pump, it is more economical to have a new unit put in rather than to continue with repairs.
- Continual noisy operation: Loud noises from a heat pump are a strong sign that the mechanical components have worn down to the point that the system is no longer worth keeping. Heating technicians can investigate the heat pump to see if replacing some of the components will help, or if the heat pump is simply too old for further repairs to do much good.
Call the heating professionals at Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning. We will send one of our service technicians to your home to diagnosis the heat pump to find any possible problems. We can give you an estimate for repairs or replacing the unit. Whether you need repairs or new installation for your heat pump in Madera, CA, you can count on our decades of experience to deliver the highest quality work.