Monthly Archives: May 2011

Tips For Buying New Furnace

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If you are experiencing heating troubles by your furnace, then it is the right time to move on to a new one. The furnace repair is very costly and it would be better to invest the money on a new one. You have to know about different types of furnaces available in the market and their cost. You should also asses your requirements and should purchase the right one for you. Call the Baytown furnace repair team from Air Specialist at 713-936-2594 for help.

The different types of furnaces available in the market are Electric furnaces, Oil furnaces and Natural gas furnaces. These furnaces are usually used in urban areas. The difference between these furnaces is the fuel used. There are other furnaces that will come under non-urban category. They are wood and propane based furnaces.

Explanation

•    Forced Air Furnace uses gas or oil as its fuel. The cool air is heated in the furnace by using the fuel and is released through the ducts. These ducts are placed in various rooms of the house. By this process, the entire house will be kept warm in few minutes. The AFUE rating (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) for this furnace is 90 to 97 percent. The losses are very minimal in this furnace and will range from 3 to 10 percent. These ratings clearly indicate the efficiency of the Forced Air Furnace.

•    Boilers using oil and gas are another type of furnaces, which are usually seen in old houses. In these furnaces, the water is boiled in a boiler and is processed through the network of pipes. These pipes are connected to the radiators throughout the house. The hot water will heat the radiators and thus the entire house will be kept warm.

•    Electric heaters are the most prominent ones. These furnaces are very easy to set up while the maintenance cost is more. They require electricity as fuel and the radiators are heated by it. The construction of the electric heaters is very simple compared to the other furnaces. But due to the usage of electricity, the operating cost is very high. In Urban places, these furnaces are very popular.

How to decide cost?

Before searching for a good furnace, make sure of the amount you are willing to spend. Furnaces are costly and are used for long term purposes. So you can decide the purchase by comparing the cost, as it will make the purchase lot easier. The maintenance costs should be taken into account. Some inexpensive furnaces require high operating costs. You should carefully select the furnace with low operating cost to minimize the expenditures.

Discounts

You should enquire about various discounts offered on the furnaces. Some companies will offer good discounts on the quality products. You should select a cheap furnace with good quality. Be careful while selecting the furnace as you cannot afford to sacrifice quality for some slash in the price.

  • Trane
  • Ruud
  • Rheem
  • Carrier
  • Lennox
  • Bryant
  • Amana
  • Coleman
  • Goodman
  • Sears
  • Kenmore
  • American Standard
  • Westinghouse
  • Armstrong Air
  • York

Heat Pumps – How Can You Do Proper Heat Comparison?

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Heat Pumps are very useful in providing the required heat during the cold climatic conditions. They are very efficient and can save us from the cold. There are many variants of the heat pumps available in the market. We will be confused to select the appropriate heat pump from the big portfolio. Hence, it will be better if we know some tips to select a good heat pump. Call the Baytown heat pump team from Air Specialist at 713-936-2594.

The first and simple method is to check the heat pump by its efficiency to warm the room in cold conditions. The ideal heat pump should produce good amount of heat in cold circumstances. There are other ways to do a proper heat comparison between various heat pumps.

Types of Ratings

There are two types of ratings, which will determine the good heat pump in the market. They are SEER and HSPF ratings. SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating and HSPF is Heating Seasonal Performance Factor. The SEER and HSPR ratings are different ones and there is no guarantee that a heat pump with good SEER rating will possess good HSPR rating too and vice-versa.

•    SEER rating gives the cooling efficiency of the heat pump. If you require a heat pump that cools the house effectively, a good SEER rated heat pump is best for you.

•    HSPF rating gives the efficiency of the device to heat the room. If you are on a verge to obtain good heating for the room, HSPF rated heat pump will be better.

Benefits

There are many benefits in comparing the heat pumps. There are many applications of the heat pumps and we can select the one that best suits our purpose. The common applications are

•    Radiant heating
•    Forced air systems at multiple zones
•    Domestic usage

For radiant heating and forced air systems at multiple zones, heat pumps of high capacity are required. For normal usage, an average powered heat pump is sufficient. We can select the best heat pump by comparing these devices with each other.

Tips for deciding the price

We can follow some tips to decide the investment that we have to make on the heat pump. Since it is a big investment, we have to be very careful while comparing the heat pump.

•    We have to select a good manufacturer. Manufacturer with a good track record should be given priority. There is no harm in investing additional amount on such company’s product. Since it is a long term investment, the extra money you pay will ensure that you have received a good quality product.

•    The price of the heat pumps will vary with the capacity. If the capacity is high, then we are required to invest more money. First of all, we should carefully assess our needs. If we require a heating pump with low capacity, investing on high capacity heat pump is not profitable. Hence we should invest on the heat pump that is suitable for our requirements.

•    Second hand heat pump is also a good option. If you trust the owner and the product is good, then you can safely invest the amount on the second hand piece. It will save a lot of money.

  1. Trane
  2. Ruud
  3. Rheem
  4. Carrier
  5. Lennox
  6. Bryant
  7. Amana
  8. Coleman
  9. Goodman
  10. Sears
  11. Kenmore
  12. American Standard
  13. Westinghouse
  14. Armstrong Air
  15. York

How Can We Reduce Electricity Bill In Summer?

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The electricity bill will be usually more in summer. You may be wondering about the peculiar reason for this cause. The answer is the increase in usage of various commodities during summer. Mainly, the usage of A/C will be more in summer compared to other seasons. The power consumed by the air conditioner will be usually more. If your utility bills are out of control, call on the Baytown air conditioning repair team from Air Specilist at 713-936-2594.

Another reason is the negligence on part of us in saving the power. There are various ways to sustain in summer. But we always prefer to remain in A/C room throughout the daytime. We have to follow some tips to ensure that the large electricity bills are lowered to appropriate amount.

Tips for reducing electricity bill

1.    The usage of A/C has to be controlled. We can spend the daytime under ceiling roofs to sustain from the high temperature. We can also keep the A/C in sleep mode, so that we can save power till the cooling in the room exists.

2.    Cleaning the air filter of A/C is also very useful tip for reducing the power usage. A dirty filter will require more power to produce the cooling effect. The clogged vents in the filter will obstruct the air flow and will increase the pressure on the compressor to obtain the required cooling. The compressor will take more time and power to cool the room. Hence the power required for the cooling process also increases. Regular cleaning of air filter will prevent any dust particles clogging the filter and hence, the power required by the A/C will be less.

3.    Thermostat settings also play an important role in decreasing the electricity bill. We have a common tendency to change the thermostat settings as per our convenience. This tendency will lead to the frequent use of the cooling system and as a result, the bill amount increases. If the thermostat is correctly configured, then it will display the ideal temperature at which the cooling system has to be switched ‘ON’. This method will save good number of bucks by the preventing excessive use of the cooling system.

4.    We are often used to A/C, but the side effect is we are being affected by the stagnant air. It is best to take fresh circulating air for some hours in a day. Fans will circulate the air in the room and will also require less power compared to A/C. By using fans regularly, we can slash out the electricity bill and improve our health by breathing fresh air.

5.    Drinking water is another useful tip. You may be wondered on reading this tip in the power bill slashing techniques. But it has an indirect effect on the power bills. If we drink water regularly in summer, we will not feel dehydration and can live without A/C for hours. This is an important tip in cutting out the extra power bill.

6.    Always remain in the house covered with curtains. The curtains will prevent the heat from entering the house through the windows and doors. The rooms will be cool and as a result, the need for the cooling system will also decrease.

7.    Upgrading to new technology A/C is good option. Old A/Cs will consume high power compared to the new ones. Power can be saved by upgrading to a new A/C, if you have an old A/C in the house.

These are the various tips to decrease the monthly electricity bills in summer.

  • Trane
  • Ruud
  • Rheem
  • Carrier
  • Lennox
  • Bryant
  • Amana
  • Coleman
  • Goodman
  • Sears
  • Kenmore
  • American Standard
  • Westinghouse
  • Armstrong Air
  • York