Strategies to Unclog Drain Lines in Your AC Like a Pro

May 20, 2022

Your air conditioner is a huge investment in your home. You want it to work perfectly at any given time. However, sometimes you’ll experience some clogged drain pipes, which will make it challenging for your AC unit to work as expected. Unclogging drain lines is a straightforward undertaking. However, you still need to follow some specific steps to accomplish this critical task. Unplug Your Air Conditioner You can’t expect the clogged drain pipe to clear if the air conditioner is running. This means that you’ll need to turn off your AC unit before attempting any strategies to unclog drain lines. Don’t just pull out the plug and let it fall on the floor or drag it behind your body as you move away from your air conditioner. Instead, take a moment to place the plug in in an easily accessible outlet to quickly and easily reconnect your system when you’re finished unclogging the drain line. Drain Line Location Most people don’t know where their AC unit’s drain line is located. Therefore, it’s essential to find the drain line before starting any unclogging strategies. The drain line is generally located near the outside unit of your air conditioner. Once you find...

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Can Sleeping With the Windows Open in Summer Save Energy?

April 14, 2022

Ensuring your home stays cool throughout the summer is obviously important. The only issue is that running your air conditioning all day and night can quickly add up to huge energy costs. Therefore, many people attempt to reduce their cooling costs by turning off their AC at night and sleeping with the windows open instead. While this may sound good in practice, the reality is that it may not make nearly as big of a difference as you might expect depending on the climate where you live. To understand why let’s look at how much energy an air conditioner typically uses at night and the impact of temperature and climate on energy use. How Much Energy Does an AC Use at Night? As you might imagine, air conditioners tend to use much less energy at night than they do during the day. Your air conditioner will obviously have to run much less frequently during the cooler evening than it does during the hottest parts of the afternoon and evening. On average, approximately two-thirds of an air conditioner’s daily energy usage occurs between noon and midnight, with the remaining one-third being used between midnight and noon. On the face of things,...

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Using a Furnace Versus a Space Heater: What You Should Know

March 17, 2022

If you are dealing with furnace issues or are looking to save money on heating costs, you may be wondering if you can simply use a space heater to keep yourself warm. While space heaters are portable, compact, and affordable, using them in lieu of a furnace won’t necessarily save you money or keep you warmer. Here are a few things you should consider before buying one or more space heaters to rely on instead of a furnace. Space Heaters Heat a Room at a Time Many people who start out using space heaters are basing their heating plan on the fact that they use one or two rooms for most of the day. They think that heating the rest of the house may not be as important. It can seem like a great idea for your budget to just heat a couple of rooms and leave the rest of the home cooler than you normally would. This can save you money if you only heat one or two rooms on occasion or just want supplemental heat for a small space like your home office. If you rely on space heaters for multiple rooms or use one continuously, however, you...

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Good Practices to Extend the Life of Your Furnace

February 15, 2022

After purchasing a new furnace, it’s a good time to think about all the things that you can do to make it run efficiently. The more efficient your furnace runs, the longer its lifespan is going to last. Here are some great practices that you should perform to help extend the lifespan of your furnace. Seek Quick Repairs When your furnace has a problem, it can be easy to put it off. Issues like weird noises or odd smells may not seem like a big deal at the time. However, these are indications of problems that can develop in size if not remedied quickly. Any problem that you have with your furnace should be addressed by a service professional in a timely manner that helps prevent any bigger problems from occurring. The longer you can keep the original parts in your furnace in good working order, the longer it’s going to last. Get Annual Maintenance For your furnace to work effectively, it needs to undergo regular maintenance. Every fall, you should be calling in one of our service professionals to perform maintenance on your furnace. This will help get it ready for the winter months and ensure that it’s working...

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Some New Year’s Resolutions for Your Heater

January 12, 2022

With a new year almost here, it makes sense to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions. While you may have typical resolutions, such as losing weight, paying off debt, or ending a bad habit, it’s also a good idea to make some New Year’s resolutions to help keep your home in good working order. Specifically, the pros at want to give you a few ideas of things you can do to help your heater run well throughout the long, cold winter in Colorado Springs. Save Energy With a Programmable Thermostat Saving energy is always good to have at the top of any New Year’s resolution checklist. One easy way to do that with your heater is to have install a programmable thermostat. Rather than leave your house at the same temperature all day, you can tell your HVAC system when to turn off and on, resulting in significant energy savings over the course of a season. For extra savings, you can install a smart thermostat that learns your living patterns to set itself for you automatically. Commit to Checking Your Air Filter on Time It’s a task that almost everyone has overlooked at some point or another: replacing the...

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How to Ensure Your Furnace Is Up to Code Standards

December 20, 2021

Whether you intend to build a new home or put in a new HVAC system, there are certain standards that are established by local governments that must be followed. These codes are to ensure the safety of all of the people and pets in your home. If you’re not sure if your furnace is up to code, here are some helpful tips to find out. Understanding Code Standards Each local area will establish a code that must be followed within its jurisdiction. While local communities can create their own unique code, most will fall back to relying on the same one, the Uniform Mechanical Code, which was established by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials. It’s crucial to note that this code is regularly updated every three years. This means that your furnace could’ve been up to code standards when it was first installed but may now be below current standards. In most places, you’ll find that your outdated furnace is grandfathered in under the standards of when it was installed. However, if you plan on doing any major renovations to your home that require permitting or if you’re replacing your existing furnace, you’ll likely need to ensure...

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5 Important Benefits of Duct Sealing

November 17, 2021

Ductwork isn’t something most homeowners pay much attention to. Nonetheless, the fact is that your ductwork is as essential to your home’s heating and cooling systems as your furnace or air conditioner. Leaky ducts can drastically reduce your HVAC system’s efficiency and contribute to numerous other issues. The easiest way to prevent this is to have your ductwork professionally sealed. 1. Increase Your Home Comfort Both summers and winters can be brutal if your cooling and heating systems aren’t functioning properly. Any leaks in your ductwork can lead to drastic heating or cooling loss, which could result in you sweating or freezing all season long. Duct sealing can help you to avoid this problem by ensuring that your ducts are completely free from leaks. In this way, you can ensure your home stays comfortable and that your heating and cooling systems are able to keep your house at the desired temperature regardless of how hot or cold it gets outside. 2. Lower Your Energy Costs Studies have shown that leaking ducts can decrease the efficiency of a heating and cooling system by 20% or more. All of that lost hot or cool air means that your furnace or air conditioner...

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Water Heater Basics For Every Homeowner

October 13, 2021

Every home needs to have a water heater to produce warm water for bathing and cleaning. As a homeowner, it is likely that you are going to have to deal with water heater repair or replacement at some point in the future. For this reason, it’s a good idea to have some basic understanding of how a water heater works and what some of the most common problems are that you are likely to run across. How Do They Work? Traditional tank water heaters are fairly easy to identify with a large cylinder with various pipes running in and out of it. This large drum becomes filled with cold water through a dip tube that is positioned at the bottom of the water heater. The heating mechanism inside of the water heater works to heat up the water inside of the tank. Most water heaters will run on either an electric heating element or a gas burner, depending on the type of fuel that you decide to use in your home. The water will be heated up to whatever temperature you specify on the thermostat of your water heater. Water heaters can typically be set between 120 and 180 degrees...

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Tips That You Should Know for Furnace Safety

September 16, 2021

You know that your furnace is imperative to keeping your family warm during those cold Colorado nights. While your furnace can bring your family a lot of comfort, it can also bring them a lot of danger when it’s not used properly. We’re going to share with you some safety tips that you should be aware of in regard to your home’s furnace. Have a Fire Extinguisher Close at Hand While it’s unlikely that your furnace will catch fire, it’s always a good idea to prepare for the odd scenario. Having a fire extinguisher close can help ensure that you’ll be able to react quickly if a fire does crop up. While your first instinct may be to attach your fire extinguisher next to your furnace, you ought to think twice. Give some serious consideration to its location. If your furnace is on fire, you need to have your fire extinguisher in a place that is relatively close but where you can still access it without getting burned by the flames. Store Chemicals at a Distance It’s not uncommon for people to want to store their excess chemicals in the basement. Chemicals like paint thinner can have nasty odors that...

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