If you recently got your tax return back, you might be wondering how best to spend it. Sure, you could plan for a fun family vacation this year, or maybe make a purchase on a luxury item you’ve had your eyes on for some time. Other people choose to put their tax return directly into their savings, or to spend it on more practical items they’re in need of around their home, such as repairs or new appliances or fixtures.
Here’s one idea: if you know your furnace is old and is going to need to be replaced within the next year or two, why not use your tax return on that? This is a purchase that is responsible, practical and can add some value to your home.
Here are just a few of the benefits of upgrading your furnace with the assistance of an HVAC service in St. Louis, MO:
- Energy savings: If you have a brand-new heating and cooling system you’ve installed in your home, this will help you to save a significant amount of energy over time. All the systems you’ll find on the market today are made with energy savings in mind, meaning they’re excellent for the environment and reduce the amount of power needed to effectively run them. Considering how much of a focus there is and should be on environmental sustainability in today’s society, this is a purchase that can help you contribute to those efforts and reduce your carbon footprint.
- Financial savings: Financial savings go hand in hand with energy savings. It stands to reason that if you’re not using as much energy to heat or cool your home, then you’re also not paying as much money on your monthly utility bills. When you consider the potential savings you’ll get over the entire lifespan of your brand-new furnace, that’s a significant amount of money. Sure, it requires an initial investment to get the new unit installed, but there will come a point in time where that investment essentially pays for itself.
- Cleaner air: The air in your home can be dirtier than it is outside in many cases, depending on how well you’re filtering the air. New furnaces have much better filtering processes and functions, and are more effective at cleaning air that gets circulated through them. This is important for the health of you and your family—old, outdated furnaces do not have the same types of filtering options you’ll find on the new appliances. Cleaner air means fewer chances that you’ll either develop or exacerbate existing respiratory conditions, such as allergies or asthma. It also removes pollutants and germs that could otherwise circulate through the home, meaning there’s a lower chance your indoor air is making you sick if you’re using a new furnace.
For more information about the various benefits associated with installing a brand-new furnace, contact the team at Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling. We’d love to provide the top-quality HVAC service in St. Louis, MO that you’re looking for!
Having uneven hot and cold temperatures in pockets of air throughout your home can really be a nuisance, and can also result in some of your rooms being just plain uncomfortable to spend time in. What options do you have to balance the temperatures in your home and eliminate those inconsistent spots? Here are some tips from an HVAC service in St. Louis, MO to help you out:
- Open or close the register: This is simple enough. Open up the registers on your upper floor during warm-weather temperatures and partially close registers on the first floor or in the basement. During cold temperatures, reverse this. This can help you push cold or warm air exactly where you need it in your home.
- Handling multiple thermostats: If you have a two-story home and have a thermostat for each floor, you might try setting the temperatures to have a two-degree difference. You’d set the downstairs thermostat a couple degrees lower than the upstairs thermostat to help you with uneven temperatures. Typically, the areas that are hardest to warm or cool are the upstairs spaces, if you have issues with your furnace or ductwork.
- Clean filters: There are a number of benefits that come with changing and/or cleaning your filters. It improves the air quality in your home, and increases the efficiency of your furnace. It can also extend the life of your HVAC system and help you to keep your energy costs down. And of course, it makes it easier for you to regulate the temperature in the rooms of your home.
- Avoid restricted airflow: Make sure none of your registers are covered up by furniture or any other items that could block air from flowing through the room. This will make your system work harder than it needs to, resulting in less efficiency, higher energy bills and a greater chance that the system will wear itself out earlier in its life.
- Window coverings: You might find that installing window coverings can help you better regulate internal air temperatures. Options include drapes, blinds or shades. During the winter, you might even consider covering the windows with plastic to help keep the warm air inside.
- Ductwork: There’s a chance you’re having some issues with your ductwork if the hot or cool air isn’t being spread evenly throughout your home. Some of the joints of the ductwork might be loose, which means they may need to be refitted and sealed. In addition, if the ductwork has any sharp turns, it may be difficult for the air to navigate those areas. You can also benefit from resealing or insulating the ducts to prevent air loss as it’s being pushed throughout the home.
These are just a few options you have that can help you improve the air balance in your home and avoid troublesome pockets of cold or warm air. For more information, contact Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling to discuss HVAC service in St. Louis, MO. We look forward to helping you stay comfortable in your home all year long!
It might be hard to believe, but spring isn’t all that far off. We’ve made it through the coldest part of the winter, and now we can start thinking about the warmer, greener days ahead. For many homeowners this means performing some major spring cleaning. But it also means preparing your HVAC systems for the changing of the seasons, so your air conditioner is ready to run when the mercury rises.
Here are some tips from our HVAC service in St. Louis, MO to help you make sure you’re in good shape for the spring when it arrives:
- Get all debris and plants away from your AC unit: Chances are you haven’t given your actual air conditioning unit a whole lot of thought during the winter months. This means there’s a good chance that there’s been some trash, yard waste or other debris that’s accumulated around it during the fall and winter. Therefore, when the snow melts away and the weather starts to warm up, make sure you go out and check the area around your AC unit to ensure it’s clear. This will help you ensure a properly functioning unit. In addition, as plants start to come back for the season, make sure to check around the unit for overgrowth so you don’t accidentally block off the air conditioning. The unit needs approximately two feet of clearance on every side to be able to maximize its efficiency.
- Call in a professional for an inspection: Early spring is the best time of year to have a technician come out to inspect and service your unit. You’ll find that people suddenly realize they need to do this once the weather gets hot, meaning the longer you wait the harder it will be to get someone out to your property within a reasonable amount of time. Plus, by booking your appointment in the spring instead of the summer, when you already need to be running your unit, your technician will be able to pinpoint any issues that could cause you problems ahead of time, before you ever have to worry about them interfering with your comfort. This means you’ll be prepared with reliable, high-quality air conditioning operation all summer long and will have a drastically lower likelihood of having to call for emergency repairs.
- Swap out your filters: Spring is a great time to swap out the filter in your HVAC system. People often don’t think about the air filters during the winter, but you should change your filters at least every few months, and some experts recommend every 30 days. Your manufacturer will have some specific recommendations for your system. Clogged or dirty filters can result in the air conditioner working harder than it has to, which could cause it to break down.
These are just a few tips to help you get off on the right foot this spring and summer with your air conditioning. For more information, or to schedule HVAC service in St. Louis, MO, reach out to Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling today.
Winter is the busiest time of year for furnace repairs, especially for people who did not take the proper precautions by getting their furnace inspected before the main heating season began. This means it’s also the time of year when we receive the most questions about furnace repairs and wintertime HVAC service in St. Louis, MO.
With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of some of those most frequently asked questions we get from our customers. Here are our responses to them.
Q: How much can I expect to pay for furnace repair?
This is a difficult question to answer, because every furnace and every situation is different. You can expect to pay a service fee on top of the cost of the actual repair, which will include the cost of the components that need to be replaced, as well as the cost of the labor it takes to make the repairs. The national average for furnace repair costs is $268, but again, expect a lot of variance there depending on your situation.
Q: What are the most common furnace repairs you make?
There are a lot of different issues that can arise in a furnace. We frequently see a lot of dirt and grime buildup that can cause ignitors to work poorly. Bad thermostats are also common—they can prevent the furnace from effectively heating the home, as they fail to call for heating when it’s needed. Bad flame sensors are another common problem, and they can cause improper fuel burning, which can result in furnace shutdowns. Furnace motor issues are also common, and tend to be the most costly repairs.
Q: Are you available to take on emergency jobs?
Yes—our team is capable of coming out on short notice to handle any emergency repairs you need to get your furnace back up and running. It’s important to have access to emergency services like these during the winter months, as long service outages could be a danger to you and your family when the weather gets extremely cold.
Q: What’s the best way for me to avoid repairs altogether?
If you want to avoid significant issues with furnace problems that require expensive repairs, you should make sure you keep up with all your preventative maintenance steps. You should schedule annual service appointments with an HVAC technician, who can inspect your system and catch any performance problems before they lead to breakdowns. You should also remember to change your furnace filter every few months to make sure air is able to move properly through the system, allowing it to work more efficiently. A dirty filter causes the furnace to work harder, which can stress its inner mechanisms and make it likelier that you’ll need to spring for repairs during the heating season.
For more information about furnace repair and what you need to know about keeping your furnace in good working condition, contact the team at Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling to schedule HVAC service in St. Louis, MO today.
