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Springfield, OR Heating FAQ: Is It Time for a New Heating System?

Monday, October 15th, 2012

Comfort Flow has been providing Springfield, OR heating services to customers throughout the area since 1961. That’s why customers trust us to help them with all their heating needs, including heating repairs, maintenance, and replacement services. If you aren’t sure whether or not it’s time for a new heating system, give us a call any time.

Meanwhile, here are a few questions to ask as you consider replacing your old heater with a new heating system:

Does your old heater cost too much to operate?

While your old heater may have given you many years of uninterrupted service, you could be paying more than you need to in heating bills. Upgrading to a high-efficiency system, or a heating system that runs on renewable energy, such as a geothermal heat pump system, could dramatically reduce your heating costs. However, it is important to keep in mind that there are other factors to consider before choosing to upgrade.

Does your current heating system need frequent or costly repairs?

If you are paying more money in repair costs than you normally would, it may be time for a heating replacement. We offer an energy savings agreement to help with the cost of preventive maintenance for your new heating system to help prevent repair needs, but eventually all heating systems will need to be replaced. Having to pay a large amount for a heating repair is another reason homeowners choose to replace their heating systems instead of repairing them.

Do you have hot or cold spots in your home?

While hot or cold spots in the home may just require a duct sealing service, inconsistent temperatures in your home could also indicate that it is time for a new heating system. Keep in mind that there are other factors to consider. These include the condition of other supporting equipment, the type and number of thermostats you have in your home, the level of insulation, and how well your home is sealed.

Does your heating system break down often?

If your heating system breaks down often, it could be due to age, improper installation, poor maintenance, or a number of other issues. In any case, frequent equipment failure is not only costly, but it leaves you without heat during the colder months of the year. It may be a more cost-effective decision to replace your heater with a new system, in addition to ensuring your comfort throughout the heating season.

Call the Springfield, OR heating experts at Comfort Flow if you would like to set up a consultation.

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Eugene OR Tip: Essential Heating Maintenance Tasks

Monday, October 8th, 2012

Just like your vehicle, performing regular maintenance on your heating and air conditioning system is absolutely necessary. Not only can this keep your heating and cooling system working as efficiently as possible, it can also extend the life of your equipment—both of which can save you money.

In Eugene, OR, it is generally recommended that before each new season you perform regular maintenance on your heating and air conditioning system. For example, after your air conditioning system has sat dormant for during the winter, you should perform some regular maintenance on it before you start running it all the time in the summer.

Here are some of the tasks that we think are essential to keeping your heating and air conditioning system working properly.

Inspect refrigerant levels

Making sure that you don’t have too little or too much refrigerant in your system will make sure that your heating or air conditioning system is operating properly. If you notice that your refrigerant level is too low or too high, adjust it as necessary. Consult your owner’s manual for the correct amount of refrigerant necessary for your particular unit.

Remove Debris

If you have an outdoor unit with a door or hinge that opens, make sure the unit isn’t clogged with leaves, dirt or other organic material. This can cause the unit to vent improperly and can also be a fire hazard.

Check Drains, Refrigerant and Condensate Lines

Making sure that the fluids in your heating system are flowing properly is crucial to proper operation of your unit. Check any drains or drainage lines to make sure that your unit is disposing of condensate efficiently. If you have an outdoor compressor, you should also check the associated tubes for wear or damage.

Check Fan Blades and Motor

For indoor units like a furnace or outdoor units like a ductless mini split, you should check the blower or fan motor for any obvious signs of damage or wear. For outdoor units, make sure there isn’t anything obstructing the fan or if there is damage to any of the blades.

Check Burner, Ignition

For indoor furnaces and heating systems, make sure that your burner assembly is clean and operating properly. Also, check your ignition system to make sure that it isn’t obstructed or dirty.

Clean Air Filter

Many houses have air filters in the return air duct of their heating system. These filters make sure that any dust or dirt that is in your ductwork doesn’t get recirculated into your home’s air supply. Many filters you can just slide out of the unit and replace. Check your owner’s manual to see which size or model of filter is appropriate for your heating unit.

If you would like to know more aout how to properly maintain your heating system or if you would like to schedule a visit with one of our heating experts, then contact Comfort Flow today!

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Eugene OR Heating Guide: Commercial Heating Maintenance

Monday, October 1st, 2012

A commercial heating system is a powerful and complex piece of machinery, and you rely on it to do a large and important job. Because of this, it’s very important that you make sure your system is prepared for the long heating season ahead, and the best way to do that is with regular commercial heating maintenance from an experienced Eugene OR heating professional.

Benefits of Regular Maintenance

Regular commercial heating maintenance will benefit you in several ways. To begin with, it will ensure that your heating system is working at peak energy efficiency levels, and that means lower heating bills for you all winter long. A system that isn’t properly maintained on a regular basis may still work effectively, but it will likely be using more energy than necessary to run, and that costs you money.

Your furnace is also less likely to need emergency repairs when you have a technician inspect it prior to the start of the heating season. On this type of visit, they can often find parts that need to be replaced before the break down completely, and they can address any other minor issues they find that would have turned into larger problems later on.

Ongoing professional maintenance is the best way to extend the life of your system as well. Since your commercial heating system was such a substantial investment to begin with, you want to make sure you get the most possible out of it, and keeping up with maintenance is the most effective way to do that.

Why You Need a Qualified Professional

Because a commercial heating system differs from a residential system in several fundamental ways, it’s important to have a technician with experience working with commercial systems caring for yours. That way, you can have confidence that all maintenance is being carried out properly and that your system will work properly when you need it to.

To schedule a maintenance visit for your commercial or residential heating system in Eugene OR, give Comfort Flow Heating a call today!

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Eugene, OR Heating Tip: Make Your Heating System More Energy Efficient

Monday, September 24th, 2012

Everyone wants to ensure efficiency in their heating and air conditioning systems, so when the opportunity comes to perform a handful of basic tasks or upgrades that will do just that, many people in Eugene, OR jump at the chance. Specifically, when it comes to your furnace there are quite a few things you can do that will make your system more efficient without having to replace the entire system. Here are a few of them:

*  Regular Maintenance – The easiest way to ensure any heating system uses as little energy as possible is to have regular maintenance performed on it. A tune up performed by a professional once a year is the best way to do this, though you can also benefit from cleaning in and around the furnace room yourself every month.

*  Filter Checks – Check and clean filters according to their manufacturer’s guidelines to ensure there are no clogs in the system. This will greatly reduce the cost of operating your furnace.

*  Inspect and Repair Ductwork – If there are leaks or gaps in ductwork, it can result in a significant loss of heating during operation which will of course greatly reduce your heating efficiency.

*  Vent Damper – A vent damper is a good fit for older furnaces that don’t have mechanisms in place to protect against losses of heat through the chimney when your furnace is not firing.

*  Derating Your Furnace – Older furnaces are often oversized and can be derated to use less energy without having any effect on your home’s comfort levels. The modifications are simple, though not necessarily allowed in every municipality.

The best way to know for sure which of these things are best for your furnace is to talk with a Eugene, OR heating professional about them. Derating and vent damper installation especially are very effective in reducing energy loss but may not be the best option depending on the age of your furnace and how close it is to needing replacement.

A Comfort Flow Heating technician can help you review all of your options before making a decision.

Contact Comfort Flow Heating today!

 

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Eugene, OR Heating Guide: Tips on How to Navigate Buying a Furnace

Monday, September 17th, 2012

Replacing an older furnace is a great way to save money by lowering your energy bills. That’s because newer models are much more energy efficient than those made even 15 years ago. If you’re in the market for a new furnace in Eugene, there are some things you should think about before spending any money. Doing a little bit of research upfront can end up saving you a lot in the long run.

Size is one of the biggest things to consider. A system that’s too small will have to work harder to get your home to the desired temperature, causing it to continually draw in more fuel, greatly increasing your energy bill.

Some people try to overcompensate for this by buying a furnace which is bigger than their home needs. The problem with doing this is that a larger system will cycle on and off more frequently, which is also counterproductive to saving energy. The proper size system for your home falls in between these two extremes and cycles on and off at the right times to keep your home comfortable.

Efficiency is also important and can be seen in a system’s AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) rating. The higher the AFUE rating number, the better the system is at garnering heat from a set amount of fuel. The more efficient a system is, the lower its emissions, and that’s also better for the environment.

One drawback to a system with a higher AFUE rating is the higher initial installation cost. The benefit is lower energy bills for the life of the system, which can add up to significant savings over the long run.

If you’re looking at a specific brand of furnace, it may pay to do some checking online or with a professional Eugene OR heating company to see how the competition stacks up. Someone who works exclusively with HVAC systems can give a lot of insight into what brands and models are tried and true, which ones seem to need frequent repair, and even which ones haven’t been on the market long enough to have been thoroughly tested over time. All of these are important things to consider before making your final purchasing decision.

For any help choosing a furnace in the Eugene area, give Comfort Flow Heating a call!

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