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Let’s face it, furnaces are complicated systems. You certainly don’t want to ignore the furnace telling you there’s something wrong. If you think there’s a problem with your furnace, don’t wait to schedule your tune-up. Don’t assume the furnace will resolve the problem on its own. Here are some signs the furnace will tell you when you should schedule your tune-up.
Clogging It’s easy to become comfortable with your furnace. It’s big and complicated and you don’t want to mess with it. We get it. However, if you haven’t had professionals take a look at it over the past few years, your furnace is at risk. You wouldn’t want your furnace conking out on you during one of those harsh March weather days, would you? An easy way to avoid this catastrophe is by checking your filters. Your filters can become easily clogged with dirt build-up over time. Furnaces need perfect airflow to work properly. Furnace filters need to be replaced on a monthly basis. Thermostat Issues Thermostats help furnaces control how much heat is produced. They are the main control system and determine the amount of hot air that gets produced. If you don’t pay attention to the thermostat, you will decrease the lifespan of your furnace. If the thermostat breaks, you will no longer receive the proper air distribution. Air Circulation Poor air circulation is one of the most common problems in furnaces. The problem can be caused by fan motors, bearings and loose belts that allow uncontrolled heat to be released. Even the littlest fan motor problems can lead to poor air circulation. If it takes your heating system forever to get up to the right temperature, there’s definitely something wrong with the airflow. Gas Leakage If you think your furnace is leaking gas, try and stop it as quickly as possible. If you smell gas, make sure you turn off your gas valve right away. Make sure not to light any matches or turn switches on and off. Contact your local gas utility service to check your furnace and your entire home. Getting a new unit, scheduling a tune-up, or just need some expert advice? Contact Cardinal Heating & Cooling today for all your furnace needs!
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With Fall being a lovely, but consistently short season, every Midwesterner knows Winter is right around the corner. A proper heating system is essential when it gets cold out, especially in the Midwest. The type of heating system being used in your home will impact energy costs and comfort levels. If your home is more than 10 years old, you may be at risk of using a worn-out heating system. Usually, these old heating systems are inefficient, hard to maintain and have high energy costs. Installing the proper up-to-date heating system will help to reduce energy costs and improve comfort levels. In order to select which system best fits your home, it’s important to research efficiency ratings and the long-term costs of your preferred type of heating system.
Geothermal Systems If you’re considering getting the newest and most energy efficient heating and cooling system, this heating system is the way to go. How does it work? This system works like a reverse refrigerator by employing Geothermal Heat Pump (GHP) technology. Essentially, a pipe is used to obtain heat from one location and shoots it over to different locations. What’s nice about this system is that it uses less electricity to operate and maintain, which saves you money on your electric bill. Radiant Heat System This system involves the transfer of heat from a hot region to a cold surface. If you know someone with a boiler, they most likely have this type of heating system. How does it work? Hot water from the boiler is transferred through tubes installed beneath the base surface to distribute heat to different rooms through the floors. Historically, the radiant heat system has provided homes with natural heat and comfort. Forced Air System The forced air system can be used for heating or cooling homes. The forced air system is typically called the central heating system and is widely used in larger buildings and retail outlets. How does it work? The air is heated in a furnace and then forced into ducts that supply various vents. Hydronic Heat System Last but not least, the hydronic heat system uses water that’s heated from a boiler that is shoved into fin-tubes baseboard units, which are attached along the walls. This system is typically referred to as hot water baseboard. This system is efficient due to the fins that increase the surface area for heat dissipation. This heating system uses both radiation and convection heat to balance out warm and cold air in your home.
Custom HVAC Solutions for Your Home or Business
We have the training and experience to do more than just service and install heating systems and equipment. With over 80 years of combined experience, our team can design and implement a custom heating and cooling solution for any building type. Give us a call or contact us to discuss your project at no initial charge!  A personal wine cellar is a beautiful and distinct addition to any home. Contrary to popular belief, there’s no need to have a vast or expensive collection, all wine can benefit being stored in a wine cellar. When appropriately done, the wine ages finely enhancing its flavor, whether it be for a few weeks or many, many years. If you are familiar with these benefits, it may be in your interest to design your own wine cellar (and to continue reading on)!
1. Design a wine cellar so it makes a statement about your sense of style. Whether classic, contemporary, or anything in-between! Even the simplest designs will need wood, marble or plastic lumber shelves supported by several appropriate joints. Besides finding the perfect look, don’t forget to create a design that makes it easy to stock wine and makes each one easy to locate. For instance, bottles placed lengthwise on shelves with their bottom facing outward allows you to quickly check labels. 2. Determine how much wine you want to store to get an idea about how much space you need. Luckily, a large area is not required to build a wine cellar, as 25-square foot area would be able to accommodate about 500 bottles of wine. However, the size of each bottle and its shelf placement contribute to the final number count. For example, one magnum bottle takes up the same amount of space as two Bordeaux bottles. Besides the size of your wine cellar, the location, temperature, and moisture control are crucial factors. All of which are often overlooked .by wine aficionados. 3. Pick out a spot in your home where your wine collection can stay at a consistent cool temperature. Wines ideally should be stored in temperature about 57 degrees Fahrenheit. For this reason, basements are an ideal location! However, temperature can still fluctuate so a cooling unit is necessary to fully reap the benefits of a wine cellar. Cooling units, such as a refrigerator, sense any temperature changes and only turn on when required to do so. Also, make sure the cellar flooring can withstand lower temperatures. Materials such as brick, lumber, or stone are great options that won't wear out prematurely. 4. Maintain proper humidity by making sure your wine cellar is equipped with good insulation. To prevent corks from drying out and to prevent fungus from developing, a humidity level between 55 to 75% is recommended. If not maintained, the flavor of the wine could be ruined because of oxidation. Wine cellars should have a humidifier as well as vapor barriers on the ceiling and walls to keep humidity at this proper level. To avoid the release of bacteria into the airstream, find a system that doesn’t require manual water refills and one that emits humidity as vapor. Ready to get started on the wine cellar of your dreams? Cardinal Heating & Cooling can help! Contact us today to learn more about our wine cellar refrigeration service and maintenance. Summertime in the Midwest - it seems like we wait nine months for it to come and it’s gone as quick as it got here. Everyone will remember the beautiful nights, bonfires, grilling and swimming. What we don’t want you to remember is the soaring electric bills from your air conditioner.  Follow these 8 eight tips on how to efficiently use your air conditioner and stay cool during the hot and humid days ahead.
1. Turn your air conditioner off when you leave the house. An air conditioner runs more effectively when it’s running at full speed rather than off and on throughout the day. For this reason, it’s best practice to turn your air conditioner off when you leave the house. We know, it’s tough to walk into a house that’s 85 degrees after a long day of work. The alternative though is paying through the roof to cool a home no one is occupying all day. Added Bonus: Air conditioners also dehumidify your home more efficiently when they’re running full blast. 2. Open windows at night when possible While not every night will be cool enough to turn off the A/C, it does help to give your air conditioning some rest periodically. Investing in a box-fan to put in a window at night to keep air circulating is a good way to reduce energy costs while still staying cool. 3. Consider making your house a bit smarter. A programmable thermostat gives you the ability to program a week’s worth of data to control the climate of your house. Programmable thermostats take the hassle out of remembering to turn up/off your air conditioner while you’re gone or at night, and even allows you to let your air kick in 15 minutes before you return home! With their boost in popularity in recent years, the cost of a programmable thermostat is very reasonable, and will actually save money in the long term. 4. Pick the right sized Air Conditioner To effectively and efficiently cool your home, it’s important to make sure your A/C is the correct size for your space. An oversized air conditioner has too short of cooling and heating cycles. By making your unit frequently switch on and off, energy drains and costs add up. On the other hand, an A/C unit that’s too small will work way to hard to cool down your entire home. If your unit is constantly running, you’ll notice the spike in cost on your next energy bill as well. 5. Keep your cool air in the right spots Close your doors to make sure your cool air doesn’t escape to rooms that aren’t occupied. Closing the vents in those rooms will also make sure you don’t waste your energy. There’s no need to spend money cooling the air outside either. Double check the windows in your home to make sure cool air doesn’t escape. 6. Use ceiling and box fans in unison. To spread the cold air throughout your home, make use of ceiling fans and box fans. This trick will cool down a room quicker than just letting your air conditioning unit do all the work. 7. Keep up with proper A/C Maintenance Air conditioners can benefit from some basic maintenance every now and then. Making sure that no debris, leaves, or even small animals & insects get into nooks or crannies is essential to longevity. Making sure all coils are protected and filters are clean will keep your air conditioner working optimally and increase the lifespan as well. Vacuum filters to keep them clean, and replace them when needed. 8. Reduce internal heat as much as possible It seems obvious, but using appliances that work against your air conditioner won’t help your electric bill. Instead of using your oven or stove, use the grill outside as much as possible. Keeping lighting off when possible can help with keeping a home cool during the day. It’s recommended to have your air conditioner checked over by a specialist once a year. By ensuring your unit is in optimal working condition, you will save money and not get caught off guard with problems on the hottest day of the year. Contact Cardinal Heating & Cooling today to make sure you stay comfortable this summer! Summer is upon us and it’s time to crank up the air conditioning in your house. But the last thing you want is to be stressed out over your air conditioning unit. The best way to avoid the stress is by getting a routine AC unit maintenance check. This maintenance can extend the lifespan of your AC unit, greatly improve your indoor air quality and reduce the cost of your electric and repair bills. So what can you expect from an AC maintenance?
Your AC Maintenance Appointment We know how important your AC unit is to you and we want the unit to give you the best possible performance. When you schedule an appointment you can expect to have a visual inspection of your heating and cooling units. Often times dust and particles can build up on the outside, which can be an indicator of a major problem. Next, you can expect us to give a fan assessment to check for any damage that might have occurred to the motor or blades. One of the biggest indicators of poor indoor air quality is the condition of the air filter. If the filter is in great shape, there should be no need to replace it. We’ll make sure your air filter is up to our standards. Sometimes poor air can be attributed to the ductwork as well. We want to make sure there are no problems with the supply of air, the return air or the exhaust air. It’s important to be cautious of clogs or blockage that might occur in your system. We’ll make sure to give you a condensate drain examination to make sure everything is flowing freely. If your AC system isn’t working properly, it might be because of certain electrical connections. A wire might be loose or just simply not connected. We’ll give you a proper electrical inspection to make sure we didn’t miss anything. One of the most important parts in your AC system is the evaporator coil. It works by using a refrigerant inside the coil to evaporate air that passes over it. It can work in both the winter and summer. If you’re worried about whether or not your AC system is on the verge of failure, read one of our other blogs about when to replace your AC unit. Contact Cardinal Heating & Cooling today and schedule your first AC unit maintenance checkup. |
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