Homes Built For The Heat Can Struggle To Stay Warm In The Winter; Furnace Repair Can Help Keep You Comfortable! | New Orleans, LA
At bluefrog Home Services of New Orleans, we know that residents of our area party through hot, humid summers and aren’t too excited about our refrigerator-cold winter nights. For almost half of the year, temperatures can get cold enough at night to chill your bones with the 40s and 50s that we just aren’t made for. Neither are many of our houses. Limited insulation and older furnaces that need regular furnace repair to keep them warming can provide challenges to keeping your family warm. That’s especially true during our temperature drops that occasionally even get to the freezing point. With energy costs rising, many families are also carefully watching the amount of heat that they use. It makes sense to have our furnace repair team keep your heating system tuned up and running efficiently. Regular maintenance is important, including making sure your heat will start up when you need it. We also check exhaust gasses like carbon monoxide to make sure they’re being vented, not crossing into your house through a faulty heat exchanger. We know that keeping warm feels good, and our team is ready to keep yours going, 24/7 if needed.
Your Warm Indoor Air Shouldn’t Smell Strange
If there’s anything coming through your ductwork besides heat, it’s a good idea to check it out. Some combustion products have odors, although carbon monoxide does not. Responding to any potential leakage from furnace operation will have our furnace repair experts testing the air and checking your heat exchanger and other components for trouble. They also do this during maintenance visits which we are glad to perform before wintertime, so your heating system will start reliably and run safely during the winter. Other odors coming through your ductwork could represent problems near your furnace system in the basement such as gas leaks. You should take standard precautions for these and call us promptly. Your air intakes could also be pulling fumes from cleaning or other airborne materials in your New Orleans, LA home, so it’s good to know where they are. With an annual maintenance visit comes not only testing but a careful tune-up of your furnace combustion. The adjustment reduces odors produced by your furnace and improves energy use.
Getting the Most Energy Efficiency from Your Furnace System
Our technicians can keep older furnaces running for a long time until they either stop working reliably and safely or are using much more energy to warm your home than they should. Older furnaces can run at only 60 percent efficiency, and that’s with a good tune-up. If it drops further, you may find that you’re “burning up dollars” enough that a new furnace is a good idea. Of course, frequent repairs can also affect your budget. We’ll be glad to discuss furnace replacement options at any time so you know where you stand. You may find that a newer system, typically starting at 80 percent efficiency and running up to 95 or so, saves you a lot in operating costs. With better energy use and fewer repairs, replacement is often a wise financial decision as well as a way to keep your family reliably warm. When your furnace is efficient, it’s easier to stay warm without worrying about your energy bills!
Insulation and Heat Loss Through Your Walls and Roof
Sometimes small changes can make a big difference in your heating bills, especially in insulation and sealing up windows. Our furnace repair team can help you identify ways that you can improve your home’s heat retention. We can point you to experts who offer clear information and even thermal imaging of your home. When your furnace doesn’t have to work as hard because your New Orleans, LA home holds in the heat, it just makes sense that you’ll have fewer furnace repairs over time as well. Just cutting off drafts can help, and it sure does make those occasional below-freezing nights more comfortable when your home is warm and draft-free.
Comfort and Better Breathing with Indoor Air Quality Features
Our furnace repair team can install and maintain features on your heating and cooling ducts that keep your moisture levels right and remove indoor pollution. When you’re inside staying warm, you’re breathing whatever is in your home’s air including fumes from cleaning and painting, kitchen odors, pet dander, and airborne dust and debris. Cutting down on the drafts in your home can temporarily increase the amount of airborne pollution in your home since you’re not getting cold air from leaks adding to the mix. Using a good quality HVAC air filter for your system when you change it every month or so can help. In addition, humidifier and dehumidifier components for year-round comfort, HEPA filters and air purifiers, even germicidal UV lamps can bring up your indoor air quality and make home air more breathable, too. Ask our furnace repair experts about these options, which will also serve you well during summer cooling, and can be of particular benefit to those with respiratory issues, allergies, and allergy-related asthma.
Heat Circulation Puts Your Energy Investment in Heat to Work Throughout Your Home
Your furnace creates heat for your home, but it’s your ducts or other distribution systems such as radiators that bring heat to each room. Our furnace repair team can handle any circulation issues that arise in your system. We’ll check radiator issues or ducts that need a thorough duct cleaning service and inspection and repair for better airflow. We can even provide airflow testing to make sure heat is evenly distributed throughout each room, avoiding hot and cold spots.
Keeping Warm in the Winter
Here in New Orleans, LA, we spend most months nice and warm, and without thinking much about heating systems. When midwinter cold comes, there aren’t enough blankets and sweaters to keep us warm, and heating expenses can get rough. At bluefrog Home Services of New Orleans, our furnace repair experts make staying warm more affordable. Call us!
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