Appliance. net

Appliance news, reviews, ratings, forums, reports and buyers guides.
Locate repairs and parts. for home and kitchen appliances.

You are here: Home / Archives for heater

heater

Get Maximum Energy Efficiency from Your Cooling System

By

The Air-Conditioning  and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) is the trade association representing manufacturers of more than 90 percent of the air conditioning and commercial refrigeration equipment installed in North America.  They offer their advice on how save money and energy while using your heat and air at home.

A typical home cooling system has two parts: an outdoor condensing unit and an indoor evaporating unit, usually near the furnace,” said Stephen Yurek, president of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, the trade association that independently certifies the efficiency of home heating and cooling equipment. “The outdoor and indoor units are designed to work together. When the air conditioner is properly matched with a furnace or air handler, you get maximum efficiency and longer system life.

“Manufacturers report that a growing number of homeowners are only replacing the broken unit of their two-part system,” said Yurek. “These unknowing homeowners are going to experience several major problems with their systems because new equipment has been designed differently to achieve the 30 percent increase in efficiency and to use the new refrigerants.”

It is important for homeowners to know that Jan. 23, 2006 marked the beginning of a new era in home comfort, when the new federal minimum efficiency standard for central air conditioners and heat pumps increased from 10 SEER to 13 SEER. SEER is short for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. It’s a number similar to miles-per-gallon in automobiles, so the higher the SEER, the more efficient your system. A 13 SEER system is about 30 percent more efficient than a 10 SEER system. Consumers today can choose from a wide range of systems offering efficiency ranging from 13 SEER to 23 SEER.

According to AHRI, if the system’s two units are not properly matched, these major problems will occur:
· The system’s capacity to cool your home will be reduced and you will feel less comfortable
· Energy bills will increase due to reduced efficiency
· Reliability will suffer and compressor failure is more likely to occur
· You lose the opportunity to be eligible to receive a utility rebate or tax credit

Your best first step is to find a qualified and reputable contractor and get answers to these three important questions:

1. Will you be replacing the indoor coil with a new high-efficiency coil?
2. Does the new indoor coil properly match the outdoor unit manufacturer’s specifications for the system?
3. Can you verify the efficiency of the compressor or coil combination by showing me its certified SEER rating in the AHRI Directory of Certified Product Performance or by providing me with an AHRI Certificate of Certified Performance?

To help educate homeowners, AHRI offers a free brochure, “A Perfect Match: Replacing Your Central Air Conditioning or Heat Pump System.” The free brochure is available for consumers to download in the “Homeowners” section of the association’s Web site at www.ari.org.

Basic Furnace Maintenance Tips

By

We may be halfway through the winter, but it’s never to late to check your furnace for safety and efficiency. Following some basic routine maintenance is one of the easiest ways to save money and hassles with your heating, and will also help with the air quality in your home. You can schedule a check-up with a furnace company, but there are some simple things you can do yourself.

Be sure to turn off power to your furnace before working on it so that a motor doesn’t start while you’re tinkering. You can usually change a filter without turning off the gas or oil supply, but for all other maintenance be cautious and turn off the fuel supply. Before you do, be sure you know how to relight the pilot light.

With almost any heating system, replacing the thermostat with a programmable digital thermostat will save energy. These thermostats automatically adjust the temperature of your home to keep you comfortable when you’re there and save energy when you’re not.

At a very minimum, change the air filter in any forced-air furnace on a monthly basis. A good programmable thermostat will remind you when to change the filter. Some experts recommend inexpensive fiberglass filters; others, midrange filters that trap smaller particles. Furnace performance should not be impacted if filters are changed regularly. Base filter selection on your sensitivity to air-borne particles. Vacuum the blower and accessible areas of the furnace every few months. Even with regular filter changes dust will accumulate on the blades of the blower.

If you have an older natural gas or propane furnace, oil the motor and blower shafts — they only need a couple of drops of 20-weight oil on an annual basis. Most new models have sealed bearings that don’t need to be oiled.

Your furnace blower might be powered by a V-belt connected to an electric motor. If the belt is cracking or fraying, it needs to be replaced. Even if the belt looks OK, you might want to check the blower and motor pulleys for alignment; if they’re not aligned the belt will wear out faster (and make more noise). To align it, loosen the screws holding the motor in place, then align the pulleys using a metal carpenter’s square and tighten the screws.

You can replace the oil filter to keep clean fuel flowing to an oil-burning furnace. Check the owner’s manual to find out how to bleed air out of the fuel line, though it may not be necessary on your model. Regularly checking the fuel lines and connections for leaks is a good idea.

If you have a hot water system, bleed air out of radiators annually. While the system is on, simply open the bleeder valve on each radiator until water comes out without sputtering. Be prepared to catch the water and be careful — it’s hot! There are different types of bleeder valves on radiators: Some open with a screwdriver; others, with a special key or a knob already in place.

For all types of furnaces, make sure the outside vents and chimneys are not blocked by snow, leaves, nests, etc. Such blockages can cause carbon monoxide hazards. Flues that leak pose carbon monoxide and fire hazards, so check for cracks or joints that are separating.

You can read more at motherearthnews.com and then go on down to the basement and do a little preventative maintenance even if it’s just changing the filter.