DuAll Heating & Cooling Blog

Wishing You a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!

December 25th, 2013

It’s the holiday season once again, and everyone at DuAll Heating & Cooling wishes the very best for you, your family, and your friends. We hope that whatever brings you joy fills these last days of the year.

We’d like to thank all of our customers for giving us the opportunity to provide you with services that improve your lives and help you better enjoy this time with your loved ones. You are the reason that we exist as a company, and that’s something we always keep that in mind. We are eager to work with you in the coming year.

Here’s something to remember for the season: many companies in our industry are very busy on service calls during December—it’s one of the most crowded times of the year. If you need service, make sure you schedule it as soon as possible so you can continue to enjoy the pleasures of this time of year.

Lastly, we at DuAll Heating & Cooling want to conclude with a thought from the late Earl Nightingale to help remind us all that we do not need to wait for a holiday to have a reason to enjoy or celebrate ourselves, our lives or our family:

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.”

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How to Choose the Perfect Furnace for Your Home

December 20th, 2013

Furnace installation’s in Naperville are no laughing matter. Our winters are uniformly cold, and without reliable heating, your home is apt to turn into an icebox very quickly. A good furnace starts with the initial installation, which needs to be performed by professional technicians with a track record of reliable service. Beyond that, it’s a question of picking the furnace that is best suited to your conditions. Here’s how to choose the perfect furnace for your home.

It starts with size, and by that we mean the furnace’s power capacity rather than its physical size. Generally speaking, a furnace needs to generate about 50 BTUs (British Thermal Units) of energy for every square foot of your home. That number can be modified depending on how much insulation you have as well as factors such as a lot of sunlight exposure. Sizing is vital to an effective furnace. If it’s too small, it won’t heat your home, and if it’s too large, it will cycle on and off too quickly throughout the day, costing you energy in the process.

Once you have the size nailed down, it’s time to look at efficiency. Furnaces measure their efficiency as a percentage, known as the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating. The higher the rating, the greater percentage of the furnace’s generated energy actually goes into heating, instead of being lost to waste and inefficiency. The higher the rating, the more the furnace will save you money. (You can cheat by looking for furnaces with the EnergyStar label, denoting a furnace with an AFUE of 95% or higher.)

Finally, you should examine your furnace’s capacity for upgrades and extra features. For example, some systems allow for the use of zone control systems, which divide your home into individual sections which you can warm separately.

For help on how to choose the perfect furnace for your home, the experts at DuAll Heating & Cooling are ready to help. We work throughout south Chicago suburbs like Naperville, furnace installation is a snap for us, and we won’t rest until you are completely satisfied with our work. Call us to make an appointment today!

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What Happens During a Boiler Installation?

December 15th, 2013

Boilers are fantastic choices for home heating: they have long service lives, run quietly, provide even heating without using ducts, and offer excellent energy savings. For a winter in Illinois, a boiler will more than serve your comfort needs.

Our customers who have scheduled a boiler installation in Plainfield, IL often ask us what installation entails. They are usually concerned about how long it will take, and what other details they should be prepared for. We’ll go over what you can expect to happen during the installation. Make sure that when you have your boiler installed that you rely on experts to handle the task.

DuAll Heating & Cooling will only send NATE-certified technicians to take care of this work, so you know you will receive a quality installation.

Boiler installation: the basics

Boiler installation usually takes less than a day. There’s no hard and fast rule about this: it depends on how long it takes to remove your former heating system and then hook up the boiler. If you are replacing an older boiler, the work should go smoothly and be finished before you know it.

Removing your previous heating system is usually the most arduous part of boiler installation. Once it’s done, the installation will move at a brisk (but never hurried) pace. If you hired the installers early in the process of choosing a boiler—which you should absolutely do—then they will already have the proper-sized boiler tank ready to install. The installers will fix the new boiler tank in place and then hook it up to the pipes that go to the baseboard heaters and/or radiators throughout your house. They will take care of any pipe reconfiguring needed to accommodate the new system so there will be no issues with water circulation.

The installers will connect the new boiler to your gas line (if you are having a natural gas boiler installed); they will take particular care with this part, since it involves your safety. They will test the gas pressure and make certain there are no leaks. They will then use a combustion analyzer to set up the burners. For other types of boilers, they will make sure the power is properly connected so the boiler performs to your expectations. The installers won’t leave your home until they have ascertained that your new boiler is working effectively, safely, and within local codes.

Hopefully now you can see why you need a boiler professionally installed

The process sounds complicated… and it is. That’s why you should only hire experienced professionals, like those at DuAll Heating & Cooling, to take care of your boiler installation in Plainfield, IL. We have worked at installing boilers for years, and we can make your installation fast and with as few problems as possible.

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The History of the Presidential Turkey Pardon

November 28th, 2013

Thanksgiving began in 1621, but didn’t become a national tradition until 1863, when Abraham Lincoln declared it as such in hopes of bringing a divided nation together. We have many Thanksgiving traditions in this country, from turkey as the meal to the annual Cowboys and Lions games on television. But one of the most beloved is the annual Presidential turkey pardon, in which the U.S. President “pardons” a turkey, allowing them to live the remainder of their live freely roaming on farmland. As we celebrate this Thanksgiving, we thought you’d like to know a little more about the history of this fascinating tradition.

Farmers have sent turkeys to the White House as far back as the 1800s, hoping to have the honor of providing the President’s annual meal. There have been scattered stories of individual turkeys being “pardoned” throughout that time, including one in which President Lincoln’s son Tad successfully convinced the president to spare a bird intended for the family’s Christmas dinner.

Starting in 1947, the National Turkey Federation became the official supplier of the President’s Thanksgiving birds. The White House arranged for an annual photo op that year with the President receiving the turkey in the Rose Garden. Sadly, there was no pardon as yet; those birds all ended up on the Presidential table.

The push for an official pardon picked up steam in 1963, when President Kennedy asked that the bird be spared, just a few days before his assassination. President Nixon opted to send each of the birds he received to a nearby petting zoo after the photo op, though there was no formal pardon attached.

But it wasn’t until 1989 that the pardon became official. On November 14 of that year, President George H. W. Bush made the announcement, and sent the bird to a Virginia game preserve to live the rest of its life out in cranberry-and-stuffing-free bliss. Since then, every President has held an annual pardoning ceremony, with the lucky turkey spared the axe and sent off to live in peace. Since 2005, the pardoned birds have gone to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, where they have lived as part of a petting zoo exhibit in Frontierland.

No matter what traditions you enjoy this holiday, or who you enjoy them with, all of us here wish you a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving weekend.

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What Could Possibly Go Wrong with My Furnace?

November 22nd, 2013

Today’s manufacturers of furnaces design them to meet stringent performance and safety standards. Compared to the furnaces of only 20 years ago, contemporary models have increased service lifespans and excellent energy efficiency.

However, no machine can work perfectly, so the electric or gas furnace in your home can still suffer from malfunctions and breakdowns that will require you call up a skilled technician. For excellent furnace repair in Naperville, IL, you’ll need the assistance of NATE-certified technicians like those on staff at DuAll Heating & Cooling.

Here are a few problems you may encounter with your furnace.

With proper maintenance and prompt repairs, you should have no difficulty overcoming these.

  • Broken blower motor fan belt: All furnaces use forced air sent through ducts to provide warmth. This requires powerful motors attached to fans. If the fan belt develops cracks and starts to loosen, it not only threatens the performance of the fan, it will damage other components in the cabinet. A loud clacking sound from the inside of the cabinet can indicate the need to replace the fan belt.
  • Failed heating elements: Electric-powered furnaces contain an array of heating elements that contain electric coils that heat up when current passes through them. The more heat the thermostat requests, the more elements turn off. An individual heating element can fail (losing its connection, burning out), which will mean a reduction in heating power. The element will need replacement.
  • Pilot light won’t come on: For gas-powered furnaces, a pilot light is the common way to light the burners in the combustion chamber. The pilot light can go out because of a strong draft, in which case it’s usually a simple task to re-light it. However, it may also go out because of loss of pressure in the gas line or from a dirt build-up along the burner, in which case you’ll need the assistance of HVAC specialists to fix the problem. Electric furnaces and some gas furnaces use an electric igniter instead of a pilot light, and these can also malfunction.
  • Cracks in the heat exchangers: The heat exchangers in a gas furnace transfer the high temperature combustion gas into the air. If cracks develop along the exchanger because of long use without maintenance, it can lead to a lead of toxic exhaust gasses—a serious health concern. If you notice black build-up on the furnaces internal components, rust, or an abnormal pilot light flame, shut off the gas to the furnace and contact a technician immediately.

Keep in mind that with regular maintenance—a yearly visit from an HVAC specialists to tune-up and clean your furnace—you should rarely run into any of the issues above. If you sign up for the Maintenance Savings Plan with DuAll Heating & Cooling, you’ll receive regular care, plus discounts on parts and any furnace repair work in Naperville, IL you need.

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Why Does My Home’s Air Get Dry in the Winter?

November 15th, 2013

It’s a common complaint in the wintertime: your heater delivers plenty of warmth for your home, only to render your air bone dry. Winter air starts out dry to begin with, a condition that’s only exacerbated by the warm air of a heater or furnace.  Humidity levels play a huge role in the comfort of your home, and here in Plainfield, heating systems can sometimes contribute to the problem if you’re not heads up about it. “Why does my home’s air get dry in the winter?” The answer is a little complex, but can help you understand why your home doesn’t feel as comfortable as it should.

When we talk about humidity, we’re usually talking about relative humidity, which should be between 30% and 60% for your home to be comfortable. This becomes more important in the winter because cold air doesn’t hold water as well as hot air does. Warm air expands, which gives it a greater capacity to hold water, while cold air contracts (this is why condensation appears on a cold drink in the summertime; the warm air just outside the glass is being cooled, forcing out the moisture which condenses on the colder surface.) That means when warm air passes over water, it tends to pull it out, drying the air.

You can see how your furnace might contribute to this issue: cycling warm air through your home and pulling moisture out of it. Excessively dry air can cause all kinds of health problems, exacerbating allergies and leading to irritation in the nose and throat. You can remedy this in part by taking a shower, heating up water in a pan or using a portable humidifier. The best long-term solution, however, is to install a whole-house humidifier in your heating system, It will allow you to continue to heat your house while still keeping humidity levels in check.

For more extensive answers to the question “why does my home’s air get dry in the winter?” or to handle other issues regarding Plainfield heating, call upon the pros at DuAll Heating & Cooling. Trained experts are on hand to answer all your questions, so contact us today!

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Win this gift card from Darden restaurants

November 12th, 2013

We want to increase our “likes”!!!

darden gift cardGo to facebook and “like” DuAll Heating and Cooling, and we will enter you to win a $50 gift card from Darden.  Deadline Nov 15, 2013

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Heating Problems Caused by a Lack of Maintenance

November 7th, 2013

During an Illinois winter, you can expect the heater in your home to do a large amount of work keeping you comfortable. All machines require some level of maintenance to make sure they do not wear down early and break, and this is especially true for heating systems that stay on through most of a cold winter season. Unless you schedule regular maintenance for your heater—annually, at least—you can expect to have numerous headaches from faulty parts and poor performance.

Enrolling in a maintenance program, like the one we offer at DuAll Heating & Cooling, is an investment in your future comfort and a way to save money from costly repairs. Here are some repair issues you might encounter if you let your heating go without regular maintenance.

Remember that even the best maintained heater can still experience an occasional malfunction, so if you require repairs for your heating system in Plainfield, IL, give us a call at DuAll Heating & Cooling and we can take care of it.

3 heating problems lack of maintenance can cause

Reduced air flow: If you have a furnace, you will know that it’s working when you feel warm air wafting from the vents. But if your heater goes without tune-ups and inspections, it can lead to broken blower motors and clogged air filters, and this will cause a reduction in the flow of air and a much colder home.

Overheating boiler: This is a common trouble for boilers that haven’t received regular flushing of their system—an important part of annual maintenance. System flushing removes sediment that can build up in the tank and cause overheating. An overheating boiler will threaten to cause leaking throughout the pipes connected to the water tank.

Full break down: This is the nightmare situation, and the best reason for getting regular maintenance. A combination of stress on moving parts, dirt and dust infiltration, and electrical trouble—all of which a technician could detect and remedy during an inspection—will eventually lead to the heater shutting down during the coldest day of the year (when it has to strain the most). Because HVAC companies must respond to numerous emergency calls on days like this, it can be difficult to get repairs done in timely fashion—and that means some very uncomfortable hours ahead.

Take advantage of the time left before the heavy winter weather arrives to have your annual maintenance done on your heater. DuAll Heating & Cooling has a Maintenance Saving Plan with discounts on parts and labor. Enroll now to get dependable heating for your home.

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Common Heat Pump Repairs You May Encounter

November 1st, 2013

The climate in Illinois is ideal for a heat pump: warm summers and spring weather, which the cooling function can easily overcome, and cold winters and fall weather that rarely plunges far enough to give the heating function many difficulties. If you have a heat pump installed in your home, you’ve made a wise investment in your year-round comfort.

But, like any machine, heat pumps will need repairs—especially if they don’t receive routine maintenance. Here are some of the common repairs we perform on malfunctioning heat pumps, which should help guide you when you start to experience issues with the one installed in your home.

Whatever the trouble with your heat pump, trust DuAll Heating & Cooling to bring you the heating repair service that will restore it to its prime working condition.

Heat pump repairs we often do:

Replacing faulty reversing valves. One way a heat pump differs from a stand-alone air conditioner is that it has a reversing valve to change the direction of the flow of refrigerant. This permits it to swap the functions of the evaporator and condenser coils. Should this valve malfunction or break, your heat pump will only be able to perform one of its jobs—and possibly lose the ability to do both.

Recharging refrigerant. The chemical known as refrigerant that runs through your heat pump to allow for heat exchange remains at a fixed level—known as its “charge”—during normal operation. Evaporation and condensation will not use it up. However, if the lines develop leaks, you could lose refrigerant. This will lead to icing on either the indoor or outdoor coil that will interfere with the heat exchange. Professionals will have to patch the leaks and recharge the refrigerant to its original level.

Fixing compressor motors. At the heart of the operation of a heat pump are two devices known as compressors, which compress refrigerant into a hot gas to begin the heat exchange cycle. A heat pump needs two compressors to run (an AC has only one), and if the motors that power them break, it will interfere with the heat exchange cycle. Dirty bearings and burnt wiring can cause motor failures, and the motors will either need to be repaired or replaced.

The moment you sense something is wrong with your heat pump—whether it’s a loss of cooling or heating power, or a strange grinding noise from the cabinet you’ve never heard before—call in HVAC professionals to diagnose the problem and fix it. The longer you wait to get repairs, the more likely the problems will escalate into more expensive repair.

For premium quality heating repair in Naperville, IL, contact DuAll Heating & Cooling. Our slogan is “quality with affordability”—just what you’re looking for.

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When Should I Consider Installing A New Furnace?

October 24th, 2013

In towns like Plainfield, a furnace installation means comfort and reliability during our lengthy Chicagoland winters. Sooner or later, every old furnace needs replacing, no matter how well it may perform or how long. Installing a new one is not a light undertaking, but it offers numerous advantages, and there comes a time when those advantages easily outweigh the initial cost of a set-up. “When should I install a new furnace?” you ask. The answers vary by homeowner, but it boils down to a question of money saved.

Older furnaces tend to be less efficient furnaces. Parts wear out, components need to be replaced, and even the most well-maintained unit will start to lose heating potential to waste and inefficiency. You can spot signs of trouble if your heating bill increases significantly, even though you’re not using your furnace any more than you normally do. A more formal measurement comes with the unit’s AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) rating, which is normally higher in newer units than older ones. (The EnergyStar sticker is given to gas furnaces of AFUE 95% or higher and oil furnaces of AFUE 85% or higher, making it a handy guide to finding a more efficient furnace.)

You might also decide to install a new furnace if repairs on the old one rise higher than you’re willing to tolerate. Every furnace needs repairs sooner or later, but if the frequency of repairs and/or their escalating costs keep climbing, it may be more worthwhile to install a new unit. New units tend to be protected by warranties, and with regular maintenance and upkeep will last quite a long time. Moreover, the energy saved from month to month will help offset the cost of installation, as will the improved resale value your home could enjoy from the addition of a new furnace.

If you’ve answered the question “when should I consider installing a new furnace?” call on the experts at DuAll Heating & Cooling to help. We handle Plainfield furnace installation of all varieties, and our staff operates throughout the southern Chicagland area.

Call us today to set up an appointment

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