Fall 2014

Why You Should Replace Your Air Filters

Your heating and air conditioning systems are both vital to your home’s comfort throughout the year. Whether you’re looking to stay cool in the summer or if it’s time to heat your home in the winter, you need your AC and heater to work well. One of the most common (and easily avoidable) problems that we see is a clogged air filter. In order to protect the inside parts from large particles like dust and dirt, your HVAC system has an air filter in it, usually located near the return air duct. It needs to be changed regularly or it will clog and restrict the flow of air through the system. This can cause several serious problems for your home and we wanted to let our customers know about them.

Air Conditioning Problems from Clogged Air Filters

Your air conditioning system’s main job is to remove heat from your home and exhaust it outside. In order to do that, it uses a fan to pull in warm air from your home, then passes it over a series of very cold evaporator coils. The fan then pushes the newly–cooled air into your home through the ductwork. If the air filter gets clogged it will restrict the flow of air into the system and cause the following issues:

• Insufficient cooling
• Extra wear and tear
• Inefficient operation
• Reduced comfort
• Ice on the coils
• Strange noises

If you notice any of these issues with your system, the first thing you should do is check your air conditioning system’s air filter. Depending on the type of filter that you have, you may be able to wash it off and put it right back in. But most likely you will have to buy another filter.

Heating Problems from Clogged Air Filters

For heating systems, a clogged air filter can cause big problems—especially for furnaces. A burner in the furnace heats up the heat exchanger and a fan pulls in cool air from your home and passes it over the exchanger. If the filter is clogged it won’t allow enough cool air over the exchanger and it will heat up which could cause it to crack. A cracked heat exchanger can allow carbon monoxide to leak into your home which could be very dangerous.

Make sure that you get your heating and air conditioning systems regularly inspected and maintained by a professional. During regular maintenance visits, they will likely check the filter to make sure that it isn’t clogged or alert you if it is.

Why Do We Celebrate Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year when we get together with family, eat great food, watch football and spend time together. But why do we actually do all of this? Is it just about the Pilgrims and Native Americans or the turkey and the mashed potatoes? Those definitely are parts of it, but there’s also something more: something that many of us may quickly forget in the hustle and bustle of the impending Christmas season, planning flights, planning vacation days from work, buying gifts and all of those tasks that we have to do.

Giving Thanks

When we think about the first Thanksgiving meal that the Pilgrims had with the Native Americans, we need to put ourselves in their shoes. The Pilgrims left England in September of 1620 and didn’t actually arrive at Plymouth until December—in the dead of winter. When they arrived, they didn’t have enough food and had trouble locating a suitable place to set up a colony. During that first winter nearly half of the people died from harsh conditions, sickness and lack of food. It was only because of the help of the Native Americans that they were able to survive. So that they had much to be grateful for: not only for their very lives, but for the gifts that the Native Americans brought to them in their time of need.

For most of us, we will never experience a day of hunger or thirst; we will never have to spend a cold night sleeping outdoors because of a lack of shelter. That is a privilege and something unique to humanity in just the last 200 years. We all take it for granted and Thanksgiving is a perfect time to reflect on just how incredible it is to live in this era of technological and medical advancements.

This Thanksgiving, consider talking a few moments of the day to sit with your family or friends and talk about all of the things that you’re thankful for. Whether it’s the ability to fly across the country in a few hours or the fact that you’re alive to spend time with your loved ones, make sure that the people who are important to you know that you’re grateful.