Making the Connection Between Clean Air and Energy Efficiency

Posted by & filed under indoor air quality .

Saving on energy pays off – especially when you’re talking about keeping your home comfortable. Cooling and heating, after all, accounts for about 56% of the energy used in a typical U.S. home. Therefore, savings in this area can have a significant impact on your household’s monthly budget. An energy efficient system is your starting point. For example, air conditioning and heating systems that have earned the ENERGY STAR® designation help you reduce high energy bills and improve your comfort while protecting the environment.

An airtight home helps too by keeping conditioned air inside your home – and, in warm months, keeping the hot air out.

But what about when saving on energy comes with a price? Airtight homes seal in the air, yes – but they can also seal in pet dander, toxins from household cleansers, cooking smoke, and on and on. An energy efficient home with poor indoor air quality is not a desirable result.

To improve your indoor air quality, you can control or eliminate the sources of your pollutants, as well as ventilate as weather conditions permit. You can also use an “air cleaning device.” There are different types of air cleaners, including those that remove particles through mechanical air filters or electronic air filters.

Now – to connect the dots between energy efficiency and clean air – your best bet is an energy efficient home comfort system with a built-in air cleaner. Call Robin Aire today, our technicians can help you!

Is the Air in Your Home Making Spring Allergies Worse?

Posted by & filed under indoor air quality, water heater .

Sticky, black, alive – not the description of anything you want growing in your home. Just the thought is enough to make you cringe. But it’s even worse when you realize the culprit isn’t just in your house… it’s in your air. Every breath is an invitation for infection, allergies and inflammation. And since you have to breathe, there’s only one course of action – total annihilation.

Ok, so maybe that sounds just a tad overdramatic. The fact remains that mold and dust mites that thrive in high humidity can be the cause of many breathing symptoms, especially for those suffering from allergies and asthma. Basements are notorious for mold and dust mite problems, but they can strike anywhere – bathrooms, bedrooms, inside walls. All it takes are the right conditions. So…

How Do You Fix High Humidity?

First, know what your humidity levels should be. It’s best to keep the humidity level in your home between 35-40%. Over 40% encourages dust mite and mold growth.

According to the American Lung Association, the most effective ways to control humidity and remove excess moisture and pollution levels from your home, apart from source control, are the ventilation and filtration of circulating air. (That’s just a fancy way of saying the air should be clean and able to move around freely.)

Gadgets and Gizmos

New technologies such as air exchangers that include HEPA filtration are the most recent innovations. These systems offer the best of both worlds: fresh air through ventilation and high quality air by trapping up to 99.97% of airborne allergens.

Plus, it reduces excess humidity by, basically, dumping moisture-filled air outdoors several times a day. Getting rid of the extra moisture doesn’t just help eliminate mold and bacteria-friendly environments – unpleasant odors disappear (like your teenager’s Everest-high mountain of laundry. Actual clothes remain – sorry!).

This is especially helpful to asthma sufferers and those with seasonal allergies since families can control the quality of the air in every room of the house, not just certain ones. So don’t let the creepy crawlies invade your home – or your air. Contact Robin Aire Heating and Cooling today!

Reasons to Watch What You’re Breathing

Posted by & filed under air filter, carbon monoxide, hvac, indoor air quality, robin aire, video .

In this type of work, we see a lot of relieved faces. In weather like this, it’s usually when the heat comes back on after a simple repair. There’s just something about the feel of that warm air on a cold night that lets a homeowner relax and get comfortable again.

But sometimes the relief is about something that has been prevented. That can happen during one of our routine maintenance visits. If we show a homeowner a problem that’s been developing that could lead to a carbon monoxide leak, and then we present a simple solution for making that problem go away, we’re both relieved!

Carbon monoxide is a serious source of indoor air pollution – one that requires immediate attention. And though the danger may not be as high with other pollutants that can get in your home, you can still experience discomfort.

Oh, and you can find out about one of our recommended solutions for indoor air pollution in this helpful video.

The Routines of Saving Money, Protecting Family Health

Posted by & filed under furnace maintenance, furnace. heat .

Just think of it as any ordinary experience – you make a simple call that preserves a multi-thousand dollar investment, decreases your monthly energy expenses and protects your family from serious dangers that can come from faulty heating equipment operation.

Actually, there’s nothing routine about routine maintenance on your heater or furnace. It’s the type of decision making that the most discerning homeowners choose. That’s because it pays for itself in energy-savings, lengthens the life of a fairly pricey piece of equipment and detects dangers – particularly that of carbon monoxide leaks – that could prove to be a very serious risk for your family’s health and well-being.

Here’s what you can expect from a regular maintenance routine:

Longer Equipment Life – Just like with your car or truck, mechanical equipment needs to be maintained if you want it to operate efficiently and safely over the long term. And home comfort systems are very long-term investments. After all, you’ll want to keep it running safe and smooth for longer than most people keep their vehicles, so don’t you think it’s due a “professional pit stop” now and then? Absolutely. Taking care of your home comfort system is the best way to make sure it keeps taking care of you.

Energy Savings – Again, just like with your vehicle, poor condition can affect gas mileage, but better condition makes it better. Connections and systems in your heating equipment can get loosened or go lax over time, and that affects efficiency – which affects your energy costs. Routine maintenance is like pressing a “reset button.” It takes your system back to an earlier time when equipment was running efficiently and safely. And your energy bills show the difference.

Repair Savings – When you detect a minor problem before it becomes a major repair, you trade the major cost for a minor expense. And that’s a very good trade. In addition, you avoid the inconvenience of a breakdown at a most uncomfortable time – which would trade a routinely scheduled tune-up for an emergency service call. And that’s not a good trade.

Peace of Mind – Heating system tune-ups also come with all-important safety checks to detect the presence of carbon monoxide and other dangers. This importance cannot be overstated!

Schedule your routine maintenance now. Just call or email, and we’ll take care of you.

Planning Ahead for Your Next Furnace

Posted by & filed under furnace, furnace maintenance .

Hope you’ll take this thought with the optimism with which it is presented: “Nothing lasts forever.” There are lots of reasons why that’s a good thing. For example, do you really want to be placing your mobile calls on a phone the size of a man’s shoe (some seemed that large)? Do you want to be using a dial-up modem (if you know what that is) to check your email?

That’s what the march of time does. As technology improves, older stuff gets further and further behind. Outdated. Inefficient. Breaks down too often. Costs more to keep up than it does to replace.

We’ve all been there. And some of you may be in just that place with your home heating. So how do you know if you’re really there now? Well, when it’s time to replace your furnace, there are some signs you can look for. In particular:

Increasing Age/More Frequent Repairs – That speaks to the first point: nothing lasts forever. If you have a furnace 10 to 15 years or older, you’re facing a situation where you will need an increasing number of repairs. You’ll see this especially in the last two years of furnace life. Plus, as older models continue to age, their replacement parts will be harder to find – meaning, repair delays are another sign.

Higher Energy Bills – A furnace in its declining years will lose its efficiency, and you’ll see that in higher energy bills. In addition, since technology improves over time, the efficiency of these new systems is the best that’s ever been. So you’ll find you’re operating a piece of equipment that is far less energy efficient than the very high-efficiency models now available.

Inconsistent Comfort – Are some rooms too hot or too cold? Are you often adjusting the thermostat? The inability to stay comfortable is a sign that your furnace isn’t able to distribute air properly.

Strange Noises – Actually, this is a universal sign for almost any appliance or piece of equipment. If something doesn’t sound right, there’s probably a reason. Banging, popping and squealing noises, or a blower that turns on and off too frequently, are not the soothing, comforting background music for a cozy evening at home. Get it checked out.

As you keep your eye on frequency of repairs, cost of repairs, cost of energy bills and lack of consistent comfort, let us give you a big-picture look at your home’s energy use to help you in your decision.

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