No Heat? What to Check Before You Call

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High on the list of the worst things that can happen in winter is having no heat. This is especially so in Canada, where our winter season is so cold, a house can become frigid in almost no time.

Let’s say the awful has indeed happened: your furnace has conked out, leaving you with no heat. Here’s what to check before calling a certified technician.

1. Is the Power On?

Let’s start with the most basic possibility for an outage: no power. Even though the power seems to be on in your home, a circuit breaker could have tripped and cut off the electricity to your furnace. If the problem continues, there may be an issue with your electrical wiring or the furnace.

If there are no issues with the electrical box, check to make sure the furnace’s power switch is set to ON. Also, make sure your gas valve is in the open position.

2. Check the Thermostat

It’s possible your furnace is not on because it doesn’t need to be. If someone has changed the thermostat setting, that can cause the unit to turn off because your home is already at the desired level of heat. Make sure it is set above the home’s current temperature.

Also, programmable thermostats often run on battery power. If the batteries are weak or dead, it will not function properly.

3. Check for Blockage

Modern high-efficiency furnaces have their fresh air intake and exhaust located outside the home, where it’s possible for snow and ice, leaves, bushes, vegetation, and windblown debris to block the pipes. These blockages will cause the furnace’s sensors to shut it down. Make sure your intake faces downward as this helps to reduce the possibility of blockages.

When you are back inside, check the condensate tubing for blockages. Condensation produced by the furnace drains off to ensure proper operation. If a blockage occurs, condensation will back up and the unit will turn off.

4. Check the Filter

Your furnace has an air filter that should be changed every 10 to 12 weeks. It prevents the intrusion of dust, hair, pet dander and other substances that would impede the unit’s efficiency. However, the furnace filter can only do so much before it gets clogged. When that happens, it can greatly reduce the amount of air going into the unit. The furnace can start to overheat and shut down as a precautionary measure.

A filthy filter can also cause soot to accumulate on the heat exchange. This can amplify the problem and will eventually even shorten the furnace’s lifespan. Fortunately, you can install an air flow gauge that will warn you when it is time to replace the filter.

5. Check the Access Door

Have you recently opened your furnace? As a safety measure, the furnace turns off whenever you open the access door. If it is still open, even a sliver, the safety switch inside will prevent operation. Fully close the door and ensure the latch is in place.

Have you run through this list and still do not have an active furnace? Give us a call and we will immediately dispatch one of our home comfort professionals to get it back online. Our 4 Hour Emergency Service Promise is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We will also be happy to give your furnace an annual check-up to help ensure you never suffer an interruption in service.

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7 Ways to Get the House Ready For Winter’s Cold

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Winter is on the way. By now, you have already cleaned up the yard, prepared the outside of your home, and made arrangements to swap out your all-seasons for snow tires. However, have you thought about what you still need to do inside your home this time of year?

Here are seven ways to get the house ready for winter.

  1. Reverse Your Ceiling Fans

In the summer, your ceiling fans should rotate counterclockwise to maximize cooling. During the winter, the opposite setting will push warm air down from the ceiling, which helps to increase comfort and results in less energy expenditure.

  1. Check for Drafts

Closely inspect windows and doors for areas where heat can escape, and seal them up with caulk or weather stripping. Look closely for areas along baseboards or in corners that could use repairs. This will also help to keep out any critters looking to take advantage of the warmth your home offers.

  1. Check Your Fireplace Vent and Chimney

A roaring fire is a wonderful addition to the holiday season and a great source of warmth. However, make sure to have the chimney and vent double-checked beforehand by a qualified technician in order to prevent fires and carbon monoxide dispersal into your home.

  1. Stock Up on Essentials

We often get at least one big storm every year where the power goes out. Depending on the conditions, it can take hours (and sometimes days) before electricity comes back on, so make sure that you have everything you would require during such an emergency: water, non-perishable food, batteries, candles, flashlights, firewood, etc. Try to make sure that your cellphone battery remains as close to fully charged as possible.

  1. Check for Exposed Piping

If pipes freeze, they can burst, leading to flooding. Wrap any exposed piping in foam rubber or fiberglass insulation sleeves.

  1. Make Sure Your Home Insurance is Up to Date

Life can get very busy and it’s easy to forget that your home insurance policy may expire during the winter months. If you can’t find the documents, give your insurance agent a call to double check. Update your policy, if necessary, to ensure that you have adequate protection from flood, fire, and other potential issues common to your area.

  1. Call for a Furnace Inspection

A furnace is the heart of your home comfort system this time of year and there is nothing worse than having a breakdown during the height of winter. It is easy to do basic tasks yourself, like replacing or cleaning a furnace filter, but yearly inspections by an experienced technician are important to prevent issues that could result in an expensive bill. If the heat is off for too long, you could also end up with frozen pipes that burst and result in extensive, costly damage.

Call us today to learn more about our Precision Furnace Tune-up and Safety Check, as well as our Protection Plans, which include an inspection visit from an AtlasCare Home Comfort Specialist.

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8 Ways To Improve Energy Efficiency In Your Home

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Whether we want to admit it or not, fall is just around the corner and now is a perfect time to think about how to prevent the cold from creeping through our home…and wallets!

Take the time to inspect your entire house and ensure there aren’t any major concerns before you begin winter-proofing your home.

Here are eight easy ways to improve your home’s energy efficiency:

  1. Weather-strip your doors and windows. Weather-stripping can easily close up any cracks. Stopping the cold from coming in and preventing the heat from going out.
  2. Clear the way. Make sure there aren’t any objects obstructing the registers and preventing heat from coming through.
  3. Switch out old lightbulbs. Replacing incandescent bulbs to fluorescent is an easy and efficient upgrade. It can also help with that late-night reading.
  4. Stop wasting water. Switching to a low-flow showerhead and a modern two-flush toilet will save the amount of water and energy used – it can be that easy!
  5. Thicker curtains. This quick fix can prevent heat from escaping and cold from coming through. They’re also great for the summer when you want to block the sun from heating your home.
  6. Retire your appliances. Your appliances should match your needs. These can be pricy purchases, but if done right, can save you money in the long run. Bigger isn’t always better.
  7. Turn your heat down and grab a sweater. Sounds simple right? It is. By turning your heat down just a little, you will improve your efficiency and save on your energy bill. Don’t worry, your body will adjust – you won’t freeze.
  8. Insulate the attic. A properly insulated home will trap your desired temperature in, and keep the exterior temperatures out. An insulated attic is the perfect way to control heat or air.

These useful tips are handy for the cold months and summer. If you choose just a few of the suggestions, you’ll see an improvement in your energy bill and know that you’re doing the earth a big favour.

 

Energy Changes on the Horizon

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Much is being reported in the press these days about the rising cost of energy. There is talk about renewable energy versus fossil fuel versus nuclear generated electricity; the merits of electricity versus natural gas and electric vehicles versus combustion engines. Don’t forget climate change and carbon reduction.

There are a lot of “versus” on this song sheet, and the changes in these major areas will have profound impacts on our future.

Two things jump out at me: first, change is necessary, and it’s coming like a freight train. It is illogical and irresponsible of us to stick to our old ways of doing things. If we are knowledgeable about our options, we’re in a better place to make smart decisions about our energy use. And, second, governments at every level and of every political stripe have a dog in the fight. They are going to be involved in every step of the process, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not. They are stumbling around like bulls in a china shop, and they don’t always get it right because they don’t always consider the concerns of key stakeholders. It will be critical that we make our voices heard to best represent the interests of our customers.

Amongst individuals (not industry), the biggest consumers of energy in our day-to-day lives are vehicles and buildings. Cars appear to be heading towards being self-driving and our choices for energy source may get limited very quickly in that space.

That leaves buildings as a key area for change. The biggest consumer of energy in most buildings is the HVAC system and that is true for your home. This is something AtlasCare has a vested interest in, and where we hope to drive change in the right direction. Our provincial government is looking to introduce mandatory energy labeling for homes so that a potential buyer of your home will know how efficient it is on an overall basis. This edition of An Engineer’s Opinion is dedicated to the notion of how to “future proof” your home to make it more livable and cost efficient to enhance its long term value.

Heat Pumps – The Best of Both Worlds

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Much has been said in the debate about electricity versus natural gas. The present government’s position is that they would like to get rid of natural gas.

I don’t know when Ontario will drop natural gas, if ever, but it begs the question of which fuel you should use. After much consideration of the pros and cons, I made the decision in my own home to go dual fuel: an ultra-high efficiency heat pump along with a 98% high efficiency furnace. I now have the best of both worlds for the foreseeable future.

There is no question that the Ontario government sees heat pumps as the solution. One of the many reasons we recently took on the Lennox product line was to get access to their best-in-class heat pump technology. The XP25 is without a doubt the best air-to-air heat pump in the market. It uses inverter technology to provide variable capacity without any energy penalty and operates at the lowest sound levels in the market.

Home planning these days requires even more consideration than ever when it comes to the future, and the XP25’s cost savings are tough to beat. When stacked up against 10 SEER, 23.5 SEER delivers $390 in savings over five years, $780 over ten years, and $1,170 over twenty. Those numbers are tough to argue, especially when many homeowners are taking the time to consider such savings before purchasing any items that consume notable amounts of energy.

The XP25 is also capable of adjusting heating and cooling outputs in the tiniest of increments; as little as just 1%. That degree of preciseness and efficiency confirms Lennox’s ongoing position as an industry leader. I have all confidence we’ll be selling more of these advanced units down the road.

Want to learn more? You can read about the province’s Climate Change Action Plan here.

Rental Water Heaters: Challenging the Status Quo

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Most HVAC appliances are now very efficient, and water heaters remain the last bastion of opportunity for energy improvement.

We are seeing high efficiency water tanks and even heat pump water heaters enter the market. I have one in my home. The big challenge in this area is rental programs: owners of big water heater rental portfolios have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo in your home. Upgrading to more energy efficient units isn’t going to happen in this environment – you need to own your own tank so you can control the cost of operating that appliance in your home and to ensure the most advanced product.

More Control = More Comfort

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One of the big revolutions in the HVAC industry is around thermostats and controls in general.

 

The old round or rectangular thermostat with two switches and a mercury bulb are real dinosaurs. In fact, they’re being changed out with such volume that we have an industry recycling program to recover the mercury from old thermostats.

Unlike some home changes, it is doubtful that anyone will miss these old thermostat controls. Thermostats first appeared in the 1830s as a way of regulating the temperatures in chicken incubators. While they helped provide environmental control in a manner that no doubt seemed revolutionary back then, technology moves on and we now have something much better.

The new controls are more precise, more intuitive and offer much better control of your HVAC system. They can deliver improved comfort through temperature averaging and be set in energy saving mode automatically when you leave your home. With hydro working on an on-peak/mid-peak/off-peak basis, it is now easier to cut back on energy use during the most expensive times. A sophisticated thermostat makes it almost effortless to attain those savings and you now don’t even have to be home to do the programming. Pretty cool.

The S30 iComfort thermostat from Lennox and the thermostats from ecobee are industry leaders, saving energy and money for homes and businesses alike. Fun fact: did you know the original ecobee prototype was developed in the AtlasCare boardroom by entrepreneur Stuart Lombard? Frustrated by the fact that the current products required an energy calculator to use successfully, innovators like Stuart harnessed the power and resources of the internet to fashion a product that made use of the latest data to regulate power usage. Today smart thermostats are an increasingly common part of homes and will soon be the exclusive form of temperature regulators as the modern house becomes more and more sophisticated.

Demystifying Duct Cleaning

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Over the past couple of years, it has been a rare day when I have not received a phone call at dinner time from an overseas telemarketer trying to sell me duct cleaning, despite the best efforts of our government to establish do not call lists and issuing penalties for violators.

In January 2013 CBC Marketplace even did a segment on these companies, exposing the kind of work they do or, more accurately, don’t do. The existing lack of trust with duct cleaning services was the principal reason AtlasCare entered the business in the first place. Our customers wanted their ducts cleaned by someone they could trust. They sought someone who would not only do the work right, but who would also respect them and their home in the process.

I am proud to say that AtlasCare fits the bill completely in responding to what customers want in their duct cleaning. In the six years we have now been in the business, we have completed more than 5,000 duct cleanings to the complete satisfaction of our customers.

The message we want potential customers to know is that there are a number of ways to clean ducts and they are not all the same. You will find duct cleaners who use every method from a shop vac to sophisticated vacuum trucks and everything in between. It’s hard to see the finished product because it is enclosed inside the duct. Since the end product is so hard to see, we feel it’s important to let customers know our approach to duct cleaning so they can feel confident choosing our services.

First off, we use only the highest end truck mounted vacuum and compression systems, which is the only way to guarantee that the ducts will be completely cleaned.

In fact, this month we just added another truck to our fleet. We seal off all vents to ensure that dirt does not get blown back into the home. Should a vent cover ever come loose (a rare occurrence) it’s important that you are dealing with a contractor with good insurance coverage and a commitment to customer care so that things are cleaned up to your satisfaction.

We do little things like covering up the air conditioner coil so it doesn’t get plugged with dirt. We also protect your walls and baseboards from the impact of large vacuum hoses. And, of course, we put down the AtlasCare red carpet to protect your floors.

It isn’t that complicated to get into the duct cleaning business, which is why so many folks do it. Doing it right, though, takes a big investment in people and technology and a commitment to delivering what customers expect and more.

Helping Customers Escape Costly Water Heater Rentals

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In our last issue of An Engineer’s Opinion, I announced that we were entering the water heater business with a new rent-to-own product. I also outlined some of the benefits of this type of product vs. renting for life.

About half of the water heaters we installed over the summer were rent-to-own and the other half were purchased outright. Both are good options and our rent-to-own option can cut the cost of ownership of a water heater in half, should it last 20 years, which is very common in the GTA.

As with all new ventures you learn a few things as you go along. The technical aspects we mastered quickly. What proved to be a bigger challenge was dealing with the existing water heater monopolies. They clearly don’t want AtlasCare, or anyone else for that matter, taking out their water heaters. They will occasionally offer customers a financial “incentive” to stay with them. More than likely, however, they will issue empty threats of big financial penalties and legal action if they are not paid (just the kind of company
I want to do business with).

To make it easier for water heater customers to switch to AtlasCare, we ask you to sign a document naming AtlasCare and our financial partner, Vista Credit, as your agent. The great news for you is that we take out the tank, return it to the monopoly and assume all of the financial risk and indemnify you (the homeowner) from any charges that could potentially be levied.

Please call us if we can help you get out of a costly rental agreement and leave it to AtlasCare to look after all of your HVAC service needs.