Understanding furnace energy ratings
When it comes to replacing your home furnace you’ll be considering a lot of options, including energy efficiency. AFUE ratings (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) determine how well a specific furnace uses energy. It’s similar to the miles-per-gallon rating on a new car. The Department of Energy defines AFUE as the ratio of annual heat output…
Read MoreThat big box in the basement
The first thing homeowners do when their heat goes off is call an HVAC technician to come and save them from the cold. Moments before the technician arrives to look at “that big box in the basement”, the homeowner says a silent prayer hoping that they won’t be forced to replace the furnace but instead…
Read MoreDon’t roll the dice on your next furnace
The furnace you were told six months ago it was on its last legs and ‘could die any minute’ has finally stopped working. You have to get it fixed … or else! How do you select the right furnace contractor to replace your home’s unit? Buying a new furnace or A/C is a big investment…
Read MoreTake a deep breath
Take a deep breath. Clean air ducts are the foundation for good indoor air quality. If you’re concerned about the air quality in your home, your heating and cooling ducts may be contributing to the problem. Over several years, air ducts can become contaminated with mold, fungi, and bacteria, as well as dust. Just one…
Read MoreHow your furnace is like an airline seat
If you’ve ever traveled to a warm weather destination in the summer, you know that airline tickets are typically cheaper. Why? Because fewer people are traveling and there are more open seats to sell. The airlines price their seats accordingly to fill the plane. The same thing goes for getting your furnace tune-up. The cost…
Read MoreHow to economically pinpoint home heating loss
An interesting Christmas gift this year has helped a Stramowski customer pinpoint areas of his home that are leaking heat so he can address the issues of heat loss… especially important during our winter cold snaps! The gift was a Digital Laser Infrared Thermometer Gun found on Amazon. Using the $16 thermometer gun from the…
Read MoreKeep the needles on the Christmas tree… not the floor.
It’s no secret that winter makes the air dryer, impacting everything around us. Dry skin is probably first on the list but number two is most likely the family Christmas tree. There’s nothing worse than a fresh tree drying out a week before Christmas and the needles all falling off. Here are some ideas to…
Read MoreSharing the love of the 70’s! Enter to win 2 movie tickets
Back in ‘77, songs like Abba’s Dancing Queen and Jimmy Buffet‘s Margaritaville, were flooding the airwaves. Jimmy Carter was president and George Lucas’s Star Wars was the biggest movie hit of the year. Do you remember? We do. ‘77 was also the year Stramowski Heating & Air Conditioning got it’s start! In celebration of the…
Read MoreWhen you’re ‘falling back’ and changing your batteries, don’t forget about your furnace tune-up!
When you’re ‘falling back’ and changing your batteries, don’t forget about your annual furnace tune-up! Every fall we are reminded of the life-saving habit of changing and testing the batteries in smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. The reminders typically come when there is a fire that could have been prevented, or when daylight savings…
Read MoreStop choking your air conditioner!
It’s amazing how much junk can collect around the base of an outdoor air conditioning unit. Grass clippings, leaves, flowers – you name it – all seem to be magnetically attracted to the bottom six inches of the air conditioning units. This happens because it is where the air intakes are and they suck-up the…
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