Kool Breeze of Northwest Florida, Inc Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Furnaces’

Don’t Let the End of Season Delay These Furnace Repair Needs!

Monday, February 24th, 2020

Are you having problems with your furnace?

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Perhaps it’s something really subtle, or something that seems like more of an annoyance than an actual problem. We get it, too. It’s barely that cold around here, so any problem with your furnace can wait, right?

The problem with this mindset is that homeowners often wait too long to address furnace repair needs. What happens is they let the problem go on and on until the furnace breaks down. We’re nearing the end of our heating season, so even this might not seem detrimental. But trust us, when the weather cools back down next fall, you’ll be grateful for tackling furnace repair needs this winter!

We’ve compiled a list below of some of the most common furnace repair needs we get called for. If you notice any of them, please give our team a call—we’re happy to inspect, and we provide reliable repairs and other HVAC services to boot.

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How to Keep a Gas Furnace Safe

Wednesday, March 4th, 2015

Gas furnaces are the most popular way to provide heat for homes. They have incredibly high heating power (greater than almost any other type of heater) and are cost-effective because natural gas is less expensive than electricity.

However, some homeowners are wary about having a natural gas furnace installed because of the possibility of carbon monoxide leaks. It’s true that gas furnaces, as with any appliance that uses natural gas, can create hazardous and explosive fumes. However, the actual danger a modern gas furnace poses to a household is minimal and often exaggerated.

Nonetheless, it’s important that you takes steps to see that your home’s gas furnace remains safe. For professional assistance, you can call on the team at Kool Breeze. We work on all kinds of furnaces in Pensacola Beach, FL, and offer excellent maintenance and repair work whenever you require it.

Tips to keep your furnace operating safely

  • Regularly change the filter: The air filter in a furnace protects the interior of the heater from sustain damage and becoming dirty. To make sure the furnace suffers from as few issues as possible, you should replace/clean the filter every month during periods when the furnace runs on a regular basis.
  • Schedule annual maintenance: This is one of the most important steps to take for furnace safety. Each year, preferably in the fall, have a professional technician inspect and tune-up your furnace. The technician will find any repair issues or problems with safety mechanisms and have them taken care of before they can turn into problems.
  • Never try to repair the furnace on your own: It’s imperative that you do not tinker with the interior of the furnace cabinet. This is one of the ways that gas leaks can start. (In most jurisdictions, it is illegal to work on an appliance connected to a gas line unless you are a licensed professional.)
  • Always call for prompt repairs: If you notice anything amiss with the furnace’s performance, don’t wait to call for technicians to fix it. Delays can lead to a furnace that operates unsafely.
  • Put carbon monoxide detectors in your home: Although the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning is low, CO detectors will give you the peace of mind that there are no toxic gases in your home.

Kool Breeze offers a regular maintenance program for furnaces in Pensacola Beach, FL that will not only keep your furnace safe, it will also look after your air conditioning system. When you sign up, you’ll receive additional benefits such as a 10% discount on non-warranty parts and priority service. Call us today for more details.

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What to Do if Your Furnace Won’t Provide Heat

Thursday, February 5th, 2015

A furnace that won’t heat isn’t really of any use to you. As such, it behooves you to get it fixed as soon as possible. Now, you probably don’t have the tools or the expertise to actually repair your furnace yourself. However, there are a few steps you can go through before calling a professional technician. At the very least, you can eliminate some possible causes of the problem. Let’s take a look at what you can do if your furnace isn’t providing heat.

Check the Thermostat

The thermostat is the core of your heating system, responsible for actually deciding when your home receives heat and for how long. As such, a malfunctioning thermostat can disable the entire system, even if the furnace itself is perfectly healthy. Have a look at the thermostat and make sure that the settings and temperature are correct. If the temperature is obviously incorrect, or anything else is displaying strangely, then you may have a thermostat issue.

Listen

If your furnace is actually on, but not providing heat, listen for the sound of the furnace’s air handler. The air handler is the part that actually circulates air throughout the house, and you should be able to hear the fan blowing when the furnace is on. If not, then you have an issue with your air handler. It is possible that the motor is burned out, or that some other kind of electrical shortage has deprived the handler of power. Either way, you should shut your furnace down and call a professional if you don’t hear the fan blowing. Otherwise, heat can become trapped in the furnace and cause it to overheat.

Check the Ignition

Faulty ignition is a very common cause of furnace failure. In older furnaces, it’s easy to check if the ignition is working. Simply look for the pilot light burning underneath the furnace. If the light is out, then that’s probably the source of your problem. Newer furnaces are more difficult to assess, as they use electronic ignition systems with little or no visible signs of malfunction. Even so, you should try starting your furnace while watching the burners to see if they ignite. If not, then you probably have an ignition problem.

If your furnace isn’t providing heat, call Kool Breeze. We offer quality furnaces and professional furnace services throughout Pensacola Beach.

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Heat Pumps vs. Furnaces: The Pros and Cons

Wednesday, January 7th, 2015

Heat pumps are quickly rising in prominence across the country, though they haven’t quite caught up to furnaces in terms of sheer numbers. With so many homeowners becoming aware of heat pumps for the first time, however, there are a lot of questions regarding which system would work best in which environment. Here, we’re going to try to answer some of those questions. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of both heat pumps and furnaces.

Heat Pumps

Heat pumps are a unique type of home heating system, in that they don’t rely on combustion to produce heat. Instead of burning fuel, heat pumps move heat from one place to the other. This is accomplished through the heat pump’s main components: the indoor unit and the outdoor unit.

When the heat is turned on, the outdoor unit evaporates refrigerant in a coil located inside its casing. The gaseous refrigerant draws thermal energy out of the surrounding air before carrying it down the refrigerant line to the indoor unit. The indoor unit then condenses the gas back into a liquid, releasing the thermal energy so that it can be used to heat the home.

Heat pumps are remarkably energy efficient, as they do not burn fuel to heat a home. They rely only on electricity and ambient thermal energy to operate. If you want to save money on heating bills, a heat pump is a good choice.

Unfortunately, the heat pump’s reliance on thermal energy in the air can also be problematic. In climates that frequently reach freezing temperatures, there often isn’t enough thermal energy for the heat pump to effectively heat the home.

Furnaces

Furnaces are combustion-based systems. That is, they burn some type of fuel in order to produce heat for distribution. They are widely popular across the country, mostly because they are relatively cheap and easy to repair or replace. Natural gas, which is the most popular furnace fuel type, produces a high amount of heat compared to the amount burned. This makes furnaces quite effective in heating a home.

Furnaces are not the most cost-efficient heating systems, however. The average furnace loses a lot of heat to things like duct leaks, and even natural gas furnaces cannot compete with things like heat pumps when it comes to energy efficient heating.

If you’d like to know more, call Kool Breeze. We offer professionally install furnaces in the Fort Walton Beach area.

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The Advantages of Electric Furnaces

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014

Electric furnaces tend to get overshadowed by the more common gas-fueled furnaces. There are a number of reasons for this. Natural gas tends to be a cheaper fuel source than electricity. Despite this, an electric furnace can actually offer a number of great benefits. Have a look at the advantages below of owning an electric furnace.

Efficiency

It’s true that natural gas is a cheaper fuel source for furnaces on average. However, electric furnaces are virtually 100% efficient at converting electricity to thermal energy. Combustion heat systems tend to hover between 75-95%. This means that, while you will be paying more for the fuel, you will be paying less overall for your heating.

Safety

Though gas-powered heating systems are still very safe, they cannot avoid producing toxic combustion byproducts like carbon monoxide. Normally, the heating system will vent the toxic gases outside the home. There is always a change, however, of something going wrong and flooding your house with potentially deadly fumes. There is also a risk of fire associated with combustion systems, commonly caused by a gas leak or overheating. An electric furnace does not utilize combustion, and so produces no toxic byproducts. This way, you never have to worry about being in danger from your heating system.

Accessibility

Though natural gas lines are widely available, there are still some places where you will be unable to access one. Even if the city has the infrastructure for them, you will have to pay to install a new line if your house is not already equipped with one. None of this is necessary with an electric furnace. Electricity is available in practically every populated area in the country, and doesn’t require any extra groundwork to be installed in your home.

Solar Interfacing

Electric furnaces can easily interface with solar heating systems to provide even more efficient heating. This is also possible with more traditional combustion-based systems, but tends to require expensive retro-fitting to make the systems mesh properly.

If you are thinking about installing an electric furnace, call Kool Breeze today. We install electric furnaces throughout the Navarre area. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.

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The Advantages of Gas Furnaces

Wednesday, October 8th, 2014

Cold weather isn’t as much a problem in our part of the country as it is in others, but we still need reliable heating systems for the winter months of the year. Gas furnaces are one of the most common heating systems around, and there are some good reasons for this. If you are in need of a new furnace in Pensacola, you may want to take a look at what a gas furnace can offer you. However, it is important to hire professionals for any heating installation, and the trained professionals at Kool Breeze can help you with all your heating needs.

How Does a Gas Furnace Work?

When a gas furnace starts its heating cycle, a fan known as the draft fan inducer motor draws air into the burner assembly; at the same time, the gas is released and the burners are ignited. The heat from the burners warms the heat exchanger, and the air from inside the burner assembly is exhausted to the outside. A second fan, known as the blower fan, turns on, and brings in cooler air from your living spaces through the return ductwork and blows this cooler air over the warmed heat exchanger. The blown air is warmed, and continues its way into the supply ducts, which deliver it into your living spaces. The cycle continues until the set temperature has been reached.

What Are the Advantage of a Gas Furnace?

There are a few advantages of gas furnaces worth noting:

  • Constant fuel supply – because your furnace is connected directly to your gas line, there is no need to worry about managing fuel deliveries or managing fuel deliveries.
  • The heat is hot and fast – gas heat reaches temperatures of approximately 130 degrees. It also reaches this temperature quickly. This means that your home will heat quickly, and be warm and comfortable, even on the coldest days.
  • Less expensive fuel – natural gas is the most inexpensive fossil fuel available, which can make a difference in your monthly energy bills.
  • Clean-burning – natural gas is the most clean-burning fuel around, so there is little-to-no soot or other type of mess created by natural gas.

A gas furnace in Pensacola can offer you energy efficiency, comfort and convenience. Interested to find out more? Call Kool Breeze today and schedule an appointment with one of our trained experts.

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