Air Creations, Inc. Blog

Spring Heater Project: Repair It or Replace It?

April 16th, 2018

question-mark-badgeThe heater for your home is about to go on a long break as the warm weather settles in for the middle of the year. There isn’t much you need to do to shut down a heating system for summer. Make sure that it doesn’t have any leftover repair issues, and if it does, call us for heater repair in Union Township, NJ. Trust us, you want any malfunctions taken care of, no matter the season!

But what if those heater repairs are just delaying the point when it’s going to break down? If you have an old heating system that you suspect doesn’t have many more years of life left to it, then spring is an ideal time to arrange to have a new heater put in. The big question is “repair or replace?” It’s often the most important decision you’ll have to make about your heating system, since it will have a large impact on your comfort and your budget—a negative impact if you end up making the wrong choice!

But we’re here to help you make the right choice! Below are some guidelines to help you start thinking about “Repair vs. Replace.”

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A Furnace Can Corrode: What This Means

April 2nd, 2018

old-furnace-in-basementPeople think of corrosion and rust as something that only occurs with an appliance that uses water. A water heater or a boiler might rust, but why would a gas furnace? It doesn’t sound like it should happen.

But it can and it does. It’s something you may find happening to your furnace at some point. Why does it happen, and what does it mean for the furnace when corrosion starts? We’ll explain more, as well as tell you what you should do about it.

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Questions We Often Hear About Furnace Efficiency

March 19th, 2018

question-mark-badgeEnergy efficiency. It’s a big concern people have about appliances today. It isn’t enough for an appliance to work, it should also work without unnecessarily draining power. Modern manufacturers know how important this is to customers and make their products to match, and the U.S. Department of Energy has put in place the ENERGY STAR program to test and mark products that conserve power.

The efficiency question is a vital one for furnaces because they are essential appliances for home comfort and because they consume a large amount of energy each winter. An electric iron with the ENERGY STAR label may save a few cents. A high-efficiency furnace can potentially save hundreds of dollars.

Because we know that you are probably interested in furnace efficiency, we’re going to answer some of the questions we often get from customers about it.

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March Is Here, But You Still Need to Watch Your Heating System

March 5th, 2018

cold-manMarch is one of the trickiest months when it comes to figuring out the weather. The first part of the month is in winter, and the last is in spring, although it can sometimes act as if the opposite were true. This is why you always need to pay attention to your household heating system at this time of year. It’s getting close to the day when you can shut down the heater for the season, but cold weather may linger for a while or even come back in a fury.

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It’s Late Winter—Is Your Furnace Going to Make It?

February 19th, 2018

technician-looking-at-furnace“I’m not gonna make it … You go on, leave me behind!”

You’ve probably heard dramatic words like these spoken in many movies and TV shows. What do the heroes usually do in such extreme cases? They pick up their friend and carry them onward, refusing to let them expire.

If, however, it’s your home furnace that’s telling you “I’m not gonna make it to the end of winter … You go on without me!”, then you should probably just say, “Okay!” and have a new furnace put in. You don’t have an audience watching who’ll be disappointed because of an emotional attachment to the furnace.

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When a Dual Fuel System Is a Good Choice for Heating

February 5th, 2018

heating-cooling-zones-homesHeat pump systems are making their way into more homes each year, and for some excellent reasons. Heat pumps offer both heating and cooling functions in a single unit and are much more energy efficient at heating than standard electric furnaces, making them perfect for homes that don’t have a natural gas connection. The warmth heat pumps deliver in winter is less stuffy than the warmth from furnaces, providing ideal comfort throughout a home.

But heat pumps do have some limitations. Because they must absorb heat from the outside during the winter, they can struggle if the temperature falls to extremely low levels. There’s always some heat in the air, no matter how cold. But when the outdoor temperature drops too far below freezing, it forces heat pumps to work much harder to extract the available heat. Suddenly, the energy efficient performance of heat pumps is much less than it was.

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Help, My Heat Pump Won’t Switch to Heating!

January 22nd, 2018

cold-sweater-manWhen it comes to Summit, NJ heating for a home, a heat pump is a fantastic device. This comfort system serves both as a forced-air heater and air conditioner. When used properly, a heat pump can help a home save around 30% off the costs of using a furnace during the winter.

A heat pump becomes a much less fantastic device when it doesn’t work right, of course. Even the best constructed and maintained heat pump can develop faults. The worst is when a heat pump won’t turn on at all. This rarely happens without some warning, however. It’s more common for a heat pump to develop a small operating concern, such as failing to change from cooling mode to heating mode and vice versa.

That brings us to the title of this post: What do you do when your heat pump won’t do the “heat” part of its name?

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Can My Gas Furnace Become Dangerous?

January 8th, 2018

gas-energy-flamesMore than 64 million homes in the U.S. use natural gas for winter heat. That number alone can give you an idea of the safety issues with gas furnaces—i.e. not that many. If gas furnaces posed a basic health threat to a home, they wouldn’t be installed in so many of them around the country. Current standards for the manufacturers of natural gas furnaces place a special emphasis on maintaining safe operation. Furnaces are designed with numerous safeguards, such as a limit switch that prevents a furnace from overheating.

However, no natural gas appliance can ever be 100% problem-proof. Although you shouldn’t fret about using your gas furnace during the winter, you should make sure you take precautions each year to help it keep up its safety record.

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How a Bad Thermostat Can Give You a Hard Time in Winter

December 25th, 2017

setting-thermostatWinter can be a cozy time in your home if you have a powerful and reliable heating system at work. You may not have realized, however, that the heater is part of a larger HVAC system that cares for household comfort. The thermostat is an integral part of that system—and if it’s not working right, or it’s outdated, it can mean a drop in comfort, a rise in bills, and even a heating system that won’t turn on at all!

Thermostat problems can be tricky to diagnose, since often they seem like something is wrong with the actual furnace, boiler, or heat pump, or perhaps trouble with the ductwork. This is why we recommend you contact our team of professionals to look into the problems you’re experiencing. If the thermostat is the problem, we can fix or replace it so everything is back to normal once more.

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Be Aware of These Furnace Repair Warning Signs

December 11th, 2017

natural-gas-furnace-basementDo you use a furnace for your winter heating needs? Since the furnace is the most common type of residential heating system across the country—ahead of boilers and heat pumps—chances are high that you do. A furnace can offer powerful heating and reliable performance, but like any type of complex mechanical system, it can malfunction and need attention from trained professionals.

We offer the heating repair in Westfield, NJ that can get your malfunctioning furnace back to work. However, we know that some furnace issues can be a bit tricky to spot at first. To help you detect problems early so you can get us out to help before the trouble worsens and you end up with a cold house, we’ve put together a list of warning signs. When you notice these, contact us and we’ll be there to locate the problem and fix it.

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