With Fall on the Way, Here Are the Top Heater Issues to Double-Check

Broken Arrow's winters can be chilly and windy, so it's always a good idea to have your heating equipment in top form before the cold weather arrives. Maybe you're wondering what are the top heater issues that homeowners in this area have to deal with. Read on to learn about the heating problems you should be aware of as you schedule fall maintenance on your HVAC system.

Issues with the Pilot Light or Ignition Control

Most heating systems have either a pilot light or a hot-surface ignition control. The failure of either may cause intermittent heat or a lack of heat. Maintenance is key to keeping them working. Newer furnaces usually have electronic ignition systems rather than pilot lights.

A Dirty Air Filter

This is one of the most common causes of heating systems not heating adequately. When the filter is too dirty, the system runs sluggishly and struggles to heat properly. Change the filter whenever it's dirty. You may need to change filters more often if you have pets, burn candles, or you have a dusty house.

Air Leaks

Air leaks will make your heating system work harder, costing you money on energy and repairs. Although it's one of the top heater issues afflicting most homeowners, it's easily solved by checking your home's most vulnerable areas for leaks: window and door frames, baseboards, corners where walls meet the ceiling or floor, and holes in exterior walls that are used for cables, pipes, or wires. Seal all these leaks with insulation, caulk, or weatherstripping. Also, have your HVAC tech check ducts for air leaks. 

A Malfunctioning Heat Exchanger

This is one of the most important parts of your furnace, and it can be among the top heater issues homeowners must deal with. Over time, a heat exchanger can develop minute cracks as the metal expands and contracts with continuous heating and cooling. Have the heat exchanger checked regularly as part of your furnace inspection. 

A Faulty Thermostat

This is one of the top heater issues a homeowner may experience, but fixing or replacing a faulty thermostat isn't difficult.

For more about top heater issues, contact Air Assurance of Broken Arrow. 

Is It Better to Combine or Separate Your Heating and Cooling Systems?

Your AC and furnace are both essential to your home comfort. However, both units require a significant amount of care and maintenance. Replacement costs can be high as well. Would it just be easier to combine heating and cooling systems into a single unit that does both? Here are some of the advantages.

Advantages of Combining HVAC Systems

The biggest advantage to consolidating your heating and cooling into a single system is that it saves space. Rather than having two different units in different areas of the house, you only have one. If you have a smaller home or want to free up some storage space, combining systems might be a good option.

It also saves money. Rather than having to buy both a furnace and an AC, you can just pay for a single system. It may be a bit more expensive than either of them are individually, but it's still cheaper than the combined cost of both.

Additionally, since you'll have just one system, you can get it serviced just once a year, rather than scheduling an AC tuneup in the spring and a furnace inspection in the fall. Finally, a combined system can save you energy. How, you ask?

Saving Energy with Heat Pumps

The best way to combine heating and cooling systems is with a heat pump. They're perfect for milder winter climates like Oklahoma's, and they can save you energy. Whereas gas furnaces burn fuel to heat the air, heat pumps are electric and operate on the same principle as air conditioners.

In the summer, it operates just like a regular AC. A heat exchanger absorbs heat, leaving you with cool air to circulate through your house, while the heat is vented outside. In winter, it's reversed: The heat that's absorbed is pumped into your home, while the cool air is vented outside. This not only saves energy, but it provides you with home comfort year round, from a single system.

If you want to combine heating and cooling systems in your home, contact us at Air Assurance today. We proudly serve all of Broken Arrow's home-comfort needs.

When You Need to Buy a New Heater, What Are the Best Ones on the Market?

Heating systems generally last 10 to 20 years before they need to be replaced. However, factors like frequency of repairs, overall condition, and maintenance history also come into play and may necessitate a replacement sooner. When exploring replacement options, the numerous models available can make choosing the best one a large task. Here are some of the best options available at the moment that are worth considering when buying a new heater:

• Lennox Signature Series — The heating systems in this series have efficiency ratings that are as high as 98.7 percent AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency). They also come with excellent climate control features and a lifetime warranty on the extremely important heat exchanger.

• Carrier Infinity — This is Carrier's flagship lineup. It comprises a wider range of models than most brands. The heat pumps have HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor) ratings ranging from 8.5 to as high as 13.0.

• Trane XR — The lineup stands out due to the relative affordability and durability of its products. It offers a decent range of efficient options.

• American Standard Platinum — This is American Standard's best series of heating and cooling equipment. The products come with premium control features, quiet operation, and lifetime heat-exchanger warranties.

• Goodman GMS and GSX/GSZ Series — These series have some of the best value furnaces and heat pumps available. Despite their comparatively low price, they offer good warranties. In fact, some furnace models qualify for a complete replacement if they fail within 10 years.

• Daikin VC/MC Series — This dependable Daikin product lineup features energy-saving motors and warranties that are longer than those of most comparable brands.

Whatever the system you choose from the brands we've listed above, you're sure to get durability and reliable performance. If you have any more questions about buying a new heater, contact us at Air Assurance. We help homeowners in the Broken Arrow area choose and install the right heating and cooling systems for their homes.

Keep Everyone — and Every Pet — In Your House Comfortable

In most households, we're continuously adjusting the thermostat to accommodate a wide variety of temperature needs. But while we tend to think mostly of our own human comfort, what about the needs of our pets?

Whether they are covered with fur, scales or feathers, animals often have different temperature needs than we do. Forced to endure conditions that are too hot or too cold, pets may sicken and die. Read on for some wisdom regarding home comfort for pets.

Wintertime Comfort

If you have indoor pets, be aware that they may find your heating a bit excessive. The fact that they have fur coats — particularly dogs — can mean they need to cool off a bit when you crank up the heat. If your dog is panting and the rest of your household is toasty at between 72 and 78 degrees, you may want to provide the dog with a fan to cool off.

Elderly and sick animals are a different story. Make sure they have a warm place to sleep when you turn the thermostat down to save energy when you're away from home or sleeping. Sometimes, pets may require a heated bed or a space heater to be comfortable.

Adjust the thermostat in a fish tank in line with recommendations for the species of fish you have.

Make sure birds are not too close to heat sources and that they are not stuck in sunlight or in a draft. Low-voltage heaters are available for bird cages. Don't give birds fibrous material to shred, as they might eat it.

For other types of caged animals, such as rabbits and rodents, give them shavings or recycled cardboard bedding, and provide them with a nesting box.

Summertime Comfort

During cooling season, you may want to provide a fan to ensure dogs and cats are comfortable, especially if you tend to keep the house on the warm side.

Be sure that pets have access to water in both summer and winter. Drinking water helps many mammals cool off.

For more on home comfort for pets, contact Air Assurance of Broken Arrow.

5 Smart Heating Options for Your Home

Keeping your home warm in the winter can be a difficult task. Heating needs change throughout the day, and often, you have to keep adjusting the thermostat to maintain comfort. Fortunately, there's a solution: Smart heating can help you make your home comfortable all day, with a lot less effort, by adjusting to your home-comfort needs automatically. Here are five different types of smart heating for your home:

1. Multistage heating. A multistage furnace has two or more speeds. On colder days, it delivers heat to your home at full power. When the temperature is milder, it provides a lower, gentler heat to keep you warm without bombarding you with hot air.

2. Programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat allows you to set heating and cooling preferences based on your family's schedule. It goes into energy-saving mode when you're not home, so you're not paying to heat an empty house.

3. Wi-Fi thermostat. A Wi-Fi thermostat connects directly to your mobile device, so you can control it from anywhere. It shows you temperature, relative humidity, and a variety of other indoor and outdoor climate factors at a glance, allowing you to adjust to your comfort level quickly and easily.

4. Learning thermostat. A learning thermostat actually learns your heating and cooling preferences over time. Do you like it warmer in the daytime and cooler at night? What's your family's schedule like? A learning thermostat can use this information to make automatic adjustments to your heating throughout the day, keeping you comfortable without you having to lift a finger.

5. Zoning. A zoning system puts multiple thermostats in different areas of the house based on their individual heating and cooling needs. If the living room is too warm but the bedrooms are still cold, it can redirect heat as needed to keep everyone comfortable. Some systems can even sense where you are in the house, so if everyone's in the living room, it can save energy by sending less heat to the empty bedrooms.

To learn more about smart heating options for your home, contact us at Air Assurance. We provide quality solutions for Broken Arrow's home-comfort needs.

The Best Ways to Keep Outside Pets Warm in the Winter Season

Winter has arrived, and that's great news for millions of people across the country, but sometimes our pets need a little extra care to make sure they stay warm. Here are a few quick tips that will make keeping pets warm in the winter an easy task:

Don't Turn Off the Thermostat When You Leave

If you were home during the day, you most likely wouldn't turn your thermostat off, so don't do this to your pets either. That being said, since their acceptable range for temperatures is wider than people, you can lower the temperature down to 60 to 70 degrees while you're away and they will be fine.

Supply a Shelter and a Feeding Station

If you have an outdoor dog or cat, he or she may want to stay indoors more often, but there's still a good chance that they'll go outside too. Make sure that you've set up a shelter outside to help them stay warm, along with a feeding station so they don't get hungry.

Pick Up Some Pet Clothing

You may think that pet clothing, such as sweaters, looks a little silly, but it keeps them quite warm. In addition to the standard pet sweater, you may also want to consider some doggie booties so that ice doesn't collect on the bottoms of their paws.

Use Caution with De-Icing Chemicals

If you're planning on using antifreeze or another type of de-icing chemical, then be very wary about using them where pets might have access to the toxic substance. Also, keep the container in a place that your pets can't get to, and if a spill occurs, wipe it up immediately.

Pay Special Attention to Older Pets

Elderly animals can suffer from arthritic aches and pains just like we do. If your older pets seem to be uncomfortable, consider contacting your vet and getting him or her some pain medication.

If you'd like more expert advice on keeping pets warm in winter or have other HVAC issues that you need to discuss, please reach out to the friendly professionals at Air Assurance. We've been serving Broken Arrow and the surrounding areas for more than 35 years.

How to Keep a Garage Warm in the Winter

An unheated garage is suitable for very little beyond storing your vehicles, your yard equipment and whatever else you can't stow away in the house.

But what if you'd like to make better use of that garage space? Maybe you'd like to create a workshop where you can do projects, for instance. Winters here in Broken Arrow can make that problematic.

The solution is to heat the garage. Read on for suggestions on creating a warm garage.

First, Insulate

Before you start shopping for heating equipment, do make sure your garage is air sealed and insulated. That can be a big project in itself, because some garage doors tend to fit loosely around the edges.

Finish the garage with drywall and don't stint on the insulation. Choose from these types of insulation: fiberglass batts or rolls; wet applied or blown-in cellulose; spray foam or injection foam.

Types of Heating for the Garage

Electric space heater: Electric space heaters are the simplest solution, but they are not necessarily the most efficient. While newer models cost less to run than in former days, they don't heat up the space as quickly as other types of heating.

Combustion space heater: These are inexpensive to run and do an adequate job of heating a small space, but a major concern is that they give off carbon monoxide. You will have to make sure the garage is well vented and that you are running a CO detector if using these.

Ceramic heater: These require electricity to run, but the heating element is ceramic instead of metal. Similar to the metal element heaters, they use a fan to distribute the heat.

Ductless mini split: These systems can provide cool air and/or heating. They are a type of heat pump, consisting of an outdoor condenser and an indoor air handler. They can be small and compact and are ideal for conditioning the air in a smaller space. They can be somewhat expensive but are efficient to run.

For more information on how to attain a warm garage, contact Air Assurance of Broken Arrow.

Your Guide to Hydronic Heating

As winter approaches, you're again faced with the age old question of how to heat your Oklahoma home as efficiently and effectively as possible. There are many ways to reduce energy bills and maximize your furnace's efficiency. However, you may want to take things a step further, outfitting your home with a hydronic heating system. What is hyrdronic heating, and how can it benefit you? Here's a basic guide to forced air vs hydronic systems.

What Is Hydronic Heating?

In a traditional forced air system, air is heated by the furnace, then blown through ducts and vents to each room of your home, to warm it up. With hydronic heating, water is heated instead of air, using a boiler instead of a furnace.

Hot water or steam then flows through pipes throughout your home. Each room is outfitted with its own heat exchanger, either in the baseboards or mounted somewhere. The heat exchanger extracts heat from the water and uses it to warm that room.

Pros and Cons of Forced Air Vs Hydronic Systems

Since a hydronic system circulates water through your home instead of air, there are no dust particles or other contaminants blowing into a room, which reduces the risk for allergy and asthma sufferers. There's also no air filter to change. A hydronic system does take longer to heat a room than forced air, but the heat also remains in the room longer.

The main appeal of hydronic heating, though, is that it's energy efficient. Extracting heat from the water uses much less energy than heating the air - and the lack of vents means there's no energy loss from ductwork, either.

Forced air, on the other hand, is much less expensive to install - especially if you're retrofitting an existing home. A heat exchanger in every room, plus additional plumbing to pipe hot water through the walls, can end up costing about twice as much for a hydronic system than it would for forced air.

To get more information about forced air vs hydronic systems, contact us at Air Assurance. We're Broken Arrow's source for home comfort service.

How to Transition Your Home and HVAC into Heating Season

Cooler fall temperatures are a welcome relief after the summer heat and humidity, and they are also a sign that Broken Arrow residents need to think about switching from cooling to heating their homes. By transitioning seasons wisely, you can ensure the comfort and safety of your family throughout the winter months while saving money on the cost of heating and repairs, using these tips.

Enhance Airflow

Supply and return vents are an important part of your HVAC system and those which are closed or obstructed can upset the pressure balance and cause a loss of efficiency or equipment malfunction or breakdown. Check your registers to ensure they remain open and they are not blocked by drapes, furniture, area rugs, or other items.

Turn Off Your A/C at Night

Milder daytime temperatures translate into colder nights, so rather than leaving your A/C running and burrowing under the covers, set the temperature several degrees higher or turn it off altogether. Ceiling and floor fans can help to circulate the air while you sleep without breaking the bank.

Clean Your Air Filter

An air filter is the first line of defense to prevent particulates such as allergens, dander, dirt, and dust from traveling throughout your HVAC system, and it should be cleaned or changed before you first turn on your heating system each fall, and again every four to six weeks as needed.

Schedule Annual Maintenance

Annual preventive maintenance each spring and fall can help make transitioning seasons easy, by ensuring your HVAC equipment is cleaned, tuned, and optimized for maximum efficiency and performance.

Change Direction on Your Ceiling Fans

During the summer months, your ceiling fan should be set to rotate counter-clockwise to push the cool air towards the floor, but in winter, your ceiling fans should be set to rotate clockwise at a slower pace to create an updraft that redistributes rising warm air back down the walls.

Contact Air Assurance for expert assistance with transitioning seasons, with services that include residential HVAC installation, replacement, and repair. We have been proudly serving Tulsa area residents for more than 30 years.