Anyone who heats with oil can attest to the steadily increasing cost of buying that oil! Recent news makes it seem apparent that this trend is likely to continue. What is driving this trend? Several things come into play.

First is the ongoing unrest in the Middle East, which drives up the cost of the crude that is refined into heating oil. Second are the recent closing of several important heating oil refining facilities in the northeast and the anticipated closing of several more. Third are recent discoveries of what are reported to be large deposits of natural gas in the United States, which is the chief competing heating fuel. And fourth are environmental regulations that make relatively clean burning natural gas more attractive.

Finally, is the maintenance issue. Gas burns much cleaner than oil, and therefore tends to require less maintenance than oil-fired systems. When repairs to gas equipment are required, the cost tends to be lower and the inconvenience is minimized.

Therefore, it may be worth considering the switch to gas, even if your current oil equipment is still operating properly, but especially if repairs are needed or are likely to be needed in the near future! The payback could come quicker than you may think.  

Well, even though you would never know it by the weather we’ve been having, it is the Christmas season. We are all busy trying to get through all those things we feel we must do (shopping, decorating, baking, etc., etc., etc.). Sometimes we forget that these things are not supposed to be work, but rather things we and our families and friends enjoy! But, still, things can get hectic! It gets even worse if, in the middle of all you have going on, something around the house breaks, or your car starts giving you trouble, or someone gets sick, or whatever.

During these busy and often trying times, if anything comes up that we can assist you with, we are here to help you in the least intrusive way  possible. Don’t hesitate to call.

But let’s hope all goes smooth and everyone has a merry and stress free holiday!! 

                                                                    Seasons Greeting To All

How does a heat pump work? It may be valuable to review the “How does an air conditioner work?” blog first, since most of the principles are the same, and a heat pump functions as an air conditioner during warm weather. Both functions depend on the transfer of heat by coils. When operating as an AC, heat is transferred from inside to outside through the properties of a refrigerant cycling from a high-pressure liquid to a low-pressure gas. In the heating mode the situation is basically reversed, with the available heat in the outside air being transferred to the inside coil and released into the ductwork. In both situations the desired effect is accomplished by the ability of the refrigerant to absorb heat and of the coils to give up that heat to the surrounding air.

Although heat pumps are very efficient and environmentally friendly, there are limitations. If the outside temperature falls below a certain point, the amount of heat pulled from the air can’t keep up with the heating requirements. At that point an electric heat strip kicks in as a supplement, with a corresponding drop in efficiency. In our area the advantages far out weigh the occasional need to use the back up heat!

Just remember, a heat pump is basically an air conditioner working backwards.

     There are two basic types of heating and air conditioning systems, putting aside the differences in cost, brands, and efficiency. Probably the most common is the split system. Less common, but still quite normal is the package unit.

      The split system consists of two parts. Outside are the condensing unit (solely for AC) or the heat pump (which provides heat and AC), but look and function basically the same way. The outside section is connected with copper pipes to the inside portion where you find the evaporator coil for AC, (and heat in the case of a heat pump), the blower, that pushes the air thru the ductwork, and possibly an oil or gas fired furnace to provide heat.

      The package unit is situated outside of your house, usually adjacent to the crawl space, and contains the condenser coil, evaporator coil, the blower and the heater; all contained in one package, hence the name. The connection to the ductwork is usually directly thru the foundation, into the crawl space.   

      The choice of which type of system to use is usually made based on practical matters such as accessibility to space needed for ductwork, electrical requirements, drainage demands, and minimizing disruption to interior spaces. Package units are more prevalent in retrofits in houses that were not built with a central system.

What is a coil, and where do you find them in your air conditioning system? A coil is an arrangement of pipes and thin pieces of aluminum used to either transfer heat from hot refrigerant to the outside air (the condenser coil) or to transfer cold from cold refrigerant to the inside air (the evaporator coil). Both work the same way.

    A coil is a series of pipes, (usually copper), looped in a back and forth pattern to create as much surface area as possible for the coolant to pass through. To increase the transfer of temperature, thin, closely spaced, aluminum plates are attached to the tubes, which help pull the heat or cold out of the pipes. A fan pulls air across the greatly increased surface area and maximizes the transfer. The evaporator coil is the most obvious part of the outside portion of your AC unit, while the condenser coil is not usually visible without removing a door on the inside air handler.

What is your first and most regular interaction with your heating and air conditioning system? The thermostat, of course. But just how does a thermostat do its job?

In the simplest terms, it is a switch. It turns the system on or off. A thermometer in the unit reads the temperature of the surrounding air, compares that to the thermostat setting, and reacts accordingly. Setting the thermostat at a very low number (in the case of air conditioning) does NOT make the unit provide colder air. It will simply run longer to achieve the desired setting! The same situation exists in the heating mode.

Why then does the unit not always come on when you raise the setting by one degree? To prevent the system from constantly turning on and off (which is hard on it and inefficient), it has what is called an anticipator, a device that creates a temperature range between turning off when the setting is satisfied, and then turning back on when the air temperature goes down, usually about two degrees. If you set the thermostat at 75, it will turn the heater off when the thermometer tells it that it has reached the desired temperature, but will not turn it back on until the air temp falls to 73.

Old thermostats were mechanical (springs & mercury switches), newer ones are electronic and often can be programmed to change the settings automatically to accommodate your schedule, but remember, IT IS STILL JUST AN ON/OFF SWITCH!!! 

Sorry for the interruption in the blogasphere, but with power outages and fallen trees, things got a little hectic around here! I hope everyone survived with a good attitude!!!

     If you did suffer damage, immediate action is called for, especially if water is involved. Although ductwork “may” dry out, mold & mildew problems will most likely show up down the road and add to the problem! Insulation, heavy with water, tends to sag, and rip, and lose its efficiency and critters love the moist environment. You know the old saying, an ounce of prevention….!

      We will hopefully get back on track shortly, and continue to look at how systems work. Good luck to all!!!

In simple, non-technical terms this is what happens. “ Freon”, (a generic name for many types of refrigerants) starts as a gas sealed in a closed loop between the inside and outside portions of the system.  It enters the compressor, basically a pump, which squeezes it into a smaller area causing it to become a hot. The hot gas circulates through a series of tubes surrounded by aluminum fins (a coil) located outside your home, to help dissipate the heat to the surrounding air. As it cools, it changes to a liquid, still under pressure, and travels to the inside portion of the system. There, it passes through a valve with a small orifice, where it rapidly expands as the pressure is released. As it expands, it turns back into a gas and becomes very cold. This cold gas is then pumped through another coil that gives up its “coldness” to the surrounding air. A fan blows it into your ductwork, ending up in your home. The cycle then repeats over and over. Ever noticed that a can of keyboard cleaner gets cold as you spray it? Same basic principle.

Next week we’ll delve into some of the individual components!