westerncanadianfurnace, Author at Western Canadian Furnace

Most of us ignore duct cleaning unless we experience some issues. However, your ducts will start collecting dust and debris, leading to poor performance. As a result, you might end up spending more on energy. Besides, ducts might get molds, rodents, and insects if you avoid maintenance for a long time. All these will impact your indoor air quality and might aggravate the existing respiratory issues. You can prevent all these conditions with regular cleaning and maintenance. You can follow the instructions of heating companies in Calgary to know when cleaning is due. You can also go through the following to boost the performance and efficiency of your unit.

What Calgary Heating Companies Recommend with Cleaning Ducts

Man cleaning air ducts in home.

How to Know When Cleaning Is Due

Your ducts will get dirt and debris even if you invest in the best filters. Some particles will escape the filter and enter the system in different ways. Many think they have a quality filter and do not need to clean their ducts. However, you can change this perception if you want improved purified indoor air, performance, and advanced durability.

You can take extra caution while living in a highly polluted area. The pollution will cause dirt deposits in the duct and impact the air quality of your home.

However, here are a few signs that indicate a much-needed cleaning.

Mold growth on the ducts
Insects and rodents on the ductwork
Smelly air or polluted indoor air
Black debris outside the vents or filter

All these signs indicate that your ducts require cleaning. The condition will be worse if you avoid cleaning. Also, you will have to spend more time and effort when dirt deposits and insect infestation cause irreparable damage to the duct. Hence, you can consider cleaning when you notice the first signs of dirt collection.

You can clean an average duct system every three to five years. You can follow the instructions of Calgary heating companies to avoid any confusion. With regular cleaning, you can boost performance and delay professional maintenance.

When Should I Clean?

The best time to clean your ducts is the early fall or the spring once you stop using the HVAC system for cooling and heating purposes. You can consider cleaning before reusing your system.

You might have experienced a musty or musty smell when running your system. In that condition, you will need professional help. However, you can clean your ducts regularly to avoid professional cleaning. Duct cleaning will not require a lot of time, but it will improve your indoor air quality and boost the efficiency of your system.

If you notice any smell, consider cleaning your ducts without a second thought. Smell means poor air quality, but you can improve it with cleaning and maintenance.

Ensuring Cleanly Ducts

You can clean your ducts every three to five years to improve the performance of your system. However, you might need frequent cleaning when living in a highly polluted area. The duct will attract pollutants, and you will breathe polluted air inside your home if you avoid cleaning. Regular cleaning might not require more effort, but you will notice a difference in your indoor air quality and the performance of your system.

When you need a plumbing and heating company in Calgary, turn to Western Canadian Furnace Company. We have some of the most experienced technicians and use the most modern equipment for all of your needs. Contact us at 403-531-6181 or send an email to info@westcan4u.ca.

Top 5 Common Summer A/C Problems

When summer time rolls back around in Calgary, many residents rejoice. This means warmer weather, the Calgary Stampede and plenty of sunshine. But the least pleasant thing that could occur is the breakdown of your cooling system. Due to many different factors, these situations can cause frustration and if left unrepaired they can fetch a hefty bill. This highlights the importance of giving your HVAC system a thorough check at least twice a year.

To keep your A/C system working properly, here are the 5 most common issues that occur with air conditioning systems in Calgary during the summer months.

The Lifespan of Gas Furnace

There is much debate on the life expectancy of a gas furnace. Some have stated that a gas furnace can last up to 40 years! However, those are incredibly rare circumstances and shouldn’t be taken as fact.

A gas furnace can last that long, but it doesn’t mean all gas furnaces can last that long. But, for the most part, you can realistically expect gas furnaces to last between 15 to 30 years on average. Naturally, depending on the level of regular maintenance you put into your gas furnace, it can significantly reduce or increase its lifespan.

In essence, you’re responsible for the lifespan of your furnace.

What Reduces a Gas Furnace’s Lifespan

There are several ways that your gas furnace can reduce its life expectancy. When your gas furnace’s lifespan is significantly decreased, it can result in tell-tale signs of the end being near through: constant repairs needed, poor performance, increasingly noisy, and most notably – huge increases in your monthly utilities.

Those are red flags signalling that your gas furnace is ready to kick the bucket and will need to be replaced. As a result, it just adds another unnecessary expense by having to replace it sooner rather than later. You need to look out and see what factors can reduce your furnace’s lifespan to deal with them accordingly.

Here are a few factors that affect its lifespan:

Faulty Installation
Poor Maintenance
Thermostat Settings being too high or too low

How to Extend Gas Furnace Lifespan

Thankfully, there are a few ways you can extend your gas furnace’s life expectancy. Naturally, ensuring you’re properly maintaining your furnace is a big factor. For the most part, caring for your furnace is rather low maintenance since you only need to clean and schedule inspections annually.

However, what can you do yourself to help extend its life expectancy?

It involves cleaning and maintenance by keeping filters, motors, and the heat exchanger free from dirt, dust, and other debris. In addition, you want to check and clean your air filter or even replace it. When the air filters aren’t clean, it affects your home’s air quality after a while and leads to issues that will reduce its lifespan.

Now is the perfect time to see if your HVAC system is running smoothly. Typically, May and June are the busiest times for HVAC companies in Calgary as warmer temperatures have people shifting their attention from a furnace’s warmth during the winter months to now gearing up for blistering hot summers by looking into their AC.

In which case, looking into what you should scope out regarding maintenance is important in keeping it in not only working order but also furthering its lifespan.

See what you need to look out for to help maintain your HVAC system below!

The Importance of HVAC Maintenance

It’s easy to forget about checking in on your HVAC system until an actual issue results in unexpected repairs. That’s why HVAC specialists cannot stress enough for people to keep up with regular maintenance. When an HVAC system isn’t properly maintained, it’s susceptible to many unexpected problems that include causing it to work harder than necessary, indoor air pollution from poor ventilation, and paying more for energy bills and potential future repair costs. Without maintenance, a few of these issues can result in your HVAC system being out of commission suddenly without warning, which can be a massive inconvenience.

Woman Cleaning Air Conditioning System.

Best Time for Maintenance

Most people aren’t too fond of maintenance, thinking it can take so much of your time. However, you would be surprised by how low maintenance an HVAC system is. You only need to ensure you maintain your HVAC system once a year, which applies to anyone with a standard AC or furnace. But if you have a heat pump system that’s utilized year round, it will need to be checked every six months.

When it comes to the best time of the year for maintenance, a good rule of thumb is to consider doing so during the spring. Why spring in particular? The reason being is that you don’t have to worry about the warm weather messing with how your cooling system runs.

General HVAC Upkeep Checklist

With the warmer months soon approaching, check out what maintenance is needed and check them off your list immediately to help prepare your HVAC system for the turning season.

Inspecting

Before you start checking tasks off your list, you need to inspect your HVAC system thoroughly to be able to correct any issues effectively. You can do this by looking out for the following:

Mold, dust, and debris
Check humidity levels
Look into refrigerant charge and leaks
Ensure electrical system and connections are good
See if blowers and blades provide proper airflow

Testing

When it comes to testing, you mainly need to check your temperature. You can do this by testing your thermostat to see if its timer functions are correctly set and aren’t malfunctioning.

Cleaning

You will want to clean the following to help maintain your HVAC system:

Filters
Condenser and evaporator coils
Drain lines to help with the flow by clearing blogs
Clear drain pans to avoid overflows
Getting rid of outside debris from your unit

Replacing

By replacing certain parts of your HVAC system, you can effectively avoid future repairs.

Check out what might require replacing below:

Filters
Worn pulleys and belts
Change batteries
Lubricating motors bearings and moving parts

Furnace repair requires a particular set of skills and knowledge. There are many different types of furnaces that need to be repaired. However, the one type of furnace to concentrate on should be the most common – a gas unit furnace.

See what goes into furnace repair and how the costs stack up to warrant a professional.

Assessing and Repairing Yourself

If you’re wanting to tackle repairs yourself before calling an expert, here’s what you can do in the meantime.

Step #1

Assess what needs repairing by reviewing the combustion chamber for abnormalities. Check for any cracks or holes in pipes, rust spots developing from excessive condensation inside water walls from lack of insulation, deterioration around pipe joints from corrosion caused by moisture contact with combustible materials – like wood floors and carpeting.

Step #2

Prevent further damage while waiting for parts to arrive. Shut off fuel supply valves (usually located at the base). Reduce the temperature setting to 65.5 degrees Celsius before turning the power switch off, so it doesn’t cycle again once turned back on after fixing the problem area(s).

Step #3

Get new parts that can come preassembled. Complete with wiring harnesses already connected depending if you ordered online. Otherwise, you’ll have assembly work ahead. Removing old wires, connecting them again, then attaching new wire ends onto broken parts – may require an expert’s skill, depending on how complex repairs are needed.

After the new panel has been connected, all the connections and connections installed must be checked by an inspector. Look at cracks caused by corrosion and water leaking through joints or pipes, then repair the problem.

Step #4

Finally, the work is finished with new burners lighting up – the system is ready for usage. Try testing with a flame tester to make sure it works as it should. Put a dust cover/damper (if needed) to protect from dust that will come up after fixing the furnace.

As you can see, just assessing and attempting to fix a furnace is laborious and can get costly fast if you’re not sure of what you’re doing. Best to consider comparing the costs of your specific furnace issue.

Calgary Furnace Repair Costs

The furnace repair cost depends on the type and size of the furnace – whether it needs a new burner or just the metal parts like tubes, or even needing heat exchangers to be removed from the existing furnaces. Even where you live can factor into cost.

On average, you can expect the cost of furnace repairs in Calgary to be approximately $250.

The cost for a tune-up or repair varies across the city and can be estimated to be:

Intake air filters : $80 – $150
Compressor : $175 – $350
Boiler: $40 – $125

Your best bet for an accurate total on costs would be to reach out for a quote from a reliable Calgary furnace repair company. They can give you a more in-depth answer about the logistics and how they reflect the costs.

The furnace is essential in any household. It is typically installed to provide warmth throughout the house during winter. With anything, a furnace will eventually reach its lifespan and needs to be replaced with a newer model if it stops functioning or becomes unreliable. It can certainly pose an issue during the winter – after all, you don’t want to freeze because of a faulty furnace!

Unfortunately, homeowners in Calgary do not know what would warrant furnace repair, much less when to replace one. Fortunately, this article covers in-depth signs that your furnace needs replacement and not just repair.

Furnace is Noisy

It’s normal for your furnace to give off a loud noise once in a while, but if this sound persists for several hours, you need to run a check. A consistent noise can indicate a bigger issue at hand with your furnace. There are instances where the furnaces’ blades become loose and cannot be fixed without replacement.

Frequent Breakdowns

The furnace’s lifespan is affected by many things like weather, power surges, and wear-and-tear down the road. However, continuous breakdowns, especially in instances where the furnace has been replaced already, imply a problem with the furnace. It’s a clear pattern that needs attention and might foreshadow the end of days for your old furnace.

Poor Performance

In addition to frequent breakdowns, it is crucial to identify a furnace that performs poorly. Suppose it does not heat your house well after setting up the thermostat correctly or does not kick-off when the temperature reaches a certain degree. Then you need to have it checked out by a professional technician and replace it if necessary.

Manufacturer’s Warranty Expired

Take this as a signal to replace your furnace. If your furnace isn’t optimal after your warranty has expired, it’s clear that it’s not meant to last any longer. When a furnace reaches its end of life, it’s not advisable to repair it since issues can persist. In this regard, you will need to buy a new furnace as soon as possible.

Moisture and Mould Problems

Your furnace is not immune to the damages moisture and mould can create for it. Moisture encourages mould and mildew growth, which are two things that can make your home unpleasant. Mould can also lead to many health issues such as allergies, flu, and asthma. Best to replace your furnace and avoid these potential hazards.

Everyone wants to have a furnace that works well and efficiently. But it is up to you to take care of what’s yours by conducting regular maintenance checks. If you need advice on maintaining your furnace, the best thing you can do is contact a reliable furnace repair service for help and guidance. Our Calgary HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical technicians have the skills and experiences to give you a lasting solution.

Winters in Calgary bring not only cold temperatures and snow – but also drier air. When there is less moisture in the air, it can stir up issues ranging from damages in your home to even your health. During winter, HVAC is more important than ever.

HVAC Calgary experts are here to prevent potential winter woes by sharing the best HVAC tips for winter!

Clean Air Filters & Vents

The main focus in combating winter’s drier air is to maintain air quality. When your air quality is compromised, it can lead to sickness and even potential diseases.

How so? From dust and dirt accumulated from your vents and air filters.

The build-up can lead to poor air quality and invite unwanted pathogens. In addition, it can lead to needing to call an HVAC Calgary specialist to quell furnace damages that stem from collected dust, making it work harder than necessary. This applies to air filters as well – which can block heat from getting into your home.

For winter cleaning, make note of cleaning all your vents of dust and dirt. For your air filter, make sure to replace any dirty ones. However, if you have a replaceable one, then make sure to clean it every month.

Cover Outside AC Unit

Canadian winters can be harsh with temperatures that can easily drop. When your outdoor AC unit is exposed to colder elements, the lifespan of your AC unit can be greatly reduced. Worse, you might need AC unit repair from an HVAC professional to help fix winter’s damages.

However, there is a simple solution to preventing all these issues.

The best way to solve those problems is to cover your outside AC unit. In doing so, you’re protecting your AC unit from snow and other debris that could fall into it.

Check Thermostat Settings

In the winter, staying warm is paramount. Many are quick to retreat to their heated homes after braving Calgary’s cold weather. Yet, the worst-case scenario that can occur is coming home to a busted furnace that leaves your home freezing.

You can avoid this by making sure to test your thermostat. By inspecting your thermostat, you can ensure it’s in working condition. If it’s too old, you can replace it with a newer, better model that is digital. Smart thermostats will make it easier for you to maintain the ideal temperature in your home at all times.

Before winter hits, we recommend switching from cooling to heating on your thermostat. You want to set the temperature to a couple of degrees higher than your room, so you can noticeably hear the heat come on. However, if it doesn’t – that’s your sign to get your furnace checked by an HVAC expert for repairs before the cold weather seeps in.

Winter can reveal and harbour a host of issues to the air quality of your home. Make sure you’re prepared this winter and keep your HVAC system in working order!

Winters in some places can be very cold, snowy and harsh, which means that you need to be well prepared for the arrival of winter so that you won’t have to face severe weather conditions. During this season, the most important appliance you will need is a furnace that will come to your rescue to be in a position to deal with this weather. But if you want the stove to function efficiently, you must opt for furnace maintenance in the winter season by HVAC Calgary so that your unit will perform safely and efficiently. Additionally, furnace maintenance is extremely important during the winter months. It will deliver the maximum heat output needed for keeping your home warm and cozy while eliminating the risks of harmful emissions.

Why Does Your Furnace Need Maintenance at All?

You need to know the many benefits of winter furnace maintenance as a homeowner. Still, for this, you will need to hire experienced and qualified professionals of HVAC Calgary so that the system will run efficiently without facing any disruption. Moreover, professional maintenance is vital as it helps HVAC experts address your system’s unique needs so that you can continue using your furnace for many years to come.

A well-maintained furnace will also help increase the comfort of your home so that you will no longer have to worry about spending additional money on energy costs. If you want the filter to get rid of the harmful particles, you can accomplish it with the assistance of professionals who can handle all kinds of services so that your furnace will be in good working condition. HVAC maintenance will also help increase its performance so that you will no longer have to worry about the breakdown of the system, and it will offer you the desired results.

Furnace Repair Can Come from Poor Calgary Winter Maintenance

You will have to face many difficulties if HVAC professionals in Calgary do not maintain your furnace regularly. The most common risk is that the system will malfunction, which will eventually mean that you have to spend additional money on the heating costs. Additionally, an inefficient furnace will be uncomfortable and harmful for people living in the home because they are filled with contaminants.

When you neglect furnace maintenance in the winters, there will be a higher risk of fire hazards because unclean air ducts and vents of the furnace increase the chance of a dangerous fire. Therefore, we highly recommend hiring professionals who will regularly inspect and maintain your system to keep it working efficiently for years to come.

The furnace is one of the most important components of any building, either residential or commercial. Without the heat that a furnace provides, your home life or business can get turned upside down. For example, we all know that a happy workforce is a productive workforce, so just imagine the impact that a broken furnace could have on a business, especially during a harsh Alberta winter. Employees would either have to complete their work in frigid temperatures or skip out on coming to work altogether.

A broken furnace can usually be fixed with furnace repair in Calgary, but it’s always better to prevent a breakdown from occurring in the first place instead of trying to fix one after the damage has been done. That’s why it’s important to invest in high-quality furnaces. It may cost more upfront, but you could save yourself a lot of money down the line by avoiding the need for furnace repairs.

In today’s post, we discuss the top furnace brands in Canada.

How Top Brands Help You Avoid Furnace Repair in Calgary

If you want to enjoy high-quality results that pay off in the long term, make sure you invest in a top furnace brand. How do the top brands reduce the need for furnace repair? It’s fairly simple once you take a moment to think about it. The higher the quality of a furnace, the less likely it will break down over the years. When you combine the durability and longevity of a high-quality furnace with consistent maintenance, you can say goodbye to costly furnace repairs.

Avoid Frequent Furnace Repair in Calgary With These Brands

Lennox Furnaces

Lennox is recognized as a forward-thinking company that provides innovative furnaces that maximize efficiency, reduce noise and provide quality control. They have consistently earned recognition from experts who have noted Lennox’s cost-effectiveness and longevity as key selling points. Built on a legacy of innovative firsts, Lennox has set the standard for home comfort and commercial usage.

York Furnaces

With York furnaces, comfort is the core of what they do. All their systems are designed to maximize convenience in a home or office while delivering efficiency and cost-effectiveness. These core values have seen York become an established name in the industry, recognized for value and quality.

Trane Furnaces

Trane furnaces are considered “the Cadillac” of the industry because it’s one of the most reliable brands. With systems that are made for durability, innovative designs that stand out from the crowd, top-quality materials, and a testing process that pushes to the extreme, you know that you’re getting a furnace that strives for value, quality and excellence.

AirEase Furnaces

AirEase furnaces are built for life. As a company that prides itself on the value of craftsmanship and quality, their products are designed to elevate both homeowners’ and businesses’ comfort. When investing in AirEase, you know you’re getting a top-tier unit in your home or office.

The feeling of walking into an air-conditioned building after being out in the hot summer sun brings a wonderful sensation of respite. Once you’ve started to enjoy the benefits of air conditioning, it’s hard to imagine ever going back to living without its cooling effects. But, without proper AC coil cleaning and AC repair in Calgary, you’re air conditioning unit can break down. Turning your cool, refreshing indoors into a hot and stuffy building.

In today’s post, learn why it’s important to clean AC coils and how to clean them.

Why Clean AC Coils and Perform AC Repair in Calgary?

When air conditioning coils go too long without being cleaned, it can lead to various problems regarding the performance and quality of your air conditioner. Because AC coils are exposed to a lot of airflow, are spaced closely together, and often are covered in moisture, they are prone to the buildup of dirt, dust, debris, and other contaminants.

Unfortunately, if you don’t clean your coils with regular air conditioning repair in Calgary, your AC unit won’t be able to function at its peak capacity. Dirty AC coils can result in:

Increased operating temperatures
Reduced comfort
Decreased cooling efficiency
Increased cooling costs
Increased system wear and tear
AC repair in Calgary/AC replacement

Dirty AC coils make your system work harder, less efficiently, and less effective on the whole. Avoid more expensive air conditioning repair down the road by investing in proper cleaning and maintenance to prevent bigger problems.

AC Repair in Calgary: Cleaning Air Conditioning Coils

There is more than one way to cleaning AC coils, let’s break them down.

Compressed Air

Cleaning AC coils with compressed air is the least invasive method of removing dirt and dust from your air conditioner. However, this method is usually reserved for systems that are located outside because when the dust is blown off with compressed air, it can blow all over the place. That’s not something you want to happen inside your building.

Professional AC repair technicians blow compressed air through the coils in the opposite direction that the air normally travels. This is to push the dirt back through the system and out the same way it came in. Once the air has been used, the technician will use a shop vac to clean up any debris pushed out by the compressed air.

Commercial Cleaners

Instead of using the power of air to clean AC coils, your air conditioning repair technician may use one of several commercial cleaning solutions. These come in foaming cleaners for outdoor coils and self-rising cleaners for indoor coils. Some commercial cleaners are available in aerosol cans, while others are used in low-pressure sprayers.

Before using cleaners, your technician should do an initial cleaning with a fin brush or by hand to get rid of surface debris. Next, the cleaner is applied and then rinsed with water.

Household Detergent

Even though commercial cleaners are available, some technicians prefer to mix their own cleaning solutions. This works in much the same way as commercial cleaners but with the additional step of mixing the detergent in water. The detergent is then applied to the coils with a low-pressure sprayer, just like commercial cleaners.

Author: westerncanadianfurnace