How to Cut Down Your Winter Heating Bill

September 20, 2021

One particular part of winter that you may not be looking forward to is receiving your heating bills. Unlike summer, where air conditioning is optional, in the wintertime, you need to have heat to keep your family healthy and your home safe from harm. Fortunately, there are many different strategies you can use to help lower your energy bills this winter season. Ceiling Fans We all know that heat rises to the top of a room. Getting that heat back down toward the floor where you and your family are going to be is the key to saving energy and money. Ceiling fans are the perfect solution as they help force the hot air from the top of your room down toward the floor. All you need to do is simply change the direction of your ceiling fan blades to rotate in a clockwise direction. This is easily done by flipping the switch that’s typically on the base of the fan. Let the Sun In One extremely important free source of heat is the sun. If you’ve ever sat in a room where the sun comes directly into the window, you know that it can heat up your room very...

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How to Relight and Troubleshoot Your Gas Furnace

September 6, 2021

A pilot light system is an essential component of a gas heating system. There are many different types of ignition systems today. Here are some tips on how to relight your furnace and troubleshoot the pilot light. Standing vs. Automatic Ignition Furnace Before relighting, it is essential to understand the type of ignition system in your furnace. The two main categories are electronic and the standing pilot light. The standing pilot light is often found in equipment made before the 1990s. The pilot will burn for as long as it detects heat from the pilot light. When the flame goes out, a safety mechanism shuts off the gas supply. Since the pilot light has to burn round the clock, it requires a continuous gas supply to keep the flame lit. Estimates suggest it can consume up to 800 BTU/hour, which amounts to hundreds of dollars in utility bills. A standing pilot light is more practical for places with colder climates. St. Louis experiences freezing weather for three months every year. Therefore, it is more convenient to keep the flame lit. But in warmer weather, the pilot light will be on when no heating is required. That means it will waste...

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