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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Avoid Making These Summer Cooling Mistakes

August 9, 2021

Cutting down on cooling costs is on a lot of people’s minds during the summer, but there are some myths floating around. If you follow them, you might find out that your cooling costs are actually more expensive than they would be if you just learned more about how air conditioners work, what they can and can’t do and how you can make your home better prepared to keep the heat out. A Larger Air Conditioner Isn’t a Good Idea One of the biggest myths that some people think is true is that a larger air conditioner will solve all of their problems and make their homes cooler that much quicker. While it’s true that a larger air conditioner will cool off your house more quickly, it will also do so at a cost. Namely, the air in your house will remain humid because removing moisture from the air takes several cycles. When the air conditioner is so large that it cuts down on the cooling time, it also doesn’t have enough cycles to pull all of the moisture out of the air, which results in a cool but clammy feeling that most people don’t enjoy. Appliances Can Heat Up...

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Setting Your Thermostat When You Go on Vacation

July 27, 2021

When you’re out of the house for an extended period of time, the topic of your home’s temperature must come into play. There are several possible pitfalls that could happen while you’re away having fun in the sun. However, allowing your home to stay at a proper temperature could save you a big headache when you return. The question is how cool should your home be while you’re lounging on the beach? There are several things you will have to consider when making your decision. So before you hit the airport, make a mental checklist of the things you want to protect in your home while you’re out on vacation. Why Cool Your Home Most people would agree that they want to save money while they are away on vacation, and some think that leaving their air conditioner off is their best option. Unfortunately, there are a few things that could go wrong with that scenario. While heat builds up in your home, there are many things at play. Speaking of money, imagine how much energy you would need to use if you leave your home for an extended period of time without the AC. Your house will sit for...

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Common AC Problems in the Summer

July 12, 2021

Is your air conditioner underperforming? Below, we highlight some of the most common problems that could be affecting your AC unit. If you think your equipment is suffering from any of these issues, take a look at our solutions to get your system back to working like normal. 1. Mold and Dust in HVAC Vents Air duct cleaning is a necessary service. According to some estimates, there are 300,000 cases of asthma each year in the United States alone, which may be attributed to living in an unclean indoor environment. The NCBI reports that numerous studies have demonstrated a significant association between increasing levels of indoor pollutants and allergies, neurological impairment, cardiovascular effects, and cancer. Mold allergies are a serious, widespread health threat. Therefore, good indoor air quality should always be your highest priority. The mold that grows in the air ducts of your house is a severe risk factor for asthma and allergies for you and your family. Mold growth can be hard to locate in your ducts, but the presence of mold spores indicates that you need a professional service to come and take a look at your system. Mold growth is caused by moisture and humidity. For...

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How To Prepare Air Conditioner for the Summer

June 29, 2021

In the sweltering peak hours of summertime, your family’s comfort hinges on one appliance more than anything else: your air conditioner. If your AC breaks down completely or stops producing cold air, rest and relaxation are off the table, especially for days when temperatures can reach upwards of 90 degrees. Doing a comprehensive maintenance check of your air conditioner prior to summertime is a good way to identify any minor issues that require the attention of a professional. Some of these steps will require specific tools, but most of the skill set and maneuvers involved can be done by any homeowner with limited to zero experience in HVAC systems. Without further ado, here are 10 tips to keep your AC unit in tip-top shape. 1. Buy and Install a Programmable Thermostat If you are using a standard thermostat that came with your air conditioner, you may want to upgrade to a new programmable one. As with any technology, thermostats become outdated over time. The life expectancy of most household thermostats is around 10 years. If yours is nearing its lifespan, replace it with a programmable thermostat that automatically switches the AC unit on or off, depending on your presets. Aside...

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Why Does My Air Conditioner Smell?

May 25, 2021

If you are dealing with persistent smells in your home, there is a chance that your air conditioner might be the cause. Air conditioners usually help improve your indoor air quality, but if something goes wrong, they might get stinky. It is important to identify the source of a smelly air conditioner, so you can fix the problem right away. How to Tell If Your Air Conditioner Is Smelling When you notice a weird smell around your home, the first thing you need to do is pinpoint the source of the smell. It might be tempting to assume that any strange smells are coming from an unemptied garbage can, a clogged drain, or lingering cooking odors. However, an air conditioner is actually one of the most common reasons for a smelly house. If you have cleaned up every source of a weird smell you can think of but are still getting odors, your air conditioner might be the culprit. To see if the smell is coming from your air conditioner, pay close attention to when you are smelling it. Does it only happen when the air conditioner is on? Do you get a particularly strong whiff of it when you...

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How Do UV Light Indoor Air Quality Products Work?

April 19, 2021

UV lamps emit UVC radiation to disinfect nonporous surfaces, air, and water. For many years, UVC radiation has been used to reduce the spread of viruses and bacteria such as tuberculosis. Thanks to their ability to kill microorganisms, these lamps are referred to as germicidal lamps. What Determines the Effectiveness of UV Lamps? The ability of a lamp to destroy microorganisms has a few limitations. For starters, for a lamp to damage the coating of viruses and the DNA of other microorganisms, the organism has to be directly exposed to the light. The lamp needs to shine on the organisms to damage their coat or their DNA. Most of these units install in the HVAC system of your home where they clean air that flows over the coils or through the ducts. The duration of exposure also determines how effectively the lamp kills microorganisms. Most of the lamps used in homes are of low dose, and they may take longer to inactivate microorganisms. As such, the air needs to circulate through the HVAC system severally for the lamp to inactivate all the microbes. The wavelength of the UV light emitted also determines the effectiveness of the lamp. Short-wavelength light (UVC)...

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Are Modern Air Conditioners More Energy Efficient?

April 14, 2021

Your air conditioner is a crucial piece of equipment in your home. It regulates temperatures in your residence and keeps you cool and comfortable. However, an air conditioning system can consume a considerable amount of energy, especially if the unit is old and inefficient. In recent years, manufacturers have been working to optimize the efficiency of AC units. Here are some of the ways modern air conditioners are more efficient than their traditional counterparts. Modern Air Conditioners and Energy Efficiency Ratings SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating. It quantifies the amount of energy your AC unit uses to cool your house. The higher the rating, the less energy your air conditioner is likely to consume. Even though they are often more expensive than older models, you can save by reducing your energy bills. The EPA minimum standard for a cooling system in Missouri is a 13 SEER rating. However, the number can go up to 25. The most energy-efficient systems today can attain ratings of 20 or more. Most homes still have cooling systems with a SEER rating of 10 or less. As the system ages, its efficiency goes down considerably. If your AC unit is older than a...

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What Are Ways I Can Conserve Energy?

March 17, 2021

For many people, their gas and electric bills are some of the highest bills they pay. This can leave less money for other more enjoyable pursuits. Plus, excess energy use leads to excess carbon emissions, which can reduce the quality of the air in O’Fallon. If you want to take control of your energy usage, the good news is that there are plenty of things you can do to lower your energy usage and your utility bills. Here are a few tips from to help provide some inspiration. Turn Lights Off When You Can Turning unused lights off is one of the simplest ways to save energy in your home. Some people worry that the initial start-up energy required to illuminate a light will undo any benefits of turning lights off when you leave a room. However, this theory has been proven to be false. Therefore, get in the habit of flipping the switch when you leave the room. For exterior lights, make sure they are on timers or utilize light sensors so that the lights aren’t on when they aren’t needed. Switch to LED Bulbs If you haven’t already, recommends switching to LED bulbs. Compared to incandescent and fluorescent...

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How Efficient is Geothermal Heating?

March 10, 2021

Heating your home during the cold O’Fallon winters can often come at a pretty steep price in terms of your utility bill. On especially cold days, it can seem like your furnace never stops running, using lots of electricity or natural gas in the process. While it’s important to keep your home warm during the winter for the comfort of your family and the safety of your plumbing pipes, doing so doesn’t have to be expensive or inefficient. In fact, one option, geothermal heating, provides exceptional efficiencies to the point that you’ll wonder why you ever heated your home any other way. At , we’re proud to be able to install these exceptional systems, and we want to tell you more about them to see if one could be right for you. What Is a Geothermal Heating System? A geothermal heating system is a high-efficiency heating and cooling system. The system uses a series of pipes buried under the ground that is filled with refrigerant to transfer energy from under the ground to the interior of your home. Inside your home, a geothermal system has a unit that changes the temperature of the refrigerant to thereby change its pressure to...

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