INDOOR AIR POLLUTION?!

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Outdoor air pollution aside, one of the most common complaints many people have during the winter is the quality of the air inside of their residence. Air quality problems are often highest in the winter because, well, it's just too darn cold to open your windows to bring in a breath of fresh air. While chemicals and pollutants are present in your home all year round, being indoors with almost no ventilation can lead to a concentration of indoor air pollutants! Fortunately, there are things you can do to combat poor indoor air quality and stay healthy & comfortable all winter long. First use high quality air filters, check and replace them often. Low quality filters really only protect the fan motor from dust and not us! Also, filled up filters lead to real heating inefficiencies increased and stop capturing unhealthy particulates. So check the rating when you buy. Higher ratings often lead to better health.

Indoor air pollutants are a resident reality. They include dust, mold, pet dander, pollen, bacteria and dust mites. All bad even if you don't have allergies and worse in winter concentration if you do. Fortunately a good air filter can make a difference here. But in addition to the above, stray combustion gases like carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxides may be present as well as formaldehydes from manmade materials. Also fumes from bug sprays and all those cleaners you use in your home to keep things clean can add significantly to an unhealthy mix. Even air fresheners can emit harmful chemicals. Thankfully, there are solutions to these things. So if you need or want more protection than just an air filter can provide, consider installing an indoor air cleaner. At Service King Heating and Air, we install all kinds of indoor air cleaners. Call us today for more information.

The Single Most Effective Way To Save on Heating Costs

 

If you are tired of seeing your energy bills shoot up every year, here is an easy solution that won't leave you feeling chilled. First an amazing fact: you can save as much as 4% per degree when you lower your thermostat during the winter. Which means dropping your temp from 72 to 62 degrees could save as much as 40 percent on your heating bill. To avoid the big chill that such a drop might create and still save big, you need to install a quality “seven day” programmable thermostat. This is the easiest and most effective way to save serious money on your winter heating costs, short of replacing your whole heating system! Most of us sleep best in a cool room and wake up happiest to a warm house. But when everyone is gone during the day, the programmable stat can lower the temp again and warm up the house just in time for the first person to get home. It won't forget to turn the temp up or down at the times of your choosing and it is easy to bump it up (or down) for an hour or two without reprogramming everything. For weekends, you can tailor the settings to your lifestyle. And when you're gone for a few days, you can set it to hold at say 58 degrees and really rack up the savings. One last thing. Many people find if they gradually lower their comfort setting over time, they adapt to cooler temperatures without getting chilled.

If you have more questions about installing programmable thermostats or other ways that you can save money this winter, contact Service King Heating andCooling today.

Prepairing your furnace for the winter

Winter is just around the corner in Blaine Minnesota and it's getting cold out, here are just a couple of steps the average consumer can take to have a healthy and efficient heating system.  First of all it is extremely important to check your furnace filter at least once a month, simply pull out your furnace filter and hold it up to the light, if you can clearly see through it and it's not visibly full of dirt or dust, than you are most likely okay.  If the filter is dirty or it's a washable filter than it's best to change it or clean it right away.  As always if you have any questions or concerns on this matter contact your local qualified furnace repair company.  Next you need to make sure your thermostat is properly working, a properly calibrated thermostat can save you hundreds of dollars a year and it's also a safety issue.  For example if you thermostat is not turning off it could cause your furnace to run too hot at the least it will ware out important components and can cause a fire.  to check your thermostat simply turn it on to fan on let it run for about 3 minutes and then turn it off.  If the furnace turns off than your fan switch is working properly if it continues to run call your local furnace repair company.  Secondly check the thermostat for proper temperature calibration.  To do this you will need another temperature gauge that works such as a digital portable thermostat, simply turn the thermostat to heat and fan auto, then adjust your temperature to a couple degrees above what the room temp is, now just sit and watch the furnace for around 10 minutes and it should satisfy and turn off  when it reach it's set temp.  If the furnace dose not turn off and your secondary temperature gauge is showing a higher temperature that you set it too, again it's time to call in a furnace repair professional.  Please do not try to repair your furnace on your own, it can be very dangerous when dealing with either gas or electrical issues and should be left for the professionals such as Service King www.servicekingmn.com .

Continue to check back on a weekly basis for more information on your heating and cooling system.