A/C - Action Plumbing, HVAC, & Electric

In part one of this multi-part blog, we went over some of the concerns associated with indoor space heaters. Used by many homeowners to supplement heating in a given room or area, these products may increase heating capacity – but also pose several risks, from basic safety to health and, of course, a rising utility bill.

At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical, we offer a wide range of safer, more efficient alternatives, from basic furnace repair and installation services to mini-split ductless heating systems and many others. Today’s entry will focus on a few more specific types of indoor heaters and the issues they pose, while part three will dig into the steps you can take to improve your HVAC system so there’s no need to look for risky alternatives like these.

Filler Heaters

Filler heaters are those generally used for smaller spaces, utilizing oil as their heating fuel. This is the first risk: Oil can be spilled and become dangerous to anyone in the area, or can just create a mess you’ll have to deal with.

In addition, like with fuel-burning heaters we discussed in part one, there’s a significant risk of carbon monoxide leaking and causing negative health effects. Especially given that these heaters are used in smaller areas, this is a risk to keep an eye on. If you have a smaller space you need to heat, we recommend our mini-split ductless system instead.

Convective Heaters

Convective heaters do a good job heating a room evenly, but they come with safety risks similar to those of radiative heaters: They become extremely hot to the touch and are not safe for children or animals in the home. In addition, if anyone in the home has issues with allergies, asthma or any respiratory condition, dust movement created by convective heaters can be a significant burden.

Steam Heaters

Steam heaters are among the oldest options we’re discussing here – they’ve been used for decades in varying circumstances. There are even a few new models being made, though this is a rarity today.

Steam heaters are actually relatively safe and healthy, but the issues arise when you get into cost and maintenance areas. They are expensive to purchase, first of all, and older models have tons of potential issues that require repairs and hassle. They’re also not efficient at all, meaning you’ll spend a ton just to get the same level of heat you could accomplish for a much more affordable price by maximizing your HVAC system. Finally, steam heaters are noisy and annoying to be around.

For more on these heater types and the risks they carry, or to learn about any of our furnace installation services or other alternatives, speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical today.

Recently in this space, we went over some of the ways you can utilize your modern HVAC system to prevent seasonal allergies, which show up during the fall season for many people (also in spring for many others). Proper basic cleaning and attention to certain minor areas will help keep your air quality high and risk exacerbating allergies, asthma or any other respiratory issues occupants may deal with.

At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric, we offer a wide range of related services, from air filters and purification to whole-home duct cleaning services. This latter area in particular speaks to one of the largest single allergen and air contaminant risks present in many homes: Dust. If you’ve been struggling with a dusty home recently, here are some of the possible culprits and what you can do about them.

Air Filter Concerns

The first area to check on if your home is too dusty is the filter in your HVAC system. This filter should be changed at least once every couple months, and more often if you live in a dusty area, have pets or experience any other high-dust risks.

If your air filters have not been changed for too long, they will fill up and clog, leading to dust being spread around the system as it runs. Not only will this increase your dust content, it will cause stress on various HVAC components that may wear down faster than usual and cost you money on repairs.

Humidity Levels

Another potential cause of high dust content in the home is a low humidity level, which is particularly common in a desert state like Utah. Air that’s too dry is susceptible to dust build-ups, and some homes may require a humidifier installed in them to help remedy this concern. At the same time, it’s important not to allow humidity to become too high, as this can lead to the formation of mold and dust mite presence.

Air Duct Issues

Are your air ducts properly sealed and functioning well? If not, you might be risking unfiltered air making its way into your home – even if your filter is in great shape, you’ll still see dust because much of the air you’re breathing is bypassing the filter altogether.

If you notice lint or dust built up ear your vent registers, this is a possible sign of leak issues. Others include rising energy bills and hot or cold spots found in the house.

Window and Door Cracks

Another leak risk that will bring dusty, unfiltered air into your home is cracks around windows, doors and other openings. Check for these and seal them as quickly as possible.

Dirt Tracking

Finally, a simple area many homeowners should consider: Make everyone take their shoes off when they enter the home, especially when it’s dry and/or windy outside. You’d be shocked how much dust in your home might be there because it was tracked in by occupants or visitors on their shoes and clothes.

For more on the potential causes of high dust content in your home and how to remedy them, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC service, speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric today.

Those who have significant allergies often see them peak during the spring season, but many also are affected by these during fall and even year-round. The impact of allergies can be exacerbated during colder months as well, based on the cooler temperatures and the way they negatively impact immune function in many people.

At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric, we offer a wide range of HVAC and air conditioning service that will, among other things, keep the occupants in your home protected from significant allergen risks in the air. For those particularly concerned about fall allergy symptoms, let’s go over a few common risks and how proper HVAC maintenance limits or even completely eliminates them within your home.

Common Allergy Risks

While there are many possible allergy risks throughout the year, one that’s particularly notable during the fall season is ragweed. Able to travel hundreds of miles on the back of wind, ragweed can show up virtually anywhere and is often a major cause of allergy symptoms. It can lead to everything from eye irritation to significant hacking and lung concerns.

In addition, while mold is a risk for both allergies and other physical symptoms no matter when it shows up, its growth is a bit more common during the fall. As the temperatures drop, clouds of humidity become more common and damper than usual – conditions that are ideal for mold to grow, in other words. Combine this with leaves stacking up on the property, trapping in moisture, and the potential for mold is highest at this time of year.

HVAC Maintenance and Allergy Prevention

Luckily, there are several things that can be done within the HVAC system to prepare for these fall risks and ensure they aren’t making their way inside. Some general themes:

HVAC cleaning: Just taking a little time to clean dust and any dirt off your outdoor AC unit can go a long way toward limiting any allergen particles from getting inside the system.
Home and duct cleaning: In addition to the AC unit itself, do what you can to keep indoor and outdoor areas free of debris like leaves or dirt, which can promote allergen growth. In addition, if anyone in the home is struggling with allergy issues despite your efforts, speak to our pros about a professional duct cleaning to remove dust that might be causing these issues.
Filters: In many cases, the simplest reason for increased allergy symptoms in the home is air filters that have not been changed recently enough, causing them to accumulate dust and do a poor job of filtering allergens out of your air. Filters should be changed often throughout the year.

Additional Air Quality Items

If someone in your home is particular susceptible to allergies, you might consider an additional line of defense in the form of various indoor air quality products, such as purifiers. These are meant to cycle air in a particular room or area and catch all possible allergens.

For more on how to stay protected from allergies during the fall or any other part of the year, or to learn about any of our HVAC or plumbing services, speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical today.

The summer period is often a great one to consider upgrades to your home’s heating capability – these services aren’t used as often during summer, for obvious reasons, but this means HVAC contractors will have fewer appointments and there’s a good chance heating equipment might come at a discount. One good example of a heating upgrade to consider during this period is a boiler system.

At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical, we’re here to provide high-quality boiler installation at any time of year. Boiler systems, which run hot water through your pipes to create a system known as baseboard heating, are an alternative heating format that’s become very popular among many homeowners for its efficiency and ease of use. And if you’re among those who have already taken the chance to install a boiler system, or even if you’re considering one and want to know the kinds of upkeep areas you’ll have to think about when you upgrade, here are some basic maintenance areas to keep in mind for your home’s boiler system.

Water Levels

Roughly every few weeks or so, especially during heating season, you should be checking the basic boiler water level to ensure everything is in order. Most modern boilers contain specific markings noting where the water level should be at to operate optimally – if yours doesn’t, consult the operations manual or call our HVAC pros for assistance.

If you allow water levels in the boiler to reach too low, not only will your heating be sub-optimal, your equipment could be damaged. Boilers are not meant to run without proper water levels, and could lead to significant issues not only for themselves, but also for nearby plumbing.

Dust and Debris Removal

Boilers will accumulate some dust over time, just like any other element in a home that sits in one place. The main concern here is dust or debris making its way into the fan or the motor of the boiler, which can lead to parts wearing down faster than they should. When you dust the rest of your home, roughly once a week or so, also take some time to dust the boiler.

Lubrication

Like any other machine with moving parts, boilers need to be lubricated to ensure too much friction doesn’t build up. Fans, pumps and motors are the parts of a boiler that require lubrication – our pros can offer you tips on the proper lubricant and how to carry out this process.

Regular Inspection

Finally, as part of your yearly plumbing and HVAC inspection, you should have the boiler checked along with its plumbing lines. Professionals will help you determine if there are any leaks or faulty parts, plus other issues that might crop up during the winter.

For more on the basic upkeep you need to provide your boiler system, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC services, speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical today.

At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical, we’re proud to offer several solutions for improving your home’s indoor air quality. From air cleaners and home humidifiers to duct cleaning, central AC repair and numerous other potential services, we’ll ensure you and your family always breathe clean, comfortable air.

When it comes to the safety areas associated with clean air, there are few areas more important than carbon monoxide prevention. This gas, which is virtually impossible to detect with normal human senses, can create major health risks when breathed in regularly. Let’s go over the risks and symptoms associated with carbon monoxide, plus the general areas you should be looking at to prevent this from ever becoming a concern in your home – plus how our HVAC professionals can help.

Carbon Monoxide Risks and Symptoms

As we noted above, carbon monoxide is very difficult to detect using our senses – impossible, in fact. It cannot be tasted, smelled or even seen within the standard human color spectrum, meaning it can be present in a room you’re breathing the air from without you even realizing it.

In a home situation, this can be extremely dangerous. Those who are continuously breathing in air mixed with carbon monoxide can see significant health risks, but another issue is the fact that their initial symptoms often appear very similar to a standard cold or flu: Things like headaches, dizziness or aching. People may not realize they have carbon monoxide poisoning until even more severe symptoms begin to show up, such as loss of consciousness, cardiorespiratory failure or even death in some extreme cases.

Safety Tips

There are several basic areas you can cover that will help prevent any risks of carbon monoxide poisoning to anyone in your home:

Detectors: Every floor in your home should have at least one functioning carbon monoxide detector, one with working batteries at all times. You should test these regularly to make sure they are working properly.
Inspections: One major benefit of HVAC inspections from our professionals? We’ll help you detect carbon monoxide leaks from equipment or poor previous installations.
Maintenance and upgrades: Keep up with standard HVAC maintenance, and consider upgrades to components as they age to prevent the risks of carbon monoxide leaks.
Cleaning: Regularly clean air passages like vents, chimneys, fireplaces and others so air can flow properly, including out of the home when needed.
Leak detected: In cases where your home’s carbon monoxide detector goes off and signals a leak in the home, evacuate everyone from the home right away, including pets. There’s no need to bring belongings with you, as they will not be damaged. Call the fire department first to inform them of the leak, then assess whether anyone from inside the home needs medical assistance. From here, call our HVAC pros to assess the issue.

For more on ensuring carbon monoxide doesn’t become an issue in your home, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC services, speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical today.

If you’re considering finishing your home’s basement, arranging for proper heating and air components is often among your first steps. While finished basements may or may not end up containing plumbing, depending on your precise needs and desires, virtually all of them will require basic HVAC setups to make them comfortable and livable.

At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical, our expert team of plumbers, electricians and HVAC professionals is here to help you with any and all such services within your home. Let’s go over some basic tips on hiring the proper professionals for this kind of job, the heating and cooling areas you’ll need to consider for a finished basement, and a couple other tips to help prevent any long-term issues in the new space.

Hiring the Right Team

So why is it important to involve HVAC professionals in a basement finishing project, anyway? Well, for several reasons. One such reason is the potential need for permits, which could be the case in your area if you’re installing ductwork, getting certain pieces of new equipment or making major additions to certain parts of the system.

In addition, HVAC contractors can help with large pieces of equipment like furnaces or hot water heaters. We’ll assist you with concealing these items but not closing them off entirely, plus ensuring you meet accessibility requirements for the space.

HVAC Areas to Assess

A couple general areas to think about when it comes to a finished basement and HVAC equipment:

Space: Finishing a basement means adding significant extra square footage to the area of your home that requires heating and air services. This means you’ll want to take a hard look at your current equipment, such as your furnace and AC unit, to ensure they can handle this additional space. In some cases, the more efficient move will be to replace a component or upgrade the system for this reason.
Purpose: What will the finished basement be used for? Will it be an occasional fun space for the kids, or will someone in the home be living in the space on a daily basis? These questions will help you determine what kind of temperature control you need in the basement, including whether you might require a zoned thermostat system.

Moisture and Air Quality

Another vital area our pros will help you with is ensuring you have proper drainage, waterproofing and dehumidifying solutions present in the finished basement. Basement spaces are more prone than others in the home to moisture and condensation issues that may lead to mold or other air quality concerns, but the right simple precautions taken here will prevent these risks entirely.

For more on how our HVAC pros can help you finish your basement, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC services, speak to the pros at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical today.

When you purchase filters for your home’s HVAC system, you’ll generally be able to find basic information on how often they should be changed, whether on their packaging, online or elsewhere. Most filters need to be changed somewhere in the range of once every month or two, though there might be certain types that vary from this.

At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric, however, our HVAC and indoor air quality professionals can tell you from experience that there are plenty of situations where you may have to diverge somewhat from the stated filter replacement guidelines. Said guidelines don’t really account for several circumstances where filters may fill up faster than usual – let’s look at several of these and identify situations where changing your filters more often is the best bet.

Renovations and Dust Presence

Have you been performing any recent renovations or construction projects in or around your house? These projects almost always come with large quantities of dust and general dirt, and much of this ends up in your furnace filter after being picked up by basic air flow.

If you’ve recently done such a project or are preparing to, take some extra care with your filters. One good visual clue here is the spaces near your vents and registers – if you notice dust building up here, it’s a clear sign that levels are higher than usual and you should change your filters more often.

Pets and Hair

Another group of homeowners that should take special care with filters is those who own pets, particularly shedding animals like cats and dogs. Their hair will be caught by filters, and it will clog them up much faster than usual. On top of brushing your pets often and performing basic cleaning tasks like sweeping and vacuuming, take care in this area.

Leak Concerns

You should also check your ducts regularly for leaks, as these can allow in many particles that will clog the filter quickly. Particularly if your leaks open the ducts up to air from the attic, this air could contain many more contaminants than other air.

HVAC / Fan Settings

Most thermostats have two fan settings: ON and AUTO. The former means the fan will run at all times, regardless of whether the HVAC system is actively heating or cooling the home, while the latter means the fan will only come on in coordination with the HVAC system.

In general, your thermostat should be set to AUTO most of the time. If you leave yours ON for longer periods, however, whether to rotate air or for another purpose, this will increase the amount of air that passes through the filter and require changing more often.

Using the Wrong HVAC Filters

Finally, you might simply be using the wrong filter if you find you have to change yours too often. Filters are defined in large part by their MERV rating, which lays out how fine a degree of particle they can capture – and while it’s great to get a high-MERV filter, there’s such thing as taking this too far and installing filters that will pick up too much, therefore clogging faster.

For more on common reasons why you might need to change furnace filters more often than recommended, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC services, speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric today.

The long Utah winter has ended, and for anyone who knows this local climate well, you’re well aware that the heat of summer will soon be upon us. This means homeowners across the state are looking for ways to stay cool during the heat, and they’re attempting to do so without taking a major hike in their utility bill each month

At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical, we’re here to help with everything from air conditioner maintenance to electrical, air quality and several other areas. One sneaky area we often remind our clients about when they’re looking to help keep the home cool during spring and summer without increasing the bill: Utilizing your landscaping in intelligent ways. Here are a few basic areas to show you what we mean.

Trees and Shade

One massive area that not enough homeowners take advantage of when it comes to cooling is shade. The sun’s heat is incredibly strong, and providing the home with respite periods and areas from this heat can go a very long way.

Generally, you want trees that are tall enough to reach to the windows and even the roof of your home. The less sun exposure your entire structure has, the cooler it will remain in general. Deciduous trees here are often a great first choice; they shade the home very well during the summer but then lose their leaves during the winter, allowing for the sun to heat the home and assist with warming areas. Our only additional tip here is to plant trees far enough away from the home that they and their roots don’t risk any structural damage when they grow.

Shrubs and Bushes

Down similar lines you can keep lower areas of the home and property shaded using the right shrubs and bushes. One important area to use these in is on sidewalks, driveways and other paved areas – particularly if there’s asphalt involved, these areas can reflect light up and onto your home, increasing its temperature slowly over the course of a day. Well-placed shrubs, however, will block this light.

Trellis or Pergola

If trees and shrubs are not an option or a preference for some reason, or if you don’t want to wait for them to grow, a trellis or a pergola can help instead. Place it on the sunnier side of your home, and consider vines or leaves to provide additional cover.

Water Features

Finally, consider a water feature in your back yard. You may not think this will have a direct impact on the indoor temperature, but you’d be surprised – a small pond or fountain can actually cool the entire yard by several degrees, and this is much of the same air that moves in and out of your home as well.

For more on how to use landscaping to your advantage when it comes to heating your home, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC maintenance services speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical today.

Category: A/C