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Can a Mid-Winter Maintenance Appointment Prevent The Need For Furnace Repair Down The Road?

Saturday, February 21st, 2015

It’s been a cold and extra-snowy winter here in Vermont so far, and your furnace may be feeling it. There’s no reason to wait until you need furnace repair for your southern Vermont home to find out; instead, schedule a mid-winter maintenance appointment with your HB Energy Solutions technician and get ahead of potential repairs.

How Maintenance Helps Reduce Repair

There are a few reasons why maintenance can help reduce the level of repair that your furnace may need. The first is that your technician will conduct a thorough inspection of your entire unit. This helps the technician detect any developing or existing problems with the system. If small things are found, like a loose fan belt in the blower or frayed wiring, the technician will repair these items before they can become bigger issues. Another way a mid-winter maintenance appointment can help you get ahead of repairs is the cleaning, lubrication and adjustment aspects of the appointment. Your technician will clean and remove dust and dirt build-up on components, including the burner, and lubricate all moving parts so that no issues of grinding develop. Some components can shift or loosen during regular operation, and maintenance allows the technician to see this kind of issue and re-adjust the component so that it is positioned correctly.

Other Benefits of Mid-Winter Maintenance

Not only does a maintenance appointment help prevent future repair, it also helps with the following:

  • Better energy efficiency – the cleaning, adjusting, lubrication and small repair your system receives during a maintenance appointment allows the system to work optimally, which can help increase its energy efficiency.
  • Better performance – when your system is in good working order, as it will be after a maintenance appointment, you will get better performance from it.
  • Extends life of the equipment – systems that are well-maintained are far less likely to work under stressful conditions, which helps eliminate premature aging.

If you have concerns that your furnace in southern Vermont may be heading for a repair appointment, call HB Energy Solutions today and schedule a maintenance appointment with one of our experts.

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What Are My Ductless Heating Options?

Thursday, February 5th, 2015

Ductless systems have become a great option for many homeowners, whether seeking whole-home heating and cooling or heating and cooling for a new expansion or retrofit. We have some pretty big temperature swings in our part of New England, with summer temps reaching the low 90s and winter temps that run below zero. As such, we’ve chosen two ductless manufacturers whose products can handle our New England whether while also being durable and offering the comfort you need and want from your ductless heating in New Hampshire: Mitsubishi and Fujitsu. We’ll go into more detail about these products below, but know that the experts at HB Energy Solutions are here to help you with all your heating needs.

Mitsubishi Ductless Systems

Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating has been manufacturing heating and cooling products for over 30 years. As one of the leaders in ductless systems, the Mitsubishi brand offers a number of benefits that are specific to their brand:

  • INVERTER-driven compressor system – this compressor starts with a great deal of power to heat or cool quickly, then adjusts its speed as needed, so it operates at variable speeds. This can be a tremendous energy saver for many households
  • i-see Sensor 3D technology – this sensor detects where people are in a room and directs the heating or cooling toward them
  • Can effectively heat to temperatures of -13F and above

Fujitsu Ductless Systems

Fujitsu General has been in the heating and cooling industry for over 35 years. There are many designs to choose from with a Fujitsu system, including wall mounted, Universal floor/ceiling, floor mounted, slim duct, compact cassette, cassette and multi-systems. Some features of the Fujitsu systems are:

  • INVERTER technology
  • Effective operation up to -15F and above
  • Base freeze prevention – certain models are equipped with a base heater that prevents the condensate from freezing

Which Is Best for You?

Each system offers great benefits of heat pumps, including great energy efficiency and long lifespan.

To determine which ductless heating system will work best for your New Hampshire home, call HB Energy Solutions today and schedule an appointment with one of our experts.

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How Solar Heating Benefits the Environment

Thursday, January 29th, 2015

Solar heating involves the installation of solar collectors on the rooftop in order to harness the power of the sun to improve the efficiency of the home heating process. Consider how much your utilities decrease when you go out of town for a week. When you’re not relying on the utility companies for gas and electric heating, you save significantly, especially since we usually use our heating systems nearly nonstop day and night here in Southern Vermont. With solar heating, your system primarily depends on a free reliable source for energy: the sun. The sun’s rays have the power to transfer energy into your home for one specific purpose, like heating, or throughout the entire house.

Whenever you turn on your solar heating system, you’re not only saving money; you’re helping the environment as well. A solar heating system reduces your carbon footprint significantly, especially if you convert from an older standing pilot furnace. Standing pilot furnaces are no longer commonly manufactured, but they remain in some homes because their lifespan can be lengthy. Whereas today’s pilot lights operate on electronic ignition, turning on only when needed, standing pilots remained lit throughout the day, resulting in a lot of standby energy loss.

Replacing a standing pilot furnace with a solar energy system helps the environment in substantial ways, cutting down the amount of fossil fuels you use each year, reducing CO2 emissions that affect the environment. In fact, replacing any type of heating system with a solar-powered unit, from an electronic ignition gas furnace to a heat pump to an electric furnace can help to reduce your environmental impact. Any system that runs on gas, electricity, or any combination of the two contributes to greenhouse gases that pollute the air.

How It Works

Solar heating systems use solar collectors to collect thermal energy from the sun. A liquid such as water or antifreeze flows between the solar panels and a storage tank or heat exchanger. Storing the heated liquid for later is more efficient, but either system may need a backup for use when solar energy isn’t available.

Call HB Energy Solutions, we have installed solar heating systems in Southern Vermont for years, and strive to provide customers with excellent service for years to come.

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How Does Wood Pellet Conversion Work?

Thursday, December 18th, 2014

Though most home heating systems rely on natural gas as a fuel source, there are still many that use older fuels. Oil-burning heaters still have their adherents across the country. However, oil is not the most efficient of fuels, and must be carefully stored and used to avoid a fire. With that in mind, many oil heating system owners are starting to convert their systems to use wood pellets instead. Let’s take a look at how wood pellet conversion works.

Anatomy of a Wood Pellet System

Most wood-pellet systems are comprised of a burner, a storage unit, a conveyor, and a controller. The storage unit stores anywhere from a week to a few months’ worth of pellets. The conveyor is responsible for moving the pellets from the storage unit to the burner. The burner is self-explanatory, and the controller automates all the other systems.

The rest of the heating system works more or less the same way as any other heating system of the same type that uses other fuel types.

Converting to a Wood Pellet System

The great thing about converting your heater into a wood pellet burning system is that it doesn’t require any permanent or involved modifications. All that needs to be done is the original oil burner needs to be taken out, to make room for the wood pellet system. If you decide later on that you’d prefer to switch back, you can switch the mechanisms again with ease.

Advantages of a Wood Pellet System

There are a few different reasons to switch to a wood pellet system. For one thing, it’s cheap. Wood pellets are just about the cheapest fuel source available for heating systems. For another, it’s a green fuel. Wood pellets are made from trees often grown locally, and supported by their local community for having a small environmental footprint. If you’re worried about the impact your heating is having on the environment, wood pellets are a great way to ease those fears.

If you’d like to know more about wood pellet heaters, call HB Energy Solutions. We install wood pellet furnaces throughout New Hampshire.

 

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The Best Type of Garage Heater for Southern Vermont

Friday, December 12th, 2014

Many people use their garage as an extra space to work in, rather than as a place to park their cars. You may use your garage, shed, or alternative detached structure as a workshop for woodworking or automotive repair, crafting, or even as a play area for the children. When winter hits in Southern Vermont, these activities should not have to cease. You can find a few different options for garage heating, and we’d like to help you decide on the best choice for you.

At HB Energy Solutions, we believe one of the best units available for heating a garage or any similar space in this climate is the Hot Dawg gas-fired garage heater. This heater has many special features including a 10-year warranty, quick installation, and quiet operation. It can run on natural gas or propane and features a flexible, low-profile design. The standard version is power vented to the outdoors, but you can get additional features if you choose a separated combustion unit.

The separated combustion unit offers several added benefits so that you don’t have to breathe in stale indoor air that may contain dangerous chemicals or other contaminants. The fan in a separated combustion heater draws in air from the outdoors instead of from the space around the unit. This can help to make the air feel more comfortable and control humidity levels. Besides eliminating some toxins from the air, these units also offer an increased AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) rating and greater durability.

You can still add ventilation to your garage with a separate heat recovery ventilator, even if you choose the standard power-exhausted Hot Dawg models. When you install a heat recovery ventilator, a fan draws in air from the outside and preheats it so that the stale indoor air can vent outside.

When you need garage heaters in Southern Vermont, the people at HB Energy Solutions are here to help. We are proud to offer Hot Dawg garage heaters for installation, and we’re happy to help you come up with a good system for ventilation as well.

Give our office a call today!

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What to Expect During Gas Piping Installation

Monday, November 10th, 2014

Natural gas is one of the most popular fuel types for home use. It can be used for multiple home appliances, including your home heating system. Many homes are connected to a main natural gas line, but not all are. If your home is not currently connected to a gas line, and you want access to the natural gas in your area, it’s time to call HB Energy Solutions and schedule gas piping installation in New Hampshire.

Initial Steps Before Installation

There are a few steps that need to be taken before our HB Energy Solutions technicians can install your natural gas piping. The first step is pinpointing the exact location of the natural gas main line closest to your home. Next, our technicians will conduct a site survey. During a site survey, the heating load for your home is calculated, your current heating system is evaluated and the amount of gas piping needed for your home is determined. Once this information is determined, it has to be relayed to the gas company; additionally, permits have to be obtained for the installation before any work can proceed.

Installation

Before any digging can begin, all public utilities will be marked off so that all digging is safe. As the homeowner, it is important that you mark off any private utilities, such as underground sprinkler systems, etc. Once the utilities are marked off, a date will be set to install the piping and your gas meter.

It is important that correctly-sized piping is used for your gas installation. This is because every gas appliance has a minimum input demand in BTUs per hour. On the day of installation, any appliances that are being replaced with a gas appliance will be turned off, disconnected and removed from your home. Trenches are dug and the piping is assembled and laid into the ground. When the piping reaches the exterior of your home, it will connect to the meter, which is still not operational. Your city inspector needs to inspect the piping and the connection to the meter to ensure all is in order; when the outside piping is approved, the meter can be activated. Now the focus of the installation moves to the inside of your home: the technicians will install the interior gas piping and equipment, which also needs to be inspected. Once this inspection is complete, your new gas line and meter are activated for use. 

Gas piping installation in New Hampshire should only be handled by experts. If you are looking to connect your home to natural gas, call HB Energy Solutions today!

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The Features of ENERGY KING Wood Furnaces

Monday, November 3rd, 2014

If you need a new heating system, there are a lot of unique options available for your consideration. One type of reliable heating system that homeowners often overlook is the wood furnace. Wood furnaces are often utilized for outdoor heating, but an indoor wood furnace from ENERGY KING offers low cost heating and all-around comfort for your home. Let’s take a look at some of the many features of these heating system.

  • Energy Independence: With a wood furnace, you no longer have to depend on on the unreliable and often high cost of natural gas or electricity.
  • Efficiency: ENERGY KING wood furnaces are quite efficient due to a few key features that ensure most of the heat the furnace produces enters your home. A superheated secondary combustion, for example, allows gases and particulates to ignite when they would have otherwise escaped through the chimney.
  • Durability: ENERGY KING wood furnaces are built by experienced and certified welders which indicates the highest quality, durability, and safety.
  • Environmentally Friendly: Burning wood is environmentally friendly because, although it releases CO2, the effect is no different than as if the trees had died and rotted.
  • Thermostatically-Controlled Automatic Draft: All of ENERGY KING’s wood furnaces come standard with an automatic draft, which automatically opens and closes the draft damper in order to control the burn rate. You can also use a manual damper whenever you need it.
  • Insulated Cabinet: The insulated cabinet prevents heat from moving into the room instead of into your home where it belongs, increasing efficiency.
  • Removable Ash Pan: One final important part is the removable ash pan, which simplifies the process of cleaning ash accumulation from time to time.

A wood furnace is the perfect heating system for many homes, but it may not necessarily be the right choice for you. For whatever heating system you choose, you’ll need a professional to choose the proper sized unit for your home and provide skilled installation services.

Talk to one of the professionals at HB Energy Solutions to find out more about your options for wood furnaces in Southern Vermont.

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How Ductless Heating Systems Work

Monday, October 27th, 2014

Ductless systems have been around for a while, having been used primarily in commercial spaces, but over the last decade they’ve become very popular with homeowners. While many people think of cooling when they think of ductless systems, they can heat just as well as they can cool. In addition to offering both heating and cooling, ductless systems offer other benefits, which may make ductless heating and cooling in New Hampshire a good option for your home. HB Energy Solutions offers many kind of heating systems, and our technicians have a great deal of experience with ductless systems. Contact us today.

How Ductless Systems Heat

Ductless systems use heat pump technology to offer both heating and cooling to your home. The main component that allows the system to provide heating and cooling is the reversing valve. This valve changes the direction of the refrigerant flow, which is how the system changes modes. A small electrical component called a solenoid allows the valve slide from one position to another, and the control for switching modes is on your home’s thermostat.

Benefits of Ductless Heating

As we’ve discussed, one of the main benefits of installing a ductless system is that it offers both heating and cooling. But there are some other benefits worth considering:

  • Energy efficiency – a heat pump does not use any fossil fuels to operate, and uses about 25% of the electricity that a whole-home air conditioner uses. As such, heat pumps are very energy efficient.
  • Easy installation – a ductless system has simple components: an outdoor unit, indoors blowers (up to 4 per outdoor unit) and a conduit that connects the blowers to the outdoor unit. Installation is pretty straightforward: the indoor blower is mounted and connected to the outdoor unit via a conduit drilled into an exterior wall.
  • Customized comfort – each blower operates individually, allowing you to customize your comfort per room.

If you are looking for a heating system that can also keep you cool and that is very energy efficient, it may be time to consider the installation of ductless heating in New Hampshire.

If you think a ductless system is a good fit for your home, call HB Energy Solutions today and schedule an appointment with one of our installation experts.

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How Does a Heat Recovery Ventilator Work?

Monday, October 20th, 2014

Vermont gets very cold in the winter, as anyone here can tell you. Making your home more energy efficient with good windows and doors, insulation, and a well-maintained heating system can make a big difference in heating bills. Unfortunately, it can also cut down the ventilation in your home, making it challenging to have clean air circulating inside. Good ventilation is important to your health, and opening a window during a Vermont winter is really not an option. What is a great option is a heat recovery ventilator in Southern Vermont. Also known as an HRV, this device not only helps to greatly improve your indoor ventilation, it also improves your energy efficiency, all at the same time. The trained experts at HB Energy Solutions are ready to help you this winter with all your heating and ventilation needs, so call us today.

What Is an HRV?

An HRV is a ventilation device that can be added to your HVAC system or mounted to an exterior wall – it just needs a direct air supply. The HRV works by exhausting the stale, warm air from your indoors to the outside while bringing in the cool, fresh air from the outside. In the heat exchanger, which is the core of the HRV, the heat energy from the outgoing air is applied to the incoming fresh air, pre-heating it before it enters your HVAC system. This pre-treats the incoming air, warming it up so your HVAC system doesn’t have to. The two air streams never mix, so there is no chance of cross-contamination.

Why Install an HRV?

Here are some of the benefits an HRV can offer your home:

  • Improved energy efficiency – as we mentioned above, an HRV can help improve your energy efficiency because it pre-heats the incoming fresh air. This takes some of the burden off your HVAC system to heat your home, which can result in less energy usage.
  • Improved indoor air quality – an HRV provides a continuous, fresh stream of air for your home, and filters it before it becomes a part of your indoor air flow. This helps improve your indoor air quality.
  • Less wear on your system – during excessively cold weather, your system has to work harder to achieve your set temperature. An HRV does some of the work ahead of your HVAC system, allowing it to operate normally, which can reduce the level of wear and tear.

If you’ve been looking for a way to overcome the winter cold without blowing your heating budget, it may be time to consider the installation of heat recovery ventilator in South Vermont.

For more information on heat recovery ventilators, contact HB Energy Solutions today and let one of our indoor air quality experts help you!

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Why Is My Boiler Leaking Water?

Monday, October 13th, 2014

In general, a boiler is an extremely reliable heating system that requires little repair over time. Boilers work by heating water and circulating it through a set of pipes and to a baseboard or radiant heat exchanger, such as a radiator or radiant floor heating system. Boilers can be very efficient, and radiant heating may be more comfortable than a forced air furnace.

Because boilers have few mechanical parts, they may not need as many repairs as other types of heating systems. However, with any type of system that involves the use of water, there is a risk of water leaking from time to time. If your boiler is leaking water, there may be many causes. A technician will check for the following problems when you call for heating system repair.

  • High Water Pressure: The expansion tank in your boiler helps protect it from problems caused by excessive water pressure. Your boiler is meant to keep water at a steady pressure level, but if there is a problem with this tank, water may leak from your unit. Luckily, the pressure relief valve safely releases water in the event of high pressure. A leaky pressure relief valve requires immediate repair.
  • Improper Installation: Unfortunately, some leaks occur simply because the system was not installed by expert heating installers. If this is the case, a technician may need to repair the fittings around the tank and solder any faulty connections. Unfortunately, major problems brought on by poor installation may require replacement.
  • Corrosion: If your boiler is leaking due to rust and corrosion, you may need a new unit entirely. While some leaks can be fixed, rust and corrosion generally means your boiler is too old, and there is simply no way to prevent further corrosion. Luckily, boilers are built to resist corrosion, so it should take a long time for rust to affect your system.

Leaks can damage the foundation of your home, lead to reduced heating, or cause mold or mildew to develop, so be sure to call a technician as soon as you suspect a problem.

For professional heating system repair throughout New Hampshire, call the expert heating team at HB Energy Solutions today!

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