Archive for the ‘Heating’ Category

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Pros and Cons of Different Heating Fuels

Wednesday, November 13th, 2013

When it comes to picking out a heating system from among the various options—furnaces, boilers, heat pumps—one of the main considerations to keep in mind is the variety of heating fuels available. Most types of heaters run from different fuels depending on the model. For example, furnaces can use natural gas, electricity, propane, or oil.

If your home is already hooked up to a particular fuel source, then you will probably want to match your heating system to it. However, you will still have some flexibility, so to help you out with your choice, we’ll list the pros and cons of the most common kinds of heating fuels.

Contact HB Energy Solutions when you need further help making the important choices for heating in your New Hampshire home. We have more than 20 years of experience with installing heaters of all types.

Electricity

  • Pros: Electricity offers the cleanest option of the fuels, since it creates no emissions. Electrical systems are usually the easiest and least costly to install. Since electricity is already a basic part of your home, electrical heating systems are always a choice.
  • Cons: Electricity usually costs more than other fuels, and therefore electrical heaters can cost much more to keep your home comfortable during the coldest months.

Natural gas

  • Pros: Gas offers some of the highest efficiency of any of the fuels, with many heaters returning more than 90% of their gas source as heating power. You can expect lowered heating bills with natural gas at work for you.
  • Cons: There is some (albeit minor) risk of carbon monoxide leaks and explosions.

Oil and Propane

  • Pros: Neither fuel poses the same explosive combustion risk of natural gas, or toxic leaking. Because you store and use oil and propane from independent suppliers, there are no monthly fees involved.
  • Cons: You have to plan ahead to purchase the fuel, and you store it on the premises (unlike natural gas, which is piped in). Oil and propane tend to be less efficient than natural gas, although they still tend to be less expensive to heat with than electric systems.

Of course, there are also other fuel types beyond these most common ones, including bio diesel and wood pellets.

Regardless of the different advantages and disadvantages of these fuels sources, the one that will work best for you depends on your home. This is why you should have experts involved in the installation process from the beginning; they can help you select a heating system and fuel source that will match your home’s needs as well as your long-term energy budget. When you need quality installation for your heating in New Hampshire, look to the experience of HB Energy Solutions.

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Benefits of Heating with Wood Pellets in Southern Vermont

Monday, November 4th, 2013

In Southern Vermont, wood pellets make an excellent alternative form of heating, whether you use them in furnaces, boilers, inserts or old-fashioned stoves. Pellet heating goes hand-in-hand with a cozy home on a cold winter’s day, providing a romantic atmosphere in addition to reliable heat. But that’s only one of the advantages the fuel source provides. Here are some of the other benefits of heating with wood pellets in Southern Vermont.

  • Ease of use. Wood pellet stoves usually have a fuel hopper to store the pellets until you need to burn them, and they have a feeder device which drops the pellets into the combustion chamber. This allows a slow and steady burn all day without you needing to manually add pellets. Pellet stoves usually only need to be refueled once a day.
  • Clean burning. Wood pellets are dry and tightly compressed, which means they burn cleaner than normal wood. They also don’t create as much smoke and they give off less creosote (which can coat your chimney and eventually create a fire hazard), making them much friendlier to the environment than wood-burning fireplaces.
  • Less expensive. Wood pellet stoves use very little energy, which means they cost you a little more than the price of the pellets themselves to operate. That’s an immense savings here in Southern Vermont, where the winters get cold and the snows piles on thick.

The best part is that wood pellet burners can be readily installed by qualified service technicians, leaving them ready for use by the time autumn turns to winter. To help reap the benefit of heating with wood pellets in Southern Vermont, contact the experts at HB Energy Solutions. We can match a pellet stove, furnace or boiler to suit your house, and then install it with your complete satisfaction in mind. Maintenance and repair programs are available as well, so don’t hesitate to give us a call and set up an appointment.

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Heating in New Hampshire: How Pellet Stoves Work

Monday, October 21st, 2013

Although we no longer use fireplaces and wood-burning stoves as the only way of heating a New Hampshire home, they can still help out during the cold months if you want to gather around a roaring flame and take in the loveliness of an old-fashioned hearth.

But just because the fireplace is an old-fashioned idea doesn’t mean that a fireplace has to be old-fashioned—or even inefficient. The wood pellet stove is a great alternative to a fireplace for people who don’t want to worry about woodpiles. And a pellet stove is also an effective method of providing heat for your home, much better than a standard fireplace. If you want to know more, contact HB Energy Solutions, where we install top-of-the-line pellet stoves.

A wood pellet stove burns pellets made of recycled wood and sawdust leftover from the lumber industry. The pellets have low-levels of pollution and are inexpensive to purchase. They are very dense, so they burn slowly, and with their low moisture, they produce hotter flames.

The pellets go in a hopper on the top or bottom of the stove. An auger (resembling a long screw) delivers the pellets into a burn pot, which electricity then ignites and begins burning the compressed pellets. Ashes fall into an ash pot, which you will need to clean out regularly.

To get your home heated, a pellet stove uses convection. A convection blower draws in air from the room and passes it over the pellets, which helps them burn stronger and also raises the temperature of the air. The heated air passes through a heat exchanger, and a room blower sends warm air into the room, very much like a furnace does. The exhaust goes out a pipe in the back to the outside—which means you don’t need a chimney installed to get the benefits of a pellet stove. However, insert pellet stoves can fit into your existing fireplace if you want to upgrade.

With the control offered by a thermostat, you can get the right amount of heat you want. That’s something you’d have a much harder time doing with a traditional fireplace.

HB Energy Solutions installs and maintains pellet stoves that can give you a cozy home with the benefits of a fireplace and few of the drawbacks. We’ve been heating New Hampshire homes for 21 years, and so call us today to learn more!

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New Hampshire Heating Installation FAQ: Why Install a Boiler

Tuesday, October 15th, 2013

A boiler is one of the most common methods of heating homes in the United States. Boilers work by heating water, with the steam or hot water circulated through pipes or radiators in your home. As the water or steam cools, it travels back to the boiler to start the process again. When it comes to installing a new heating system in your New Hampshire home, boilers make a lot of sense. Why install a boiler in your home? The answers vary, but boilers provide a number of tangible advantages. A few of the biggest are listed below.

  • Evenly distributed heat. Unlike furnaces, which usually use a system of ducts to blow hot air throughout the house, boilers don’t heat the space unevenly. Water-based heating infuses the existing air with heat, rather than redistributing hot air throughout the system. This can eliminate drafts, cold spots and other problems with furnace heating.
  • Efficient heating. Boilers can easily heat larger houses and apartment buildings. Big spaces are less of a problem for a properly sized boiler than they are for furnaces or space heaters, and boilers can be scaled to fit the size of whatever space they are heating. Besides that, boilers don’t blow dust around the way furnaces do, and they don’t generate much noise the way that furnaces do. All of that increases their overall efficiency.
  • Zone controls. With boilers it’s very easy to install zone controls, which let you tailor the heat to fit specific tastes and needs. You can choose to heat just the area you’re occupying while leaving the rest of the house cold, or set one temperature for your kitchen and another for the bedroom. That not only gives you greater control over the heat, but helps keep monthly costs in check.

If you know the answer to “why install a boiler?” and need further advice on your New Hampshire heating installation options, call the experts at HB Energy Solutions for advice. We can explain your options to you, then install a boiler in your home with courtesy and professionalism. Contact us today to set up an appointment.

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Southern Vermont Heating Guide: Protect Your Budget This Winter

Monday, October 7th, 2013

Few winter landscapes look more beautiful than those in Vermont. But beauty does not equal comfort. You’ll need a dependable and efficient heater in your home this coming winter to keep you warm enough to enjoy the season.

But just getting sufficient heat is not enough: you want to get heat that won’t drain your budget by the end of the season. Is it possible to get decent, comfortable heating without seeing your energy bills balloon? There are some basic steps you can take to protect your budget from unpleasant surprises this winter. HB Energy Solutions has advice for your heating system that will help you keep those energy bills under control:

Find a pleasant, lower temperature on the thermostat

The U.S. department of energy has found that simply dropping your thermostat ten degrees for eight hours a day can mean an almost 20% savings on your annual energy bill. Don’t set the thermostat up to the high 70s or 80s: with an extra layer of clothing, you’ll find that 68°F is ideal for comfort. When you’re sleeping, you may be able to turn the temperature down even more.

Update to a programmable thermostat

This goes hand-in-hand with keeping the thermostat down. A programmable thermostat gives you precision control over temperature, and the automation means you won’t need to remember to change the setting when it’s necessary. You can also have the thermostat lower the temperature when you leave for the day, and then start warming the house up before you return.

Schedule maintenance for your heater

Getting a maintenance check-up on your heater isn’t only to avoid extra repairs and abrupt breakdowns. The maintenance technician will give your heater a tune-up so it won’t drain extra power when it runs. A heater in good repair is a heater that will run its best, and you won’t see unnecessary spikes in your power bills.

It’s a good idea to schedule maintenance for your heater right now, so you’ll not only be prepared for winter, but you’ll take advantage of a slower time for HVAC professionals. We at HB Energy Solutions offer a maintenance plan that will keep your heater in prime health. We’re ready to answer any questions you may have about getting additional savings on heating in Southern Vermont.

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Heating Repair in New Hampshire: Furnace Blower Problems

Monday, September 23rd, 2013

If you use a furnace—either oil or gas-powered—it needs a blower to send the heated air through your ductwork system. If the blower malfunctions, you’ll have a hard time getting through the cooler spells in New Hampshire. A faulty blower could stop working entirely, leaving you in the cold, or it could run continuously, draining money and pushing cold air into rooms when the furnace’s heating elements aren’t on.

In this post, we’ll give you some tips to help you figure out what the problem is and what repairs might solve it. If you need to call for professional heating repair in New Hampshire, contact our staff at HB Energy Solutions.

  • One of the first things you should check when you notice a malfunctioning blower is the thermostat. If the blower won’t turn off, the thermostat may be set to have the fan on constantly. If the blower won’t come on at all, then the thermostat might be malfunctioning and unable to communicate with the furnace. Thermostat issues usually require professional repair or replacement.
  • A motor belt with cracks or breaks that comes loose may be responsible for the blower not turning on.  As in a car motor, a belt that develops problems will cause the motor to stop working. The belt will probably need to be replaced, but fortunately this is a fast fix for a professional. The technician can determine what type of furnace blower belt to get and can install it safely for you. .
  • A third possibility for a failed blower is a broken motor, which can happen from overheating. Don’t attempt to fix or replace the motor yourself—this requires professional HVAC experience. Problems with motors are usually a warning sign that you need to have more preventive maintenance done on your furnace to keep it from wearing down faster.

A furnace is an intricate and complicated piece of machinery, so don’t try to handle complicated repairs on your own if the blower starts experiencing problems. Rely on experts with years of training, like those at HB Energy Solutions. We have 24/7 emergency service to give you peace of mind for your heating repairs in New Hampshire.

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New Hampshire Heating System Buyer’s Guide: Pros and Cons of Different Systems

Monday, September 16th, 2013

Once upon a time, there were few options for heating your home: coal in a stove, wood in a fireplace. Today, technology has given us a multitude of choices for how to make our living spaces comfortable and pleasant during the winter. But choice also brings a dilemma: which heating system is the best one for your home? With winter approaching us soon in New Hampshire, heating systems are probably on your mind, and you need a helpful guide to navigate through your choices.

HB Energy has put together a short list of the pros and cons of some of the available systems. For heating system installation in New Hampshire, call HB Energy.

Boilers

Boilers are one of the most common heating systems and are frequently found in older homes. Boilers use either gas, oil, or electricity to circulate heat around your house using hot water, either in pipes or radiators.

  • Pros: Boilers are quiet and efficient. Because they do not use air circulation, they are excellent choices for homes with people who have allergies to airborne pollutants. There are also no air filters to change.
  • Cons: Boilers heat your home more slowly than other heating systems.

Furnaces

A furnace sends hot air through vents in your house, and can also operate from electricity, oil, propane, gas.

  • Pros: Newer model furnaces are very efficient at providing heat, with high AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) ratings.
  • Cons: Furnaces require a system of ducts to distribute heat, and therefore take up more space. Since they use air ducts, they can circulate pollutants throughout your home.

When you need an expert opinion on the heating system that is right for your home, contact the New Hampshire heating experts at HB Energy and schedule an appointment today.

 

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What are My New Hampshire Heating Oil Options?

Monday, September 9th, 2013

In New Hampshire, heating oil is a fact of life: seeing common use as a way to combat our notoriously cold winters. In the United States, the standard heating oil is known as No. 2 oil, or regular fuel oils. It’s used as the standard in most homes, and has replace a number of older oils because it burns more cleanly than they did. (Those older types – known as #6 oil and #4 oil – are still used in commercial power plants and other industrial capacities.) #2 oil is also preferable as a fuel because it’s comparatively hard to set on fire accidentally, requiring a high-voltage spark and oil set at the right pressure.

You might also see #1 oil, also called K1 kerosene which is essentially filtered kerosene. It’s not as efficient as #2 oil, but is more refined and has a lower pour point. It’s often sold as lamp oil in high-end shops, though it rarely sees use in oil furnaces. Instead, home heating oil sometimes appears as a “kerosene mix,” which is a combination of #1 and #2 oil (usually with about 10-20% #1 mixed with 80-90% #2). It will function in your heating system, though it may not burn as efficiently.

Recently, another option has raised its heat. Biofuel – created from vegetable oils such as soybean oil – can be blended with #2 oil or even used straight. It burns efficiently while reducing greenhouse gasses and can be produced in the United States without being exported from somewhere else.

If you have questions regarding New Hampshire heating oil options, talk to an expert before making any decisions. HB Energy offers both traditional heating oil and Bio Heat (a blend of #2 oil and Biofuel), as well as providing diesel fuel and propane. Contact us today and let us help keep your home warm this winter.

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New Hampshire Heating Problems: Why Does My Heater Cost So Much?

Monday, April 1st, 2013

Maintaining warm, comfortable temperatures throughout the heating season is a goal that most homeowners share. Unfortunately, many homeowners are dissuaded from keeping their homes as comfortable as they’d like due to high energy costs. At HB Energy Solutions, we do not think that anyone should have to compromise their comfort in order to keep their energy bills manageable. Here are some common causes of heating problems along with some possible solutions from the heating professionals at HB Energy Solutions. Contact us today with any questions you may have.

One reason that your home heating costs may be too high is if your ductwork is in poor condition. Leaky, torn and improperly installed air ducts will allow the air that you have already paid to heat to escape from your system before reaching its destination. This means that your heater will need to heat more air to make up for this loss, causing efficiency levels to drop. This can also cause further problems, as your heater will need to work harder to replace lost energy. Your heater will incur more wear and tear that can potentially lead to damage.

In fact, minor and developing problems with your heating system are another very probable cause of your high heating costs. If even one component of your heating system is not working properly it can throw off the performance of the entire system. Only when each individual part of the system is operation correctly can you get the best performance and efficiency that your system has to offer.

That is precisely why routine heating maintenance is so important. During routine maintenance, a professional heating technician has the opportunity to inspect and tune up your entire heating system. Any small problems can also be discovered and resolved before they can have much of an impact on your heater. Keep your heating costs manageable by scheduling routine heating maintenance with a qualified professional today.

When you have heating problems in New Hampshire, call HB Energy Solutions. We can help you heat your home in a more efficient manner. Keep comfortable and cut heating costs by scheduling service today.

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Getting To Know Your Heating Options in New Hampshire

Monday, March 11th, 2013

If you’re considering a heater replacement in New Hampshire, then you need to know what’s available to you, as well as what’s best for your home. HB Energy Solutions offers a wide range of heating options to customers throughout the area. We cover all aspects of heating installation, repair, and maintenance. We are a full service heating and fuel company, which means we can cover everything for you. Call one of our New Hampshire heating experts at HB Energy Solutions today!

Is it time for a new heater for your home? Let’s take a look at some options.

  • Furnace. The furnace is one of the most common heating options in the Northeast. Your furnace converts energy drawn from a fuel into hot air and distributes the heat through the ductwork in your home.
  • Boiler. The boiler works just like a furnace, but instead of heating air, it heats hot water or steam and distributes it throughout your home by means of baseboard heaters, radiators, or radiant flooring. It can also heat your water, which is an added bonus for many homeowners.
  • Wood or Pellet Stove. A wood stove offers an excellent heating solution to many customers in the New Hampshire area, where wood is a plentiful fuel source. Pellet stoves are another efficient form of heat, and they are also ideal since pellet fuel is available through HB Energy Solutions for customers throughout the area.
  • Pellet Boilers. Available in steel or cast iron and in three sizes, we feature the Pellergy Pellet Boiler here at HB Energy Solutions. They are an efficient and clean-burning heating solution, which burns compressed pellets made form sawdust and sawmilling. Their low moisture content and high density allow for high combustion efficiency.
  • Ductless Split Heat Pumps. As its name suggests, ductless split heat pumps do not use ductwork to transfer heat into your home, but rely on a split system: an outdoor unit and indoor air handler. Ductless systems tend to be highly efficient because ducts tend to account for the majority of heat loss during the winter.

Whatever heating option you select for your home, make sure that it’s appropriately sized to match your heating needs. A professional heating installation makes all the difference. Call HB Energy Solutions for all of your New Hampshire heating installation needs.

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