Carney All Seasons Blog: Posts Tagged ‘furnace’

The Best Perk of Furnace Maintenance

Monday, December 20th, 2021

This is a tough blog to write! There are many amazing advantages to scheduling heating maintenance, and it’s hard for us to choose the “best” one. Actually, we’re going to list out which ones we think are the best, but it’s going to be up to you to determine which perk of furnace maintenance is the best for your unique situation and home.

Is it the higher efficiency levels? Or perhaps it’s the peace of mind knowing that your furnace in Bucks County is running safely and your home will be heated this season? Regardless of what you like about furnace maintenance, one thing is abundantly clear—it’s a vital service! If you missed furnace maintenance this year and you’ve started planning to wait until next year, we urge you to reconsider. It’s not too late for maintenance, and if you call today, we can schedule an appointment that works for you.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on The Best Perk of Furnace Maintenance

The Benefits of a Furnace Tune-Up

Monday, September 16th, 2019

We’re getting close to the heating season. As we shut off our air conditioners one by one, the heaters will begin to turn on—except for the ones that haven’t been maintained properly. That’s right, if you’ve kept up with our blogs during this cooling season, it’s not just air conditioners that could benefit from yearly maintenance, but furnaces as well!

Homeowners like to think of their furnaces like campfires. As long as they keep throwing fuel in the fire, they’ll burn just the same, right? But a furnace is more complicated than that. Without the right tune-up or repairs, a furnace can become more inefficient, have costly problems, and eventually turn into a safety hazard for a family and home.

Why take the risk? Contact your nearest professional for heating repair in Doylestown, PA. If you’re still unconvinced, then read on!

Continue Reading

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on The Benefits of a Furnace Tune-Up

What to Do If Your Furnace Keeps Turning On and Off: Warrington Heating Tip

Monday, November 12th, 2012

If the Warrington home’s furnace turns on and then a short time later shuts off, this is known as short cycling. Not only is short cycling hard on your equipment, but it also greatly reduces the efficiency of your furnace. Below, we describe what you should do if your furnace is short cycling.

Causes of Short Cycling

There are a number of reasons that your furnace might be short cycling. Here are just a few of them:

  • Furnace is too big – In this case, your furnace will heat your home very quickly and then shut off. As your home cools again, the furnace will turn on and heat up your home once again. Having a properly sized furnace is critical to your home’s comfort and efficiency.
  • Clogged air filter – This is by far the most common cause of short cycling. When your air filter clogs, it restricts air from getting into your furnace. As your furnace heats up the heat exchanger, air is supposed to blow over the exchanger to carry the heat into your home. Without that air flow, your furnace will overheat and shut off.
  • Thermostat – Sometimes, the cause of short cycling is a malfunctioning thermostat. If the thermostat isn’t working properly, it could be turning the furnace on and off mistakenly.

Why Short Cycling is a Problem

  • More wear on your furnace – With all the constant turning on and off, it puts extra strain on your furnace. This increases the rate of wear and can also potentially increase repair costs.
  • Reduced efficiency – With the furnace turning on and off, it doesn’t get the chance to realize any kind of efficiency that comes from running for an extended period of time.

What To Do If Your Furnace Is Short Cycling

The first thing you should do is check your air filter. If it’s dirty, you should change it out immediately. Not only can a clogged air filter cause short cycling, but it can also be the cause of other serious issues with your furnace.

If that doesn’t fix the problem, then you will most likely have to call a heating contractor. Carney Plumbing, Heating & Cooling offers complete furnaces services in Warrington. If your furnace is short cycling we can come to your home, diagnose the problem and offer a solution.

Continue Reading

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on What to Do If Your Furnace Keeps Turning On and Off: Warrington Heating Tip

How is Geothermal Heating Different than a Boiler or Furnace?

Monday, October 8th, 2012

If you need a new heating system in Quakertown, there are quite a few options to choose from. But before we can talk about the differences between boilers, furnaces and geothermal systems we need to understand how they work.

How a Boiler Works

Boilers, like most traditional heating systems, require a fuel source, normally oil or gas, which is combusted in exchange for heat. In the case of a boiler, that heat is transferred to water that is circulated to radiators in each room where the heat from the water is expelled into the air.

How Furnaces Work

With furnaces, the heat generated by the burning of fuel is transferred to a piece of metal called a heat exchanger. The furnace blows cool air from the house over the heat exchanger which warms the air and it is then delivered to the rest of the house using a series of ducts.

How Geothermal Systems Work

A geothermal system uses a pump to circulate liquid, sometimes water or a mixture of anti-freeze and water, into the ground where it is either heated or cooled—depending upon the needs of the people in the house.

The Differences between Boilers, Furnaces and Geothermal Systems

The main difference between a geothermal system and a boiler or a furnace is that it doesn’t require any kind of fuel source. The energy for the geothermal system is actually in the ground. If you dig about 10 feet into the ground, the temperature of the soil stays at an almost constant 55° F no matter what the temperature of the air is above it. When the air in the home needs to be cooled, a geothermal system absorbs the heat from the air and transfers it into the ground. When the home needs to be warmed, the process is reversed: heat from the ground is absorbed by the liquid in the pipes and transferred to the air in the home.

The only energy being used is the electricity to run the heat pump that circulates the liquid in the pipes and the air handler to distribute the conditioned air.

If you’d like to learn more about installing a geothermal system or to see if your property in Quakertown can support one, call Carney Plumbing, Heating & Cooling today.

Continue Reading

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on How is Geothermal Heating Different than a Boiler or Furnace?

It’s Time for a New Furnace

Friday, March 11th, 2011

Replacing your furnace is probably not something you want to think about. After all, a new furnace is a big investment and not something you probably have too much experience with. And sometimes having your current system fixed or tuned up is all you need to get your home heating situation back on track. But there are certain situations in which it makes more sense to just go ahead and get a new furnace rather than simply patching up the old one.

For instance, if you have to call for either minor or major repairs to your furnace on a regular basis, it’s probably time to consider investing in a replacement. All of those repairs cost money and chances are that the furnace you’re paying repeatedly to replace isn’t going to last that much longer anyway.

Rather than continuing to dump money into a furnace that just isn’t cutting it anymore, you’ll be better off making the investment in a new unit. The truth is, you’re going to have to do it sooner or later and by buying a new furnace now, you’re actually saving all of the money you would have spent on repairing the old one for another year or so.

Also, a furnace that requires such frequent repairs is probably not functioning all that efficiently either. When you replace it with a newer model, you won’t just save money on repairs. You’ll also likely notice a considerable savings on your monthly energy bills because of how much more efficient your new model is.

Even if you haven’t been repairing your furnace often, you may be able to notice some signs that the old unit isn’t quite up to the task anymore. If you’re suddenly having some significant humidity problems in your house or if your home isn’t being heated evenly, there’s a good chance your furnace is on its way out.

And, in fact, even if your furnace is functioning just fine but is more than 10 years old or so, it’s very likely you’d benefit by replacing it. That’s because the newer furnaces available now are so much more energy efficient than their predecessors that the savings you’ll incur monthly will quickly make up for the initial installation investment.

Of course, you don’t want to get rid of a good furnace if you don’t have to. But if your furnace is getting close to the end of its expected lifespan, you may very well benefit by putting out the money for a new one now so you can start saving right away on your monthly energy bills.

Continue Reading

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on It’s Time for a New Furnace

Furnace vs. Heat Pump

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

If you’re preparing to replace your existing heating system, you may very well be struggling with the question of whether to go with a furnace or a heat pump for all of your future home heating needs. Each of these systems have their own advantages and drawbacks, and once you’ve narrowed it down to one type or the other, you’ll still have a pretty wide variety of products to choose from.

Furnaces are still the most popular type of home heating equipment on the market. You can get furnaces that run on gas, oil or electricity, although gas furnaces are by far the most common type of furnace around these days. The latest models are extremely energy efficient, with AFUE ratings reaching into the high 90%s.

Like heat pumps, furnaces use ducts to transfer heated air throughout your home. They typically require regular maintenance once every year or two depending on the type of furnace you have, and they can be expected to last anywhere from 15 to 25 years when properly maintained. Most modern furnaces are also made to be compatible with a central air conditioning or cooling system as well.

Heat pumps, on the other hand, don’t generate the heat that they circulate throughout your house. Instead they are able to extract the heat from the air outside and pump it inside. This means that they use much less energy than even the most energy efficient furnaces.

However, heat pumps are only capable of heating your house comfortably when the outside temperature is above freezing. If you live in an area with particularly long and frigid winters, you’ll probably find that you need to supplement your heat pump with another heat source. Because of this, it actually makes little sense to use a heat pump in more extreme climates.

On the other hand, if you live in an area with relatively mild winters, heat pumps can be a great option. They provide a constant flow of warm air to all parts of your home and can also keep you house cool during hot summer months. To cool your home, heat pumps simply reverse the process they use to warm it. They take the heat out of your indoor air and pump it outside. This is a very effective home cooling method and makes heat pumps a great solution for year round comfort.

Continue Reading

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Heat Pumps | Comments Off on Furnace vs. Heat Pump

Cleaning the Heating Coil: It Can Save You Repairs Later

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Just like any piece of equipment, your furnace needs some regular attention and maintenance to keep it running right. And one of the most important parts of the furnace to pay attention to during these service visits is the heating coil.

Without the heating coil, your furnace simply won’t be able to put out heat to keep your house warm. That’s because the combustion in the furnace is used to heat the coil. Air is then blown across the heating coil so that it can be warmed before being circulated throughout the house.

If your heating coil isn’t kept clean, it’s easy to see how you could end up with all types of problems down the line. And since air is constantly being blown across the coil when the furnace is at work, it’s particularly susceptible to accumulating buildups of debris and sediment.

When this happens, there are several consequences. First of all, your furnace will have a harder time heating your whole house and heating it evenly. As a result, all of the parts of the furnace will have to work overtime to keep your home warm and this can cause them to wear out and break faster. Of course, when that happens, you’ll need professional repairs to get you back on track and you may have to go without heat for some time in the coldest part of the year.

Also, a dirty heating coil won’t be as efficient at transferring heat to the air blowing past, meaning that you’ll be getting less heating power out of the fuel your furnace is consuming to heat your home. Essentially, this will mean your furnace is not functioning at peak energy efficiency and that will certainly be reflected on your monthly heating bills.

But all of this can be avoided by keeping your heating coil clean and in good repair. You will likely need to have a professional take care of this for you and it is a standard part of an annual maintenance visit. While you may have to pay a bit each year for that regular maintenance, you’ll be much better off and save a good deal of money in the long run by having it done and your coil cleaned.

Continue Reading

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on Cleaning the Heating Coil: It Can Save You Repairs Later