It is extremely common for an individual to use an indoor space heater throughout the colder months. This is particularly true when there is a problem with your HVAC system that causes cold spots or irregular temperatures through your home. It is crucial to ensure that you understand the risks of indoor space heaters to enable you to make the safest decisions regarding the comfort level of your home. While space heaters may be an easy way to heat up a single area, it is often better to use your HVAC system to ensure a warmer, more comfortable environment within the building.

Circuits that are Overloaded

Space heaters require a substantial amount of energy to function effectively and heat up areas in your home. This can cause the circuits that they are plugged into to become overloaded. Overloaded circuits result in an array of possible issues. For one thing, a circuit that becomes overloaded can cause a power failure inside your building. They can also cause an increased risk of fire inside of your building, which can lead to devastating consequences. This is just one of the risks of indoor space heaters.

Increased Electricity Bills

Indoor space heaters generally use a great deal of energy. When you start using space heaters in your house, you can likely expect your energy bill to increase. Space heaters are generally rather inefficient, which means that they will use far more energy than alternative methods for heating up your home. By focusing on your HVAC system rather than the use of a space heater, you can often save much more money on your electricity bills throughout the winter. It is important to take the right steps to minimize your energy expenses without sacrificing the level of comfort within your building.

Higher Risk of Fire

One of the major risks of space heaters is that they lead to an increased risk of fire inside of your building. It is important to follow the right safety protocols to minimize the risk of fire inside of your building, especially if you decide to use a space heater. When a space heater is located around flammable objects, it can easily cause a fire. It can also increase the fire risk if it gets knocked over or causes damage in some other way.

Electrocution Hazards

Any device that runs on electricity can increase the risk of electrocution. It is important to be careful with these devices in order to protect yourself and your family. For one thing, you should never use your space heater in a room where there is the possibility of it coming into contact with water. You should also ensure that you regularly check the cord for signs of fraying that can increase the chances of electrocution. These steps can similarly help to reduce the potential for a fire.

Staying Safe during the Winter

You don’t have to sacrifice the comfort of your home in order to stay safe during the winter. If you intend to use a space heater, you will need to take the steps to ensure it is safe as possible. You need to ensure that you have working carbon monoxide and smoke detectors when you intend to use a space heater in your home. Consider upgrading to a newer model of space heater, because it is more likely to have safety features. For example, you should obtain a space heater with a guard over the heating unit. This can help to prevent burns and minimize the possibility of fires. You should never leave the building or go to sleep while the space heater is running. Check on your space heater regularly for potential signs of damage and keep them out of rooms where they may get wet.

Not using a space heater at all is often a safer method for your property. If your HVAC system isn’t comfortably heating your home, you will want to ensure that you take the steps to have the problems resolved. You may also want to consider paying attention to the insulation of your property. By improving the insulation, your home will be better able to keep heat locked within the property. This will substantially reduce problems with your building throughout the winter.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Whenever you use a space heater that is fueled by gas, there is the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning. As the space heater produces carbon monoxide, it is possible that it can lead to dangerous issues inside of the property. Pay careful attention to the kind of space heater that you use in your building when it can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

Can Lead to Burns

In order to heat up an area, a space heater has to have an extremely hot surface. Whenever a child, pet, or other individual brushes up against this surface, they can get severely burnt. It is important to keep this in mind when you are using a space heater.

Keeping your HVAC system in good condition can help to reduce the likelihood that you will turn to indoor space heaters this winter. Our team at Custom Comfort can help to ensure that your HVAC system is up to the task of heating your home and keeping it at a comfortable temperature. Whenever your HVAC isn’t adequately heating your home, it will be important to ensure that you contact us to obtain the appropriate repair services. To learn more about the services that we offer for your HVAC system, contact us at Custom Comfort today!

When you need to choose an HVAC company, it is extremely beneficial to do your research prior to making a decision. This can help to ensure that your services will best meet all of your specific needs. There are many different factors that you should consider when you have to choose an HVAC company. Paying attention to these various factors can help to ensure that you choose an HVAC company that will meet all of your specific needs.

Request Bids

Money is often the primary factor that people consider when making decisions regarding the services that they want to obtain. It is important to get a sense of what your services should cost and what the company will charge you for them. Consider that in many situations, you will get the quality of services that you pay for. You should be especially careful if one company provides a bid that is much lower than other companies. Request bids from multiple companies prior to making the decision on the HVAC company. This will help to give you an idea of what the services cost in general, as well as provides you with specifics regarding what each company charges.

Referrals

Referrals are a good method for identifying HVAC companies that you want to work with. When you ask for referrals from your friends or family members, you are likely to find an HVAC company that you will have a positive experience with. This can also help you to ensure that you obtain the ideal services to meet all of your specific needs. Keep location in consideration when you ask your loved ones for referrals. It is also important to choose an HVAC company that is in a convenient location for you.

Prioritize Customer Service

It can be extremely beneficial to ensure that you work with a company that prioritizes the customer service that they provide. This can help to ensure that you can ask them the necessary questions to obtain the best services to meet your situation. It will also often ensure that you will receive more open, thorough communication with the company. Good customer service helps to provide you with a much more positive experience, while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of substantial issues that can occur with less than ideal customer service.  

The Services they Offer

You will want to examine and learn about the services that are offered by the HVAC company. If you require a specific service that they don’t offer, none of these other factors will be relevant. By learning about the services offered by the HVAC company, you will be able to identify an HVAC company that will best meet your needs. This often helps to reduce significant issues. Your HVAC system needs an array of services to stay in good condition. It will require regular maintenance, cleaning, repairs, and other services to stay in good condition. By ensuring that the company offers these services, you can keep your HVAC system in great shape.

Licensed

An HVAC company should be licensed to provide you with the best services. This helps to improve your level of confidence regarding the services that they will provide. Licensing is critical in ensuring that your HVAC services will be able to thoroughly care for your system. It is important to ensure that they are licensed prior to obtaining their services. This says a great deal about their qualifications and how their services can benefit your HVAC system.

Reviews

It is especially beneficial to ensure that you read over reviews before you decide on an HVAC company. When you read reviews, you can get an idea of the experience that previous customers have had with the company. Checking reviews is often one of the most critical ways to obtain information about the company. However, it is also beneficial to ensure that you read over multiple reviews, rather than just one. When you don’t read multiple reviews, it is possible that the review that you read will have underlying factors that you are unaware of. By reading over many reviews, you can get a more accurate picture of the services that the company can provide.

Insured

A company needs to have insurance in order to protect you throughout their service. This is extremely important in protecting yourself. Consider a scenario where the company doesn’t have insurance and one of their employees gets injured while they are working on your property. Without insurance, liability for the injury may fall on your shoulders. Due to the severe consequences that can arise, it is extremely important to ensure that you choose to work with a company that is both insured and licensed. This will go a long way toward protecting you, as well as the company.

Check Experience

It can also be important to learn about the experience that the company provides. This can help to provide you with information regarding the services that they have offered and the level of experience that they have. You should likely choose a company that has experience working on projects similar to your own. This can go a long way toward preventing problems and ensuring that you can obtain the ideal services. When you learn about the experience levels of the various companies that you are choosing between, you will often be better equipped to make the best possible condition.

The services that you provide for your HVAC system will often go a long way toward reducing issues and keeping the system in great condition. At Custom Comfort, our team can help to provide you with the necessary services to improve your HVAC system. This can help to keep your system in great condition, as well as improve the level of comfort inside of your building. To learn more about the best strategies to choose an HVAC company or the services that we offer, contact us at Custom Comfort today!

There are many common heating and cooling myths that can prevent an individual from taking full advantage of their HVAC system. Understanding these heating and cooling myths will go a long way toward improving your system’s efficiency and ensuring that you are able to protect the level of comfort within your home. Here are a few of the most common heating and cooling myths.

The Location of the Thermostat Doesn’t Matter

Many people assume that the location of the thermostat doesn’t matter. After all, it is simply the place where you control the temperature within your building? However, the thermostat is an incredibly important component of your HVAC system. The thermostat needs to be able to obtain accurate readings in order to successfully regulate the temperature within your building. When the thermostat is placed in direct sunlight, it will often read that the temperature is warmer than it actually is within the building. The same thing applies to a thermostat that is located near an oven, stove, or a vent. Hallways also generally have much different air flow than in other areas of the building. They are also often unoccupied, so temperature readings in the hallway are often inaccurate.

Only Need to Change Filters Once a Year

Once a year is much too long to go between filter changes. It is important to ensure that you change the air filter of your heating and cooling system approximately every 90 days. This will improve the air quality of your home and ensure that the system continues to function much more efficiently. In some situations, the air filter should be changed much more frequently. For example, homes that contain pets or individuals with respiratory problems may require more frequent air filter changes. You also need to have your air ducts cleaned on a regular basis in order to improve the air quality within your home.

Space Heaters Can Effectively Fix Cold Spots

Cold spots are ultimately an indication that something is wrong with your heating and cooling system. One of the most common heating and cooling myths is that a space heater should be implemented in order to fix cold spots that are present in your building. However, cold spots often indicate that there is insufficient insulation, leaks in your duct system, or an array of other issues. Space heaters just serve as a temporary mask for these problems, while increasing your energy consumption. It is often much more efficient to have the initial problem resolved to fix the cold spots in your home, rather than using a space heater to provide this same service.

Maintenance is a Waste of Money

Many people don’t obtain maintenance or the services of a professional until their system breaks down. However, it is extremely important to ensure that you obtain regular maintenance for your HVAC system in order to eliminate problems. Maintenance helps to prolong the lifetime of your system and aids in preventing issues before they arise. It also ensures that your HVAC system continues to work at top efficiency, which will save you money and help to create a far more comfortable environment.

Closing Vents in Unused Rooms will Save you Money

If there are unused rooms in the home, it is incredibly common for an individual to close the vents or the doors in that room. However, this doesn’t save money, it actually puts an obstacle in the way of the system’s air flow. This generally puts extra pressure on the system and can cause leaks to occur. When you close the vents in unused rooms, the system will overcompensate for these closed vents. That can lead to extra damage to your system.

Increasing Energy Efficiency is Too Expensive

There are many steps that you can take to improve the energy efficiency of your home. However, many people forego these steps because they seem too expensive. However, improved energy efficiency often goes a long way toward saving money as it decreases your energy expenses. In addition, an energy efficient home will ultimately be much more valuable after these improvements are made. Improved energy efficiency is often a project with a rather high return on investment.

Duct Tape Can be used to Seal Ducts

Though the name might imply that duct tape is a good choice for sealing your air ducts, this is not the case. There are many uses of duct tape but sealing air ducts isn’t one of them. To successfully, thoroughly, and efficiently seal your air ducts, you need to obtain specialized tape that is designed for this specific purpose.

Bigger is Better

It is a common misconception that a bigger furnace or air conditioner will be more effective than properly sized varieties. This isn’t the case. When a unit is too big for the area that they are supposed to regulate, they will heat or cool the area in short bursts, because they reach the intended temperature too quickly. This causes the system to turn on and off frequently, which results in more wear and tear. The extra wear and tear leads to an increase in issues with the system. It is important to ensure that you choose the appropriate sized unit for your property.

You Should Set the Temperature Lower for Faster Cooling

You can’t increase the speed of your HVAC system by setting the temperature above or below what you want. The machine works by being on or off. When you set the temperature lower than you actually want, it will just force the machine to work longer than it really needs to. The same thing applies to the heating of your property.

Understanding these common heating and cooling myths will help you to ensure that your property can be as comfortable as possible. It will also prevent you from inadvertently causing damage to your HVAC system. Our experts at Custom Comfort are capable of providing the various services that you need to improve the functionality of your HVAC system, including regular maintenance and repair services. To learn more about the most common heating and cooling myths, contact us at Custom Comfort today!