Comfort Flow Heating Blog:
Archive for April, 2014

Plan for Air Conditioning Repairs Now

Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

Spring is often the first opportunity you will have during the year to find out how well your air conditioner is running. When you turn it on for the first time, pay attention to all aspects of its operation. Look for any indications of faults or malfunctions. Loud, unusual sounds from the cabinets. Weak airflow from the vents. Circuit breakers constantly tripping. The compressor shutting off early, then turning right back on. Frost along the coils. All of these are warnings that the air conditioner isn’t ready for spring weather, let alone summer. Call a professional HVAC technician for repairs right away.

For quality air conditioning services in Salem, OR, make the call to a trusted name: Comfort Flow Heating. We’ve made comfort our calling for more than 50 years.

Why Take Care of AC Repairs Sooner Instead Of Later

A mild Salem spring can make it easy to dismiss air conditioning malfunctions. If the problem doesn’t seem to have much effect on the system’s cooling power, why not wait until summer to look into it further?

But you should never delay with repairs for an air conditioner for a number of reasons. First, malfunctions in any complex mechanical system will put additional strain on other components, causing problems to spread. What at first seemed like a minor glitch will enlarge into an expansive and expensive repair job after only a few weeks.

Second, the extra stress from a malfunction—even if it doesn’t trigger further failures—will cause the AC to run inefficiently. It will drain electrical power to overcome the repair needs, and this will translate into a spike on your electrical bills.

Third, you don’t want to have any fault in the air conditioner turn into a full breakdown when summer arrives. When the thermometer goes up, your AC will need to work more, and the additional stress put onto an already shaky machine can cause it to shut down. You don’t want to get stranded with a broken air conditioner on one of summer’s hottest days while waiting for emergency repairs.

Remember To Schedule Regular Maintenance

Let’s suppose that your air conditioner has already turned on and nothing seems amiss. You still need to contact a trustworthy repair service to schedule regular preventive maintenance for the system. All ACs should have annual maintenance to check for possible repair problems and to tune-up and clean the system so it will work at its best for the summer. An air conditioner that receives regular maintenance will sustain 95% of its efficiency for most of its life.

To have any necessary repairs done fast, call Comfort Flow Heating: we have 24-hour emergency service. Also inquire about out Energy Savings Agreement to maintain your air conditioning in Salem, OR.

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Why Heating Repair Makes Sense in Spring and Summer

Tuesday, April 29th, 2014

Summer in Oregon can mean some hot days, but it also means an occasional chilly day. And course, there’s always the rain for which our state is so well known. For these reasons alone, you cannot afford to ignore your home’s heating system during spring and summer. Sometimes, repair work on heaters makes perfect sense at this time.

What also makes sense: calling Comfort Flow Heating whenever you need heating repairs in Salem, OR. We have more than a half-century of work experience in the Willamette Valley and a reputation for happy customers.

Heating Repairs for the Warm(er) Seasons

The principle reason for staying on top of repairs for your furnace, heat pump, or radiant heating is to make sure you are ready for that “rainy day”—because it’s almost certain to come along. You don’t want your heater to struggle to warm up your home, or even fail completely, right when you need it. If the heater displayed signs of lingering problems at the end of the winter, you cannot afford to wait for the fall to arrive before scheduling repair work. The problem may have only worsened since winter, and it could lead to an unpleasant surprise when you turn the system back on.

Maintaining efficiency is another reason to keep repairs current for heating systems, no matter the time of year. When you do need to have the heater on, it will waste a large amount of energy trying to overcoming a malfunction like a grimy burner, blower motors, or leaking hot water pipes. You’ll have trouble keeping your summer energy bills under control if the heater drains too much additional power each time it comes on.

If you use a heat pump to heat your home, having repairs for it is doubly important during the summer because the heat pump also works as your air conditioner. A heat pump is not two different systems: problems with heating will be problems with cooling, so you can’t ignore a repair problem you notice in heating mode. It needs to be fixed, or the cooling will soon follow it in failing.

Finally, if you have a gas-powered furnace in your home, you must have leftover malfunctions from winter remedied before they lead to safety issues. Possible gas leak dangers are just as hazardous in summer as in winter. Never hesitate when it comes to fixing a gas-powered appliance.

Remember maintenance

When you schedule your heating repairs, also check to see how long since you had a maintenance session for it. If it’s been longer than a year, you should set up an appointment now to make sure that the system needs no additional repairs and to check that it is running efficiently.

Comfort Flow Heating can handle all your needs for heating repair in Salem, OR. We have technicians ready around the clock, around the calendar for your convenience.

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What Are Some Of My Options For A New Heating System in Salem, OR?

Wednesday, April 9th, 2014

Heating systems in Salem and other Oregon towns are absolute necessities during the cold winter months. Now that temperatures are rising, you may want to replace an old, used system for a newer and more efficient one. Most people are accustomed to either forced air furnaces or boiler systems, and they’re both effective means of getting the job done.  But they’re not the only ways of heating your home, and alternative methods cold offer some benefits that you might not have considered otherwise. “What are some of my options for a new heating system in Salem, OR?” you ask.

We’ve outlined three popular choices below:

  • Radiant heating. Radiant heating is used in boiler technology, but a formal system takes it in a much different direction. Metal tubes and reflective tiles are placed beneath your floor, through which heated water is circulated. This warms the room from the floor up, transferring warmth directly through furniture and your feet. It’s very efficient – costing much less in monthly heating bills as forced air furnaces – and it also eliminates problems such as drafts and blown dust.
  • Heat pumps. Heat pumps combine the effects of a heater and an air conditioner, using cycled refrigerant to alternately warm and cool the air. That gives them increased efficiency, as well as combining heating and cooling needs into a single unit. Like radiant heating, heat pumps are very cost-effective, and while they struggle a bit in cold weather, they can be paired with electric heaters that still save you money on costs.
  • Geothermal heating. Geothermal heating often appears in houses on large property lots, since they often require a fair amount of space. The system buries a series of coils 6-8 feet beneath the earth, where the temperatures remain constant. Liquid is pumped through the tubes, which swaps heat back and forth with the earth. As with the other systems we’ve discussed, it’s very inexpensive month to month, and environmentally friendly to boot.

If you wish to discuss some of your options for a new heating system in Salem, OR, call upon the experts at Comfort Flow Heating for help. We’re fast and efficient, and we can spell out your options with you before performing the installation. Give us a call today!

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What a Cracked Heat Exchanger Means

Friday, April 4th, 2014

Gas furnaces have an unfair reputation as hazardous ways of home heating. But even though the dangers of a gas furnace are exaggerated, they do have potential safety issues you need to watch for. With prompt repairs and regular maintenance you can almost reduce these possibilities to zero. Make sure you rely on professional HVAC technicians for those crucial repairs, and you should have many years of trouble-free performance from your gas furnace.

In this post, we’ll look at one of the more serious problems a gas furnace can encounter: a cracked heat exchanger. This calls for fast repairs from skilled technicians. Look to Comfort Flow Heating and our 24-hour emergency repair service for heating systems in Salem, OR when you think you have a cracked heat exchanger… or any other repair issue in your gas furnace.

The cracked heat exchanger: what it means and why it’s serious

The heat exchanger serves a vital function the heating cycle of a furnace. This metal, clamshell-shaped chamber collects the combustion gas from the burner, which heats up its walls. Air from the blower passes over the exchanger and heats up because of the hot metal. This allows the combustion gas to transfer its heat to the air that will circulate into a home without allowing toxic fumes to enter it. Once the heating cycle ends, the exhaust in the exchanger vents out through the gas flue.

Exchangers are durable components, but they can develop corrosion because of long contact with combustion gas—especially if the gas isn’t venting properly. Because the heat exchanger expands when it heats up, it’s easy for cracks to develop in spots where corrosion has weakened the metal. Even a small crack will gape wide when the exchanger expands… wide enough to let the exhaust escape.

This is the principle danger from a cracked exchanger. The exhaust from combustion gas contains carbon monoxide, a toxic and flammable gas that is also colorless, odorless, and tasteless, making it difficult to detect. A leak in the exchanger can place carbon monoxide into the air from the blower that goes into your house. It can also reach the burner and catch fire, or even explode if enough of it floods the combustion chamber.

How you can detect a cracked heat exchanger

First of all, if you haven’t installed carbon monoxide detectors in your home, have this done right away. Any house with a gas-powered appliance should have a CO detector as a precaution.

Second, you should suspect a cracked heat exchanger if you notice any corrosion along the furnace. Corrosion can mean other problems as well, so don’t take any chances: shut off the gas and call for repairs.

Third, cracks in the heat exchanger will result in a clicking noise starting right after the blower turns on. Don’t try to analyze the sound, just contact repair technicians.

Our team experienced in heating repairs in Salem, OR will have any furnace woes fixed so you’ll stay safe. Look to the company others have depended on for more than 50 years, Comfort Flow Heating.

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