Is your furnace ready for the winter?
With the summer that wasn’t behind us, perhaps the only thing we have to look forward to are the glorious fall colours – soon to be followed by the grey drab of winter, which means heating season is fast approaching.
It’s another one of those undocumented but ubiquitous Canadian rituals: check the furnace, change the filter and fire ‘er up to make sure everything works because when that first chill hits you don’t want to be shivering under a blanket and hoping the service van will show up soon.
It’s also that time of year when we should be assessing all the components that go into our heating systems – and that goes way beyond the furnace. Even if you could install a 100 per cent efficient furnace, if your home is a sieve with gale force drafts, it’s not going to heat up enough to make you and your family feel comfortable.
As John Mel, president of JCJ Mechanical Inc. Heating & Cooling, which serves, Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, Scarborough and the GTA points out, making sure you’ve done everything to seal your home – called the building envelope – and installing energy-efficient windows and doors, along with high “R” value insulation, is the only way to minimize your energy consumption and minimize your heat loss. It’ll also help keep your house cool in summer, if we ever get another hot summer, that is.
“The energy audit program is an excellent way to see how airtight your home is,” he says of the $300 test which triggers a $150 Ontario rebate and can also generate up to $10,000 in provincial and federal rebates if you subsequently upgrade your home’s energy efficiency by installing high efficiency windows, doors, insulation or furnace.
With that in mind, however, the first thing top of mind for most homeowners is assessing their heating system this fall and deciding if it’s time to replace the furnace or heating system.
For the most part, homes in Toronto are heated with forced air gas, though there are a few oil furnaces around and quite a few hot water radiator systems, which are also generally run on gas. Other heating options include radiant floor heating in which hot water is run through tubes below ceramic floors but those options are usually an adjunct to a primary forced air or hot water heating system. There’s even a hybrid system, which heats water in a tankless gas-fired system and then runs the water in a loop through a heat exchanger while a fan forces air over it and into the ductwork.
For any furnaces there are a few simple things to keep in mind, says John.
“The life cycle of a furnace is between 15 and 25 years,” says John, noting at some point it’s more cost-efficient to replace your furnace with a new, high efficiency unit than to maintain the old one.
If you’re at all concerned about the age of your furnace, have it checked sooner-than-later by an HVAC company. They usually offer packages or include the pre-season check as part of an annual service contract. Be warned though, that if the inspection uncovers a cracked heat exchanger or other problem, your furnace will be “red tagged” as unsafe and you won’t be able to use it until it’s replaced.
If your furnace is at the end of its life cycle, making a decision on what kind of furnace to buy will actually get easier after Jan. 1, 2010. That’s because mid-efficiency gas furnaces will no longer be certified for use in Canada. There will obviously be some old stock available but once that is sold, all furnaces retailed must be high-efficiency rated at 90 per cent AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) rating or higher.
It’s both good news and bad news, points out John.The new standards are much more efficient and installation is simple with a two-inch vent through the side wall instead of a vertical flue, although that could be a problem for some.
“In many older homes there’s no way to vent through the side because of clearances,” he says. “It’s the same with some townhouses and condos.”
While single family, detached homes have a simple venting option, other homes will have to use some creative thinking to get around the venting issues, since running up the existing flue can be done, but will require more work.
The good news is that the new furnaces are much smaller and take up less space in the basement. There’s also the option to rent your furnace (and tankless water heater and air conditioning system) if money is tight, through companies like JCJ Mechanical Inc.
The high-efficiency furnaces also come with a much more complex technology, notes Nepom, such as two speed DC motors (which use less power), variable heat exchangers and computerized circuit boards which interact with “smart” thermostats to determine what kind of heating boost is needed depending on the temperature and time of day. An early morning start-up, for example, would quickly bring the household up to temperature as everyone gets out of bed and ready for work, while a late evening top up needs only a gentle burn.
The trick in choosing a new furnace is to size it correctly, says Fugler. Too big, as measured by the heat output in British Thermal Units (BTUs), and your furnace will never reach optimum temperature, so slightly small is better.
“Most installers tend to oversize the furnace because that way they’ll never get a call back on those coldest days of the year,” he says. “But on those coldest days in Toronto when it’s minus 22, your furnace should be running 45 minutes out of each hour.”
Again, he says, the Ontario Energy Audit, will also help calculate a heat-loss model of your home to establish the right size furnace.
If you’re good to go, fire it up before that first cold day since many homeowners will wait until the last minute to turn their furnaces on, only to discover it won’t light and HVAC companies will be snowed under with “no heat” calls.
Visit www.jcjmechanicalinc.com for more information
Furnace and Heating Tips
Here are some low- and no-cost ideas of things you can do to reduce the amount of energy it takes to heat your house.
- Make sure heat vents and return air vents aren’t covered.
- Change your fiber furnace filter twice a year and clean it monthly during the heating season.
- Set the thermostat at a maximum of 68 degrees.
- Set back the thermostat a maximum of 10 degrees at night, unless you have a heat pump or cable heat. Save up to three percent on heating costs for every degree your thermostat is lowered. Consider installing an automatic setback thermostat for your furnace.
- If you have zonal heating (thermostats in each room) you can turn down the heat to 50 or 55 degrees and close doors.
- If you suspect your thermostat is not accurate, place a thermometer nearby and see if they record the same number.
- Don’t use the oven to heat your kitchen.
- Weatherstrip and caulk around all doors and windows.
- Keep dampers closed when fireplace isn’t in use. Unblocked, a good chimney can draw up to 20 percent of the warm air out of the house each hour.
- In cold weather, keep drapes and shades open on sunny days and close them at night.
- Repair broken or cracked glass and putty older windows; check to see that windows close properly and window locks pull sashes together.
- Make sure doors close properly; repair or replace non-working doorknobs, latches and striker plates.
- Caulk foundation cracks and openings. Make sure kitchen and bathroom vent dampers close properly.
- Install automatic setback thermostats that adjust the heat to your schedule.
- Routinely have a professional contractor perform a pre-season check-up. Having your air conditioner inspected and tuned can save you money on costs and prevent premature breakdown. Schedule your tune-ups early in the spring. You’ll have more scheduling flexibility, and you will be less likely to experience problems during warmer weather.
- Clean your drain lines: The hoses connected to your furnace can develop “build up” inside them over time. If it gets bad enough, water can back up into the furnace and cause damage.
- Change the batteries in your digital thermostat annually: People forget that their digital thermostat has batteries in it. If you get in the habit of changing the batteries annually, you can eliminate a no-heat situation.
For more energy saving tips from JCJ Mechanical Heating, Furnaces, Boilers & Air Conditioning visit www.jcjmechanicalinc.com
How to reduce your air conditioning bills
Are you experiencing high air conditioner bills that are burning a deep hole in your household budget? Do you know that with a well-maintained air conditioning unit, you will be able to save 15% to 40% of the energy which will directly affect your bills?
To reduce your air conditioner bills, the best way is to have a well-maintained air conditioner unit. Although tasks like cleaning can be easily done by you, for more complicated technical tasks, it is best to leave the hard work to an air conditioner professional to have you fulfil it.
An air conditioning unit is more complex than what you think it might be. Any adjustments or repairs should always be done by professionals. In a unit, there are refrigerant gases, compressors, fans, fins, coils, electrical starters, thermostats, and so many more. It is just to overwhelming for you to do the task by yourself.
When you find that the bills are shooting really high for the past few months, it is time to ask for a servicing so as to make your unit more efficient and save energy. You can engage a professional service technician I would recomment JCJ Mechanical Inc., and he should be able to clean the evaporator and condenser coils, check refrigerant pressures, and adjust and lubricate moving parts. Sometime, there will not be enough refrigerant gas.
In this case, the technician will also help you to top up the unit. A professional technician will be able to detect symptoms that can lead to energy wastage or inefficiencies, and rectify them. One major culprit for tremendous energy wastage is that your unit does not have a damper or have a malfunctioning one. A damper is place in the duct of an air conditioner unit so as to prevent cool air from entering the furnace cabinet in summer, and warm air from escaping to the air conditioner unit in winter.
If the technician finds that you have a damaged damper, he will help you to repair or replace it. You might ask how often do you need to call a professional technician to check on your air conditioner unit. Actually, it really depends on how your unit cooling system operates. Different model of air conditioners unit will have different cooling operations.
However, as a rule of thumb, the followings are a general interval guideline that you can take for reference:
1. Hot regions. If your unit operates for 8 or more months per year, you need to engage a professional once a year.
2. Warm regions. If your unit operates for 5 to 8 months per year, you need to engage a professional every 2 to 3 years.
3. Cold regions. If operating for less than 5 months every year, engage a professional every 3 to 5 years. With a well-maintained and energy saving air conditioning unit, you will get to see a slide in your air conditioner bill.
Call JCJ Mechanical Inc. at 416 967-0717 for more information or visit www.jcjmechanicalinc.com
Money Saving Heating & Furnace Tips
Sky-high energy bills, diminishing resources and a healthy concern for our environment have brought a great deal of attention to the topic of home energy efficiency in recent years. Homeowners everywhere are struggling to spend less, use less and pollute less without giving up the warmth and comfort they’ve grown to cherish. So here are a few tips for conserving energy during the winter months.
- Make certain you set your thermostat to a level you are comfortable with. We recommend setting your thermostat from 68 to 70 degrees. Once you have the thermostat set and you are content with the comfort level we also recommend that you leave it there. It takes less energy to heat air 3-4 degrees than it does to heat air 6-8 degrees. This will also help save on your heating bills. Washington DC winters can be cold so set that thermostat and leave it to save money!
- We recommend that you make certain, you clean or replace filters on furnace once a month.
- Make certain that any clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators; are not being blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes. In other words try to maintain your vents ability to flow warm air freely.
- You should consider placing heat-resistant radiator reflectors between any exterior walls and the radiators.
- Although fans may help you save money in on your air conditioning bill in the spring and summer, we recommend that you use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans wisely. These fans can pull out a houseful of warmed in no time. Make certain that you turn them off as soon as they have done their job.
- Consider keeping draperies or shades open on the south of your home and facing windows during the winter or cold months to allow sunlight to enter your home. You should also close them at night to reduce the cold.
- Make certain that you purchase energy-efficient equipment if you are replacing any of the appliances or the furnaces in your home. Magnolia technicians are trained on repair, maintenance and installation of all major energy efficient brands and are also an authorized re-seller of most major well known brands.
- So that you don’t waste your hard earned money you should always before calling a Magnolia Technician check these three items to make certain you need a technician:
Make certain you check your thermostat to verify that it is set for “heating”.
Go to your breaker box and make certain that the breaker is on.
You’ll want to check your furnaces switch to make certain that your gas is on.
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Heating your home efficiently
These tips will help you lower your home’s energy use, which will save you money and help protect the environment, while you continue to stay warm this winter.
Save power
Reduce your hot water consumption by up to 50 per cent by using low-flow aerated showerheads, and save 15 per cent off your monthly power bill. The air added to the water keeps the water pressure strong while saving you hot water and money
Save the environment
Recycle your heating appliances
Things you can do
Open curtains and blinds during the day to let heat in, and close them at night to help keep the heat inside your home
Vacuum baseboard heaters at least twice a year to prevent dust from building up, so heat can more easily move through your house
Space heaters
A space heater used 8 hours a day can cost over $21 a month to operate, making it one of the worst winter power culprits
Turn off your space heater when you leave the room or go to bed at night
Furnaces
Clean your furnace filter regularly and make sure your chimney and outdoor vents are not blocked
Have a trained professional inspect your furnace in the fall every year to make sure it is working efficiently. If your furnace is taken care of, it will be safer, use less electricity and cost less to operate
If your furnace has a continuous pilot light, shut off the pilot light for the summer and have a technician relight it in the fall during your annual inspection. An inspection costs around $100, but could more than pay for itself in power savings if your furnace isn’t running properly
Thermostats (natural gas tips)
Set your thermostat lower in the winter
Install a programmable thermostat that you can set to automatically lower the temperature when you normally leave the house or go to bed. You can also set it to automatically raise the temperature shortly before you get up in the morning
By simply lowering your thermostat by 2 degrees for eight hours every night, in the winter, you’ll save approximately 4 per cent on your heating bill
Install an ENERGY STAR programmable thermostat away from natural cool and hot spots in your home. They provide more flexibility than standard models and perform one or more of the following functions: Save and repeat multiple daily settings, which you can change when needed without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program; store four or more temperature settings a day; and adjust heating or air conditioning turn-on times as the outside temperature changes
Water heaters
Your water heater is one of the biggest energy users in your home, second only to the furnace
Make sure your water heater is insulated properly
Taking long hot showers is an expensive way to warm up. Consider taking short showers instead
If you’re keeping an older hot water appliance, insulate the heater and the first metre of piping. The insulation pays for itself by preventing energy being wasted into thin air
Lower the thermostat to 55 degrees to save energy. Make sure it is at 55 degrees and not any lower, as this would risk the growth of disease-carrying bacteria such as legionella. Some older dishwashers need to have the water at 60 degrees in order to work properly. If your dishwasher doesn’t have an element to boost the temperature, you may have to set the thermostat at 60 degrees
Hot tubs
Turn your hot tub thermostat down if you won’t be using it for a week or more. It costs less to re-heat your water than to always keep it hot
Make sure your hot tub cover fits properly and is in good condition. Keep your hot tub covered as much as possible. Adding a floating thermal blanket under the cover will help retain even more heat
Put your hot tub in a sheltered area to prevent wind from cooling the water down.
Visit www.jcjmechanicalinc.com for more information
New Boiler Regulations
It’s been one of those weeks around my house. So much to do, so little time. All compounded by our old hot water heater giving up the ghost and soaking our basement. And, of course, because it was one of those weeks, one of the connections to the new one was leaking too, so we had to have yet another service call.
Because it was a small trickle, they booked us an appointment for two days after we noticed the problem, meaning the repair guy showed up yesterday. He soldered up the hole in the connector, and the basement is drying out again. At that point, I expected that we could finally put the whole soggy mess behind us.
But, it wasn’t that easy. We happen to have an old boiler that’s still trucking along and doing an excellent job of heating our house. But, we were unaware of new carbon monoxide regulations – effective yesterday! – that required us to have a carbon monoxide test done, a carbon monoxide detector in our sleeping area – ours was in the basement, near the boiler – and more ventilation to the unfinished portion of our wee basement, which required removing a door between the spaces. (Read more about the regulations here).
We were lucky, we passed the test, and removing the door was a quick fix (armed with pliers cause our hammer is MIA), as was moving the plug-in carbon monoxide detector upstairs. So we got our pass tag, and, other than the inspection fee, the whole thing was pretty painless. Here’s hoping that once we get our annual cleaning out of the way, we’ll be done with service calls for a while!
Visit www.jcjmechanicalinc.com for more information
Toronto Boilers, Heating and HVAC Contactor
JCJ Mechanical Inc. Repair & Cooling is Toronto’s Boiler and HVAC Contractors. Updated with the latest technology in heating and cooling equipment, JCJ Mechanical INc. Repair & Cooling prides itself on being technicians and mechanics, not parts changers. Our staff attends training and seminars on a regular basis in order to be on top of our game and to serve you best.
We work on all types of residential, commercial or industrial equipment, and our repair, maintenance, and installation services include:
* Restaurants and Restaurant equipment
* High efficiency units
* Condensing boilers
* Wall hung boilers
* Direct vent units
* Apartments
* Co-ops
* Condos
* Hot water heaters
* Coils
* Air Conditioning
* Split or package units
* Piping and plumbing relating to heating or air conditioning applications
* Preventive annual maintenance
JCJ Mechanical Inc. Boiler Repair does it all!
Visit www.jcjmechanicalinc.com for more information
How to prepare your home for the winter months
With winter just around the corner, now is the time to give your home a winterizing “check-up.” Here is the checklist of five important steps you’ll need to make to ensure your home is ready for those cold north winds.
1. Have your heating system cleaned and tuned by a qualified contractor. A pre-season tune-up and filter change is a good investment. It reduces the chances of breakdowns in the middle of winter, improves safety, and pays for itself through more energy efficient operation.
2. Have your system checked for carbon monoxide. A good contractor will also offer to test your system for hazardous carbon monoxide, which can be produced by a dirty or malfunctioning gas or oil furnace or water heater. Install a low level carbon monoxide alarm. Every home should have at least one carbon monoxide alarm.
3. Have your duct system tested for air leaks. Many think that windows and doors are the major cause of a home’s air leaks. But according to recent research by the U.S. Department of Energy, gaps and cracks in the typical home’s duct system are much more significant. The typical duct system loses 25 percent to 40 percent of the energy put out by the central furnace, heat or air conditioner. Leaks are usually the biggest problem.
4. Ask your heating contractor to perform an Infiltrometer “blower door” test. The blower door is a computerized instrument that pinpoints where your home’s worst air leaks are, and also measures how leaky the overall house is. While some homes are still far too leaky, most homes are now becoming too airtight and need mechanical ventilation to ensure the air inside is fresh. According to Jean Deslandes, Marketing Director for Venmar Ventilation, the country’s leader in indoor air quality management, proper ventilation is crucial for optimal indoor air quality. “Ventilation dilutes the air of pollutants in your home and revitalizes stale air,” explains Deslandes. “For your home to ‘breathe’ effectively it needs a constant source of fresh, filtered outdoor air to flow through, resulting in improved indoor air quality.”
Deslandes says the best results are achieved through mechanical ventilation combined with HEPA filtration, such as Venmar’s HEPA 3000 air exchanger. The combination of ventilation and filtration works to reduce humidity, volatile compounds (gases, moulds), and maintains healthy indoor air quality.
5. Consider replacing your old furnace or heat pump. Just like a car, heating equipment doesn’t last forever. If your system is more than 12 year- old, and you are planning to stay in your home more than a few years, many authorities recommend considering replacing it before it fails permanently. A new system is safer, more dependable, and can pay for itself through energy savings, as it is up to twice as energy efficient. For more details on how to eliminate dangerous indoor air pollutants visit http://www.jcjmechanicalinc.com
What size furnace do you need?
The right amount of heat in your home is very important, an oversized furnace can waste a lot of energy and a lot of your money in the process – and an under sized furnace will not be able to heat your home to the necessary level for you and your family to be comfortable.
Sometimes it’s not just a matter of replacing your existing furnace with a furnace that’s exactly the same size because the methods of sizing a furnace appropriately have changed quite a bit over the last several years; it’s very possible that your current furnace may be oversized for the application.
Furnaces today also operate much more efficiently than furnaces from twenty, ten or even five years ago, so that could also contribute to what size unit you would require for your home.
Your Furnace Size depends on many Factors
So many different variables can contribute to the size and type of furnace that you will need to adequately heat your home. Things like geographic location; overall square footage, level and type of insulation and the heat loss through old windows, unsealed chimneys and holes where pipes and wires come into your home can all be major contributing factors to the size of heating unit you need to heat your home.
The design of your current heating system and the layout of your home can both be major contributing factors to the size of furnace you need as well. For example, if you have split level home with two operating zones to control your heat and there are only occupants of one zone at any given time (like upstairs bedrooms being occupied at night and remaining empty during the day controlled by one zone), this could mean that you only need a smaller BTU furnace despite having a higher overall square footage. Having two or more controlling zones can play a very large part in determining exactly what size furnace is needed for a home.
Blindly basing the size of a furnace on any one of these factors alone can be a big mistake, many contractors who come into your home to bid on the job of replacing your furnace will want to base the size of the new unit on the square footage of your home alone because this is the easiest way to get a general idea of your homes needs. The problem is – that the square footage alone will only give a very general idea of what size furnace your home needs and by going this route you’ll often get a furnace that’s either one size too big or one size too small (at least) which will either have you wasting a bunch of money unnecessarily, or not heating your home enough to live comfortably.
Go by the Numbers
In order to get a furnace that’s properly sized, you should have a company come out to do a heat loss calculation on your home. The heat loss calculation is the only true way to determine exactly what size furnace you need to heat your home thoroughly and efficiently, and it’s a quick and simple process.
A qualified technician will come out to your home and using a variety of equipment will take into account the heat loss caused by all of the aforementioned factors – which will give the true measurement of power necessary from your new furnace.
It’s not just about heating your home efficiently either, though the cost savings of having an appropriately sized boiler could be dramatic, different sized furnaces come with different sized price tags. If a contractor estimates that you need a 120,000 BTU when in reality a 95,000 BTU furnace would do the job – the initial investment of the job could be several hundred dollars more – causing you to lose a substantial amount of money up front and then to continually lose money with each and every energy bill.
The size of your current furnace and the square footage of your home alone tell you very little when it comes to sizing a new furnace for your home – to get a truly accurate gauge of the size furnace you need a home heat loss calculation must be performed by a qualified professional.
Visit www.jcjmechanicalinc.com for more
A/C Tips
Before each cooling season, it is recommended that central air conditioners get a professional tune-up. This is the biggest step to preventing major malfunctions in an AC unit.
Probably the most important step that can be done by a homeowner is to clean or replace the air filter every month. Electrostatic filters are the best. Do not run the unit with the filter removed. Check the owner’s manual for filter cleaning procedure. Let a washed filter dry completely before reinstalling it.
Every month, especially during the summer months, remove any leaves or debris from outdoor condenser units.
Help keep the outdoor condenser fan running efficiently by cleaning the fan blades and the coils before each cooling season. (Always turn off the power before attempting anything other than superficial cleaning). Remove the fan grill and the fan blades. Gently brush off debris from the blades. Then uncover the condenser coils and gently brush the dirty side. Then hose water from inside the unit, using plastic bags to protect the motor and other components. Also check the base pan (under the unit) and remove any debris that has accumulated there as well.
If the condenser fan makes a clicking or grating noise it may indicate that the blades may be striking an obstruction. If a blade becomes bent, do not try to straighten the blade. A straightened blade may become unbalanced and can loosen the fan motor or hit the condenser coil. Replace a bent blade with a new blade. After replacing a blade, make sure the fan blades rotate freely and don’t wobble. If fan often becomes loose, apply a drop of thread-locking compound.
Keep vegetation at least 2 feet away from outdoor units on each side and above. Aim grass clippings away from the unit when mowing the lawn. During the fall, keep the fan grill free of leaves.
Lubricate the condenser fan motor once a year if it has oil ports. (They’re usually plugged with rubber or metal caps). Use non-detergent lightweight SAE 20 oil and add no more than 10 drops per port.
If possible, shade the outdoor compressor unit. Air in shaded space is typically 5 to 6 degrees cooler than the surrounding air. Proper shading can be up to 10 percent more efficient over a cooling season.
During the winter months, protect the condenser unit with a form-fitting cover. To avoid damaging the compressor, don’t operate the unit when it’s below 60 degrees F outside.
A dirty indoor evaporator coil will hinder the unit’s ability to cool the air moving through the unit. To clean the evaporator coil, remove the front panel of the air handler/ furnace to expose the coil. Ensure that the coil is dry. Use the soft brush attachment on the vacuum cleaner to gently remove any dust or debris from the coil. Check and make sure that coil fins are straight. If not, straighten them with a fin comb available from refrigeration supply dealers.
Warm indoor air contacting the evaporator coils will condense causing moisture to collect and drip. In most units, a plastic pipe carries the water outdoors or to a floor drain. Algae and bacteria growth can clog the pipe. When this happens, backed-up water can puddle, causing rust or other damage. To clean the evaporator drain, remove the plastic tape holding the trap to the pipe elbow. (It may be necessary to saw through the pipe at the elbow). Flush the trap with water from a hose, and then disinfect using 1 tbsp of chlorine bleach. Reattach the trap to the pipe with new tape.
Raise the temperature settings. Each degree of temperature can represent up to 9 percent savings in cooling costs.
For more information visit us at www.jcjmechanicalinc.com or call 647 833-8116
