Heating Cooling Blog David Selvey Advice Lafayette Indiana

3 Additional Tips to Lower Your Heating Bills

Posted @ 1/2/2012 12:12 PM By David

David has just posted 3 additional tips to help you save this winter.

1. Keep a clean filter in your system. Keeping a clean, good quality filter in your system helps your system to breathe better and not have to work as hard. It’s really the most important thing you can do to maintain your furnace and air conditioner. Dirty filters increases energy costs and shorten the life of your equipment.

2. Keep the area around your furnace clear. This is not only a safety consideration but can also help insure that the burners will get the air necessary for proper combustion. Clutter around a furnace, whether gas, electric or oil can be an unsafe a fire hazard. It may also impede airflow for combustion air that will result in poor fuel economy and equipment deterioration.

3. DON’T close off vents and rooms! A popular recommendation in DIY articles is to close off unused rooms and the heating/cooling registers in those rooms.

While it may be all right to close off 1-2 small rooms may not hurt your system, closing more could damage the indoor fan motor and cause furnace overheating. If you want to close off part of your system, having Selvey install a zone system might be the answer.

If you need some help with any of these projects contact us by phone or through our website.

2 More Tips to Lower Your Heating Bills

Posted @ 12/22/2011 8:46 AM By David

David has posted some more tips to help lower your heating bills.

1. Lower your thermostat setting a few degrees. Did you know that lowering your thermostat set point 3 degrees can save you as much as 10% on your heating and cooling costs? To stay warmer for less money, consider putting an extra blanket on the bed and lower your thermostat set point an additional five degrees or so when you retire at night. This is easily done with a good quality programmable thermostat.

2. Don’t be a “thermostat jiggler.” Some people get uncomfortable and raise or lower their thermostat several degrees at a time. This causes wide swings in temperature using excessive energy, which costs money. If you become uncomfortable, instead of “spinning” the dial on your thermostat make a small adjustment, not more than two degrees. If after 10 minutes, the furnace has shut off and you are still too cool, adjust another 2 degrees. This will save you a few bucks and avoid wide temperature swings. Check out our article, What is the best setting for my thermostat?

Learn more about saving energy and tax credits.

If you need some help with any of these projects contact us by phone or through our website and we will recommend someone to you. Contact us for more information.

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3 Tips to Lower Your Heating Bills

Posted @ 12/12/2011 2:50 PM By David

3 Tips to Lower Your Heating Bills

Are your heating bills too high? Mine are. Here are some easy ways to lower your heating bills. This the first of a multi-part series.

1. Seal up cracks around openings. Dampen the back of your hand and use it to feel air that may enter your house through cracks around windows, doors, switches and electrical outlets. You can use a variety of materials to seal up these energy-stealing cracks and your local hardware store probably has some inexpensive, precut foam pads that you can mount behind switch plates and outlets to keep out the drafts.

2. Replace broken or cracked panes on windows and storm windows. A lot of heat energy can slip through those cracks!

3. Keep outside doors closed. This one may sound obvious, but many people think that if they have a heavy glass storm door it will not allow much heat to escape. The truth is that glass is a terrible insulator and it allows a lot of heat to escape. Double or triple pane glass allows less heat to escape than single pane, but generally, they still allow a lot of heat to escape.

If you need some help with any of these projects contact us by phone or through our website and we will recommend someone to you. Contact us for more information.

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Lend a Helping Hand

Posted @ 12/5/2011 1:31 PM By David

Lend a Helping Hand

You can make a difference this holiday season by partnering with Selvey Heating and Cooling to provide food for your local food pantry. You may drop of your canned goods at Selvey Heating & Cooling, conveniently located next to IGA at 348 W Main St., Rossville, IN or give your canned goods to our service technician when he services your furnace. Give the cans to our service tech in your home and receive $1.00 off for each can donated at the time of the service call. Limit $5 off per call. If you need to schedule a service call or tune-up visit our web site.

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10 Tips for Selecting a Heating Contractor

Posted @ 11/22/2011 8:00 AM By David

10 tips that will help you select a heating or cooling contractor ...

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2011 Federal Tax Credits for Consumer Energy Efficiency

Posted @ 10/31/2011 8:00 AM By David

Who is a better money manager, you or your politicians? ...

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Office Assistant Needed

Posted @ 10/25/2011 9:10 AM By David

Selvey Heating & Cooling is looking for a part time office assistant to work 3 days a week ...

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Tune up your HVAC equipment yearly

Posted @ 10/24/2011 7:00 AM By David

Tuning up your car improves gas mileage. Tuning up your furnace can improve efficiency & ...

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Should I cover my outdoor AC condenser unit in the winter?

Posted @ 10/17/2011 7:00 AM By David

According to Energy Star, it is generally good to cover your outdoor AC in the winter. It will help prevent dirt, leaves, and other debris from getting in the condenser fan and the coils. It might help extend the life of the condenser unit or just make it easier to clean in the spring. To avoid trapping excessive moisture inside the unit, a custom cover made for that purpose works best. Trapped moisture could promote rusting of the equipment. Also be sure to remove the cover before turning the unit on. Be sure the unit is not a heat pump which needs to be UNCOVERED in the winter.

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