You can learn a lot about the condition of your furnace by listening to it. Now don’t get us wrong… We’re not implying that we’re mystical furnace gurus who can actually communicate with furnaces. We’re just going off our experience and our expertise on heaters!
There are many noises and strange behaviors your furnace can make, but in this post, we want to focus on one in particular: short-cycling. This is what happens when your furnace rapidly turns on and off. The first sign you’ll most likely notice is the sound of the furnace constantly clicking on and off. Keep reading, though, and you’ll understand how short-cycling is a sign from your furnace that it’s in danger.
We’ve just officially entered winter. We know you’d much rather be thinking about the holidays and family, but there’s one thing you need to get out of the way. Take care of it now and you won’t have to worry about it later:
The most common heating options for homes consist of heat pumps and furnaces. But the “common” doesn’t account for every type of home! For smaller or older homes, those types of heaters just aren’t possible.
When most homeowners are told that their HVAC system needs maintenance, they usually file it away in a section of their mind where all the other “you should” things go. You should go to the dentist every 6 months. You should exercise three times a week for twenty to thirty minutes. You should not eat sugar. You get the idea…
With the arrival of the cold season, we have to keep our health in mind. Our body’s immune systems are compromised through this time, and you or your family members could become sick due to indoor air quality issues.
Forced-air heaters are some of the most common heaters in the country. If we had to guess what kind of heater you have in your home right now, we’d be correct in guessing that you have a furnace (statistically speaking, at least). Some of you may also have heat pumps, another type of forced-air heater that also doubles as an air conditioner. 
Do you know anyone in Portland, OR with a boiler? It’s not like they’re impossible to find, but they’re not all too common, either. Instead, you’ll find that forced-air heaters are much better suited to the needs of a typical Portland homeowner. They’re quite effective and don’t require a huge sum of money to install.
It’s finally that time of year. Temperatures are steadily dropping, we’ve shut off our air conditioners, and soon we’ll be running our heaters not just at night, but in the daytime too. And every year, we get countless questions about these two things: How to get the most out of their heater, and how to pay the least in operational costs.
Have you ever played “Two Truths and a Lie?” It’s the perfect ice-breaker for meetings and classrooms. We think it’ll be just as fun when talking about air conditioners.
Your AC unit is usually the most expensive mechanical system in your home. That’s why the thought of replacing it strikes fear into the hearts of most homeowners. Even in a moderate climate like Portland’s, however, the temperature will reach 100 degrees a few days every summer, and you don’t want to be without air conditioning. But how do you know you really do need a new AC? We’ll go over the three most important indicators below.