Clean Energy Comfort

Salem's leading provider of heating and cooling systems

Salem:

503-304-1320

Portland:

503-982-6082

CCB #193064

Oil Furnace Service & Maintenance Training

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Today we had a training session with our technicians on the basics of proper oil furnace service and maintenance. Our Senior Technician, Steve, is one of the few great oil furnace techs left out there, so it is great that he is able to pass his knowledge down to our up and coming technicians. Below is a video showing the removal and cleaning of the electrode and nozzle assembly on a Trane oil furnace.

If you have an oil furnace, or any other type of furnace, and would like to learn more about our Protection Plan, please contact us for more details.

Lennox Solar-Ready Heat Pumps and Air Conditioners

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As a Lennox Dealer, we are very excited about the Lennox SunSource Solar-Ready heat pumps and air conditioners. Lennox has designed multiple heat pump and air conditioner options to plug and play with solar panels from SolarWorld, which is a solar panel manufacturer located right in Hillsboro, OR. These Lennox heat pumps and air conditioners are able to be installed on their own, just like any other heat pump or air conditioner, with the ability to add solar later, or they can be installed along with the solar panels. The solar portion of the system is installed by mounting the solar panels, and wiring them directly to the heat pump or air conditioner. The Lennox unit will run off the power generated by the solar panels, or if the heat pump is not using the full amount of power being produced, excess power will run back through the existing wiring for the heat pump, and will power other items in the home.

Not only are these Lennox comfort systems extremely efficient on their own, but the SunSource solar system takes heating and air conditioning efficiency to a whole new level. If you would like more information regarding one of these Lennox solar ready heat pumps or air conditioners, please contact us at (503) 304-1320.

What Size Air Conditioner Will Work for My Home?

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If you are in the market for a new air conditioner for your home, one of the most important questions to have answered is what size air conditioner you will need. The only true way to know what size air conditioner your home will require, is to have a load calculation performed. For load calculations, manual J is the industry standard, and should be used by your heating & cooling contractor. This program will take into account the weather data for your area, cubic footage of the home, exterior wall lengths, insulation values, type and size of windows, type and size of exterior doors, as well as the home’s directional orientation.

All of these factors are calculated in the program, and the heating and cooling demands of the home are determined. These factors are very important. The old stand by was to use square footage to determine the cooling load of a home. The problem with this method is that it doesn’t take into account all of the above factors. You can take the same exact floor plan, one house being constructed to the standards of 1970, and one with today’s efficiency standards, and each house will require a different amount of heating and cooling. Additionally, you can take the same floor plan, with the same insulation, window, etc., but one house may have a majority of windows facing north, while the other has majority of it’s windows facing south or west. These two houses will have different heating & cooling requirements due to sun exposure.

The goal of a load calculation is to provide the closest match of a heating & cooling system for your particular home. Many contractors cut corners here, because of the time involved, so if you are looking to purchase a new furnace and/or air conditioner, be sure to ask that a load calculation be performed. We perform the load calculations at no cost as a part of our proposal process. If you would like us to take a look at your home, please contact us.

Lower Your Energy Costs on St. Patrick’s Day

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5 Ways to Save Green with Lower Energy Costs on St. Patrick’s Day, and Beyond

First of all, happy St. Patrick’s Day to you. Hope that you are having a great day, and that if you are partaking in some green adult beverages, I hope you do so responsibly. The following is a list of 5 ways that you can lower your energy costs, thus saving you some of your favorite green item, MONEY! These energy saving tips are not the only ways to save energy of course, but I just wanted to list 5 relatively simple, and low cost ways that you can lower your heating and cooling costs.

1) One of the most simple ways to lower your energy costs is to make sure that your furnace filters are clean. Some furnace filters are washable, and some are replaceable. If you have a replaceable style filter, we recommend that you replace it with a good pleated filter. There are a lot of products out there that claim to be high efficiency, electrostatic filters, but they end up doing more harm by slowing down airflow, than they do good. Your furnace filters are more than likely either located right at your furnace (above or below), or they could be located in your cold air return vents in the house.

2) Another low cost, energy saving tip would be to have regular maintenance performed on your heating & cooling system. As part of maintenance your furnace filters would be replaced, but a good maintenance should also include a thorough cleaning of both your indoor unit (furnace & coil), and your outdoor unit (air conditioner or heat pump). The cleaning should include, but is not limited to the burners and blower wheel on a gas furnace, and the indoor and outdoor coils on an air conditioner or heat pump. Your heating and cooling system generally is the highest energy user in your home, so by making sure it is running efficiently, it can help lower your energy costs.

3) Program your thermostat if you have gas or oil heat. A simple program to set back the temperature when you are away, or sleeping, can save you money. I limit this to gas furnaces or oil heat, because these furnaces recover from a setback quicker than a heat pump system, and therefore it makes sense to use a setback with them. A heat pump system has to work too hard to recover from a setback most of the time, and can actually consume more energy by trying to recover, than if you had just left it running. There are some great options available for programmable, and even smart connected thermostats that know when you’re away via motion sensors, and can learn your programming habits.

4) Adding to the insulation in your attic can be a great energy saver. I personally had this done recently, and it has made a big difference in the operating hours of my heating system. Insulation will settle over time, and if your house was built prior to the 90’s, the energy codes were a bit more relaxed to begin with. Adding attic insulation is a relatively low cost way that you can make a big dent in your heating and cooling costs.

5) Having your ductwork sealed and insulated can also be a big help. Most duct systems in Oregon are located in a crawl space or an attic, where they are exposed to harsh environments. Again, if your house is a little older the insulation may be very poor, or non-existent. Most ductwork is also very leaky, so a lot of the heating and cooling that your system produces is being lost to the elements. Ductwork can be sealed using mastic paste, which once it dries, forms a hard, almost rubber texture. This holds up much better than duct tape. Imagine that, duct tape is good for almost anything, except sealing ductwork. As for duct insulation, we recommend using insulation with an exterior barrier (vinyl or foilback). This will help to keep rodents out, and holds up better over time than open faced insulation.

Hopefully you find at least one of these tips helpful, and you can continue saving the green beyond St. Patrick’s Day.