Residential Heating Services

A furnace creates heat, either by burning something (like natural gas or propane) or by heating electric coils. It then blows that warm air throughout your house via the ductwork.

A heat pump transfers heat like an air conditioner running backwards. I’ll explain. An air conditioner works by absorbing the heat inside your home and then transferring it through the cooling lines to outside. Once the heat is outside, the AC dumps it there and cycles back into your house to get some more heat to take outside. By continually removing heat from your home, a cooling effect takes place.

A heat pump does the same thing but in reverse. It absorbs heat from outside and transports it to inside your home. Creating a gradual warming effect.

The felt effect is that furnaces blow hot air while Heat pumps blow warm-ish air.

We recommend scheduling whole system maintenance twice a year to prepare for seasonal demands. Which is why Blue Ribbon Maintenance members get two tune-up visits a year in addition to other valuable benefits.

We recommend changing your filters every 3-6 months with standard use. However, if you have pets or – surprising enough – burn candles regularly, you may need filters changed as often as every 1-2 months.

Step one: check the outside temperature. If it’s below 32℉ then call us NOW. You’re home is cooling as we speak and if it gets down to freezing your water pipes could burst. If it’s above 32℉, then you have a choice to make: Ride it out till spring like you’re on an episode of Alone, or call us to get it fixed up and running. Your choice.

To boost your system’s heating efficiency, do these three easy things:

1. Schedule routine maintenance every 6 months.
2. Change filters regularly to ensure good airflow
3. Set your thermostat to a cooler temperature in winter when you’re away to save energy.

Watch for signs of inefficiency, like your home not cooling to the set point or the system running nonstop.

Either your heat pump forgot to run backwards and it’s acting like an air conditioner, or there’s something wrong with your electric heating coils. Either way, call us quick and we’ll be there in a jiff to get you back to warm comfort fast.

There are a few possible reasons. One of which is the ghost of furnaces past haunting your ductwork. But in all seriousness, if your HVAC system is making strange noises, then give us a call. It could be a safety issue, and we’d rather you be safe than sorry. We’ll also check to make sure it’s not a ghost. You know, just in case.

The one that keeps you comfortably warm without getting too warm. For each person, that setting will be different. So play around with it to find your sweet spot. A hot tip: turning your thermostat really high doesn’t make your house warm any quicker. Your heating system only puts out one temperature of air, no matter what the thermostat says. It’ll just keep putting out that one temperature of air until your home reaches the thermostat setting.

So as you’re testing different settings, remember to give your system a few hours before you decide if you like that setting or not.