FAQ’s

Does your home feel humid after a summer rain storm? Here is a tip on how to remedy that humid feeling! Run your air conditioning system a little longer than normal at a lower temperature than normal. When your air conditioning system is running, it is dehumidifying your home. The system will draw the humidity out of your home and that cool, crisp feeling will be back in no time!

It is normal to notice an odor because dust collects on the heat exchanger over the summer, and when you turn on the furnace, it is burning that dust off. When you run the furnace for the first time, you can open your windows to air out the odor. Carbon monoxide is odorless so you have nothing to be worried about there. It is always a good idea to use a carbon monoxide detector to ensure your safety. To be certain your furnace is running clean and safe, it’s best to schedule maintenance before the heating season kicks into full gear.

Are additional surge protector plug-in strips for my other devices and appliances still necessary if I have a Whole-House Surge Protector? The answer is, yes. The Whole-House Surge Protector acts as your first defense. Having an additional surge protector plug-in strip in each room for different devices and appliances is still recommended as your second defense against an electrical surge. 

Does your home feel humid after a summer rain storm? Here is a tip on how to remedy that humid feeling! Run your air conditioning system a little longer than normal at a lower temperature than normal. When your air conditioning system is running, it is dehumidifying your home. The system will draw the humidity out of your home and that cool, crisp feeling will be back in no time!

By zoning your home, you have more control over different areas of your home without the need to regularly adjust the thermostat to reach a desired level of comfort. Rooms inside your home, which are traditionally warmer than others, are easy to control without placing extra strain on your HVAC system.

Zoning makes your home more comfortable and helps you save on energy costs. Using multiple thermostats, your home is divided into independent zones. The climate of each zone is then independently controlled depending on your desired level of comfort. Common examples of zoning include separating the upstairs climate from the downstairs in a two-story home, or establishing a special zone for sleeping and living areas.

Regular maintenance is vital to the performance and lifespan of your heating or cooling system.

Benefits of regular maintenance include:

• Help system perform efficiently and cut down on high energy costs
• Prolong the life-span of the equipment Help eliminate the risk of unexpected and costly repairs
• Maintain manufacturer’s warranty
• Ensure system is running without risk to your health or safety

Programmable thermostats allow you to customize your temperature settings based on your needs and lifestyle. With programmable thermostats, you can create custom schedules so your home is comfortable when you need it to be. When you’re not running your heating or cooling system excessively, the energy savings are enormous.

The air duct system is an important component to your overall home heating and cooling system. Ducts control the distribution of air throughout your home. Poor duct performance contributes to uneven distribution of air and inconsistent levels of comfort from room to room. Air ducts that are damaged, improperly installed, the wrong size or leaking can diminish the ability your system has to perform at its best.

Heat pumps are great for climates with moderate heating and cooling needs and offer energy-efficient alternatives to more traditional heating and cooling methods. Heat pumps work by transferring heat from one location to another rather than generating heat. During the winter, heat pumps move heat from the cool outdoors into your home and in the summer months heat is transferred from inside your home, outside.

Heat pumps are great because they can warm or cool your home depending on the time of year.

Benefits of using a heat pump to warm or cool your home include:

• Year-round cost savings
• Enhanced humidity and temperature control
• Provides even temperatures throughout your home
• Uses less energy to heat or cool your home
• Not dependent on fossil fuels which leads to price fluctuations

The best thing to do is schedule maintenance before the heating season is in full swing. But, if you’re not ready for that, there are a few steps you can take:

• Before you do anything, inspect your unit to make sure nothing flammable has been stored next to the furnace over the summer.
• Be sure to run your heater before you need it to eliminate the chance it won’t work on the first cold night you turn it on.
• Dirty air filters restrict airflow and reduce efficiency – sometimes even damaging your unit. Change the filters regularly.
• Check all access panels to be sure they are secure, with screws in place.

This depends on the quality of your water. Your neighborhood may have old pipes feeding sediment (sand or grit) into your daily water supply. If you have water with high mineral content, then you may have to flush the sediment from your water heater more often than other homeowners.

It is recommended that you have the sediment flushed from your water heater at least once a year. Flushing or draining the water heater cleans out the sediment that collects in the bottom of the tank and also makes your water heater run more efficiently. This is a pretty technical task. Please make sure you have a professional perform this maintenance up-keep for your home annually.

As always, this answers varies based on tank size, brand, type (traditional, tankless, solar), and how many household residents. In addition to the different aspects, you should also consider the amount of preventative maintenance you have performed to your heater.

For example, if your less expensive water heater is guaranteed to last for six years, with preventive maintenance; you traditional water heater will probably last for about eight years. Again, this is just an example but should give you an idea of what to expect.

If your water heater is electric, and you are capable, turn off the breaker that operates your water heater. If your water heater is a gas heater, turn off the gas main as well. From here, you should call a professional like George Brazil to come out and fix/replace the water heater.

The most common time for a hot water heater to "burst", "flood", or "split", is in the early morning or late at night because the water pressure in the tank is highest during this time. This is because the water is not in use, the pressure builds and older, corroded parts give out.