When it comes to keeping homes warm during the winter, the furnace has been the most popular choice for many years. Even with other advances in heating technology over the last few decades, gas-powered furnaces remain the most common type of residential heaters. If you home has a gas line, then it’s almost a certainty that you have a gas-powered furnace to take care of your winter warmth.
Oasis Heating, A/C & Refrigeration Blog : Archive for the ‘Heating’ Category
Why You Need to Schedule Maintenance for Your Furnace
Thursday, October 26th, 2017Fairfax, VA Heating Tip: Why Certain Rooms Are Cold
Sunday, October 22nd, 2017In a home with central heating, you expect the heater will warm up the whole house. You don’t want it to act like a space heater, a tiny unit that heats up one spot and nothing else. If you walk through your home and it feels like you’re using multiple space heaters—some not even working—to get your house warm instead of a powerful central system, then you may have a problem. The heater might be faulty, or the trouble could stem from defects in your house’s insulation. The uneven heating might be a simple mistake you can remedy in minutes.
We’ll walk you through some culprits that can create cold rooms in your home even with a powerful heating system at work. Call the Fairfax, VA heating experts today at OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc. if you need additional help with cold spots.
- Blocked or closed vents: If you have centralized air providing heat, make sure that the vents in the chilly rooms are open. Vents near the floor might have accidentally become blocked by a rug or a shifted piece of furniture.
- Thermostats issues: Zone heating in homes is a great way to conserve money, but it isn’t hard to set one of the multiple thermostats incorrectly. Make sure all the thermostats are programmed to the temperature you want. If one of the thermostats malfunctions, then you’ll need professional assistance.
- Heat leaks: The cold rooms may have spots where valuable heat escapes outside. Check the seals around windows or any door to the outside. The trouble might be deteriorating insulation, which will need replacement.
- Heater is too small: If you picked out your heater on your own without help, or relied on an amateur or inexperienced installer to pick it, you may have a heater too small to do the job of warming your whole home. Contact a reliable and respected HVAC company to inspect your house and determine its heat requirements. You may need to have the heater replaced.
Cold spots don’t have to mean an emergency—but they can warn you that something isn’t right. Don’t decide to “just live with it” and stay clear of the chilly rooms until spring. You deserve the best heating in Fairfax, VA you can get. Hunt down the problem, and if you can’t figure it out on your own, bring in OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc. to do the detective work—and any repair work afterwards.
Why You Should Consider a Hybrid Heating System in Arlington
Saturday, October 21st, 2017Do you want to install a heat pump in your home, but are concerned that it might not perform as needed during the winters? If so, consider a hybrid heating system in Arlington. A hybrid heating system offers you the best of both worlds: a heat pump that comes with the back-up of a natural gas furnace. Proper installation is the key for any new heating system, so if you are ready for a new system, call the people you can count on: OASIS Heating, A/C & Refrigeration, Inc.
What Is a Hybrid Heating System?
As we mentioned above, a hybrid heating system consists of a heat pump and a back-up gas furnace. The main component of the system is the heat pump. Heat pumps work by using refrigerant to facilitate the transfer of heat from one location to another. During the summer, the heat pump removes the heat from your indoors and transfers it outdoors; during the winter, the heat pump absorbs the heat surrounding it, concentrates it, then sends it into your home. However, when the temperature falls below 32 degrees, it is harder to extract heat from the air, forcing the heat pump to work harder and less efficiently. However, with a hybrid system, this isn’t an issue.
With a hybrid system, the outdoor unit, where the heat pump technology is house, is equipped with a sensor that works in conjunction with a dual-fuel thermostat inside your home. The sensor reads the outside temperature and is programmed with a set-point temperature, determined by you, that tells the system when to switch to the gas heat. When the temperature goes above the set-point, your system will switch back to using the heat pump for heat. The switching in the system is automatic, and ensures that you’ll never have to worry about being cold on an extra-chilly day.
A hybrid heating system in Arlington can be the perfect solution for those homeowners looking to gain the benefits of a heat pump but without worry during the colder months of the year.
If you are interested in seeing what a hybrid heating system can do for your home, call OASIS Heating, A/C & Refrigeration, Inc., today.
Your Heat Pump Won’t Switch to Heating Mode: Here’s Why
Tuesday, October 17th, 2017If you have a heat pump to handle the comfort needs of your home, you’ll soon switch over to heating mode for the first time in many months. You can expect the heat pump to make the transition smoothly, since all it has to do is change the direction the refrigerant flows and siphon out an amount of the refrigerant.
Fairfax, VA Heating Repair FAQ: Why Does My System Shut Down When I’m Still Cold?
Sunday, October 15th, 2017“Why does my system shut down when I’m still cold?” That’s not an uncommon question from homeowners who may be frustrated by problems with their heating system. Here in Fairfax, VA, heating repair is an essential service; our winters may not be a cold as they are in New England, but we still get our share of chilly days and nights. So when your system shuts down prematurely or just never seems to make your home comfortable, it’s a cause for some concern. Before calling in a professional technician, you can educate yourself a bit on why a heater fails to do its job, and why your system shuts down when you’re still cold.
In a lot of cases, such a situation indicates a failure with the thermostat. If you’ve placed your thermostat in a part of the house that gets a lot of sunshine, or it it’s near a warm draft, it may read the temperature as being warmer than it is. Your service technician can move it to a more “temperature neutral” part of the house to correct the issue. Alternately, the thermostat’s thermometer may be malfunctioning, in which case it’s reading the temperature as higher than it is.
Other issues may have little to do with the overall temperature, but rather with overloaded or overheating components within the system itself. Fan motors and the like often contain automatic shut-off switches, designed to turn the entire heater off when the motor itself starts to overload. This happens in order to protect the system from further damage. In any case, it may come along suddenly, cutting off your heating power before it warms your home sufficiently.
Regardless of the causes, if you’re asking “Why does my system shut down when I’m still cold?” then your heater is experiencing problems. The trained experts at OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc. can help. We handle Fairfax, VA heating repair issues of all varieties, and have served Northern Virginia for over fifteen years. Call us today to set up an appointment.
Some Ideas for New Heating Installations
Thursday, October 12th, 2017Arlington, VA Furnace Repair Guide: Why Your Pilot Light Is Uneven
Saturday, October 7th, 2017If you have a gas-powered furnace, you have one of the most efficient heating systems available working for you. But even the most advanced furnace with the best maintenance will age and develop repair needs. Among the most common issues that we encounter with gas-powered furnaces are troubles with the pilot light. Pilot lights sometimes flicker or go out.
Because the pilot light is responsible for igniting the gas jets in the furnace’s combustion chamber, which in turn warm the air that is blown through ducts in your home, if it fails your furnace won’t work. We’ll list a few reasons for uneven pilot lights and what repair needs they may point toward.
A word of caution: although you can fix minor pilot light failures by simply re-lighting the flame, trying anything more complicated poses serious risks. Not only do you face the possibility of damaging the furnace’s interior, but there are safety hazards as well. Gas furnaces can expose you to carbon monoxide poisoning and other dangers. Leave the work to professionals. In Arlington, VA, the furnace repair experts at OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc. are on duty 24/7 to help you.
- Low Air Intake: Flame requires oxygen to burn. If the air intake opening for the pilot becomes clogged, it will force the pilot light to struggle. This problem can go past a basic clog, however, and you may need an expert to examine the air flow.
- Dirty burner: The burner and area around the pilot light can’t have a covering of grime over it, or else it will smother the flame. This is one reason that regular furnace maintenance is so important: keeping the parts of the furnace clean is vital for its operation.
- Gas leaks: This is the most worrisome problem. The gas line into the furnace can sometimes lose its pressure, which will cause an inconsistent pilot light. But a leak is even more serious. If you detect the smell of gas while investigating a pilot light problem, shut off the gas immediately and call a professional.
If you allow a fluttering pilot light to go without repair, it may soon stop lighting at all, leaving you without heat. Don’t get stuck in the cold this winter in Arlington, VA: furnace repair is only a phone call away with OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc..
Prepare Your Home for the Arlington, VA Heating Season
Saturday, September 30th, 2017The winter months in Virginia offer a lot of great things, but if you find yourself in a home without a functioning heater, you won’t find much to feel happy about. It’s important that you start preparing for the upcoming heating season before you need to depend on your heater to keep you comfortable. Unpleasant surprises and sudden emergencies are the last things you want to experience during the coldest days of the year.
OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc. has a few tips for how to get your home ready for the Arlington, VA heating season. If you want quality professional assistance, you can always contact one of our trained technicians.
Winterize your home
If you haven’t installed storm windows, get that done as soon as you can: they can stop significant heat loss. Check to see that the insulation in the attic is in good shape, since heat rises and the attic is a perfect place for it to escape. Get weather stripping placed around outside doors. Do everything you can so that your home retains the heat that your system will put into it!
Test run your heating system
This is a good technique to avoid a shock when you first need your heater to keep you warm. During a warmer day, switch on your heater and see if anything seems amiss: unusual smells from vents, bizarre rattling or grinding noises, or weakened heating. If anything needs repair, you can get it done before the cold arrives. If the heater doesn’t turn on at all… won’t you be glad you didn’t wait until winter to find that out?
Schedule a maintenance check
The best defense against winter breakdowns is to have your heater receive an inspection and tune-up before it has to take on the heavy work. You should have maintenance done annually, usually in the fall, so your heater will perform at its best and with lower risk of malfunction. A technician will come to your house and check connections, wiring, piping, and the power source, and then make necessary adjustments. The technician will also discover anything that may require repair. After a maintenance visit, you’ll have peace of mind about your heater’s operation for the winter.
Complete your winter preparations in early fall: don’t procrastinate until the first unexpected cold snap. Take advantage of OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc.’s maintenance contract and find out what we can do for you.
With Cool Weather Ahead, Is It Time to Replace Your Old Furnace?
Thursday, September 28th, 2017It’s hard to imagine that September is almost over already! Weren’t we just in the middle of a balmy summer? But the calendar doesn’t lie, and it won’t be long until we will need our heating systems working to keep us cozy all the way until the spring arrives again.
While it’s still early fall and some summer heat lingers, you should give thought to the old furnace in your house. Now might be the best time to replace it so you’ll be prepared for anything the winter season might throw at you.
What Noises Signify a Need for Heating Repair?
Saturday, September 23rd, 2017Many people don’t schedule heating repair until the furnace conks out entirely. Most heaters are placed in an out-of-the-way location, and we don’t think about them as long as they turn on when we want them to. But problems in a heater rarely arrive unannounced. They build up quietly over time, but there are some warning signs. Alexandria, VA has cold winters, which means that homeowners may not be aware that there’s a problem until just before the first cold front arrives. In those circumstances, it pays to spot the warning signs – or warning sounds – early. What noises signify a need for heating repair? A few of the more common sounds are listed below.
- Grating or screeching noise. A screeching or grating noise may suggest metal grinding against metal, which happens when the blower becomes bent or misaligned. It may also come from a faulty bearing in the motor or similar motorized malfunction.
- Rattling sound. Sometimes, older furnaces will make a rattling sound when they start up or die down. If the rattling continues when the furnace is running, however, it may indicate a loose component, or problem with the heat exchanger. If you ever suspect a problem with the heat exchanger, call for repair right away.
- A clanging or a creaking noise. Sometimes, in cold weather, your pipes or ducts will expand and contract when hot air is introduced to them after a while. As with the rattling, it may be all right if you start your heater in the cold after a lengthy time lying idle. If it continues for a significant length of time, however, it may indicate a bigger problem and you should call a professional before a leak or a rupture develops.
- A bumping or a thumping noise. The likely culprit is a fan belt which has become cracked or broken. Loss of a fan belt will likely stop the furnace from functioning, so it needs to be replaced as quickly as possible.
If you hear noises that signify a need for heating repair, don’t hesitate to call a service that can help. Call OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Inc. if you need heating repair in Alexandria, VA or the surrounding area.
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