Design Comfort Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Furnace Repair’

Furnace Red Flags to Watch Out For

Monday, January 16th, 2023

One of the questions we hear a lot from our customers is: How do I know it’s time for a new furnace? Unfortunately, there’s no easy, textbook answer and it varies from homeowner to homeowner. That’s because there are a lot of factors that need to be taken into consideration. 

However, there are some major signs that you probably need either furnace replacement or furnace repair in Salt Lake City. One of these is the age of your furnace. Furnaces have lifespans of 10-15 years so if your furnace falls within this range, it’s considered an “aging” furnace. Because aging furnaces tend to have a lot of problems near the end of their service lives, keep reading to learn the furnace red flags to watch out for.

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Why Is a Cracked Heat Exchanger a Serious Issue?

Monday, December 5th, 2022

gas-jets-of-a-furnace

If you use a gas-powered furnace to heat your home, it’s important to be aware of things that can go seriously wrong. A cracked heat exchanger is high on this list. While many of these systems have a safety feature to turn the furnace off if something malfunctions, the signs of a cracked heat exchanger can be subtle and insidious.

This is not a minor repair by any means and isn’t something you should try to handle yourself. If you think you have a cracked heat exchanger, you need to call an HVAC professional ASAP as this is a serious safety issue. Let’s look at the signs of a cracked heat exchanger so you’ll know if this has happened in your home and what you should do about this type of furnace repair in Salt Lake City.

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Staying Warm While Awaiting Furnace Repairs

Monday, February 28th, 2022

technician-working-on-furnaceSo your heater is struggling, huh? If you have a technician on the way, then you’re in good shape! Unfortunately, though, we can’t always show up as quickly as you’d like–and on the chilliest of days, even 30 minutes can seem like a lifetime.

Fortunately, not all is lost! We have some tips for things you can do to keep warm while waiting for your furnace repairs–try these out and before you know it, we’ll be at your door ready to work on your furnace needs.

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Is It Time to Call Our Pros for Your Struggling Furnace?

Monday, October 25th, 2021

woman-wrapped-in-blanket-sipping-from-mugWhen you purchase a furnace for your home, you expect it to keep you warm. That’s literally its only job, right?!

Well, a lot goes into its functionality to do that job. For instance, it’s important that you invest in routine furnace maintenance. Once a year, you should have professional HVAC technicians comprehensively inspect, clean, and adjust your furnace. This ensures that it works as efficiently and effectively as possible, for as long as possible. Not only that, routine maintenance helps fend off up to 85% of the repairs your furnace might ever need in its lifetime.

How?

Just like any other major home appliance or piece of equipment, and even just like your car, components suffer from wear and tear over the years. When we do the inspection part of your maintenance appointment, we check for signs of this wear and tear, and then we alert you to it. This allows you time to get furnace repairs on your schedule, without allowing those small “wear and tear” issues to grow into a much bigger problem that could lead to a complete system breakdown.

Of course, it’s still possible that repair needs can crop up in between maintenance sessions–especially if you have an aging (10-15 years old) furnace. So, it’s good to know the signs of a furnace in disrepair so you can give us a call for your struggling heating system. Read on to learn what some of these signs are!

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Could a Dirty Air Filter Hurt Your Furnace?

Monday, March 2nd, 2020

hand-changing-air-filterYou invested in a high-efficiency furnace. You had it professionally installed. You stay on top of your annual maintenance appointments. That’s enough, right?

Well, no.

You’ve definitely done everything right so far if you followed the above steps. However, there is one more step that is too commonly overlooked by homeowners, and that’s changing out the air filter. But why?

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Is it Too Late for Furnace Maintenance?

Monday, February 17th, 2020

technician-working-on-furnaceIn the absence of a complete furnace breakdown, which may require replacement of the system altogether, no it is never too late for furnace maintenance.

“But I always hear that I need to schedule it in the fall…”

Yes, that’s true, this is our recommendation for your heating maintenance. The reason we suggest this is because it gives our techs a chance to thoroughly inspect, adjust, and clean your system before you need it the most. We also recommend that you have air conditioning maintenance done in the spring for the same reason.

Is maintenance really a big deal though? Read on as we answer that question, in detail.

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What Does It Mean If Your Furnace Booms?

Monday, January 21st, 2019

Shocked and surprisedIt doesn’t mean anything good. No, your furnace is probably not going to explode. In fact, that’s not at all what’s going to happen. But a booming furnace, or a noisy furnace period, is a definite sign that you’re in need of a professional furnace repair in Salt Lake City, UT.

Of course, when we say this, we are referring to gas-powered furnaces. All furnaces today are built with safety in mind, but there is always a risk when you’re utilizing natural gas for an appliance in your home. Keep reading to learn more about what booming means for your gas furnace.

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The Dangers of a Cracked Heat Exchanger

Monday, March 5th, 2018

Inside a gas furnace. Focus = the top of the middle flange. 12MP camera.With winter winding down but temperatures still keeping our furnaces on full-force for now, it’s the perfect time to take care of any small repair needs that might have cropped up, so that you’ll know your heater is fully functional for next year. Functionality is just part of the equation, however. You want to ensure your furnace is safe, too.

The only way to guarantee this is the case is to stay on top of any Salt Lake City, UT furnace repair needs that come up. Hopefully, you had maintenance done before this winter began, and if you were alerted to any service needs you took care of them right away. There is one in particular that should definitely never be delayed—and that is fixing a cracked heat exchanger.

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Is My Furnace in Trouble?

Monday, November 9th, 2015

As the heating season progresses, you’ll find yourself running your heater, furnace or otherwise, more and more regularly. Hopefully you’ve had your heater professionally maintained prior to this point, so that it is in the best working condition possible during its heaviest usage time of the year. Even if your system was well-tuned up, though, there is always a chance that you’ll encounter problems of some sort over the course of the heating season. Should this happen, you need to recognize the problem as soon as possible so as to have the issues resolved promptly. Failure to schedule prompt furnace repairs in Holladay, UT can lead to compromised comfort, and even further damage to your system. Contact Design Comfort if you have any heating system concerns.

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Heating Tip: What Makes a Furnace High Efficiency?

Monday, October 15th, 2012

You’ve probably heard about the new lines of high efficiency furnaces being released by popular home heating companies, but what exactly is different about these high efficiency devices from your current furnace? Let’s take a closer look at what a high efficiency furnace offers and why it can save you money.

Added Features

A high efficiency furnace uses familiar technology in a new way to reduce the amount of energy lost when combustion takes place. This means:

  • Sealed Combustion – Instead of open combustion which allows heat to escape during and after the combustion process, a high efficiency furnace uses a sealed chamber with carefully measured and fed airflow to burn fuel and produce heat. Exhaust heat can then be recaptured and used to heat air transferred to your air vents.
  • Two Stage Gas Valves – With a two stage gas valve, your furnace can respond to the temperature outside. There isn’t just one “on” switch. The furnace will regulate gas flow based on how much energy is needed to produce heat for your home. So, if there is a sudden burst of cold outside, the furnace will respond accordingly, but for most days when heating needs are low, it will use only the minimum amount of needed gas.
  • Programmable – High efficiency furnaces are now programmable, meaning you can set specific time limits for operation, change thermostat settings digitally and inspect the device through an electronic read out. The level of control given to you by a programmable high efficiency furnace can greatly reduce gas or electricity consumption.

Cost Benefit

The real reason many people are interested in high efficiency furnaces is that they are so much less expensive to operate. Instead of costing hundreds of dollars to run through the winter, they operate the bare minimum needed to heat your home. Using up to 95% of the fuel they consume to produce heat and regulating gas to cut how much is consumed during milder days, these furnaces are built to save you money.

If you have an old furnace that chews through energy like nobody’s business, now might be the time to consider the benefits of a brand new, high efficiency model.

Over the years, Design Comfort has provided Salt Lake City with quality heating services. Contact us today!

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