Polar Bear Air Conditioning & Heating Inc. Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Heating Installation’

Washington DC Heating FAQ: Is a Boiler Installation the Best Option for My Home?

Monday, November 26th, 2012

If you are trying to decide whether boiler system is right for you, the Washington DC heating specialists at Polar Bear have are here to help. Aside from the durability of the new high-efficiency boiler systems, heating with a boiler is also a clean and reliable way to heat your home. While there are a few potential disadvantages, overall they are gaining popularity as a viable heating option for homeowners throughout the area.

Hot Water Boiler Maintenance

As with any heating system, a hot water boiler system should be tuned regularly—ideally, once a year, and before the heating season begins. This will help to ensure worry-free and lasting performance from your boiler system. The main components that will need to be checked by the homeowner are the pressure gauge, safety valves, and water levels.

All other routine maintenance should be handled by a professional heating technician. The technician will also check the radiators or other heating elements used in the system. Because there are no air filters to change or ductwork to clean, hot water boilers are ideal for people who want a low-maintenance heating system.

Making an Informed Decision

Whether you are replacing an older boiler or installing a heating system for a new home, always speak with a Washington DC heating contractor you can trust. This will help to ensure that you feel confident about your decision. At Polar Bear, our Washington DC boiler experts are here to answer questions and go over your options. Call us any time if you have further questions or would like a technician to come out and inspect your current heating system.

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Washington DC Air Conditioning Question: What is a Matched HVAC System?

Monday, July 16th, 2012

It has been about 200 years since the arrival of interchangeable parts during the Industrial Revolution. Today, we laud being able to take a malfunctioning part from a car, computer or vacuum cleaner, replace it with a newly minted part from any number of manufacturers, then keep right on plugging along.

Although this is a blessing in most arenas, when it comes to your Washington DC air conditioning system, it is not necessarily a good practice. Heating and cooling systems work best when they are matched – but what does that mean? And why does it matter?

 Why Matched Parts Matter in HVAC Systems

When referring to HVAC systems, a matched system is one in which various components are designed to work together. For example, an air conditioner and furnace made by the same manufacturer can be matched, as can a furnace and a heat pump.

Typically, the matching is done in such a way that the “outdoor” components, such as air conditioners and heat pumps are designed to work best with their “indoor” partners, like air handlers and furnaces. There are also matched systems in which every component is matched to every other.

Efficiency Boosts

While this may seem to make maintenance and repairs a pain, the practice provides a big boost to the efficiency of the system. Because the components were designed and manufactured by the same team to work in harmony, the system performs optimally. Although you can often replace one component of a matched system with one from another manufacturer and have it work fine, the system can lose efficiency, often to a significant and noticeable extent.

For these reasons, it is best to make use of matched systems in your home whenever possible. This means choosing a new matched system to install, replacing broken parts with ones that match the rest of the system and even replacing older systems with newer ones to properly match, when necessary.

It may seem like a hassle at first, but it saves money in the long run by adding increased efficiency over unmatched systems. For more information about installing new heating and air conditioning systems in Washington DC, give Polar Bear a call today!

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What Is the Most Efficient Way to Heat My Home? A Question from Washington

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

When it comes to Washington home heating, efficiency is one of the main factors most people take into consideration. There are quite a few different options in terms of home heating, including furnaces, heat pumps, and boilers, and each of these have their own set of advantages and disadvantages depending on your own particular situation.

For better or worse, there is no one system that is universally more energy efficient and effective than the others. The one that will turn out to be the best choice for you is the one that fits best with your specific heating needs, the climate you live in and the relative price of the fuel sources available to you.

For instance, if you live in a relatively moderate climate, a heat pump may very well be a good option for you. These systems are able to operate much more efficiently than furnaces because they extract heat from the air rather than generating it themselves. That means that in the winter, a heat pump can take heat from the outdoor air and pump it indoors to heat your home. In the summer, the heat pump can actually do the opposite, taking the excess heat from indoors and transferring it out to provide you with a yearlong temperature control solution.

Heat pumps generally run on electricity which can be expensive, but since they use so much less energy than something like an electric furnace, they can still be a very energy efficient home heating option. However, these systems are not as effective in areas with harsh, long winters, and so would likely require a supplemental heating system as well. Also, the lower the outside temperature, the less efficient a heat pump is going to be.

Furnaces, on the other hand, are quite effective at heating homes no matter how harsh or cold the climate. Gas furnaces are generally the most popular of the models available now, mostly because the cost of natural gas is lower in most areas compared to the cost of other potential fuels.

However, it may be worth considering an oil or electric furnace if these types of energy sources are relatively inexpensive in your area. No matter what type of furnace you get, you’ll be able to choose how energy efficient you want it to be as well, with lower efficiency 80% AFUE furnaces costing substantially less than those with an AFUE of 90% or more.

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