Optimal comfort during the cold winter months is achieved when your home maintains consistent temperatures throughout every room. You’ll know you’ve got it right when you don’t have to put on or take off a sweater or adjust the thermostat when you move from one room to the next.

Many factors influence the heat throughout your house. Part of it is the design of the house itself. Another part is how the home is finished and equipped. A third part is how the home is maintained.

Working with Your Layout

Rooms with more exterior walls and more windows lose heat to the outside more quickly than rooms with fewer exterior walls and fewer windows. While changing the layout of a home is not a practical way to equalize the heating, there are some measures you can take to minimize this effect:

• insulate exterior walls as heavily as possible
• install high-quality, insulated windows
• install insulating draperies or shades

Keeping Air Moving

If some rooms are getting more hot air than others, poor circulation may be the problem. Make sure that registers to the too-cool rooms are open, that they are not obstructed by furniture or other items, and that they are clean. Leave the doors to colder rooms open if possible, so that heat from the rest of the home can enter.

There may be plenty of hot air available, but it’s just not reaching those rooms. Have the ducts checked by a professional for leaks or obstructions. It is also possible that the ducts are undersized or poorly routed, and that replacing them with properly designed ducts will allow more hot air to get where it needs to go.

Check the Switches

If the ducts are in good shape, the problem may just be that the room with the thermostat gets warm sooner than others. Try setting the fan switch on the thermostat from “Auto” to “On.” This will keep the fan running and help equalize the flow of warm air throughout the house.

Hot air rises, and it’s likely several degrees warmer near the ceiling than near the floor. If the room has a ceiling fan, set it to turn in the direction that will push hot air down.

In the Zone

If all of these measures don’t equalize the temperature in your home, you should consider installing one or more additional zones. Each zone is a house is controlled by its own thermostat, and each one receives its own share of heat. This is also a good approach if you want certain areas to stay warmer or cooler than others.

The team of heating professionals at Ambient Comfort can keep your family comfortable this winter with regularly scheduled maintenance, repairs, ductwork inspection and more. Call us today at 856-213-6586 to schedule service and to learn about our maintenance plan. Check us out online for special savings and promotions. We are located in Vineland, New Jersey, and serve clients throughout most of South Jersey, in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties.

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While some have been known to last much longer, the typical lifespan of a home furnace is 15 to 20 years. Proper installation and maintenance are key to getting your money’s worth from your home heating system, but eventually, even the best cared-for furnace will have to be replaced.

A furnace in poor condition, whether because of poor maintenance, age, or both, operates inefficiently, requiring more fuel to heat a home. A bigger problem, though, is safety. A furnace that’s overdue for maintenance or replacement can put your family in danger.

The biggest issue is carbon monoxide, an invisible, odorless, toxic gas that is a byproduct of combustion. In a well-maintained furnace, the amount of carbon monoxide, or CO, produced is small, and it is vented to the outdoors where it quickly becomes harmless. But if a furnace is burning fuel inefficiently, the amount of CO produced will be higher. Should the furnace not vent the gas out of the home effectively, illness, permanent injury, or death could be the result.

This danger can be avoided by installing CO detectors in the home, and by having the furnace inspected annually by a home heating professional. At some point, however, so many parts may require replacement that it just makes more sense to replace the furnace itself. Considering that newer heating systems use new technology to operate more efficiently than old ones, the change might even pay for itself in reduced energy costs.

Furnaces are also a common cause of house fires. This occurs most often when residents carelessly leave flammable items too close to the furnace. It’s so important to keep old magazines and newspapers, boxes of clothes, flammable liquids, and other combustibles several feet away from the furnace. Aside from that, an annual checkup by a heating professional will ensure that gas or oil lines are intact, so that a fuel leak can not result in a fire.

We don’t mean to scare anyone. It’s not difficult to guard against home fires and CO poisoning caused by your furnace by following a few simple procedures:

• install smoke and CO detectors throughout your home
• test smoke and CO detectors monthly, and replace the batteries twice a year
• have your furnace inspected and maintained annually by a heating professional

If your furnace is more than 20 years old, consider updating it with a new system. This may be long overdue if you added an addition to your home since the furnace was installed or finished a previously unfinished basement or attic. Your furnace was probably specified for the amount of living space you had at the time it was installed. If you’ve been making it warm more space than was originally intended, it’s probably been working overtime. A new furnace designed to heat the current size of your home will do it more efficiently.

Ambient Comfort can make sure you have the right furnace for your home and that it operates safely through regular maintenance. Call us today at 856-213-6586 to schedule service on your HVAC system or to learn more about our maintenance plan so you can rest assured knowing your family is warm and safe this winter. Check us out online for special savings and promotions. We are located in Vineland, New Jersey, and serve clients throughout most of South Jersey, in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties.

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It is an old adage that what you don’t know can’t hurt you. But this is blatantly false when it comes to carbon monoxide gas.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a byproduct of combustion. It is produced when any fuel burning device is used. For example, when your oil or gas furnace, boiler, gas dryer, stove, deep fryer, space heater, or other any fuel-burning device is running, CO is being created. Normally, it is produced in small amounts and vented safely out of the home. But, because it is invisible and odorless, it is also dangerous. Should the device be operating inefficiently, or if there is a failure in venting the gas out of the home, CO can build up to dangerous levels, causing illness, permanent injury or death. It happens to hundreds of people every year.

RELATED READ: Five signs your furnace needs repair

The first step in protecting your family against carbon monoxide poisoning is to have a CO monitor in your home. Check your monitor at least quarterly and replace batteries twice a year to make sure they are operating optimally. There is a difference between a CO detector, available at most home stores starting around $30, and a CO monitor. A CO detector only alarms when levels are very high for sustained periods. A detector may prevent death, but not headaches, flu symptoms, memory loss and other symptoms of even low-level prolonged CO exposure. Children and the elderly are particularly susceptible.

A CO monitor, available from professional HVAC companies, indicates the current level of CO in your home, down to the lowest levels. On a heavy cooking day, for example, the monitor may show 16 parts per million, letting you know that cracking window might be a good idea.

Also important is to have your home’s heating system checked annually by an HVAC professional. Regular maintenance can ensure that your devices are burning fuel efficiently and venting it properly outside of the home.

Heating professionals can test the air quality in your home to make sure your family is breathing air that is safe. They also can check for leaks around your furnace, chimney, gas heaters, hot water heaters and stoves.

RELATED READ: Improving your home’s air quality

More Tips to Stay Safe from Carbon Monoxide

1. Never use portable heaters that burn fuel (such as kerosene or propane) inside the home.
2. Have wood stoves and fireplaces inspected and cleaned annually to ensure proper venting.
3. Never start or run a motor vehicle with the garage door closed or with a door open to the living areas of the house. After starting the car, drive it out of the garage as soon as possible.

The physical symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headache, blurred vision, confusion, dizziness, physical weakness or nausea or vomiting that sometimes come on quickly. Should you experience these, you may be experiencing CO poisoning. Go outside immediately and do not reenter the home even if you feel better. CO builds up in the human body and does not leave with a quick trip outside. Call for emergency support using a mobile phone or a neighbor’s phone. Get a professional to check your furnace and other appliances.

Contact the professionals at Home Comfort Experts today to find out how we can improve your home’s air quality so you can breathe easily and safely. We serve Northern Indiana and Southwestern Michigan from our twelve locations. Give us a call at (574) 255-4600 to find out how we can help.

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Washing machines and clothes dryers are workhorses in most homes, especially those with children. Both, however, cause thousands of home fires each year, and dryers are responsible for a many of them. However, it is not difficult to ensure the safety of your dryer, and given the importance of doing so, there’s really no excuse not to. After you’ve made sure your dryer is properly installed (something a professional should take care of), the rest of it is simple.

Since dryers are appliances that heat, sparks can occur. In the case of gas dryers, an actual flame is present in your dryer, just like in a gas furnace. Most fires caused by clothes dryers occur when an item being dried ignites, or when built-up lint in either the lint screen or the dryer venting ignites. To avoid the first cause of fires, make sure that all items placed in the dryer are made of fabrics suitable for drying. Never dry items that contain combustible fluids such as painting solvents, certain household cleaners, or grease. If you washed greasy clothing and the grease didn’t come out, you have three choices: wash it again, air dry it, or throw it out.

Watch out for Lint

Lint is composed of tiny fibers that break off the fabric of your clothing. Many hikers and campers carry a little bag of dryer lint with them in a sealed plastic bag to use as tinder, to help start a fire in an emergency. It’s that flammable!

The easiest step in preventing a dryer fire is to clean the lint screen after each dryer load. Making this a regular practice will eliminate the flammable material, allow your dryer to function more efficiently, and also reduce lint buildup in the exhaust hose and vent. Regularly wiping down the inside of the dryer to remove any extraneous fibers can also help.

Make sure your dryer vents to outside the home and that it is kept clear. Keep leaves and grass away from the vent. Several times a year, go outside while the dryer is running and confirm that plenty of warm, moist air is coming out of the vent. If it’s not, the exhaust hose is probably clogged with lint. Also check if the vent itself is clogged. If you can’t disassemble the vent and detach the hose yourself to clear or replace them, call a professional.

The area around your dryer should also be kept clear. There are air intake vents on the back of your dryer which can accumulate lint and dust. If they are obstructed of become clogged, it can cause the motor to overheat, possibly resulting in a fire. Vacuuming the rear vents a couple times a year is a good precaution.

Consider a booster for dryer hoses longer than 10 feet to ensure all the lint and hot air are properly vented.

Related read: Clean your dryer vent and limit lint buildup to help prevent fires

Simple Tips for Dryer Safety

Here’s a summary and some more tips to prevent dryer fires:

• Make sure your appliances are professionally installed and grounded. If your dryer is gas-fired, make sure the gas lines are intact.
• Do not overload the dryer with too many clothes, which can increase the heat levels.
• Never operate the dryer when you are sleeping or not at home.
• Clean the lint trap after every use.
• Check the exhaust hose and vent periodically for lint buildup, and clear them when necessary.
• Keep the intake vents clear.
• Get professional service for any problems you can’t handle yourself.

The heating professionals at Home Comfort Experts are available to inspect your dryer vent and use our professional grade equipment to clean out your dryer from the lint screen all the way to outside your home if necessary. We serve Northern Indiana and Southwestern Michigan from twelve locations. Give us a call at (574) 255-4600 to learn about our complete heating, cooling and plumbing services.

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iMarket Solutions has launched Ambient Comfort LLC’s new custom website. To learn more about how iMarket Solutions can expand your presence on the web visit: www.imarketsolutions.com

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