Happy New Year from all of us at AAA Heating & Air Conditioning!
As a reminder, our office will be closing early at 12pm on Thursday, New Year’s Eve. We will also be closed all of Friday, New Year’s Day.
However, we will still have technicians on call during those times for any emergencies you might have.
|
|
|
|
 |
Glen J., AAA Heating & Air Conditioning Senior Technician
Question: I just looked out my window and saw smoke coming from my heat pump! I turned off power to my heat pump and put my thermostat into emergency heat in case something was wrong. Help! –Sarah F., Renton, WA
Answer: Don’t worry, you can go ahead and turn your heat pump back on. What you saw was probably steam that happens as a result of your heat pump’s defrost cycle. Every hour or so when your system is in heating mode, it will blow hot air over its coils to keep it free from frost and ice. This action can produce steam, sometimes quite a bit of it. A little bit of frost can be completely normal to see on your heat pump coils, however, if you see a thicker ice building up, you will want to call us to schedule a service technician to take a look at it. To fully ensure that your heat pump is in proper working order and is fully clean, you will also want to make sure that you have had a trained technician perform a Precision Tune Up twice a year for your heating & cooling system (once a year for a heating only system).
If you have a question for Glen, our knowledgeable Senior Technician, submit it using our communication form and you might just be featured on our blog!
|
|
|
|
|
|
From all of us at AAA Heating & Air Conditioning, we wish you the best of Holidays!
May your days be filled with lots of warmth and laughter as you enjoy the season.
As a reminder, our office will be closed on Thursday, December 24th after 11am and for the full day on Friday, December 25th. We will also be closed on Thursday, December 31st after 11am and for the full day on Friday, January 1st. However, we will still have technicians on call during those times for any emergencies you might have.
Enjoy the Holidays!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Though accounting for only 5 percent of the world’s population, Americans consume 26 percent of the world’s energy.
-UCLA Sustainability
|
|
|
|
|
|
The more well insulated your home is, the less your furnace has to work. If your house is hard to heat or you think your furnace runs a lot, check your insulation and windows. Those that are in better condition will lower your utility bills AND give your furnace a break!
|
|
|
|
|
|
As the temperatures fall, you need to be aware of possible sources of Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning. It is produced whenever any fuel, such as gas, wood, or charcoal, is burned. Your gas furnace is one source of CO that you really need to watch. The heat exchanger, which contains the CO within the furnace, can develop cracks over time and leak the gas into your home. CO is an odorless, colorless, and tasteless gas that can have deadly results if allowed to accumulate. In fact, just a few days ago an Oregon man died and a woman went to the hospital as a result of Carbon Monoxide poisoning.
What are the symptoms of Carbon Monoxide poisoning?
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), CO poisoning can produce headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Inhaling high levels of the gas can lead to loss of consciousness and death.
How can you prevent Carbon Monoxide poisoning?
The CDC recommends getting your furnace serviced by a qualified heating company every year. This will ensure the unit is running properly and the technician will be able to check for any cracks in your heat exchanger. You should also install a Carbon Monoxide detector on each level of your home to warn you if any leaks into your home.
If you would like more information from the Centers for Disease Control, you can click this link.
Give us a call at 253-630-9224 if you would like to have us inspect your gas furnace for your safety or if have any questions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
We are approaching the holidays, which can mean lots of fun with parties, food, and gift giving. Sometimes we know exactly what to get everyone on our list, but more often than not, we have a person or two that stump us. Since men are notoriously hard to shop for, we wanted to help you out. We asked some of our technicians for their wish lists and compiled their ideas into a great list for you. Hopefully it will give you some ideas for the man in your life!
AAA Heating & Air Conditioning Technician Wish List
|
|
|
|
|
|
Right now we’re in the middle of a stretch of extremely cold weather in our area. Step outside your front door and you instantly want to head back where you came from! In this cold weather, it’s important for you to keep a few things in mind about your heating system:
1) To maintain a comfortable temperature within your house, you might want to consider keeping your thermostat at one temperature during the coldest days & nights. If you turn down the temperature when you leave your house or go to bed, it will take much longer than normal to bring it up to a comfortable level when you return.
2) If you have a 90% or 95% efficiency gas furnace, check those condensate lines! Sometimes they can freeze up, causing minor flooding or your furnace to shut off entirely. You can thaw any frozen lines simply with a hair dryer. If you want any help, give us a call at 253-630-9224 and we can walk you through it over the phone.
3) Make sure all of the registers are open in your house. It’s a good idea in this extreme cold to have them open even in rooms you don’t use so that the house heats evenly and you prevent the possibility of mold growing in a damp room.
4) Do you have fresh batteries in your thermostat? Sometimes when people don’t have any heat, it’s a simple matter of changing the batteries in their thermostat.
Bonus Tip: If you celebrate Christmas and have a fresh Christmas tree, you will want to make sure that you close any registers next to the tree. If you have warm air blowing on the tree from an open register, it can dry it out and become a fire hazard.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Glen J., AAA Heating & Air Conditioning Senior Technician
Question: If I smell a gas leak near my furnace, what should I do? — Julie H., Auburn, WA
Answer: Call your gas company and they will come out for free to check the source of the problem. It might be something unrelated to the furnace and the gas company will be able to find the source quickly and efficiently. Puget Sound Energy (PSE) recommends leaving the area, avoiding talking on your cell phone or using anything else that could create an electrical spark, and call them from a phone outside your home at 1-888-225-5773. They are available to come to your house 24 hours a day.
If you have a question for Glen, our knowledgeable Senior Technician, submit it using our communication form and you might just be featured on our blog!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Is your furnace, heat pump or air conditioner not working? Check these three things before calling for service and you might be able to fix it on your own!
1. Is your thermostat set with the proper settings? In the winter it should be in Heat or Auto mode. If you have cooling in the summer, it should be in Cool or Auto mode.
2. When was the last time you changed your filters? If it wasn’t within the past 3 months, a clogged filter might be tripping the safety switch and shutting off the unit. You can test to see if the filter is the source of your problem by taking the filter out and cycling on the system. If it turns on and runs normally, a clogged filter might have been your problem. If the filter was indeed clogged, the furnace may be in similar shape, so call to schedule a Precision Tune Up ASAP.
3. Do you have power to the unit? Check the breakers to make sure they haven’t tripped for any reason. A tripped breaker may have been caused by a faulty part, so call us after resetting it for further instruction.
If you have gone through these checks and your unit still isn’t working, give us a call and we can schedule a technician out to your house to perform a thorough diagnostic check on your system.
|
|
|
|
|
|
