Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Mon, Nov 30, 2009
Improve Indoor Air Quality
More American children suffer from asthma than any other serious chronic illness. According to the American Lung Association, more than 6.8 million children in the U.S. have asthma. Asthma accounts for one-third of all hospital stays by children under 15. An asthma attack is a frightening experience. As airways swell, airflow becomes increasingly restricted. Wheezing and gasping for air, your child cannot draw oxygen into his lungs. Surrounded by air, he cannot breath. 
Take Charge of Your Indoor Environment
Fortunately, asthma can be controlled. Asthma requires medical intervention, daily medication, rescue inhalers and changes in lifestyle. There are many excellent products on the market that can improve the air quality of your home and help your child breathe easy. In fact, improving the air quality of your home benefits the whole family. A 2007 AirAdvice study found that 9 out of 10 people are breathing unhealthy air inside their homes. Installing an air cleaner in your home can remarkably improve indoor air quality for everyone. For a child with asthma, installing an air cleaner can be a life saver.
Indoor Air Analysis
Air cleaners eliminate pollutants, pollens, dust, pet dander and other allergens from the air, They also remove cooking, cleaning, paint and other noxious odors, making for a more pleasant, comfortable and safer home environment. Raymond Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning can perform a simple diagnostic test to determine levels of air pollution inside your home. Over four days we use an unobtrusive monitor to measure elements that can affect indoor air quality including particles, chemical pollutants, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, temperature and relative humidity. You receive a full-color report so you know exactly what is in the air you and your family are breathing. Raymond’s experienced experts can help you solve any air quality issues so that you and your family can breathe easy.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Wed, Nov 25, 2009
Energy Star-Rated Appliances Save Energy
The holidays are right around the corner. This year, why not give yourself a gift that will keep on giving? New Energy Star-rated appliances save energy, are gentle on the planet and they’ll save you money on your energy bills for years to come. To sweeten the deal, Ohio consumers may be eligible for rebates of $100 to $250 when they replace outdated appliances, water heaters and electric heat pumps with new Energy Star models.
Being advertised as a new Cash for Clunkers program, Ohio hopes to begin the $11 million energy-efficient appliance rebate program early in 2010. Currently awaiting U.S. Department of Energy approval, the program would cut annual energy consumption by 11,656,501 kilowatt-hours by taking old energy-guzzling appliances off the grid. According to state projections, the annual amount of energy saved could power nearly 15,000 Ohio homes or heat 450 homes or save more than 175,652,211 gallons of water, enough to fill 70 Olympic swimming pools.
Be Green This Holiday Season
If you want to do your part to green the environment and keep a little extra green in your wallet, Raymond Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning will be able to help you take advantage of Ohio’s Cash for Clunkers appliance program as soon as it is approved. Current information indicates that the program will apply to electric heat pumps and water heaters that carry the Energy Star rating.
- Raymond offers several superior energy-efficient Carrier heat pumps to meet different budgets and home needs. Use our handy Heat Pump Comparison Chart to get a quick snapshot of different product features; just click the link at the bottom of any heat pump product description.
- Raymond offers several excellent, energy-efficient water heaters like Rheem’s electric Fury model which meets or exceeds National Appliance Energy Conservation Act requirements.
- Raymond also carries innovative Infinity gas furnaces with superior energy efficiency ratings and programmable thermostats proven to reduce energy consumption.
Get the facts on energy-efficient appliances now by downloading our FREE information packet!
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Tue, Nov 24, 2009
Geothermal Heat Pumps Improve Air Quality
Similar to the more common air-source heat pumps, geothermal heat pumps use the natural heat storing properties of the ground or ground water instead of outdoor air to heat and cool your home. One of the most energy-efficient heating/cooling technologies on the market today, geothermal heat pumps are a clean, green technology that helps to prevent global warming and improve air quality by diminishing energy consumed by your heating/cooling system.
Geothermal Heat Pumps Provide Hot Water at a Lower Cost
In many installations geothermal heat pumps can also be used to provide your home with plenty of hot water at a considerable savings over traditional gas or electric water heaters, further increasing energy efficiency. The bonus to homeowners, of course, is that using less energy saves money on heating and cooling bills. You can maximize your savings by installing an Energy Star-rated geothermal heat pump. Energy Star appliances adhere to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s strict guidelines for energy efficient appliances and may qualify for a federal income tax deduction in 2009 and 2010.
Geothermal Heat Pumps Use 30% Less Energy
Because they tap into the natural heat stored in the ground which remains fairly constant year round, geothermal heat pumps transfer heat more efficiently, using about 30% less energy than air-source heat pumps that rely on fluctuating air temperatures. The low air temperatures and high humidity that can negatively impact the efficient operation of air-source heat pumps do not have the same impact on geothermal heat pumps, making them a better choice than air-source pumps in cooler climates. Geothermal pumps use the relatively constant temperature of the ground or of ground water stored several feet below the surface to effect energy transfer and create hot or cold air in your home.
Installation of a geothermal heat pump should be performed by a qualified, experienced heating and cooling professional. Proper sizing and installation are essential to ensure that geothermal heat pumps work properly. To find out more about energy-efficient, money-saving geothermal heat pumps, visit our website.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Mon, Nov 23, 2009
Keep Your Furnace Operating at Peak Efficiency
With meteorologists predicting a brutally cold and snowy winter for the Midwest, it’s important to make sure your furnace is working properly. As we noted in our previous post, an annual inspection by a heating/cooling professional at the start of the heating system is the best way to prevent problems from occurring when winter turns bitter cold and you’re counting on your furnace to keep your family safe and toasty. While he’s making sure your furnace is operating at peak efficiency and maximum safety, ask your heating professional to install a programmable thermostat.
Preset Indoor Temperature with a Programmable Thermostat
A programmable thermostat allows you to preset indoor temperature settings to coincide with your family’s heating use. Most programmable thermostats allow four or more daily settings, automatically turning your furnace on and off to make your home warmer or cooler at different times during the day. Adjust indoor temperatures to be warm while you’re home and cooler when you’re at work and the kids are at school. Why waste energy and money heating an empty house? Set the programmable thermostat to a lower temperature when you leave home in the morning and program it to increase the indoor temperature about 30 minutes before you return home. By the time you walk in the door, your home will be nice and warm.
Save Up To 40% on Your Heating Bill
Once you perform the initial programming (a simple matter of button pushing), the programmable thermostat takes over, automatically turning the furnace on and off to increase and decrease indoor temperature at the times you’ve preset. Remember to program the thermostat to a lower nighttime temperature. You’ll sleep better and there’s no need to heat the house while you’re snuggled under the covers. Program your thermostat to increase the temperature 30 minutes before your alarm goes off so it’s comfortable when you toss off the covers. Using a programmable thermostat can save up to 40% on your heating bill.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Fri, Nov 20, 2009
These days we’re all watching our budgets. No one wants an unnecessary repair bill; but as we mentioned in our last post, there are times when trying to repair it yourself can actually cost more. Plumbing is one of those home repair areas where homeowners often overestimate their skills. Delaying a call to the plumber can allow a small problem to become a big and much more expensive problem. There are a number of things, however, that homeowners can do to keep their plumbing system working efficiently and minimize the need for plumbing repairs.
Backups cause most plumbing emergencies. If your sink or tub drain backs up, grease or hair are the most likely culprits. Limit potential problems by preventing these materials from entering drains.
- In the kitchen, strain grease into an empty soup can or allow it to congeal before disposing of it in the trash.
- If grease does get poured down the drain, you can minimize potential damage by pouring a cup of vinegar, a squirt of liquid detergent and boiling water down the drain.
- In the bathroom, use mesh or plastic strainers from the hardware store to catch hair before it goes down the drain.
- Every few days, remove the tub/shower drain cap and pull loose hair out of the drain. Fringe the ends of a plastic straw and use it to hook loose hair.
- Once a month use a drain cleaning product to keep drains clean.
Toilet clogs are another source of emergency plumbing calls. Keep a plunger by each toilet, and plunge vigorously at the first sign of clogging. Never flush sanitary napkins, disposable diapers or disposable wipes down a toilet, even if the box labels them “flushable.” They aren’t. Keep objects away from toilet tanks and keep toilet lids closed to prevent inadvertently flushing toys or air fresheners. If you can’t remove the clog, it’s time to call Raymond Plumbing.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Wed, Nov 18, 2009
Conserve Energy and Decrease Your Gas Use
A bumper acorn crop has naturalists predicting a harsh winter from the Midwest through the Northeast. The reasoning goes that more acorns mean fatter squirrels; and when squirrels start packing in the calories, it’s a sure sign of a cold winter coming. Whether you subscribe to the acorn theory of weather prediction or hail from the wooly caterpillar school of meteorology, you’d better prepare for a cold, snowy winter this year. From the venerable Farmers’ Almanac to the statistics-driven scientists at the National Weather Service, meteorologists are warning that while weather conditions may be warm and dry across America’s western states, Midwesterners should prepare for frigid temperatures and plenty of snow this winter.
Heat Your Home for Less this Winter
The good news is that it should cost you considerably less to heat your home this coming winter. Compared to last year, natural gas prices have dropped considerably and are expected to remain low all winter. According to the American Gas Association, plentiful domestic natural gas supplies and lower wellhead prices have driven down the cost of natural gas in the U.S. Consumer suppliers have taken advantage of decreasing market prices to increase winter storage quantities. Consumers are expected to benefit from lower fuel bills all winter, a welcome relief for cash-strapped Ohioans.
Even though gas bills are expected to be lower this winter, heating costs can still take a big bite out of your budget. Follow these tips to conserve energy and decrease your gas use:
- Schedule a thorough furnace inspection and cleaning with your heating/cooling professional. Annual inspections ensure that your furnace will run efficiently and safely all through the heating season.
- To boost efficient operation, have your heating professional set your furnace’s internal thermostat for the longest and, therefore, fewest number of cycles. This simple adjustment can decrease energy use (and increase savings on your gas bill) by as much as 15%.
Reduce your winter heating costs with a heating performance check.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Mon, Nov 16, 2009
Don't Ignore the Drip of a Leaking Faucet!
Man, I hate that steady drip, drip, drip that makes it hard to fall asleep at night, but once you’re up and charging through another hectic day, a slow drip coming from a sink or bathroom may be easy to ignore. You may not even think about it again until night falls and you’re heading off to dreamland. But a leaking water faucet is something that demands immediate attention.
Even a slow leak can wind up costing you a bundle if you ignore it. For example, if your bathtub has developed a slow but steady drip, say 1 drop per second, you are wasting about 8 1/2 gallons of water a day. That’s a bit more than 259 gallons a month and a whopping 3,154 gallons a year. No matter what you pay for water, that’s expensive! And the cost goes up the longer you wait to call the plumber.
This Could Get Ugly!
If you have a faucet leak, wasted water might be the tip of the iceberg. Often leaks occur where they aren’t visually evident. If you’re lucky, you may hear dripping in a ceiling or behind a wall, but too often leaks are never discovered until damage becomes apparent. Bathtub or toilet seals can seep, water pipe fittings may weep, pinprick holes can develop in out-of-sight pipes, pipe bends under sinks or cabinet floors can corrode. You may never realize you have a plumbing problem until the wall plaster starts to blister or the bathroom floor rots through depositing your tub in the living room or termites invade your foundation drawn by the moisture caused by a leak in your crawl space. All true stories and just a sampling of the horror stories attributed to leaky pipes.
Bottom Line - Call Your Local Neighborhood Plumber
It never pays to put off calling a plumber when you have a leak. Repair costs are never as expensive as the cost of ignoring the problem and paying for extensive repairs. If you're in Lorain County, Ohio, give us a call. We can help you sleep better at night and rest easy during the day.
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Fri, Nov 13, 2009
Make Your Home More Energy Efficient
Who doesn’t want to be environmentally friendly? We want to save energy, but the reality is we can’t afford to chuck a water heater that’s still working or replace a furnace with a few good years left in it for a super-efficient Energy Star appliance. The recession took a toll on everyone forcing most of us to take a piecemeal approach to energy conservation. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to make your home more energy efficient without breaking the bank.
Use these tips to start saving on your energy bill today:
- Replace furnace filters once a month. Vacuum cobwebs and dust from access panels regularly. Have your furnace inspected by an experienced heating/cooling professional at the start of each heating season to ensure it is running effectively and safely. Air conditioners should be inspected by an A/C pro in late spring before use.
- Insulate your hot water heater. You can buy an insulating jacket at most home improvement stores to keep heat from escaping. Or make your own by wrapping fiberglass-batt wall insulation (paper vapor barrier to outside) around the sides and top of your water heater. Cover with construction foil to block heat loss. Slide tubular foam insulation over the pipes at tank top.
- Install a programmable thermostat to regulate your home’s temperature on a pre-set schedule. By setting the thermostat to keep your home cooler when you’re at work and while you sleep, you can cut energy use by 15%. For every degree you lower your thermostat during heating season, you decrease energy use by 3%.
- Disconnect appliances and electronics when not in use. Typically, 75% of the energy used to power home electronics is consumed while appliances are off.
- Caulk and weather strip windows, doors, electrical sockets and cable outlets.
- Close the fireplace damper when not in use.
What are you doing to make your home more energy efficient?
Reduce your heating costs without an expensive new furnace!
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Wed, Nov 11, 2009
UV Lamp Can Improve Indoor Air Quality
The annoying cause of those unattractive black spots that mar your bathtub grout, mold and mildew are present in every home. Mold is part of life, nature’s way of recycling the environment. Outdoors, mold helps break down dead leaves and plant material into an earth-enriching mulch. It’s when mold starts to grow and fester indoors that it can impair the health of your family.
While some molds are beneficial to man (penicillin comes to mind), some can be very toxic when the gases they emit are inhaled. Black mold (stachybotrys) can make people severely ill and can even be life-threatening to those with respiratory illnesses. Black mold found in homes and buildings has prevented home sales and forced businesses to make expensive repairs.
The best way to prevent mold from becoming a problem is to stop it in its tracks. Your heating/cooling professional can add a state-of-the-art ultraviolet lamp to your furnace to rid your home of mold. Ultraviolet light kills mold growing on furnace coils before the fan can spread mold spores through your home. An added benefit, because UV light also kills bacteria, viruses and germs, this easy furnace add-on may help protect your family from seasonal and swine flu.
Once mold gets a toehold, it can be hard to control. Mold reproduces by generating spores that are released into the air and quickly spread through your home by furnace fans. When spores land on damp surfaces, they grow. Bathroom tubs and showers are usually the first place people notice mold growing, although mold can grow on any organic surface, including wallboard, wood, ceiling tiles, wallpaper and carpeting. Because mold thrives in dark, damp spaces, you may not see it growing inside walls or ceilings until it becomes a breathing hazard.
Install a UV Lamp on your Furnace
Mold spores can trigger allergies, asthma attacks and flu-like symptoms. Don’t put your family at risk. Have your heating professional install a UV lamp on your furnace.
What are you doing to improve indoor air quality in your home?
Have you scheduled your home heating performance check?
Posted by Raymond Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning on Mon, Nov 09, 2009
Energy efficient heat pumps are an effective alternative to furnaces and air conditioners that save you money while saving energy. Heat pumps use electricity to move heat from cold areas to warm ones, just like a refrigerator. As heat is transferred, cold areas become colder as heat is removed and warm areas become warmer as heat is added. In the winter, heat pumps move warm air from the colder outdoors into your warm house. In the summer, warm air from inside your cooler home is transferred into the warmer outdoors. Because they work by transferring heat, not generating it, heat pumps can heat or air condition a home using only one-quarter of the energy required by a standard furnace/air conditioning system that operates by generating heat or cooled air.
Air-source heat pumps are the most common type of heat pump. They work by exchanging air between your home and the outdoors. If you currently have electric heat, adding an energy efficient heat pump can decrease your winter electric heating bill by as much as 40%. Heat pumps also decrease summer energy use because they are more effective at removing humidity from the air than standard air conditioners. Humidity decreases heat tolerance, encouraging us to run the A/C more often and at lower temperatures. When humidity is removed from the air, we feel more comfortable even at higher temperatures.
Air-source heat pumps are a good choice for temperate climates where winters are mild. As winter temperatures plummet into the teens and below, air-source heat pumps rapidly lose efficiency, making them ineffective as a heat source in cold regions. Raymond Plumbing offers several heat pumps including the Carrier Infinity Series Heat Pump with heating and cooling efficiency ratings of 7 out of 7, the best and most advanced heat pump on the market. Heat pumps should be installed by an experienced plumbing, heating and cooling professional to ensure proper sizing and operation.
Are you ready for the winter? Schedule a heating performance check today.