What to do when you want a little extra heat while you sleep or watch TV, but don’t want to turn up the thermostat? Or, how about when you feel like using your 3-season room in the 4th season but there’s no central heat? Simple: you use a space heater. When used properly, they can…
What is a Furnace Heat Exchanger, and What Does It Do?
A heat exchanger is part of your furnace and performs two key functions in keeping you and your home nice and warm, all winter long: It provides heat during furnace operation. It houses the combustion gases that are produced when your furnace burns fuel to keep them out of your family’s living spaces. Essentially, a…
What Goes into a Furnace Tune Up
Just like with most things in life, there’s the right and plenty of wrong ways to do everything. Here at Optimum, we trained and worked in the field for many long years to perfect the art of a furnace tune-up and inspection – not to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done,…
Is it Time for a New Furnace?
Is it Time for a New Furnace? If your furnace is 10-15 years old, it’s already reached its average lifespan. If it’s even older and still working fine, consider yourself among the fortunate few. But here’s the thing: no matter how new or old it might be, it won’t last forever. So, is this the…
How to Ensure Furnace Safety
If your furnace has a pilot light, that’s kind of like having a pet – something else other than your kids that requires regular, if not constant, monitoring. Not just for the fun of it, mind you, but for the safety of your home and family. Pilot lights – which have been replaced by electronic…
Why Does My Home Have Hot & Cold Spots?
As you’re reading this blog, are you sitting comfortably – all warm and cozy – in your favorite room, while elsewhere in your home you might need an extra sweater, slippers, and hand warmers to help prevent frost bite? Voila, hot and cold spots! A common condition when you have an older heating system, especially…
How to Prevent Home Heat Loss
Let’s say you’re as faithful as can be when it comes to keeping your heating system in sound working order. You have it inspected by a professional once a year, every few years you have your ducts cleaned, and you have multiple zones and programmable thermostats so your heating system isn’t over-worked throughout the winter.…
Creative Ways to Keep Warm Indoors
There’s only so far you can turn up your heat before it starts becoming cost prohibitive. So what can you do – quick fix wise – when the heat’s blasting but you’re still chilled to the bone? As you might expect, you have choices galore. Cover your windows: Go from room to room and pull…
Common Furnace Problems, and What They Mean
You know when folks complain the most about indoor heat? When it’s completely gone. At Optimum Air, there are tons we can do to make home heating problems disappear nearly as fast as they crop up. For your part, all you need to do is call us anytime you recognize one of the following symptoms…
How to Winter-Proof Your Home.
Old Man Winter is here and while the days so far have been pretty mild, the temperatures have been flirting with the freezing mark, and it’s still only December. If you haven’t already, it’s still not too late to do some around-the-house winterizing so you’re ready for the worst, and yet blissfully grateful if the…