You Can Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later

This phrase was used by an oil filter company several years ago to remind us that our cars and trucks need regular service. The commercial advised us that if we fail to change the oil and filter at regular intervals as recommended by the automobile manufactures, we would be paying the auto repair shop for major repairs at a later date. Most car owner realize they need to change the oil and filter, check the tire pressure, check the radiator fluid, change the wiper blades, and do the other regular maintenance to keep the car safe, operating, and maximize the life of the vehicle. When a vehicle is purchased the dealer covers the details about the vehicle including the regular maintenance needed. They put you on a mailing list to remind you about maintenance, they email you, they offer discounts for coming in for service, and they even telephone you to remind you about maintenance.

Although your investment in home comfort system is not as great as a new or used vehicle it has become a major investment in your home. The technology and construction of the new units has increased the efficiency of the system, but it has also increased the initial cost and the repair cost substantially. Over the last couple of decades, the installed cost of a new furnace and air conditioning unit have more than doubled. The components of each are much more sophisticated which increases cost and setup. So as an experienced heating and air conditioning contractor, I ask you, “Do you want to pay me now or pay me later?” Twice yearly maintenance on your system can eliminate many of those costly breakdown issues. It will also substantially increase the life of the unit saving you replacement money for many more years. The added bonus is the utility cost for operating your system will be minimized with a well maintained system.

Every manufacturer of heating and cooling equipment strongly recommends semi-annual maintenance. They publish it in their literature and always advise the consumer of that recommendation. Your utility also strongly recommends twice a year maintenance checks on your system. For many, they have partial rebates on maintenance checks to reduce the use of natural gas and electricity.

Call us today for a maintenance check on your system. We can setup a regular schedule so you will be automatically be contacted for your next maintenance checkup. This plan includes special savings on any service or purchase from us, gives you priority service, and protection on your investment. And as an added bonus, we will give you a free inspection of your plumbing system (at your convenience) to help you save utility costs and detect potential issues before they become major emergency problems.

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation

Celebrating our 32^nd year serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs.

A New Heating & Air Conditioning Idea

We have been asked by customers if there was a way to cool and heat a family room addition on the back of their home. Maybe they just had a duct from their home system or a wall heater without air to provide comfort in that room. Now they would like to have air conditioning and an upgraded heating unit. We have just the thing for them. It’s a ductless split system or as it’s called in the industry, a mini-split unit. These units are compact and very energy efficient. Mini-splits have been used in Europe and Asia for decades so the technology is well beyond the first generation of product. They come in a variety of capacities to meet the needs of your room or rooms. Did we say room or rooms? Yes we did. They are capable of cooling and heating as many as eight rooms at different temperatures and on different schedules.

Ductless Heating & Cooling System

But you say, “I don’t want some big ugly unit in my room or rooms and I definitely don’t want a bunch of units sitting in my backyard.”  The indoor units are small and come in a variety of shapes and designs. Some can mount in the ceiling or high on a wall. Some are like a baseboard unit and some can actually have artwork on the front of them. All the piping, wiring and other “stuff” is enclosed within the units. The outdoor units are thin and very compact with some able to be wall mounted so they don’t junk up the yard. When you have multiple rooms to heat and cool, a single outdoor unit can usually handle it.

If it’s a room that you sleep in or a family room where you watch television, you want a very quiet system. These are very quiet systems which won’t interfere with your daily activities. There is another great feature for the homeowner; there is no wall thermostat to clutter up your room or rooms. These units have remotes which can be stored in a drawer out of the way when you don’t need to change the temperature or fan settings. When you have a unit cooling and heating multiple rooms you can also have a master or central control to manage your comfort.

Mini-Split Indoor Unit

Are there other locations that these systems could provide the comfort you are looking for? The answer is yes! These systems are often used for older two or three story homes which were built without air conditioning and baseboard heat. The second or third floor can be cooled and heated with each room having individual control. Finished basements are another great application. Homes originally built on slabs with baseboard heating are regularly cooled with these systems. These units are also used in many commercial applications.

There are several manufactures of these units with different capacities and designs so we can find one that fits your needs. Call us today for a quote to solve that area of your home that is too warm in summer and too cool in winter.

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation

Celebrating our 32^nd year serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs.

Down The Drain

There has been a lot of talk about water usage in the United States. In some parts of the country water is a very limited resource. This is especially true in the Southwest, California, New York City, and Southern Florida. These areas have severe restrictions on water usage, often limiting outdoor usage to once a week for a few hours. There have been major changes in the residential water usage over the last several decades. These include faucets with restricted flow, shower heads with restricted flow, timers on lawn sprinkling systems, rain detectors on lawn sprinkler systems, water saving appliances, and of course low water needs for toilet flushing. Many toilets in the 1950’s required about 7 gallons to flush. That was reduced by government mandate and code changes to 3.5 gallons and in the last two decades to 1.6 gallons per flush. When the changes came to 1.6 gallons per flush, many of the toilets would not remove the waste or simple plugged up. This was a result of poor design and little research on how to create a toilet the consumer would find acceptable. Well in the wisdom of the government and with little thought to the existing plumbing systems in homes today, the water usage for flushing has been reduced again to 1.28 gallons per flush.

We have been watching these changes and with our field experience have found that the amount of water saved is not what the pencil pushers have expected. Also we have found more issues with systems plugging from waste left behind in the piping due to the low amount of water to move it through the system and into the municipal sewer systems.

Our experience shows that the toilets often need to be flushed twice to remove small bits of waste left behind. Some require scrubbing with a toilet brush to clean waste sticking to the surfaces because of less water in the bowl. Then the toilet needs to be flushed a second time. Neither of these situations saves water for the homeowner.

The other concern is the design and materials used in older plumbing systems. The materials used included cast iron and clay tile. The sizes were determined by the older style toilets which used upwards of 7 gallons per flush. Now with less than 1.3 gallons per flush, oversized pipe, and materials with rougher surfaces more issues with plugging are expected. This is particularly a concern for those systems that may have low spots in the drainage piping, tree root impingement, or long runs to the municipal sewers. On the other hand, those with septic systems may find their systems will last longer before a drainage field needs to be replaced since less water is flowing into those fields.

We are continuously field testing the various brands and models to provide a quality efficient product to our customers. Our experienced technicians can recommend the toilet that we have tested to provide our customers with a unit that will provide the best service and save dollars for you.

As the old Plumber used to say,  ”A royal flush beats a full house all the time.”

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation

Celebrating our 32^nd year serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs.

What is that big thing in Joe’s backyard?

Lately we have been receiving calls from customers asking what that big thing is in their neighbor’s backyard. There used to be a cute little air conditioning unit (which made quite a racket when it ran) but that’s gone and there is this new big box unit of some sort out there.” What’s going on?” They ask.

Let me explain what has happened in the heating and air conditioning industry over the past few years. We have had a tremendous amount of change within the industry.

First the efficiency of both the furnaces and air conditioners have had a substantial increase. So what has happened, you ask? The furnaces actually have decreased in size with most of them less than three and half feet tall. They have new types of components such as an additional heat exchanger to capture more of the heat for your home rather than it going out the flue pipe. The blower motors are a much newer technology which run quieter and use far less energy than the older motors. Just like your car, the controls to operate the furnace are more complicated and require much more knowledge on the technician’s side and computers (circuit boards) run the furnace for even more safety and energy savings.

Let’s move on to that big box in Joe’s backyard. Believe it or not that is Joe’s new air conditioning unit. Often the units are 50 – 100% larger than the older unit it replaced. If you went into Joe’s home and looked at his furnace and ductwork you would see that the inside portion of the air conditioning system (the indoor coil) is also much larger than the old one. There are several reasons for this. First the new efficiency standards cause the physical size of the units to be much larger. Next because of increasing electrical costs many homeowners are electing to install units with even greater efficiency to reduce the electrical operating costs. So the unit grows larger. An additional reason is in the phase out of the long used refrigerant, R-22, and the introduction of the refrigerant (R-410A) which has replaced it. It also contributes to increase in side of an air conditioning unit. Although they do not contribute to the size of the unit, most have computer controls (circuit boards). Additionally, some will have variable or stepped capacity to save energy but once again it does not add to the unit size.

With homes being tighter, causing less air change from outside, the quality of the indoor air has become increasingly scrutinized.  Many new products have been introduced to humidify the air, clean the air, and replace the inside air efficiently. These can really improve the health of your family especially if a family member has airborne allergies or asthma. Depending on your needs these can be added to an existing system or included on a new system.

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation

Celebrating our 32^nd year serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs.

Keeping the Heat On

What to do? If you have a second home or if you are away from your home often, I’m sure you are concerned about the safety of your home while you are away. You may have an alarm company to protect your home from intruders, fire or possibly vandals but what about the operation of your heating and air conditioning system? Damage from frozen water lines bursting or mold from an air conditioning unit not operating can be a huge expense and much more than a simple inconvenience. Even if you are away for work during the day, you home, pets, or furnishings can suffer if the heating or air conditioning systems fail. Then there is the energy used if you don’t wisely control your systems.

Recently, several manufacturers have come out with a totally new concept in thermostats for your home. These thermostats not only register the temperature in your home and turn on your furnace or air conditioning unit when the temperature in your home varies from the setting you have chosen, but they do a multitude of tasks.

Here are some of the things this new breed of thermostat can do.

1. These thermostats connect to the internet via your wireless router in your home.
2. As long as your wireless internet is up, you can control the temperature, humidity and ventilation from your computer or smartphone. Yes, anywhere in the world where you have an internet connection. You’ll note I said control your thermostat not just read the current temperature.
3. They are designed to work with just about every residential system made, both new and older systems so you are not dependent on selecting a particular brand of equipment, you can select the one best for your needs.
4. The thermostats are upgraded automatically as new features are added.
5. They have built in reminders for filter changing and humidifier service.
6. They can tell you when the system needs to have maintenance.
7. They have intelligent temperature setback recovery. They decide when to start heating up the home after a night setback so the home is at your desired temperature when you step out of bed.
8. They can display the weather for the new several days and use the outside temperature to decide when to start the setback recovery mode.
9. They have short term temperature override so if you are staying up late you can be comfortable.
10. Some have sensors that put the system into energy saving mode if the thermostat does not sense someone in the home.
11. They can warn you be email if the system is not working correctly. They can also warn you if your sump pump or other device is not working.
12. They can also send emails to your contractor or a friend that the system is not working properly.
13. They are very user friendly.

Are these new thermostats astronomically expensive you ask? They are more expensive that a basic thermostat, but considering the energy savings and peace of mind you get in return, and the price is reasonable. We have several units we recommend depending on your needs, so contact us today for detailed information.