Tag: furnace

Common Heating Problems

Published on

common heating problems

Your heating system is one of the frequently used appliances in your home. However, like every device or appliance, it can run into a few problems here and there. To help you diagnose these problems, troubleshoot them and prevent them in the future, the pros at Roman Electric have come up with a list of common heating issues.

1. Clogged Filter

One of the most common heating problems homeowners run into is a clogged filter. An air filter that isn’t changed consistently will worsen your indoor air quality, reduce proper air flow and can cause larger problems such as a damaged heat exchanger. This will inevitably result in expensive repairs in addition to high heating bills. Replacing your air filter only takes a few minutes and is one of the easiest ways to make sure your heating system is well-maintained. According to the Department of Energy, changing your air filter improves your indoor air quality and reduces your heating system’s energy consumption by up to 15%. Make sure you change your filter once or twice a month.

2. Damaged Heat Exchanger

The heat exchanger is an incredibly important component of your heating system. If you have a gas furnace, the heat exchanger heats cold, indoor air with the help of combustion gases. The warmed indoor air is then distributed back into your home. Because of the exchanger’s vital role in warming your home, it’s important to fix your damaged heat exchanger immediately. Not only will it cause problems for your heating system, but it can also be very dangerous. A cracked heat exchanger can cause harmful gases such as carbon monoxide to leak in to your home. To fix your heat exchanger, it is best to contact a reliable HVAC technician near you because this isn’t a problem you should handle yourself.

3. Furnace Not Heating

Another common heating problem is a furnace that doesn’t provide the heating you need. This could be occurring for several reasons:

  • Thermostat Setting

Check your thermostat setting and make sure it’s on “Heat.” Next, make sure it’s on “Auto” and NOT on “Fan.” The fan setting causes air to continue to blow through the ducts even when there isn’t any heating occurring.

  • Clogged Filter

As we mentioned before, a clogged filter can limit air flow. Make sure it’s been replaced with a clean one.

  • Gas Is Not On

If you have a gas furnace, make sure the gas valve is on—it’s possible someone turned it off and forgot to turn it back on. If the gas valve handle is perpendicular to the gas pipe, turn it so it is parallel to the pipe.

  • You Need to Reset Your Furnace

Sometimes all you need to do is reset your furnace to get it to work properly. If your furnace has a reset button—a red button on the front or back—try pressing it. The furnace might have shutdown automatically because of either a clogged filter, blocked vents or overheating.

  • Major Underlying Problems

If you have tried everything above, it might be a good time to call your HVAC technician as there might be more complex problems with your heating system.

Fix These Common Heating Problems with Roman Electric!

We hope this list of common heating problems was helpful in identifying and fixing any heating issues you might be having. If you are experiencing more complex heating problems, get in touch with the pros at Roman Electric! Call us today at 414-369-3798 or schedule a service online!

Heat Pump or Furnace?

Published on

heat pump or furnace

When it comes to your home’s central heating system, there are several options at your disposal. When searching for a heating system, one of the most common dilemmas homeowners have is deciding whether to choose a heat pump or furnace. And if they do decide, they’re questioning what type they should get. It can be a long debate, with heat pumps and furnaces both having solid arguments. To help you make a more informed decision, the pros at Roman Electric have created a quick and helpful guide.

Heat Pump Pros

  • Heat pumps are great for moderate climates
  • Heat pumps are more energy-efficient. According to the Department of Energy, heat pumps can reduce electricity use by 50 percent compared to furnaces.
  • Fun fact: Heat pumps are not just meant for home heating. According to the DOE, high efficiency heat pumps have better dehumidifying capabilities compared to traditional central air conditioners. This leads to less energy usage and increased cooling in the warmer months.
  • Geothermal heat pumps can reduce energy use by up to 65 %! While traditional electric heat pumps are great for moderate climates, geothermal heat pumps can be used in the most extreme cold weather. That is because these heat pumps harness their heating abilities from the consistent temperature underground.
  • Hybrid systems can provide cooling as well as heating!

Heat Pump Cons

  • While heat pumps bring a great deal of energy-efficiency to the table, they have a significantly higher installation cost.
  • A heat pump usually requires an outdoor and indoor component, whereas furnaces don’t.
  • Geothermal heat pumps are even more expensive than standard heat pumps—plus they require installation underground, which can be more expensive.
  • Heat pumps might not be as durable as furnaces. They have shorter lifespans of up to 20 years. Since heat pumps run year-round (for heating and cooling) they suffer through more wear and tear. This reduces its lifespan and might require frequent repairs.

Furnace Pros

  • If lifespan is important to you, a furnace is the way to go as they have longer lifespans. While heat pumps have lifespans of up to 20 years, furnaces can last for 30 years.
  • Since all furnace models provide heating, as opposed to many heat pump models which do heating and cooling, they require less maintenance.
  • Furnaces have lower installation costs.
  • Gas furnaces are more dependable, since they have fewer components and moving parts that need to be serviced.

Furnace Cons

  • Furnaces aren’t always safe. With these appliances, there is a slight potential of a gas leak which could cause a fire.
  • Heat pumps are far more environmentally friendly than furnaces.
  • Gas combustion products caused by furnaces could lead to significant air pollution.

Let Roman Electric Help You Decide!

There isn’t a clear answer to which option is better. It is best to look at the facts and decide which might work better for you. For some homeowners a furnace would be a better option and, for others, a heat pump. If you still have trouble deciding, no worries! Let the pros at Roman Electric help you. Call us today at 414-369-3798 or schedule an appointment with us online!

Is Your Furnace Prepared for Fall?

Published on

is your furnace prepared for fall

The weather here in Milwaukee has already started inching closer to the cooler, milder temperatures we’re accustomed having later in the year, and it’s only going to get colder from here. While you’re prepping different areas of your home for the fall, it’s crucial to make sure your furnace is ready to handle the changing seasons.

With these handy tips from the heating experts at Roman Electric, you and your family will be cozy and comfortable when the leaves and temperature both begin dropping. We’ve got a few pointers to help you make the transition as seamless as possible.

Clean the Registers

The warm air you’re going to be needing soon has to enter your home from the registers located around the house, and they accumulate dirt pretty quickly. When you neglect them for too long, the air will knock the buildup of dust off of them, leaving them free to float around your home.

Take just a few minutes to dust off your registers to ensure that your air will be clean and clear when the furnace kicks on!

Replace the Air Filter

Your registers won’t stay clean, however, if the air flowing through them is dirty in the first place. That’s why it’s important to maintain a rigid filter-replacement schedule! You should ideally replace your air filters every 30 days or so, but we recommend giving your furnace a fresh filter to work with when you start cranking up the heat.

Even if you’ve replaced your air filter recently, go ahead and swap it out for a new one when you really start using your furnace more than usual.

Give It a Test Run

If you haven’t begun using your furnace frequently yet, the time will soon come. And whenever that happens, your unit will have some catching up to do. It hasn’t had anything to do for a while, and it will take a bit of time for it to shake off the rust and get in sync.

Should you wait until you need your furnace to switch it on for the first time, then you might not get the performance you’re looking for right away. Instead of holding off until then, run your furnace for a bit while it isn’t required. That way, your furnace will be able to jump right in and heat your home with no issues when it really gets cold out.

Schedule a Tune-Up

The most valuable thing you can do, however, is to schedule a tune-up with a trusted service provider. When they check out your furnace, they’ll identify issues that need to be addressed and recommend the proper steps to fix them. They’ll also tweak a few things here and there to ensure your furnace performs like you need it to!

Roman Electric: Your Milwaukee Furnace Experts

With these tips in mind, your furnace will be ready to tackle the colder weather! When you need a reliable voice and trusted service provider, look no further than Roman Electric! Our team has the experience and knowledge to get your furnace in the best shape it’s ever been in. Give us a call at 414-369-3798 to see how we can help!

Adjusting Your Furnace for Christmas

Published on

When you and your loved ones are all gathered together around the Christmas tree, enjoying the holiday together, dealing with a faulty furnace is the last thing you want to do. It cuts into valuable time with your family, and it forces you to address a potentially costly and time-consuming problem. It brings the mood down, and it grinds the Christmas festivities to a halt.

If you take a few precautionary steps to adjust your furnace for Christmas ahead of time, though, this won’t happen. The experts at Roman Electric have created a simple list of easy steps you can take right now to ensure your Christmas goes off without a hitch!

Make Sure the Vents Aren’t Blocked

Hold on, you might be saying. This was supposed to be a furnace maintenance blog, not an interior design guide!

Not so fast. Although your vents aren’t literally attached to your furnace, they’re just as important – just follow the airflow. When your furnace generates hot air, it’s got to come out somewhere, right? Well, if your vents are covered by couches, tables or other pieces of furniture, then that air doesn’t have anywhere to go.

It gets backed up, and your furnace doesn’t know what to do with all that air. Its efficiency takes a dip as a result, and your home suffers as well as your energy bill.

Change the Air Filter

When you change your air filter, it’s like you’re giving your furnace a breath of fresh air. After a month or so, the filter starts struggling to screen out the harmful contaminants and your indoor air quality gets poor in a hurry.

Air filters are fairly inexpensive to replace, but you can upgrade to a higher-efficiency version if you want. Just make sure that your furnace can handle whichever furnace you opt for, since choosing one that is too high can actually be just as bad as a low-quality one.

Swap your filter out every 30 days or so, and you’ll be golden.

Have Someone Take a Look

Really, though, there’s nothing better for your furnace this Christmas season than to have someone give it a thorough inspection. Sure, you can come up with little ways here and there to try and optimize your home’s heating unit, but that can only take you so far.

A professional, like the ones from Roman Electric, will look over your unit and all its connections with the trained eye of an expert. They’ll notice tiny, nearly invisible things that would otherwise be almost impossible to spot. You’ll receive trustworthy recommendations for potential problems, and they’ll be able to tell you exactly how to optimize your furnace for Christmas.

Roman Electric: Serving Milwaukee since 1929

When your furnace is on the fritz, you know who to call! Roman Electric has long been a household name in the area for a reason. Give us a call at 414-369-3798 to find out why our service is second to none!

Is My Furnace Ready for the Fall?

Published on

Crinkling leaves, crisper air, and a warm night spent by the fire: they’re all signs that fall is here. It’s one of the most enjoyable, cozy times of the year, but if you haven’t taken care of one crucial task yet, you might not be able to take advantage of the fall season yet. Is your furnace ready for the fall?

To really enjoy fall to its fullest, your furnace needs to be in working order. Unfortunately, too many homeowners don’t perform the necessary steps ahead of time to make sure it is! They’re left with a faulty unit and a chilly home, and suddenly fall becomes a lot less fun. Don’t worry! The pros at Roman Electric have put together a few tips to make sure you’ll be ready to go.

Fine Time for a Filter

While you’re generally supposed to replace your furnace filter every 30 days or so to maximize its effectiveness, it’s also a good idea to change it out when a new season arrives. The reason we, along with most service providers, recommend this is because the filter isn’t used to dealing with hot air all of a sudden.

It’s only been receiving cold air from the AC for a few months now, and the sudden change in temperature can throw the filter off and make it lose some of its effectiveness. Start out with a fresh filter when you begin using your furnace and make sure your unit doesn’t miss a beat.

Clean Registers and Vents

This also makes for a good opportunity to do some light cleaning. Go ahead and vacuum out your vents and register openings around the house to make sure your furnace has all the space it needs to blow hot air through your home.

Clogged vents make for a harder job for your furnace, and when that happens it starts to overwork itself — and that’s no good for anyone.

Schedule an Inspection

Although it’s not imperative, we recommend having a professional inspection before you really start cranking up your furnace. As we touched on earlier, furnaces that haven’t been used in a while have had a lot of time to sit around and stay dormant. There’s no telling how the mechanical components have aged, and you’d hate to turn on the furnace and be greeted with a clunky unit that won’t work.

Get ahead of those problems by having a professional like the ones at Roman Electric come take a look. A technician will scour every nook and cranny of your unit to look for imperfections or potentially problematic issues, and they’ll tell you the best course of action — potentially saving you thousands in repair costs!

Roman Electric: Your Furnace Maintenance Experts

Whatever state your furnace is in, you can always trust us to handle your request promptly and professionally. Roman Electric prides itself on performing the job correctly the first time, and you never have to worry about us sneaking in an extra charge in there. Whether you need a total replacement or just need a quick leak fixed, we’re there to help!