Monthly Archives: February 2018

When the weather gets cold, and your furnace isn’t working, or the power goes out, or any other sort of thing that may make you think about getting a space heater, you may wonder: are all those horror stories about space heaters true?

In this blog post, we’re going to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to space heating as well as alternatives to space heating.

The Good

Electric Space HeatersObviously the best part about a space heater is the warmth that it provides. Space heaters can be used in a pinch — especially electric ones — to push some warm air through a hard-to-reach area or an area that isn’t zoned correctly for your regular heating system to touch. Space heaters provide warmth in temporary situations, usually in small sections of the room.

The best kind of space heater depends on your situation, how much space you’re looking to heat, and how you’re looking to heat it. Good space heaters have safety features built in such as turning off if it tips over, the design makes it harder to tip over, and it shuts off if it gets too warm. Thermostats can be a welcome addition to a space heater to keep your room from getting too hot or too cold.

Space heaters can warm one or two people, or an entire room. Make sure you’re inspecting space heaters regularly, including the electrical cord if it’s an electric model. Always keep electric space heaters on the floor away from curtains and flammable materials.

The Bad

When the going gets tough, you may start thinking about using a non-electric space heater such as a gas powered space heater or kerosene space heater. While these are useful when the power goes out, gas powered space heaters aren’t supposed to be used in a totally confined room. Gas powered space heaters can produce carbon monoxide, so it’s suggested to keep a window open close to where it’s operating.

Gas powered space heaters are good for warming open bay garages and warehouses, as well as opened doorways. Gas powered space heaters are often the ones you hear about making the news when people pass out or possibly even die when exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning. You definitely want to make sure you’re not running these types of space heaters overnight or while you’re sleeping, and when you are running them, make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector out and handy.

The Ugly

Space heaters cause around 32% of home heating fires, and of that 32%, 79% of them cause home heating fatalities. Wood burning stoves, portable space heaters, and fixed space heaters all cause more fires, injuries, and fatalities than central heating.

While space heating can be helpful in a pinch, if you’re using it to constantly warm a room that is cold or not reached by traditional heating methods, it may be time to call Home Air Plus. We can help you get your home zoned properly so you won’t have to run a space heater constantly, help save you time, effort, money, and most of all help keep you, your loved ones, and your home safer.

Google’s Nest has been out for a bit of time now, touted as a central hub of a smart home and a “learning” thermostat. The question is: is it worth it to buy one?

Google’s Nest claims that it can save homeowners on average 20% of their heating cost by learning their habits, understanding when they are home, and turning down — or turning off — the heat when they are not home. While definitive proof of what Google says has yet to be seen, there may be benefits for some, and none for others.

If you don’t or keep forgetting to turn down your thermostat when you go to work, Nest will definitely save you some money. But if you’re already in the habit of it, then Nest might just be a stylish upgrade to your current thermostat.

However, that’s not the only thing Nest can do. With abilities to connect to smart assistants and your smartphone, you can control your climate in your home from afar. That means if you have children or pets who you’ve left at home, you can make things more comfortable for them without having to be home. Nest is supposed to automatically learn your habits and change accordingly, but having the ability to change things from afar can be helpful — and help you understand your energy consumption when it comes to heating and cooling.

Installation can be a bit of a tricky thing when it comes to the Nest thermostat, with lots of do-it-yourselfers taking to the internet to voice their frustrations. You can also have us install Nest for you for a fee — and since Google claims that Nest can save homeowners on average between $131 to $145 a year, it might be worth it to you in the long run to just spring to have someone else install it.

One of the best aspects of Nest is the programmability. We know that programming a lot of thermostats can be lengthy, confusing, and you never want to touch it again once you do it the first time. Nest, on the other hand, has a simple, easy-to-use and easy-to-understand app on your smart device. You don’t have to set a schedule, as Nest learns on its own, but you can if you want to — say if you go on vacation or leave the home for an extended period of time. Once Nest learns your habits, if you want to make changes to its automatic program, it’s easy.

Nest also has a lot of cool “advanced” features you can explore once you get it installed. Nest also works in conjunction with other smart devices such as Philips Hue to really help you double down on energy consumption and the automated home. Nest also has an additional component you can add called “Nest Protect”. It’s a smart carbon monoxide and smoke detector that integrates right into the Nest thermostat.

Nest Protect

Some of these items can be pricey to begin with, with Nest currently clocking in anywhere between $199 to $249 depending on where you shop. Nest Protect is $119, and remember a non-DIY installation is $100. Total for the package you could expect to pay $418 to $468 for an all over Nest system. That number can be a bit shocking compared to a regular $50 programmable thermostat, but with the savings per year, it could definitely pay off for you.

Do you have a Google Nest? What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments below!

When the power goes out, so does your heat in most cases. Unless you have a wood burning stove, chances are you’re going to be in the dark and shivering if the power goes out for a bit of time. Is there anything you can do to keep heat in when the power goes out?

Keep Doors and Windows Shut

One big thing that’s going to keep warmth from disappearing from your home is making sure that all windows and doors are shut. It sounds silly, but if you have a window fan in, you may want to take it out and close your window to conserve heat. You also want to avoid going outside too many times and leaking your heat out as well. That means try to keep from coming and going out of your home a lot.

Draw the Shades

Close your curtains at night to help keep cool air from getting in and warm air from leaving. Anything between you and the windows will be helpful. Keep in mind that opening the curtains during the day (at least the sunlight facing ones) can help bring warmth into your home, so make sure that you’re not wasting sunlight by blocking it out during the day.

Close your Vents

If you have forced hot air, make sure you close up your vents when the power goes out. This keeps cool air from floating through the house.

Block up Under Doors

Roll up a towel and place it firmly against the bottom of your doors to keep cool air from coming in through drafty areas of your home. If you know that it’s drafty, you may even have a sandbag door draft stopper. Make sure you pull those out and plug up those drafts.

Bundle Up

Pull out the sweaters, coats, and blankets. You’re going to want to pile them on to yourself and your pets when the power goes out. If you have reptiles that depend on a heat lamp, you’re going to want to place towels over their enclosures. You may also want to pick up some hand warmers for them to keep them warm until the power comes back on.

DON’T run a gasoline heater inside!

Gasoline heaters, BBQ grills, and other fire burning items require a lot of ventilation because they produce carbon monoxide which is an odorless gas that can actually kill you. If you’re going for heat inside, opt for a kerosene heater, but be cautious and always be home whenever you’re running one to monitor it. Make sure you have a fire extinguisher on hand as well. Kerosene heaters can produce carbon monoxide too, so make sure you have a window cracked near a kerosene heater and follow all manufacturer instructions for usage. Keep a battery operated carbon monoxide detector nearby just to be safe.

We hope these tips help you stay warm when the electricity goes out! If you need HVAC help, don’t hesitate to contact us.