Kerry’s Blog

Heat Pump Essentials for Homeowners

Posted on by T.F. O'Brien Cooling & Heating

If you’re a Long Island homeowner using a heat pump to heat and cool your home, you may already know that this piece of innovative equipment offers energy-efficient comfort.   We’d like to go over some heat pump essentials for anyone who’d like more information about this type of HVAC system, or just wants to better understand how their system works.

A heat pump is an efficient alternative to furnaces and air conditioning systems.   It’s a reliable way to keep your home comfortable, and it offers significant energy savings for homeowners.   As many of our customers know, heat pumps are an ideal solution because they work well in almost any climate (often as part of a hybrid system for cold climates like ours) and cost a lot less to run than conventional fuel-burning systems.

More good news for your energy budget–a heat pump uses 30-40% less electricity than other types of heating and cooling!

So how does it work?   A heat pump uses a refrigerant to draw heat from outside air and compress it, making it even hotter.   Coils then send the heated air to the blower to be distributed through your home’s ductwork.

This cycle is repeated over and over as the refrigerant cools down and goes back to get more outside air.   The system runs efficiently on electricity so no fossil fuels are burned.   In our opinion, this combination of energy cost savings and fuel conservation is one of the biggest advantages of heat pumps.

A hybrid heat pump allows you to use a fossil-fuel burning furnace as a backup heat source, when outside temperatures go below 30 degrees.   One consideration here is your home’s electrical capacity.

When it comes to heat pumps, there are a few things you should know about how to buy and operate your system for maximum energy efficiency.   Ask us about ratings for energy efficiency, sizing your unit and other factors that will determine which system is right for your home.

Heat pumps offer big energy savings both now and later on down the line. Get the most comfort at the least cost by choosing the one that’s best for your home, and operate it properly to ensure long life and even greater savings.   Contact us for more information about heat pumps, and how to maximize your energy savings and home comfort with this energy-efficient heating system.

T.F. O’Brien services the Long Island, New York area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about preventive maintenance and other HVAC topics, please download our free  Home Comfort Resource guide.

Is Your Heating System Ready for the Winter Season?

Posted on by T.F. O'Brien Cooling & Heating

It’s a question every Long Island homeowner should be asking right about now.   Sure, the really cold weather has yet to rear its ugly head, but you don’t want to be unprepared when it does.   Fall is the ideal time to get a heating system tune-up, to head off any problems this winter and get your system ready for frigid temperatures.

We think tune-ups are essential to your home comfort.   Why?   Regular maintenance on your heating system will keep components working more efficiently for longer.   It helps prevent costly repairs and ensures that you and your family won’t face a breakdown when you need your heat the most.   Not only that, tune-ups help you save up to 30% off of your energy bill each year!

To prepare your heating system for the winter season, we recommend that you sign up for a planned maintenance program (we call these Energy Saver Plans).

When our customers schedule planned maintenance with us, our certified techs come out to do a thorough inspection of all heating system components.

Some points of inspection include:

  • Check and adjust pilot and safety controls
  • Lubricate motors and bearings
  • Check heat exchanger for cracks
  • Change filters
  • Check pressure switches
  • Check circulator pump
  • Check temperature rise for proper operation of the heating system
  • Check gas valve
  • Check electrical connections
  • Check belt and adjust tension
  • Check thermostat controls
  • Check condensate pump
  • Check vent pipe
  • Vacuum clean burners and compartments as applicable

Right now, we’re offering a  $20 off any heating system repair or maintenance.   On top of this incentive, you’ll get a 15% discount on parts and labor when you sign up for an Energy Saver Plan.   So, don’t wait until winter comes! Now is the time to think about getting your heating system checked out.   Contact us to schedule your heating system maintenance and get peace of mind at an affordable price.

T.F. O’Brien services the Long Island, New York area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about preventive maintenance and other HVAC topics, please download our free  Home Comfort Resource guide.

Why Buy an HVAC Service Agreement?

Posted on by T.F. O'Brien Cooling & Heating

If you’re like most homeowners, you’re looking for ways to cut costs and eliminate expenses.   Keeping a home running smoothly is not cheap, and especially in this economy you don’t want to throw money away.   Some expenses, however, are worth the monetary investment.   Here at T F O’Brien, we strongly believe that an HVAC service agreement is one of those expenses.

A service agreement for your heating and cooling systems gives you regularly scheduled preventative maintenance for your system components.     We encourage our customers to sign up for annual preventative maintenance because we feel that it’s the most important thing they can do to ensure their home comfort over time.

The fact is, the cost of annual maintenance is often offset or even exceeded by the savings to homeowners in the form of reduced energy costs, discounts, fewer breakdowns and longer equipment life.   With these incentives, the cost of preventative HVAC maintenance can be met or even exceeded by savings!

An HVAC Service agreement can also save you money over time.   According to  www.energystar.gov, almost half of the energy used in your home (about $1,300 per year) goes to heating and cooling.   Regular maintenance has been proven to cut those costs by as much as 30%!   Other costs associated with poor HVAC system maintenance include the short and long-term costs of repairing and replacing equipment, damage done to your home by excessive moisture and health costs related to poor indoor air quality.

All of these problems arise from lack of proper maintenance on your HVAC system.   Your technician will come out and do multiple  points of inspection on your HVAC equipment, and show you how simple do-it-yourself steps can make a big difference in your system’s performance.   A few dollars worth of the proper filters, for example, will prevent damage to your system and protect you and your family from dust and contaminants that lead to respiratory problems.   Replacing and cleaning air filters prevents   poor airflow, a common cause of system failure and a major reason why your energy bills are too high.

If you’d like more information about how HVAC maintenance is worth your investment, contact us.   We can help you pick the plan that suits your needs and budget, and gives you the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your HVAC system won’t let you down when you need it most.

T.F. O’Brien services the Long Island, New York area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about preventive maintenance and other HVAC topics, please download our free  Home Comfort Resource guide.