Robbins Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. Blog: Archive for February, 2015

The Advantages of a Heat Pump

Wednesday, February 25th, 2015

Heat pumps are one of the more common methods of providing homes with indoor comfort. They operate similar to air conditioners, but with an important exception: where air conditioners can only remove heat from inside a building in order to cool it down, a heat pump can switch the direction it works so that it can bring heat into the home as well. With only one adjustment on the thermostat that controls the heat pump, a homeowner can change over from cooling to heating.

There are a number of terrific advantages to heat pump installation, but you should always call on professionals before you make any choice regarding cooling or heating in Bloomfield, NM. Robbins Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. has more than a decade of experience installing and servicing heat pumps in the area, and we can help you find the right unit for home comfort and then install it so that it does its job for many years. Call us today and we will answer all your questions regarding heat pumps.

Here are a few of the benefits of using a heat pump:

  • Heating and cooling: The most obvious advantage of a heat pump is that works as both an AC and a heater. Essentially, a heat pump is an air conditioner, except it can make the indoor and outdoor coils swap functions so the outdoor coil absorbs heat, and the indoor coil releases it.
  • Energy savings: Heat pumps run on electricity, but unlike other types of electrical-powered heating systems such as furnaces and boilers, they do not use electric resistance to create heat. Instead, the electricity powers the heat pumps components to allow it to move heat from one place to the other, and this consumes much less energy than electrical resistance heating and can result in lower bills throughout the heating season.
  • Safety: If you are concerned about using a gas-powered heater in your home because of potential carbon monoxide dangers, a heat pump is an excellent alternative for safety.
  • Quite operation: Whether in heating or cooling mode, heat pumps create very little noise.

A heat pump isn’t ideal for every home, so make sure that you call on HVAC professionals to look over your house and determine its heating load so they can tell you what sort of heating system will provide the right comfort level. You can trust to the team at Robbins Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. whenever you need installation for cooling and heating in Bloomfield, NM. If a heat pump is your best choice, we will see that you receive a great installation.

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A House That Cleans Itself? “BUILDING YOUR DREAM” at the 21st Annual Home Improvement & Building Expo

Tuesday, February 17th, 2015

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A house that cleans itself…a dream?  Some may consider it fantasy, but it is entirely possible! We are excited to take part in “BUILDING YOUR DREAM” at the 21st Annual Home Improvement & Building Expo sponsored by the San Juan County Home Builders Association.  Its happening March 6-7, 2015 at the McGee Park Convention Center.  We will be featuring ways we make clean homes a reality!

Breathing pollution inside?  According to EPA.gov, the air inside our homes, “…may be 2 to 5 times – and occasionally more than 100 times- higher…” more polluted than the outdoors.  We have the ability to not only filter the air inside but a lot more!  We can “scrub” the air using the Apco Whole-House Air Purifier killing over 99% of airborne mold, bacteria, viruses, and allergens.

 

Never dust your house again?  We offer Honeywell Electronic Air Cleaners that capture airborne particles and reduce the dirt floating through the house.  Who likes to dust anyway?!1899886_798154073538212_6643443759995839854_n

With the air in your home filtered, cleaned, and dust free you’ll have less down-time with sickness, less time spent doing chores, and more energy.  We haven’t found a product that will vacuum carpets or clean bathrooms, but we are investigating possible solutions as we speak!
Come see our booth at this years “BUILDING YOUR DREAM” Home Expo at the McGee Park Convention Center Friday March 6th 12:00 AM-7:00 PM & Saturday the 7th, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. Learn more about turning your house into a home that cleans itself!

 

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How Regular Preventive Maintenance Extends the Life of Your Furnace

Monday, February 16th, 2015

No heating system can be expected to operate at its best without any sort of maintenance. Though this means that you should be calling for furnace repair any time you suspect a problem, it also means that you should be scheduling preventive maintenance at least once a year. Let’s examine why preventive maintenance is so vital to ensuring a long, healthy lifespan for your furnace.

Greater Mitigation

Most people won’t schedule maintenance for their furnace until it starts displaying some kind of aberrant or strange behavior. They’re counting on these symptoms and indications to warn them of any impending issues, and assume that if these symptoms are absent, then the furnace is fine. This isn’t actually the case. There are many issues that can afflict a furnace which have no discernable symptoms, unless you actually open up the unit and know what you’re looking for. If you wait to address issues with your furnace until you notice a problem, it can cost you quite a bit more to fix it.

Preventive maintenance allows the HVAC technician to identify and fix problems before the progress to the point where they adversely affect your system. Even with problems that do provide warning signs, preventive maintenance will catch them far before you notice them.

Addressing Wear and Tear

As a furnace ages, the various parts that make up the system will start to accumulate wear and tear from normal use. At first, this isn’t a problem, but as the wear and tear mounts various parts of the system will start to lose efficiency. This loss of efficiency will result in your system having to work longer and longer to achieve the same target temperature. You may not have a major problem with your furnace (yet) but you may be spending more money than you need to on heating due to worn parts in the furnace.

Preventive maintenance can identify which parts should be replaced, either because they’re about to fail or because they just aren’t doing a good enough job. This keeps your furnace running as smoothly as possible from year to year.

If you haven’t scheduled preventive maintenance for your furnace in a while, call Robbins Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. We provide professional furnace services throughout the Aztec area.

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Lupercalia: The Origin of St. Valentine’s Day

Saturday, February 14th, 2015

Many people may think of Valentine’s Day as a holiday essentially created by card and gift companies, but the truth is that the holiday has long-standing roots going back to the Roman Empire. The name “Lupercalia” has its origins in the word “lupus”, which means wolf, and the reason for this is that according to Roman pagan religion, the she-wolf Lupa nursed the two orphaned infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.

 

The Festival

The Festival of Lupercalia spanned two days each February, from February 13th to 15th. The festival was about fertility and was led by Luperci priests, known as “brothers of the wolf”. The festival was serious with intention (fertility) but was executed as quite a romp for both the priests and citizens of Rome. The process was this: two male goats and a dog were sacrificed at the beginning of the festival by the priests; two young Luperci were then anointed with the blood from the animals, and the hides of the animals were cut into straps. As food and drink flowed, the male priests would run around the city wearing nothing but thongs made from the animal skins, and they also carried a strap from one of the sacrificed animals. The strap was used to strike the palms of Roman women waiting for the priests in the city, as it was believed that being hit with the strap could help with infertility issues and a safe, healthy labor for women who were pregnant.

 

The Transition to St. Valentine’s Day

The Christian influence of the holiday came around the 5th century. The Roman Empire was still strong, but Christianity was rapidly taking hold throughout the world. It is believed that to try and remove the paganism from the holiday, the deaths of two men, supposedly both named Valentine, were added into the mix. During the 3rd and 4th centuries, a law created by Claudius II forbade young men eligible for military service to marry, because Rome wanted a strong army. The two men named Valentine were priests, and married young couples in secret. Both were found out and executed on February 14th, although in separate years. The Church made Valentine a saint (they chose one), and Lupercalia became St. Valentine’s Day.

 

Here’s wishing you and your loved one a Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Are Gas Furnaces Dangerous?

Wednesday, February 4th, 2015

That depends entirely on your definition of “dangerous.” If, by dangerous, you mean that gas furnaces produce dangerous materials, then yes. If, on the other hand, you mean that gas furnaces are a threat to your health, then no. At least, not without some very serious problems at work. Gas furnaces produce what are called “combustion gases,” which are very dangerous to your health. However, gas furnaces are also equipped with everything they need to dispose of those gases safely. So, unless something is seriously wrong with your furnace, it should be perfectly safe. Let’s examine the properties of combustion gases, and how you can avoid exposing yourself to them.

Combustion Gases

All combustion systems utilize what is called “incomplete combustion.” They are incapable of converting all of the fuel they burn into heat. There will always be waste materials left over from the burning process. In the case of gas furnaces, those waste materials are combustion gases.

The three main combustion gases are nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. All three of these gases are extremely toxic to humans, and can even be fatal in large enough amounts. The furnace it built to vent these gases out of the house and into the open air, where they can disperse. There are some issues that can prevent the gases from venting properly, however, which is where things get dangerous.

Gas Venting Problems

Normally, combustion gases rise up from the burner and into the heat exchanger with the rest of the heat. Here, the heat radiates through the walls of the heat exchanger and into the air being circulated. Meanwhile, the combustion gases keep travelling up and into the exhaust vent, where they are released out into the open air.

There are two main issues that can stop the gases from venting properly. The first is a blocked exhaust flue, while the second is a cracked heat exchanger. A blocked exhaust flue can occur when debris is blown into the vent, or even when animals or birds build nests in it. This forces the gas back down and out into the home.

A cracked heat exchanger is usually something that occurs over years. The heat exchanger expands and contracts with the heat flowing through it, but eventually the stress can cause the exchanger to form small cracks. Combustion gases can sometimes leak out through these cracks and into the air being circulated, which is very dangerous to the home’s occupants.

The best way to stop these issues from occurring is to have regular preventive maintenance conducted. If you haven’t had your gas furnace inspected in a while, schedule and appointment with Robbins Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. We provide professional gas furnace services in the Farmington, NM area.

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