Tag: hvac maintenance

7 Pros and Cons of a Gas Furnace

Posted on by Beebe HVAC

You may be wondering what the pros and cons of a gas furnace are if you are helping design your new home or face replacing an old heating system. A gas furnace can be an excellent heating option for your home.

To best inform yourself on your heating choices, our Kansas City HVAC pros at Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning present this list of 7 pros and cons to think about if you’re considering installing a gas furnace.

Consider These Pros and Cons of a Gas Furnace

Choosing what type of heating to use in your home is a big decision. We present the below-listed pros and cons to provide you with the ability to make an informed decision based on the following criteria: heating efficiency, cost-effectiveness, adaptability, desirability, upfront costs, service life span, and maintenance costs frequency.

Pro: Heats Your Home Faster

Gas furnaces tend to heat homes faster than electric furnaces, which is certainly a major plus for keeping your home nice and cozy during the cold winter months. Gas furnaces heat up faster than electric furnaces because they come up to maximum temperature as soon as the burners begin running.

Pro: Gas Furnace is Cost-Effective

Switching from an electric heater to a gas heater can be incredibly cost-efficient. Many homes save an average of at least 50% on heating bills when switching from electric heat to gas heat. According to a midwest utility company, homeowners living in cold climates can expect to save approximately $1,700 a year in heating bills by using a gas furnace.

Pro: Adaptability

Gas furnaces are adaptable in that a newly installed gas furnace can connect with your home’s existing HVAC system. The fact that a newly installed gas furnace doesn’t require an overhauling or replacement of the rest of your current HVAC system is a huge plus.

Pro: More Desirable

If you rent out homes or are considering selling your home at some point, then consider that gas furnaces are often the most popular option among homeowners and renters. Renters are fans of gas furnaces as several of the cons do not affect them, such as the higher installation and maintenance costs, and they’ll save on monthly heating expenses.

Con: Upfront Cost of Installment is Expensive

While gas furnaces are cost-efficient in the long run, they are more expensive to install upfront than other heater types. While the upfront expense is a con to choosing a gas furnace, consider the overall benefit of significantly lower monthly heating bills.

Con: Shorter Service Life

Perhaps the biggest drawback to choosing a gas furnace is its shorter expected service life than other heaters. We expect a well-performing, well-maintained, quality gas furnace to last approximately 15-20 years. Compare that to the 20-30 year service expectancy of equally high quality, well-maintained electric heater.

Con: Higher Maintenance Requirements

Gas furnaces typically require more maintenance from an HVAC technician. These furnaces use a combustion process that requires scheduled inspection and preventative upkeep to avoid problems such as carbon monoxide leakage.

Thankfully, Kansas City homeowners can turn to the HVAC professionals at Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning to perform excellent furnace maintenance, inspections, and repairs. Always install a carbon monoxide detector in your home for added safety.

Contact Us For Your Questions About the Pros and Cons of a Gas Furnace

If you live in the Kansas City metropolitan area the experts at Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning are here to help you make the best heating system decision. Contact us today to discuss the pros and cons of a gas furnace and your options for installation.

The Importance of Heating Maintenance This Winter

Posted on by Beebe HVAC

Staying comfortable and warm inside during the cold winter months, and ensuring critical infrastructure, like plumbing, continues operating, underscores the importance of heating maintenance in the winter.

Without proper maintenance, your heating system could fail during a time of year that could have significant consequences on health, safety, and the operating systems in your building.

At Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning, we know how critical properly functioning heaters are for the winter months in Kansas City. We are experts in installing and maintaining HVAC heating systems, and in this article, we’ll outline the importance of heating maintenance this winter.

The Importance of Heating Maintenance This Winter: Health and Safety

A properly maintained, efficiently operating heating system is crucial to you and your family’s health, wellness, and comfort. Performing proper maintenance on your heating system helps to ensure that no costly failures occur that could result in a period of significant discomfort until the system is back to performing well. If you’re in the Kansas City area, you can benefit from our expert heating maintenance services at Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning.

If you live in a cold environment and your heating system goes out due to a lack of maintenance, you may have to stay elsewhere until the system is back in operation. You may also resort to wearing piling on heavy coats and blankets inside your home for warmth. Pets, children, the elderly, and people with some forms of chronic illnesses may be at particular risk if the heat suddenly stops working in your home.

Ensure the Longevity of Your Heating System

Winter months are particularly straining on your heating system, and without proper maintenance, this strain could result in your heating system needing replacement earlier than expected. Replacing the heating source in your house can be a costly and extensive project.

Spending the time and money on yearly preventative maintenance is a far better option than having to prematurely replace your entire heating system, especially in the middle of winter.

The Importance of Heating Maintenance This Winter: Save on Energy Bills

When your heating system undergoes regular maintenance, it runs in an optimized state, and thus, more efficiently. As such, your monthly energy bills are lower than if the system is running inefficiently, which will result in higher monthly energy bills. The less your heating system has to work, the longer it will last, and the less money you will spend in the short term and long run, by far.

Keep Your Warranty Valid

Performing warranty-approved and required maintenance on your heating system is critical to keeping your warranty valid. Considering that heating systems are the most strained in the winter, you’ll want to ensure that you perform necessary maintenance in the winter to keep your warranty valid.

The Importance of Heating Maintenance This Winter: Identify Problems to Enhance Performance

Scheduling regular maintenance checks on your heating system can help you identify specific parts that need replacement. It’s far better to replace those parts as needed rather than leave your system unattended until a cascade of part failures occur that lead to an entire system needing replacement.

For instance, you may be noticing temperature variations resulting in certain parts of your home not heating as well as others. A regularly scheduled maintenance check helps identify issues, and components that need replacement or repair, ensuring your whole building optimally heats.

Choose the Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning Pros

From preventative maintenance to tune-ups and identifying small problems, scheduling winter maintenance is crucial to ensuring the longevity and optimization of your heating system. Now that you know the importance of heating maintenance this winter, make sure you reach out to us pros at Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning for expert maintenance service.

Fall HVAC Maintenance Checklist

Posted on by Beebe HVAC

If you are not performing your own fall HVAC maintenance, then you risk problems with your system. Keeping your entire system maintained will ensure your HVAC is there when you need it.

Often, the fall can be short and it can get cold rather quickly. You need to have your HVAC system ready to handle the workout it will get all winter long. There are a few things you can do yourself.

Fall HVAC Maintenance Checklist

Keeping your HVAC maintained is the best way to prevent any problems or the need for costly repairs.

Clean The Furnace

Start by checking around your furnace. Make sure you remove any boxes, sleds, clothes, or anything that may have been stored in the basement. Keep these all several feet away from your furnace.

Then open the vents and check that there is nothing built up inside. Vacuum out the dust, lint, and pet hair that has been gathering. This will prevent blockages and fires.

Check the Filters

Changing your filters is one of the best ways to make sure the air will flow. If you have older filters that require cleaning, change them for some more higher efficiency filters.

These will help to catch more dust and debris better. Many newer filters have electrostatic charges in the pleats that trap particles. This improves the way the HVAC functions and helps with air quality.

Clear Debris Outside

Once the leaves start to fall, they can clog up the vents and outdoor systems. Get rid of the leaves, branches, and other bits of garbage that may blow into your yard.

You should keep an eye on this until the leaves have all gone, just to make sure there are no problems. The air needs to move through the system, so keep other toys or other objects away from the outside unit. Once it is cleared, cover it up.

Check Ducts

Check your ducts to make sure there is nothing blocking them. Look for signs of damage, like moisture damage, rust, water stains, cracks, or an excessive amount of dust or pet hair.

These can be cleaned but you may want to leave them to the professionals. Floor vents can be checked but if they are higher up, you shouldn’t attempt to clean them by yourself.

Turn it On

Early in the fall, turn your heater on, just to give it a check. You should know right away if something is wrong. There may be a noise, a bad smell, or no reaction, at all.

It will give you a better idea about the state of your HVAC and whether you are going to need a service call. If there seems to be an issue, shut it off again, and call for professional HVAC maintenance.

Get an Inspection

Ideally, you should have the HVAC system inspected in the spring and the fall. It’s the best way to prevent getting caught with a major problem during a heatwave or a cold snap.

A professional will know what to look for and be able to prevent the issues from getting much worse.

HVAC Maintenance

Call us today at Beebe Heating and Air Conditioning. Regardless of the cooling or heating services you need, we provide each customer with a 100% guarantee for the HVAC work we do. We will always strive to do the best job possible and back up this claim with an iron-clad guarantee.

Fall HVAC maintenance will keep your system working when you need it the most. Don’t get caught paying for costly repairs in the middle of winter.

Heating and Cooling Tips Every Kansas City Homeowner Should Know

Posted on by Beebe HVAC

Heating and cooling tips for our homes not only keep us more comfortable, but they also help our system run better and make it easier to manage our energy bills.

We depend on our HVAC system to make sure we are warm or cool so it’s vital we take care of it. If you do your part, then you won’t need costly repairs and the heating and cooling system will work when you need it to.

Heating and Cooling Tips Every Kansas City Homeowner Should Know

The more you know about heating and cooling tips, and what tasks you can do yourself, and what you need to leave to the professionals, the better and longer your HVAC system will work at its peak.

Keep it Clean

It’s important to keep all areas of your heating and cooling system clean. The outside unit of your air conditioner needs to be free of items and debris. Make sure there are no leaves, bikes, clothing, or anything else blocking the vents and airflow.

The same for your furnace. Don’t leave boxes, toys, crafts, or anything else stacked in front of it. Make sure the area around the furnace is kept clear of dust, pet hair, or rodents.

Change Filters

HVAC systems have filters that trap dust and other small particles from the air. These filters need to be either cleaned or replaced regularly during the busy season.

They make sure your air is cleaner and they also cut back on certain allergens. When the filters are clean, the unit doesn’t need to work as hard and that will ultimately save you money on your energy bill and maintenance and repairs.

Vents

When you change your filters, check your vents. They can also get a build-up of dust, pet hair, and other particles. You can remove the register and either vacuum the space or wipe it with a damp cloth.

If you are not comfortable with this, you can hire a professional to do it for you. Clean vents and filters allow the system to work better, keep the air you breathe cleaner, and won’t overwork the HVAC system.

Regular Inspections

Having your HVAC unit inspected at least twice a year is one of the best heating and cooling tips available. Even if you think the system is fine, a professional can make sure everything is as it should be.

Cleaning, repairs, and regular maintenance can also be done during your inspection. Professionals can spot potential problems before they become actual problems and end up costing you a lot of money.

Upgrade Your System

If your thermostat has seen better days, consider getting your system upgraded. Programmable thermostats allow you to preset the temperature you want, even when you are not there.

You can set the heating or cooling to come on just before you get home, to help save money. You can also set it with your mobile device or override the settings you set up.

Know the Signs of Problems

Another important heating and cooling tip is what red flags to watch out for. Odd thumping or strange noises, bad odors or a burning smell, leaks, humidity, or if your unit takes too long to respond.

Heating and Cooling Tips

If you have problems with your HVAC system, any questions, or just need a consultation, please give us a call here at Beebe Heating and Air Conditioning. Our trained professionals can help you with repairs, advice, an upgrade, or anything else that you may need.