Start the New Year off Right

During the December holiday season we tend to get lost in hustle and bustle of the season.  But with December’s celebrations the New Year looms. The New Year is the perfect time to check a few things around your house.

 

The first thing you should check is your furnace filters. A clogged or dirty air filter is a detriment to your heating and air conditioning system and your health; therefore it’s well worth what little time it takes to make sure the filter is clean all year round. With a little planning and forethought, you can keep your HVAC system working as efficiently as possible while decreasing your electric bill, reducing allergy and asthma symptoms, and keeping you cool and comfortable during those hot summer days and warm and cozy all winter long.

 

The second thing is your smoke detector batteries. In standard type battery powered smoke alarms, the batteries need to be replaced at least once per year and the whole unit should be replaced every 8-10 years.

 

The last thing you should replace is your water filters on your tap water and in your refrigerator.  There are quite a few benefits to changing your water filter. Changing your water filter more frequently will help avoid cloudy ice, a funny-taste, unpleasant odor, discoloration and floating particles. It can also save you from expensive repairs to water fixtures, because ineffective filters allow sediment build-up causing fittings to break, fixtures to leak and reduced water pressure. Not changing your filter frequently enough can also result in “filtered” water containing more bacteria than the original water source. Water contaminants can be trapped in the filter, resulting in bacteria growth.

 

Have a safe and Joyous holiday season and remember, if you need emergency service during the season, our staff is here and waiting to help you. A Blessed Holiday and a Happy New Year  from our family to yours.

What is Energy Star?

Over the holidays many of you will receive new appliances for your home. One of the things you will see when you are shopping is the Energy Star Rating. We have many people ask us what this is, so we thought we would explain it to you.

 

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

 

ENERGY STAR products are the same or better than standard products, only they use less energy. To earn the ENERGY STAR, the appliance must meet strict energy efficiency criteria set by the US Environmental Protection Agency or the US Department of Energy. Since they use less energy, these products save you money on your electricity bill and help protect the environment by causing fewer harmful emissions from power plants. And you get the features and quality you expect.

Thankful and Here to Serve

What a year it has been in our country. A hard fought election, natural disasters and many facing personal hardships. However, we still have so much to be thankful for this holiday season. We know that each person and business has different things to be thankful for.  Family, friends, jobs and babies are all things we each have to rejoice in.

One of the things we are thankful for is You, our customer. Without you we would not have the business we have today. So, this holiday season we want to take a moment and say “Thank You”, and we trust that in the year to come we will have a chance to serve you.

Choosing a New Furnace

Choosing a new furnace is not like choosing a President.  In light of this week’s election, we would like to share with you how to “elect” a new furnace for your home. When replacing or installing a new furnace, it is important to consider the energy efficiency. The efficiency of a gas or oil furnace is determined by its AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) – the oil or gas furnace's efficiency in converting fuel to energy. The higher the AFUE, the more energy efficient the furnace is and the more money you can save on your heating bills.

For example, a gas furnace with an 80% AFUE rating means for every dollar spent on heat energy, 80 cents goes toward heating your home. Meanwhile, a gas or oil furnace with a 95% AFUE rating means that 95 cents of every $1.00 goes toward heating your home. Therefore, installing a furnace with a 95% AFUE is more energy efficient and wastes less energy than a new furnace with an 80% AFUE. Contact us today for your new energy efficient furnace!

Furnace Installation

If you need a new furnace installed, look no further than our furnace services! We will install your furnace correctly the first time causing minimal disruption to your home’s heating. If you’re not sure what you need, we can help you choose the best kind of furnace for your home.  We will have your new furnace up and running in no time! Call us today to set up your furnace installation appointment.

Furnace Service

If you’ve had your furnace for several years and it isn’t running well anymore, call us for a furnace service! We’ll come inspect your current furnace to see if a furnace replacement is the best option for your home. If it is, our furnace service experts will install it in no time so you can make your home comfortable again! If your furnace can be repaired, we will provide you with an estimate and complete the job to your satisfaction!

Winterize? It’s Time to Think About It.

Winterization is something every home owner needs to consider.  Getting your home ready for winter is important no matter where you live.  Whether you need to prepare for heavy rains and wind storms, freezing temperatures or snow. Now is the time to prepare.  Keeping your home safe and comfortable for your family is made easier by paying attention to key features that are susceptible to winter weather changes. When the storms and foul weather of winter arrive, you’ll want to know your home is prepped to meet any challenge. Winterizing will prevent problems and improve efficiency, saving you time and money all season long.

There are specific areas of your home you need to look at.

Exterior: Check your gutters, siding, roof and chimney. Clean your gutters, check your siding and roof for obvious areas of repair and have your chimney cleaned by a professional.

Plumbing: Check your outdoor spigots and pipes. Make sure they are insulated properly.

Drafts: Check your seals around doors and windows. Replace any that are worn to prevent air leakage and an increase in heating cost.

Also remember to schedule a tune-up.  Your heating system is much like a vehicle...it requires service!

 In fact, if you haven’t been doing regular maintenance and cleaning on your homes heating system, it could be consuming more energy and adding to your utility bills. Not to mention, it may be causing costly damage to your system that can result in a complete failure. A little prevention now could save you thousands of dollars later. Give us a call to schedule a Fall System Tune-up Today!

Importance of Clean Air

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks indoor air pollution among the top five environmental dangers to the public and identifies it as one of the leading health risks today. The EPA estimated that pollution levels indoors could be two to five times higher than the pollution levels outdoors. And on occasion, indoor air can be as much as 100 times more polluted.

Research studies have found that more people today feel less healthy than at any other time. Also, more people suffer from asthma, allergies, and other respiratory diseases than ever before. Why? Because people over that last the 30 to 40 years have been breathing an increasing amount of damaging particles while indoors.

Standard air cleaners have filters that are very dense.  They stop the dust by trapping it in a slightly porous filter. The fewer the pores the more dust it can trap. However, this not only stops the dust and dirt, but it also stops the air from moving as well. So you may not be as comfortable, and less air is cleaned efficiently. Our air cleaners are highly efficient units that provide maximum clean air in your home.

Mill Creek Heating is a full service heating and air conditioning company.  We are fully licensed and bonded to perform any residential heating or cooling project. Our employees are certified and highly skilled to ensure that your installation or service call is done right the first time. We offer free estimates for any installation and we offer maintenance agreements to better serve our customers.  We also offer 24/7 customer support.