Ask Dave: What to do about crazy energy bills?

Dear Dave,

I just got my electric bill.  I was away for the holidays and it was still $300.00!!!  What can I do?

Dear Customer,

I have a hunch this is only the beginning.  $3.10 gasoline tells the story of the rising cost of energy.  One solution is to add a wood stove to your family or living room.  There are beautiful, very efficient wood stoves that not only give a lot of heat but have glass doors and provide wonderful ambiance while burning.  Many still have tax credits available on them.

If you can't cut wood (I can't since I live in town) you can buy it and have it delivered.  It costs some but far less than electricity.

We have a number of wood stoves in our showrooms in Athens and Lancaster and provide certified installation that your home insurance company will like.  I personally don't think there is anything better on a winter night than our family gathered around a wood fire in our family room.  And if I'm saving a bunch on my electric bill, all the better!

David

Tips for Winter Savings

Here in southeastern Ohio we have our first true winter storm blowing in.  So I thought it was time for some winter energy saving tips.

1) Check for drafts around windows and doors.  Purchase door sweeps for the bottom of the doors to seal out air leaks and install new weatherstripping if you feel cold air around your door or window seams. Window sealing kits are available too for those cold, cold windows.  All of these are simple tasks that anyone can do with kits from the hardware store.

2) Have your furnace tuned up.  I know, I know this makes me money.  So it seems like I might have ulterior motives to suggest it.  But seriously, all furnaces and should be serviced annually to increase efficiency and ensure the furnace is safe to operate.  For just a few extra dollars you can purchase one of our maintenance plans which includes the tune up, a filter, AND we'll pay for most parts and labor if you need a repair the rest of the year.  Not a bad deal for something you ought to be doing anyway.  Click here for the Energy Star check-list.  See?  Even the officials on saving energy agree with me on this one.
 
3) Which, by the way, if you don't have a high efficiency furnace, you should look into buying one.  Ask one of our specialists about the savings you can get from replacing a 20 year old (or older!) furnace with a newer efficient one and I think you'll be very surprised by how much money you are literally burning each month.
Check and replace furnace filters on a regular basis-we suggest checking the filter every 30-45 days.  If you have one of our super media filters, check it every 6 months at the very least.  They sometimes can last a year but it's best to check them monthly after the 6 month mark.
 
4) A programmable thermostat makes it easy to keep your house cool when you aren't home (or are asleep) and warm by the time you are home.  No sense wasting money heating your house to a comfortable temperature when it is empty.

5) Make sure fireplace dampers are fully closed when not in use.  Traditional fireplaces can suck warm air up them and right outside, wasting your precious energy dollars.  Personally, we installed a gas fireplace insert in ours several years ago.  This makes it a true source of heat for us, even when the power is out, and no warm air is ever sucked up the chimney.  Plus, I don't have to mess with wood.  If you truly want to heat with wood, for example if you can cut it yourself so it's a cheap heat source, then I recommend a wood stove or insert.

6) Finally, this isn't necessarily an energy saving tip, but heating your house dries your house up.  Meaning your sinus cavities are all dried up.  Meaning you can catch a cold more easily or have a cold turn into a sinus infection because everything is so stuffed up.  Installing a whole house humidifier (or buying a cool mist humidifier for each bedroom from a drug store or retail store) can stop these issues.  It can actually save you energy as well as a moist house feels warmer meaning you might be willing to keep the actual temperature on your thermostat lower.  Saving energy and money.
 
I'm all about saving money, a known deal grabber, coupon clipper, penny pincher.  But truth be told, no matter how many coupons you are clipping winter heating costs can suck all the money out of your banking account.  Take the time, and possibly the initial investment, and stop sending your money right out the chimney, windows, and doors. 

Women are breaking into all parts of the HVAC world!

This year marks the first year in 116 years of ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers) history that a woman is president.  Lynn G Bellenger was installed as president of the society this summer.

As a woman in a mostly male dominated industry I was obviously excited to hear this.  I was even more excited to hear her ideas of making sure that HVAC industrial experts be inserted in the architect/engineer part of building.  She said this was especially important if the heating and cooling industry is to continue it's quest of making a sustainable world, saying, "It is going to require a real cultural shift in our industry to transform the design process, and it's a shift that has to occur if we are going to reach our goal of net-zero-energy buildings."

I found her presidential address (at http://www.ashrae.org) both eloquent and practical.  She said, "Our challenge is to approach every project with innovation, not repetition, and to challenge ourselves to find the elegant solutions that will minimize energy use and provide exceptional indoor environmental quality. People will judge us on our performance, not our promises."

Who of us in this industry has not been frustrated with HVAC being such an after thought to the overall building plan?  When it is clearly one of the most important parts of a comfortable building.  Add with that the modern desire to stop polluting our earth and we are clearly in a time of change.

I'm so proud to be part of David White Services, bringing well designed, efficient heating and cooling (both traditional and geo-thermal) to the Athens and Lancaster markets.  And glad to have so many women in our organization as well.  Women are so good at practical application that it just makes sense to have us in an industry that deeply effects the daily comfort of both us our families.

People say the nicest things!

We do a lot of work in the fall and this year even more so with so many taking advantage of the 30% tax credit on high efficiency heating and cooling equipment.  So this post is some of the nice things our customers have said about us in the last two months.

We used you before and were very satisfied.  This time you gave us friendly, fast service.  We say thanks to all!                                                                                     Elaine Yaple, Lancaster, Ohio

We only got an estimate from David White Services because of your reputation and the referrals of others.  Everything was well done!  The installation people were very polite, professional, and knowledgable.  They answered my numerous questions well.                                         Joan & Charles Mickelson, Athens, Ohio


You can use me as a referral anytime!  I found you in the yellow pages and bought because of the sales presentation.  Your installers were very polite, neat, and went about their job without bothering anyone.  If they were unsure of what we wanted, they asked.  They were very pleasant.  And we were especially impressed that there was no foul language.                                 Larry Richards, Vincent, Ohio

We got two estimates and you were the lowest.  Several people referred you to me and you have a good reputation.  That and the price made the decision easy.  My overall experience with David White Services was nice.  And Matthew Stallard was a great help!  We thank him.             Yan Ling Cai, The Plains, Ohio

I already was your customer so I only got an estimate from you.  You installed my system when you promised and cleaned up after yourselves.  Your crew was courteous and professional.  They did a very good job.            Ken Midkiff, Guysville, Ohio

Sales rep was very good at explaining our options.  Installers very courteous and helpful.
          Becky Gilham, Lancaster, Ohio

We only got an estimate from you because our friends recommended you.  Your people were friendly, quick, and neat.  Absolutely no complaints.
    Zach Demster, Coolville, Ohio

I only got an estimate from David White.  You came when promised, did a neat installation, and then cleaned up after yourself.                                                                John Burgess, Lancaster, Ohio


We love our customers and they love us back!  It makes going to work every day a joy.  If you are wondering who to buy your next HVAC system from, give us a try and you'll be convinced.  We don't try to sell you a name brand (though we sell great name brands!) we sell you ourselves and our service and our dependability.  Well over 30 years in southeastern Ohio!  We're here to stay and will take care of your comfort for years to come.

Go Bobcats! What a great day!

We here at David White Services absolutely loving being a sponsor of Ohio University, especially during football season.  The day today was gorgeous and the game against BGSU was also gorgeous.


We finally figured out our food.  We always try to take food that both our tent full of kids will eat and so will all the other tailgaters.  Hotdogs, chips, cupcakes, and bottled water seemed to go over very well today.  And with our tailgating grill it was truly a piece of cake!  Usually, my husband Tim does the grilling but he was a little late today so I set up. I managed to get the awesome tabletop grill set up and lit without singing off my eyebrows.  It was shocking how evenly and perfectly cooked the dogs were.  In half the time as our home grill!  It was really impressive.

Here's our set up, right next to the Green and White Club:

Another highlight of tailgating for me is the band.  Bands are just so happy.  And the most exciting band in the land, the Marching 110 never disappoints:

Another highlight for our family is Rufus the mascot and the cheerleaders.  And, of course, all toys and games and fun atmosphere that tailgating brings.

The communities of Lancaster, Ohio and Athens, Ohio are so wonderful for raising families.  I'm so happy our businesses are here!

Stay tuned for more posts about the Lancaster Fair this week!

Why I love fall:

I just love fall.  Sweaters, jeans, apples, pumpkins, baking, football, and school starts!  Yippee!  Call me crazy, but I love two of my three children being in school.  Freedom!

But I also really love football.  I follow the Cincinnati Bengals, OSU Buckeyes, and Ohio Bobcats.  Love them!  Anyone watch the Rufus-Brutus fight this year?  We were there for that!  Crazy.

You will see us tomorrow right here in Athens!  I'm making green and white cupcakes.  Yes, homemade!  Parents weekend and all I thought our tent should have something special.  So here's to a win!

I also love my gas fireplace.  It's so warm and toasty and I sincerely believe everyone should have one.  There is no messy wood, it turns on with just a switch.  It's vented so I'm not living with fumes: they go up the chimney.  It's beautiful in my living room.  I have super old and rundown furniture so it may actually be the prettiest thing in my living room, definitely the focal point.

Really it's hard to explain to others how nice it is to snuggle up in my Bengals sweatshirt or Snuggie (yup, I've got one) and watch Sunday's games curled up in front of my fireplace.

And all of the above reasons don't even include it saves money by reducing the amount of time our furnace is on.  It's October 8th and we haven't had our furnace on once yet!  Savings!

Ask Dave:

Valued Customer:

I've heard there is a new program where I can get up to $1500.00 tax credit if I have a new furnace or heat pump installed.  Is this true?

Dave:

The new "stimulus" bill that Congress passed does indeed allow for a tax credit up to $1500.00 which will pay 30% of any upgrade to your heating and cooling system.  The replaced equipment must be very high efficiency but don't worry: we have all the details and paperwork to make it easy.

If your system is over 10 years old, this may be the year to replace it.  These new systems can save you substantially on your utility bills for years to come.  Our hearth store also has wood stoves that meet the government guidelines and also qualify for $1500 tax credit.  Come on in and check out our gorgeous showrooms.  The tax credit only lasts through 2010 (just 3 more months!!!) so don't wait too long!

A tornado in Athens county?

Yup, it happened.  We have tornado warnings here every year, but if I'm telling the truth, I never really pay attention to them.  No real tornado has hit our little corner of America in over 50 years.  And so, when the warning was sounded Thursday night around 6:50 p.m. I was getting ready to hop in the shower, not paying one bit of attention.  It was as I was running the water that I got a text message from a good friend who lives in The Plains with a video of a tornado coming towards her house. I turned the water off and thought perhaps a shower wasn't the right option at the moment.  I went and looked out my window and sure enough, those were some very tornado forming clouds with spinning bits of wind everywhere.  Time to round up the family.

We live in a brick house with a basement and the tornados came nowhere near us so we were never in any danger.  But just the same, I think my attitude towards tornado drills and warnings will be different from now on.  Because obviously, a tornado CAN hit Athens county.

My friend, by the way, was sending me the text from her basement and though her phone will never be the same from water damage, she, her husband, her dog, and their home are completely fine.  Sadly, I cannot say the same for many of their neighbors.

The Plains, which doesn't have much tourist activity in general but currently is a hot spot of tourism,  has been hard hit.  It is obvious that it will be some time before the roofs are put back in place and the debris is all gone and the trees have grown back.  And equally obvious is that you can have lots of volunteers but at some point you will need skilled workers.

Me and my friends and kids cleaning debris (I have VERY limited chainsaw skills):

It is also obvious that lots of air conditioners and heat pumps and roof top units are going to need replaced.  Which just happens to be our specialty.

If your unit has been damaged by this storm give us a call and let us assess it for free and tell you if it is salvageable.

And if it isn't, this might be a great opportunity to cash in on the stimulus program and upgrade to a super efficient heating and cooling system.  I'm going to add an Ask Dave about the subject in my next post.

I LOVE to clean house.

OK, so not really.  In my imaginary world I love to clean house.  In my real world I hate it.  I'm terrible at it, too busy for it, and it makes me sick.  Literally.  I'm allergic to dust and though that sounds like simply a convenient thing to be allergic to, it's actually true.

When I was a little girl my pillow and bed were both covered in plastic with a sheet and pillowcase over the plastic so it wasn't dangerous.  It was hot and noisy but it made my life bearable.  As an adult I've been introduced to the wonderment that is the Super 90 Whole House Filter System.

There are many filtering systems out there.  And they all proclaim one thing or the other.  The Super Filter is rated a MERV 11.  I know, I know.  You have no idea what that is and you don't care.  Too bad, I'm telling you anyway.  MERV is what filters are rated in, like movies are rated PG, PG-13, and R.  Only MERV is rated in numbers from 1 to 16.  MERV 1 is a filter that you can see through and filters out things like cats, dogs, and possibly mice.  MERV 14-15 are filters in ICU units of hospitals.  So you can see the grading system.

The Super filter is 11, as I said, which means it is absolutely perfect for your house.  With super high filtration and not ridiculous prices.

Now that we have that all settled and you are informed, let me tell you about me.  After all, that's what a blog is all about, right?  Me writing about me to the saps willing to read about me?  I meant to say: the amazingly intelligent people.  Of course.

So, I hate cleaning and I especially hate cleaning imaginary dirt, as I like to call.  The subtle dusting of dust that no one without a white glove ever notices.  I like to leave it till anyone would notice.  I like to clean when things are good and dirty.  And since I am sick for the entire day AFTER dusting I like to almost never do it.  Because I don't like to be sick.  And because I don't like to be sick I look like this when I am dusting:

I hate that mask!  It is so hot.  And my littlest one loves the duster and uses it like a sword, thus getting even more dust all stirred up.  Ugh!

Fortunately for me, I have a Super Filter.  And Super Filters don't let much dust through. 

There are a few rules for optimal usage. 

One:  you have to let the fan on your furnace blow most the time (this is an easy setting on most thermostats, "fan on".)

And two: you have to keep your windows closed if you are allergic to outdoor things.  For example, in the fall I'm terrible allergic to ragweed.  If I sit in my house, filter on, windows & doors closed, and a 24 hour pill in my system I can survive with little struggle.  But should I happen to venture outside into the unknown, unfiltered (and therefore pollen & dander filled) air than all bets are off on how long I can breath comfortably through my nose or see anything out of my scratchy, miserable eyes.

But here is the real deal.  I only dust monthly.  No joke.  That filter keeps so much junk out of my air that I rarely have to wear my horrible mask.  As a matter of fact I hired a housekeeper three weeks ago.  It was GLORIOUS!!!  My house sparkled like you cannot believe.  Now, three weeks later, I decided I ought to do a little bit of cleaning myself.  After picking up random toys in bizarre places, cleaning the bathrooms, and mopping the kitchen floor I decided to do the dreaded dusting.  I donned my mask and went to town.  And guess what?  There was almost none.  Three weeks later it was like she had just been there.  AWESOME!

The other perk of a better filter is you don't have to change it monthly.  Which saves money.  Which in my book is a good thing.  My sweet husband decided to change the filter today, a full six months after changing it before.  But remember, I just dusted and there wasn't any dust.  Six months into the filter.  I took a picture of it just to prove it easily could have gone another 2 months if not another 6 months:

It does look dirty, it's true, but it wasn't SUPER dirty (you can still see the yellow peeking through the dirt) and a super filter can get super dirty and still be filtering great!

The final thing is a better filter makes your HVAC system last longer.  And work more efficiently.  Which saves energy.  Which again, saves money.

So in recap: I love my super filter because I hate to dust & it helps me not have to; it saves me money on allergy medicine and makes me less miserable; it saves me money by saving energy and making my HVAC system last longer; it saves me money and hassles because I don't have to replace it as often.

Oh, yeah!

And if you already have this system make sure you get our Comfort News, either via mail or e-mail, so you can get in on our buy 2, get 1 sale we run every year!  We'll announce it on Facebook too.  Become a fan!

Family Food

In addition to HVAC stuff, I'm also a busy mom and work very hard to find solutions to every day household concerns. In our quarterly newsletter, The Comfort News, we have always shared recipes and money and time saving tips. And I wanted to continue the tradition here on my blog for all our loyal readers. So I hope to pepper the furnace and air conditioning talk with practical info you can use to save time, energy, and money. Because that's what we do at David White Services: we save you energy & money! Why not keep it going in other things you do?


The internet has been an amazing resource for me and I thought I would spend some time regularly on here to share helpful hints on home organization, budgeting, and family fun.


A few months ago I found a blog on a 30 meal plan. I'm new to the blogging world and don't know how it all works but I don't want to claim this idea as my own so I'm giving a shout out to littlenannygoat who has a great blog and posted about this in May 2009. Hopefully this is sufficient credit so she knows that I'm not stealing from her (not that I have any readers anyway since I'm too chicken to tell anyone I'm blogging!)


Anyway, this seemed genius to me as I always seem to go in spurts of cooking and then getting sick of cooking and ordering pizza/junk food/eating out. I'm sure I can't be the only mom out there who just gets SOOOO tired of figuring out a weekly menu, grocery shopping, and cooking. It's not like I don't have a very full life without being a short order cook 3 times a day (plus snacks every 1-2 hours with a three year old!) And with prices the way they are right now, just one week of not knowing what I'm eating every day can make us $100.00 poorer than normal not to mention I gain 2 pounds I then have to lose! Argh!!!!


So having 30 meals that I know my family will eat; then a list which I just circle what we've used up and replace at that week's grocery shopping trips seemed quite smart.  I wrote each Meal and recipes on a big index card which I laminated and bought a holder at Dollar Tree that has a magnet on the back to stick on the fridge.  They all just go in there.  In the morning I pull out the one I'm gonna make that night and stick it on the fridge by itself.  I do any prep work then (I'm a morning person) and when I come home at night it's a no brainer as to what's for dinner.  Even better when it's a crockpot meal or a casserole I can make all the way so dinner is like 90% done before I ever even get home!


Below I have the names of the recipes which we have settled on. I chose these for their kid-friendly nature without being boring for adults, their versatility, cheap, easy to find ingredients, and ease of preparation. I'm not going to include the recipes in today's blog, just the names. But I will post them all within the month. If I'm really on top of it, I'll try to get to it within the next few weeks. And if I ever figure out how to truly blog maybe I can make the names below clickable so it would take you to the entry with the recipe! That would awesome but not currently within my skill set. Here's to the future! And as soon as I get the recipes all on here, I'll publish the grocery list.  It has like 80 items on it, but remember it's for a whole month.


The Meals:

Meal One: Meatloaf Cups, Twice Baked Potato Casserole, Steamed Broccoli

Meal Two: Spinach Calzones, Italian Salad

Meal Three: Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Hamburger Buns, Frozen Potatoes (like wedges or fries)

Meal Four: Chicken Parmesan, Steamed Asparagus, Breadsticks

Meal Five: Hamburgers, Chips, Baked Beans

Meal Six: Fajitas, Spanish Rice

Meal Seven: Pepperoni Pizza Wheels, Lite Caesar Salad

Meal Eight: Breakfast for Dinner

Meal Nine: Oriental Pork Tenderloin, Brown Rice, Chinese Veggies

Meal Ten: Black Bean Quesadillas, 1 Point Mexican Soup

Meal Eleven: Easy, Homemade Pizza

Meal Twelve: Easy Turkey Dinner

Meal Thirteen: Thai Chicken, Brown Rice, Steamed Veggie

Meal Fourteen: Chile Rellenos Casserole, Tortilla Chips

Meal Fifteen: Spaghetti and Meatballs, Steamed Broccoli, Garlic Bread

Meal Sixteen: Chicken Stroganoff, Noodles, Green Beans

Meal Seventeen: General Tso's/Terriyaki Chicken Stirfry

Meal Eighteen: Frozen Eggrolls, Hot and Sour Soup

Meal Nineteen: Tostadas

Meal Twenty: Spinach and Ricotta Shells, Garlic Bread, Salad

Meal Twenty-one: Chili, Corn Chips or Bread

Meal Twenty-two: Fried Rice, Oriental Chicken, Steamed Snap Peas

Meal Twenty-three: Salsa Chicken, Spanish Rice

Meal Twenty-Four: Easy Ravioli Bake, Texas Toast, Steamed Broccoli

Meal Twenty-Five: Philly Cheesesteak, Chips

Meal Twenty-Six: Spice Crusted Chicken Breast, Orange Salsa, Fajita Veggies

Meal Twenty-Seven: BBQ Biscuit Cups, Corn, Frozen Potatoes

Meal Twenty-Eight: Mexican Meatloaf, Baked Sweet Potatoes,

Meal Twenty-Nine: Ham and Cheese Quiche, Applesauce, Bacon

Meal Thirty: Meatball Subs, Green Beans


 

Power outages are so inconvenient.

Saturday night I decided to run to the store to get more scrapbooking tape so I could finish my Yellowstone scrapbook.  I also decided to get some CVS deals that ended Saturday night so I grabbed the flyer and coupons and headed to town.  As I pulled onto East State Street the stop lights were out and I knew the power was out.  At our house we had electricity so I didn't realize.  I just did a u-turn and went home, disappointed I had wasted my time and gasoline.

The next morning I went back into town to get the new week's CVS deals and I still needed tape.  And though everyone had electricity again, the cash registers were all a mess and everything had to be done manually.

Power outages wreak havoc on communities.  And the average family experiences more than 5 major power outages a year!  Boy, it feels more often than that in our area.  And it also seems like instead of being 24 hours or so it is days on end.  Two years ago in the middle of winter we were out for more than a week and last year we were once out for almost a week.  And we actually felt prepared and resourceful.  We had plenty of food and water.  We had games and books and headlamps with full batteries so we could move around.  We have two gas fireplaces so we weren't cold. And we have a gas stove so we could cook.  Yet even still, candle light got old VERY quickly.  With three kids it just isn't romantic nor appealing at all.

As we head into the seasons of high winds, ice, and snow I find myself being less and less willing to spend days and weeks on end at the mercy of AEP.

And there really is another option.  An option that more of our customers are seeking and which we have installed at David White Services.  A standby generator system.

We sell General Electric standby generators.  This is different from the noisy and bothersome portable generators which require you to run an extension cord and are very limited in what you can power.  A permanent standby generator system allows you to function with minimal interruptions to your normal life.  Your food won't spoil and your basement won't flood and with some organization you can continue to use your hair dryer in the morning, your oven at dinnertime, and not miss important football games.  Yes, I have had a Superbowl interrupted!!!  The horror of it all!

Standby generators have gas engines but are quiet.  The systems can be connected to your natural gas line or liquid propane tank and generate electricity as long as fuel is supplied, no power company needed.  Also, standby generators use an automatic transfer switch.  This means that when the power goes out, the automatic transfer switch turns on the generator, whether you're home or not, and automatically shuts it off when the power comes back on.

Unlike portable generators, standby generators operate automatically with no human intervention.

The first step in picking your home standby generator is to determine if you want to power your whole house, essential circuits, or somewhere in between.  One of the biggest misconceptions about home standby generators is that they restore or provide power to the entire house.

But "whole house" is really dependent on the size of your house.  If you wanted to power a doghouse, a tiny generator would work.  If you own a mansion, you'd need a huge generator.

The majority of us have limited budgets.  But buying a smaller standby generator which keeps your heating (or cooling) running, your deep freezer frozen, and/or your sump pump pumping and also allows you to run one or two other electrical items at the same time is affordable enough to be in the price bracket of those of us who live somewhere in between a dog house and a mansion.

David White Services can help you plan for being inconvenienced.  And, as always, our estimates are free.

Ack! The summer is gone!

I learned something very valuable with the beginning of this blog: never start a blog in June!  Summer is just so busy with kids off school, yard work, vacation, and being busy installing air conditioning for our hot customers.

But the kids start school tomorrow.  Backpacks are packed, lunches are in the fridge, and the teachers were properly met this evening.  It's 9:00 pm and the kids are in bed.  Perfect blogging time.  Nothing is better for a mom than the first week of school, except maybe the last day of school.  I find myself equally excited for both, for the summer break of monotony and for the delightful start of a more regular schedule again come August.

So, hopefully, I will be a better blogger as fall comes.  Though I've already seen that I won't be able to just keep the Monday/Friday schedule.  I'm just not a scheduled person enough and if I want this to work, it needs to be not only about me and HVAC but also workable with who I really am.  And that is not a woman on a schedule.  Flexibility is a more important word in my vocabulary, so I'm dumping any kind of pretense of knowing when I'll blog.

But I do know that tomorrow I'm going to post about generators.  We had a power outage here in our part of Ohio and AEP customers were quite annoyed, including me.  We can help!  Take the power back into your own hands and don't be stranded in the dark.

More tomorrow!

Our First Ask Dave:

It's Ask Dave Monday! Is David White a real person? Yup, he's my dad and after 33 years in the business he has gained a lot of knowledge. Here he is with my middle daughter when she was a toddler.

 
And here is the first one:

It was almost 70 this week. How do I get my heat pump or air conditioner ready for cooling?

How quickly things change. Summer is here before you know it and it's time for air conditioning. First, you need to check the air filter in your furnace. If it hasn't been changed all winter, now would be a good time. Secondly, go to your outdoor condensing unit. Make sure that no debris, leaves, sticks, etc. have not been blown up against it over winter. If they have you can hose it off with a gentle water flow. If any of the aluminum fins have become bent you can straighten them with an old credit card taking care since they can be sharp. It's a good time to schedule a "clean and check" service call. When in doubt, bring in the professionals! It may also be time to think about upgrading to a more efficient unit.

The beginning of a blog...

Welcome to my new blog and to the beginning of entertaining HVAC!  "What?"  you say.  "Can furnaces and heat pumps really be entertaining?"  Well, as anyone in the industry can tell you, you better have a good sense of humor if you're going to make a go of it.

I started my life in the industry at the tender age of three, though in retrospect I don't think my parents actually sent the crayon and construction paper invoices I made out, but just the same, I was there in person when it all began.  As my mom tirelessly did the books each week in our tiny little office above C&E on Richland Ave. and my dad learned the ins and outs of selling, fixing, and being one with the equipment.  I also have many memories of our West State St. office after we outgrew Richland Ave.  Crawling around in the basement yelling out serial numbers to my dad as we took inventory each year on New Year's Day.  I fit in small places best and there were plenty to hide in there.  And throwing pencils in the ceiling to see if they would stick in the foam (yes, 20 years later I'm admitting it was me and Steve Dean.)  And who can forget our "state-of-the-art" Commodore 64 computer?  I played Pong for hours when sales contracts weren't being typed on it.

Then, when I was old enough to actually work and not just "help," I started with filing (boring!) and moved on to many different jobs as the need came: inventory management, accounts receivable, front desk receptionist, and my personal favorite: maintenance contracts.  That's still my baby, though I've moved to other things as well.  Taking care of our customers on a regular basis, truly getting to know them, is so rewarding my heart will always be there.

Then there is the day I got my HVAC license.  I was in my 20's and one of our helper technicians was supposed to go take the test (so he could handle refrigerant and be a lead tech.)  There was a 2 hour refresher class and then you took the test.  It was already paid for and the tech ended up sick so my dad asked me if I'd like to try, since we'd already lost the money it didn't matter that I wasn't prepared and failed.  So I went.  I was the only girl in the class and the instructor didn't know what to do with me.  Mainly, he tried to avoid eye contact.  But once I got the math down (math is not my big strength), I surprised myself by knowing a lot of the answers.  And I think both my dad and I were shocked when the results came in: Esther Thomas is a Universally Certified Technician.  I guess training for something your entire life equals a couple years of technical school.

But some of my favorite stories of my HVAC life are not my own, but others & their stories.  Oh the stories our men come back with from the field!  Giant black snakes wrapped around compressors, rabbits in ductwork (I wonder why there's no air flow?), and the fun, wild goose chases we go on trying to follow customer's directions to their houses (do people not know where they live?)  And then there are the not so amusing stories: raw sewage in people's basements, finding carbon monoxide and saving family's lives, and my least favorite: creepy spiders in crawlspaces.  If it weren't for the spiders I might have been willing to be in the field more as I have a true love for duct work and especially duct tape!  Talk about a genius invention.  But all those icky spiders!

So, yes, I do believe HVAC and Hearth products can be entertaining.  It entertains me all the time, not the boring electrical chit-chat nor the deep and seemingly endless conversation about fireplace schematics but the funny stories of funny things that happen and the odd people we meet.  And the touching stories of helping people with health issues or fising heat on Christmas Eve when there is a whole house full of company.

So welcome to my blog and stay tuned for our next post:  Ask Dave!  Where we'll answer all your burning (get it?  burning?) hearth and HVAC questions.