Fires in your home can happen because of a lack of furnace maintenance. They can also happen because of carelessness and dangerous practices. Follow FEMA’s fire safety tips to keep your business and home safe this winter. Some of these fire safety tips include:

• “Avoid using electrical space heaters in bathrooms or other areas where they may come in contact with flammable items.
• Frozen water pipes? Never try to thaw them with a blow torch or other open flame, (otherwise the pipe could conduct the heat and ignite the wall structure inside the wall space). Use hot water or a UL labeled device such as a hand held dryer for thawing.
• If windows are used as emergency exits in your home, practice using them in the event fire should strike. Be sure that all the windows open easily. Home escape ladders are recommended.”

As another safety measure, it is recommended to prepare your home for the harsh winter months by scheduling annual maintenance. At Berico Fuels, our technicians perform comprehensive furnace tune-up’s in Greensboro, making sure that your heating system is working at peak performance. Toxic fumes can build up inside of a home if the furnace is not vented properly, and our certified technicians will check every area of your furnace to ensure complete safety.

Follow these other safety precautions to help prevent home fires:

• “• Never discard hot ashes from a fireplace inside or near the home. Place them in a metal container outside and well away from the house.
• • Never use a range or an oven as a supplemental heating device. Not only is it a safety hazard, it can be a source of potentially toxic fumes.
• • If you use an electric heater, be sure not to overload the circuit. Only use extension cords which have the necessary rating to carry the amp load. TIP: Choose an extension cord the same size or larger than the appliance electrical cord.”

With a high performing furnace, you will not need supplemental heating or space heaters. An efficient heating system will provide warmth in all of the rooms of your house and provide good air quality. Berico Fuels can help you maintain safety and warmth all winter long. At Berico Fuels, we offer complete and exceptional heating system and furnace repairs, installations and maintenance in the Greensboro region. Call us today to stay healthy and safe this winter: 336-273-8663.

(Source: Winter Fires: Safety Tips for the Home, http://www.usfa.fema.gov/, 2014)

https://www.berico.com/fire-prevention-with-furnace-maintenance-in-greensboro/

When you switch the thermostat setting from Cool to Heat and turn the furnace on for the first time, an odd burning smell fills your house. What could it be? We’ll help you figure out what caused this burning odor. But first, you need to stay calm and switch the thermostat setting to “off”. You will need to go over to your heating system and confirm that you do not see a fire or other serious situation at that location. There are a number of circumstances that can cause this smell to occur. Even if your heating system passes this basic type of DYI inspection, you need to schedule a seasonal furnace inspection and maintenance appointment with Berico Fuels. Serious issues and potential system failures can be avoided when furnace service and repairs in the Greensboro area are made at the start of the cold season.

The Combustion Chamber Has Dust Accumulation

While your furnace sat in an idle mode during the spring and summer seasons, dust accumulated inside of the combustion chamber. After turning on the furnace, the chamber was ignited, searing debris which caused the burning odor. Next, a blower pushed the warm air through all of your ducts, sending the burnt smelling air around your home. The good news is that this type of burning smell produced from dust is safe. The odor will leave your home quickly, with the help of opening one or a few windows to let it escape. If you continue to notice a burning smell, this indicates that there could be another problem with your furnace. Call Berico Fuels to provide a tune-up and inspection of your heating system, as well as the recommended maintenance to keep your system working properly.

Clogged Filters Need to Be Changed

Replacing your furnace filters on a regular basis will make the air cleaner in your home. If it has been months since you last changed your furnace filter, this a possible reason for the burning smell. When using a forced-air furnace, a clean filter is essential to delivering warm, healthy air to the rooms in your home. The filters take out allergens and airborne particles, such as mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. Filters work to clean the air before your furnace is heated, so that the circulated air is free of allergy-producing particles. When the filter becomes dirty or extremely soiled, the filter cannot work as intended because the filter fibers will be clogged with dirt and dust. This can cause a bad smell.

Pay attention to your filters to prevent a dangerous fire, which may develop from an overheated unit. The good news with this is that it is easy to fix the bad odor if a dirty filter is the cause. Simply change the filter with a new, clean one and the burning smell will disappear. It is important to keep track of filter changes, and make sure they occur every 30-60 days or as recommended by the manufacturer. Extend the life of your heating system and prevent malfunctions by frequently changing furnace filters. If this does not resolve the burning odor, contact Berico Fuels for furnace service in Greensboro and surrounding areas.

The Furnace Blower Malfunctions When Starting Up

The blower functions by drawing heat from your furnace and pushing it throughout your home. The unit’s internal temperature is also managed by the blower, so it will not get too hot. Mechanical devices sometimes need a repair, so that is also true of the furnace blower. When a blower stops working effectively, overheating of the furnace can occur, producing the burning odor throughout your house. If this happens, contact Berico Fuels immediately. It is important to call a certified technician for this type of repair, and our qualified technicians are fully trained to provide excellent repairs and maintenance for your heating system.

If all three of the potential causes listed above have been checked and the burning smell is still present, contact Berico Fuels right away to schedule an inspection of your heating system. We will get rid of the smell and keep your home safe and comfortable. Our trained technicians will help you identify the problem and will perform repairs to fix the bad odor. At Berico Fuels, we offer quality maintenance, installation and repair services in the Greensboro area for commercial and residential customers. Call us at 336-273-8663 to schedule your furnace and heating checkup and service.

If you like the clean air, high efficiency ratings and the reliability of a natural gas furnace, and you also want a dependable system that warms up the home on the most freezing days of winter, a dual fuel furnace is a perfect fit. By alternating between gas and oil to heat your home, you will have control over the heating source selection, resulting in lower energy bills. This hybrid system has a heat pump and gas furnace, providing you with the best of both worlds, in terms of efficient heating and cost savings. Thermo Pride, a manufacturer of Hybrid systems and one of the top brands that we carry at Berico Fuels, explains the technology:

“With energy costs rising, homeowners are searching for the most economical solution for their indoor comfort needs when it comes to both heating and cooling. Thermo Pride hybrid heat dual fuel system combines your existing oil furnace with a heat pump to deliver an energy efficient alternative to switching to gas. The dual fuel system is so efficient that the cost to heat with it is less than with any gas furnace available on the market today.

A heat pump works like and air conditioner in warm weather and can reverse the process and heat the home when cold weather arrives. The hybrid heat dual fuel system allows flexibility against unpredictable fuel cost providing flexibility to react to changing energy costs. The system delivers exceptional performance by automatically switching to the most economical heating source depending on the outdoor conditions.”

Natural gas providers have contracts, stating the terms that apply for using dual fuel furnaces. Since there are potential discounts available to dual fuel furnace owners, it is a smart choice for a heating replacement in Greensboro. When it is time to consider replacing an old heating system or buying a new one, the dual fuel furnace offers key features to consider:

• Perfect for climates that experience cold seasons and temperature fluctuations.
• Additional electric heat will not be needed in cold winter months.
• Options are available, such as humidifiers, de-humidifiers and air filtration variations.
• Custom adjustments specifically made for your climate.

If your cold season goes from late October to late February, the dual fuel furnace makes sense because an oil furnace setting will kick in to bring warmer air faster throughout the home on the coldest days, and a lower fan speed natural gas setting on mild days will allow for less energy to be used to warm the home. Your home will be more comfortable during the coldest days, since you can control how the furnace operates depending on the temperature. You will be able to get rid of your space heaters once you have a hybrid system in place, since the overall temperature will be more comfortable in every room of your home. Discounted natural gas rates, more efficient heating and versatility are reasons that dual fuel furnaces are becoming popular choices for homeowners and business owners.

At Berico, we carry a variety of brands for dual fuel furnaces, including Lennox, York, Goodman, Armstrong Air, and Thermo Pride. In Greensboro and Eden, dual fuel furnace installations are done by our certified and trained technicians, who will guide you through the functions of the new hybrid system.

(Source: Fall 2013 Newsletter, www.thermopride.com, 2013)

http://www.thermopride.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Fall_2013_Newsletter_111813.pdf

Thinking about replacing an old and inefficient furnace? You may be considering the various types of furnaces that are available. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy shares the following information to help you know when it is time to replace your old furnace:

• If your furnace or boiler is older than 10 years, chances are it is a good investment to replace it with a high-efficiency model with the guidance of a good contractor. Also consider a replacement now if your system is one of the following:
  • Old coal burner that was previously switched over to oil or gas
  • Old gas furnace without electronic ignition. If it has a pilot light, it was probably installed prior to 1992 and has an efficiency of about 65% (the least efficient systems today are 80%)
  • Old gas furnace without vent dampers or an induced draft fan (which limit the flow of heated air up the chimney when the heating system is off).
• If your furnace or boiler is 10–20 years old, and you are experiencing discomfort or high utility bills, hire a highly-qualified home performance or heating contractor who can help you evaluate your existing system. Often it will be more cost-effective to improve house insulation and air-tightness, repair or insulate ductwork, or tune up your system before purchasing a new one.

With all of the available options out there, it’s time to narrow down your choices. For the hottest heat available, we recommend a heating oil furnace, which has 140,000 British Thermal Units (BTU’s) per gallon. This type of system heats faster than gas furnaces, reducing the total amount of fuel that will burn. When comparing BTU’s, note that one BTU of oil burns less pollutants than one BTU of natural gas, making it a clean choice for your home. On cold, freezing mornings, your oil furnace will heat up quickly and bring comfort to your home in a safe way.

In Burlington, Eden, Greensboro and High Point, your oil furnace should get regularly scheduled maintenance to keep it safe and reliable. At Berico, we not only install the furnace, we supply the fuel oil, maintenance and tune-up’s necessary to keep your heating system running at peak performance. How about cost savings? Using the information below, you can calculate return on investment (ROI), noticing that $100’s of dollars can be saved by replacing your old furnace with a new energy efficient oil furnace:

If you have an idea of how much it will cost to install a new system, use the chart below to calculate how much money you are likely to save each year with a more efficient system, and what your return on investment is likely to be. Remember, when fuel prices go up, your savings will go up.

1. Calculate Dollar Savings per $100 of Annual Fuel Cost
To determine savings from the table to the right, find the horizontal row corresponding to the old system’s AFUE, then choose the number from that row that is in the vertical column corresponding to the new system’s AFUE. That number is the projected dollar savings per hundred dollars of existing fuel bills. For example, if your present AFUE is 65% and you plan to install a high-efficiency natural gas system with an AFUE of 90%, then the projected saving is $27 per $100. If, say, your annual fuel bill is $1,300, then the total yearly savings should be about $27 x 13 = $351.

2. Calculate Return on Investment
ROI = first year savings ÷ installed cost
Example:
ROI = $351 ÷ $2,500 = 0.14 = 14%

There are new dual fuel furnace options available today, so you can have flexibility and benefit from getting heat from a heat pump when temperatures are more moderate and an oil burn when temperatures go below freezing. At Berico, we sell heating oil to our Greensboro and High Point clients. Call 336-273-8668 today for more information on oil furnaces and heating oil.

(Source: Consumer Resources: Heating, www.aceee.org,) http://www.aceee.org/consumer/heating

If you have never had a new heating system installed, you probably have a lot of questions about which system to choose. At Berico, we want you to be informed. If you are knowledgeable, you’ll be able to make smarter decisions about your heating needs. We offer energy inspections for free to help you in selecting a new heating system. One of our experienced comfort specialists will come out to your home or business and talk to you about your choices. In addition to installing your first furnace, we can also replace your existing one. There are many reasons it may be time to upgrade your Greensboro heating system. Some factors to consider are:

Furnace Age

The average life expectancy of a furnace is 16 to 20 years. Is your furnace this old or older? It’s probably time for a new one. And you don’t want to wait until it breaks down to start shopping.

Numerous Repairs

Has your furnace required a lot of repairs recently? That’s a strong sign that it needs to be replaced.

Higher Bills

As they age, furnaces frequently lose their efficiency. This is especially true if they haven’t been maintained properly. Your furnace may have to run longer to provide the same amount of heat it used to. As a result, you’ll be paying higher gas and electric bills.

Noises

If you’ve heard banging, rattling, or squealing noises coming from your furnace, they’re probably not normal sounds. Another bad sign is if you hear the furnace blower running excessively.

Temperature Changes

Do you constantly have to adjust your thermostat to make your home or office more comfortable? Are some rooms too hot while others stay colder? If so, your furnace is not properly distributing air.

Sickness

As furnaces age, they can develop cracks in the heat exchanger, which can cause a carbon monoxide leak. If you or the people who share your home or office have experienced frequent headaches, nausea, or flu-like symptoms, this could be related to carbon monoxide. This is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed immediately.

At Berico Heating and Air Conditioning, we believe that your home or business should be as comfortable as possible. And as we head into autumn, we know that comfort begins with the right heating system. Our goal is to help you find that heating system and also provide the quality and support you need. For nearly 100 years, the experts at Berico have been installing and replacing furnaces for the residents and businesses of Greensboro, Burlington, High Point, Eden and the surrounding North Carolina area.