HVAC Contractor Blog | Residential Heating and Air Conditioning

Electronic Ignition—Why It Replaced the Pilot Light

February 12th, 2024

How does your gas furnace light the burners when it starts a heating cycle? In your mind, you may see a standing pilot light doing the job. That makes sense because standing pilot lights did this job for many decades and it’s just become part of how we think about furnaces.

But chances are high that your furnace doesn’t have a standing pilot light at all. The pilot light is becoming a relic of the past, replaced with electronic ignition systems.

We’re going to look into this change and explain why electronic ignition is now favored over conventional standing pilot lights.

5 Furnace Problems We Often See

February 5th, 2024

A furnace does a lot of work through the long and cold winters in the Twin Cities. Even with the best maintenance, a furnace can still run into a malfunction that will weaken its heating ability or cause it to stop working altogether.

You never want to attempt to do any repairs on a furnace yourself—you’ll need to call the experts at Residential for heating repairs in Minneapolis, MN. We have many experiences dealing with all types of furnace malfunctions, and we know how to resolve them. Let’s look at five of the most common furnace problems we’re called on to fix. This list will help you better understand how your furnace works and what might cause it to stop working.

Will You Need a New Heating System After This Winter?

January 22nd, 2024

You might think it’s a bit early to talk about “after this winter.” We’re still in the middle of yet another cold winter, and sometimes the icy weather can extend through April and even into May.

But we’re not here to talk about how you’re going to cool down your house in summer. We’re here to talk about the heating system that’s currently in your house, the one that’s running right now to keep you and your family warm.

We want you to think about that heater and if you want to keep it around after this winter. Thinking about its performance now can help you make the important choice about whether to schedule heating service in Eden Prairie, MN with our team to replace it once the winter is done.

Ways to Lower Those High Heating Bills

January 15th, 2024

One of the rougher parts of winter is having to look at your utility bills each month. Powering home heating systems costs money, and when you have to regularly run your furnace, heat pump, or other heater, you’ll see it reflected on your monthly energy bills.

But if you’ve thought to yourself that the costs seem too high, then this is the blog post for you. Most homeowners pay more for their heating than they should, and by taking a few steps, they can cut down on the high cost of winter comfort. Here’s our guide to getting those heating costs down to something less intimidating to see on your bills.

Mid-Season Heater Decline? Don’t Ignore It!

January 8th, 2024

Inside a gas furnace. Focus = the top of the middle flange. 12MP camera.

The middle of the winter is the toughest stretch for us in the Twin Cities. Anyone who’s spent at least one winter here can tell you that. You need your heating system most of all during this time.

Ironically, it’s when people depend on their heating systems the most that they’re likely to ignore small signs that they aren’t working as well as they once did. It’s easy to think that as long as a heater system is meeting the basic requirements for warmth, there’s no reason to interrupt it by calling for heating repair in Minneapolis, MN.

However, there are many good reasons to do exactly that! If you’ve noticed your heater doing things like running for longer than normal, running for shorter than normal, reacting slower to the thermostat setting, unevenly heating parts of the house, costing more to run, making strange noises, or anything else unusual, it’s time to call our technicians to check it out.

Warning Signs of an Unsafe Gas Furnace

January 1st, 2024

We don’t want to alarm you with the title of this post. In general, gas furnaces are safe to have in homes. If they receive regular annual safety inspections and tune-ups and prompt repair service when needed, they post almost no danger. They’ll continue to heat homes for many years until it’s time to replace them.

However, gas furnaces can become unsafe, and it’s important to know the signs of this so you can shut the furnace off and then call us for furnace repair in Minneapolis, MN. Here are ways you can detect that your furnace has a safety malfunction.

Heating Emergency! What to Do If Your Heating System Suddenly Stops Working

December 25th, 2023

A home heating system breaking down during winter is a serious problem in Minnesota—our winters do not play nice! If your furnace, heat pump, or other heater suddenly stops working in the middle of a cold winter day or night, you’ll want the problem fixed as fast as possible.

The most reliable way to get your heater working again is to call our expert technicians. We offer heating repair in Plymouth, MN and throughout the Twin Cities, and all our techs are NATE-certified. However, you can take several steps before calling us to see if you can get your heater working again.

Why Won’t My Furnace Evenly Heat My House?

December 18th, 2023

Why have a central heating system for your home if it isn’t managing to heat all the living spaces? A heater like a furnace is installed into a house specifically to send sufficient heat to all the rooms for comfort.

If you’ve noticed at the start of winter that your furnace isn’t doing the job you expect from it, leaving some rooms too cold, then you’ve got a problem that needs attention. It might be only a simple issue you can correct with troubleshooting. Or it might be a bigger malfunction that will require calling our technicians for heating repairs in Minneapolis, MN or elsewhere in the Twin Cities. We’re going to look at what might be causing your furnace’s uneven heating trouble and what steps to take.

Furnace Filters and You: An Educational Tale

December 11th, 2023

Do you know that your home’s furnace has a filter? We hope so, since it’s an essential part of the whole HVAC system, not just the furnace, and it requires special attention during the year. The furnace filter is sometimes called the blower filter if it’s used for both the furnace and the air conditioning system. It’s often just called an air filter.

This filter can sometimes create confusion in homeowners, who often don’t know exactly what it does or what they need to do about it. We want our customers to have the information they need to ensure the best performance from their heating system and the lower costs to keep their homes warm, so we’re going to take time to talk about what you need to know about furnace filters in Eden Prairie, MN or wherever you live in the Twin Cities.

The Secrets of High-Efficiency Furnaces: How They Use Less Energy

December 4th, 2023

family-holding-green-paper-house-in-hands

You may need to have your older furnace replaced before the worst cold of the winter arrives. If so, then we advise you to consider making an upgrade from a mid-efficiency furnace to a high-efficiency model. Current high-efficiency furnaces can have AFUE ratings of 95%, a significant improvement over standard furnaces.

High-efficiency furnaces do come with a bigger initial price tag, but if you work with experts who understand heating installation in Plymouth, MN, you’ll end up with a furnace that will deliver energy savings and pay back its upfront costs several times over.

If you’re curious about what makes high-efficiency furnaces capable of using so much less energy than conventional models, we’re glad to enlighten you…