With the winter season arriving, the humidity in the air decreases. The chill dry winter can cause health issues so to avoid this, people look for humidifying devices. With the advancement in technology, humans have found ways to nurture their health with changing the surroundings according to their requirements. The humidifier is an innovation that changes the air quality around you. The whole-home humidifier can be integrated with the HVAC so you can keep the whole house at optimal humidity level. These humidifiers are easy to maintain compared to portable ones, as they do not require consistent refilling. They are durable and can be cleaned along with the HVAC, making them more effective. Here are some reasons why you should get a whole-home humidifier this winter:

Reasons to Install a Whole-Home Humidifier this Winter

- Primarily, it can help you to keep your skin moisturized. For people with dry skin, the winter seasons becomes annoying as the skin flakes and dryness makes the skin crumble and wrinkle. With a humidifier, the skin will be moisturized and will glow, giving you a shiny clear appearance.

- With dry air the respiratory system does not work as smoothly. Most people’s breathing gets effected as the trachea and nasal passages get dry. The breathing allergy and flu can hit you which might lead to fever, asthma, or even a sinus attack. With a whole-home humidifier you can keep the humidity at optimal level across all the rooms to make you feel comfortable. 

We have talked earlier why it is important to have the attic properly insulated or given new insulation when upgrading to an energy-efficient system. This blog is meant to highlight the different types of Attic Insulation, their cost value and what homes they are ideal for.

1. The cheapest - The Fiberglass

Fibreglass Insulation is used in every other Toronto home for all the cost-effective reasons. Although the fiberglass is the least expensive, it rating is also relatively very low when it comes to efficiency. Owing to the ease of installation, fiberglass is often the first choice of DIY approach homeowners because it is cut in custom length and width leaving homeowners with the only job to roll it in the spaces of the attic.

Note here that this type of installation, though, is most favorable for less humid climates, it is not ideal for very humid climates.

2. The Foam Boards - Effective Air Barrier

Fiberglass does not offer an effective air barrier. Therefore, a step up from fiberglass in efficiency and price is the rigid foam boards. They offer a structural layer and therefore are ideal for those who want to add to the thickness of the existing attic insulation. The rigid foam boards cannot be set fit by default into the attic. They in fact need to be cut and fit according to the spaces that need to be filled.

Lack of sufficient knowledge about HVAC warranties, as we always mention, is the primary factor behind homeowners experiencing frequent warranty claim rejections. HVAC warranties can not only save you bucks on repairs and maintenance, but they can also be of great use if a unit fails to perform or manifest production faults. However, neither replacement expenses nor repair dues is paid by the company if a homeowner knowingly or unknowingly voids his warranty. The unit no more remains covered even if the initial warranty offered 10 or 15 years of warranty. So the point lies in ensuring that the warranty remains valid. And this is only possible when a common homeowner is equipped with sufficient knowledge about HVAC warranties.

This blog is dedicated to discussing some basic know-how about the HVAC parts warranty. How a unit replacement is ensured and what factors need to be proven to get a replacement unit or replacement parts.

The must-know conditions for Parts Replacement

- In order to claim a part replacement or unit replacement, a homeowner is necessitated to contact a certified HVAC contractor who inspects the units and proves that the problem has arisen as a result of the manufacturing fault. The claim is then made to the company proving the fault in the unit. Depending on the situation, a part or unit replacement may take place.

- Regarding the parts warranty, note that some parts of the unit have relatively more warranty than the unit itself or the other parts. For example, the critical parts like compressor, heat exchanger in Furnaces and coils in Air Conditioners usually have more warranty. The part must be claimed within the offered duration; 5-10 years.

- Replacing a unit from one place to another without professional help voids the warranty; however, if it is the homeowners who change places and a new homeowner comes to the house, he can still claim the warranty.

What happens after the conditions are met?

As mentioned, in order to claim a parts warranty, a certified HVAC contractor must inspect the unit. Once the problem is proven, the defective part is then purchased from a certified dealer and is replaced. During the inspection, if other parts are also found to be problematic and are not covered under warranty, the homeowner has to pay for such parts.

Will you have to pay for labor costs?

The certified HVAC contractors, when they first install the unit, offer a one year of installation warranty which means any issues in the installation will be covered for free within the given time. Covering all service costs within the duration of one year is now a common practice. Although there is no hard and fast rule, in most cases, you will not have to pay for the labor cost as long as the unit or the parts that need to be replaced are covered by warranty.

Have you ever experienced a scenario in which a unit or part replacement was made because of the manufacturer's fault? If yes, was the experience smooth?

It is indeed a frustrating situation when your indoor unit of mini-split Air Conditioner system starts leaking. This is because the inside wall unit has a coil that aims to pull moisture from the air as it cools. When the drain pipe gets clogged with the dust; it makes condensation to drip down and far away from the unit. The issue not just affects the home comfort but leads to water damage that no homeowner wants to deal with!

Luckily the problem can be solved with a little HVAC know-how. Read on to learn the basic steps to get out of this problem.

Many contaminants like formaldehyde, retardants, tobacco smoke, radon, dust mites, pet dander, and combustion smoke exist in a home. These pollutants make our home five times more polluted than the outdoor environment. Keeping floors fresh, making home no-smoking-zone, testing the radon and not to mention ventilation that moves fresh air in and stale air out can significantly make the air cleaner and healthier to breathe! But still, some home requires air purifiers to get rid of stubborn contaminants.
Walk through our in-depth guide and learn more about air purifiers, installation, repair cost, and maintenance tips. 

All duct cleaning service providers are not equally responsible and trained. Talk to different companies and get the written statements before choosing a company. Ask them to come up with relevant state license, and whether they have experience on a system like yours. Make sure not to hire cleaners who assert unsubstantiated claims about health benefits and don't go for those who urge you to have cleaning as the routine part of the heating and cooling system. Here we present SUGGESTIONS for choosing a reliable duct cleaning service provider and ways to determine if the service provider did an excellent job.

It is not wrong to say that we heavily rely on Air Conditioners to beat the heat and when we have an infant or elderly at home, it becomes essential to have fully functional AC for their overall health and wellbeing.

Firstly, the Air conditioner should not be taken for granted because when it breaks down, we can’t keep the serenity and straightly get mad. Before you fret, it’s better to assess the problem and identify the real reason behind this trouble. However, it sometimes gets difficult to figure out the exact issue – especially when AC has not been timely serviced.