Boiler Repair: Knowing When You Already Need One

Preparing for the colder months should take place as early as summer, especially if it involves some of your home heating solutions. Your boiler’s performance, for example, needs to be assessed and evaluated early to ensure uninterrupted performance come winter time. Unfortunately, your boiler may require more than maintenance. Here are a few signs your boiler needs immediate repairs.

1. Water Leaks – Have you noticed water leaking outside the unit? That is an automatic signal for boiler repair. Leaks would mean that your boiler will tend to use up more fuel than it is supposed to, which means higher costs.

2. Inefficiency – If you start noticing that your boiler’s performance have dipped, or in worse cases, dropped significantly, then it’s high time for you to have it checked and repaired. Failure to provide substantial – or any – heat at all means there is something internal that needs to be fixed or replaced. You may not know it, but sludge buildup maybe causing it to malfunction.

3. Strange Noises – Lastly, if you have been hearing sounds that seem quite unusual, better reach for the phone and contact the repair guy. These noises could be caused by iron deposits, which affect the distribution of water.

Repairs will cost you money, but once you realize that your boiler needs one, don’t hesitate to spend on it. You can limit problems, though, by having your boiler go through regular checkups.

Make Heating and Cooling Your Home Affordable

You wouldn’t feel comfortable in your own home if the temperature isn’t just right. Whether it is too hot or it is too cold, our usual response is to adjust the thermostat to the appropriate setting. Both heating and cooling can put a dent in your monthly household budget—heating bills, for instance, can wrack up to $500 in an average-sized room.

There are ways, however, where one can save on energy without having to go without the comfort of cooling in the summer, or heating in the winter. With the right changes in your personal habits, and a few home improvements, your heating and cooling bills can be slashed in half. Here’s what you can do:

• Weatherstrip your doors and windows. Weatherstripping is the act of sealing the entrances of a house against the elements. This stops rain from entering and also ensures that indoor temperature stays stabilized inside the house throughout. Heat or cold enters through cracks in windows and doors. Sealing them up helps maintain the cozy temperature you’ve set indoors.

• Update your air conditioner if it is ten years old or more. The latest models are more energy-efficient and can cool better than older products.

• Be accurate with your thermostat usage. Set it at 78 and 80 degrees during summer and raise it by 7 degrees when leaving the house. Before going to sleep, a change of 4 degrees higher is advisable for comfort. During winter, the advised setting is 68 to 70 degrees.

• Regular maintenance ensures efficiency. This works for both your air conditioners and furnace. Have a professional HVAC technician visit and look them over for problems at least once a year.