How Much Cooling Can Your AC Provide?

May 19th, 2021

thermostat-and-woman-72-degreesIf you look at the thermostat settings for your AC, you’ll find the lowest you can set it is 60°F. That’s more cooling than most people are comfortable with. But looking at that setting brings up a question: what is the limit on how much cooling an air conditioner can provide for a home? Is the 60°F limit on the thermostat arbitrary, or is it possible for an AC to make a home even cooler?

We’ll answer these questions, which will help explain how best to set the thermostat to avoid heavily taxing your air conditioning in Mason, OH.

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Time to Schedule AC Maintenance to Prep for Summer

April 26th, 2021

AC-technician-cleaning-unitThe weather may not be warm enough for you to use your air conditioning in West Chester, OH quite yet, but we’re already into the middle of spring and the summer heat will be here before we know it. Your air conditioning system needs to be ready to handle anything. So… do you know how you can prepare it for anything?

It’s easy! Arrange for professional air conditioning maintenance with the Bartels’ team. You can sign up for our Heating and Cooling Maintenance Plan if you haven’t already, and then schedule a convenient time for one of our technicians to come to your home and give your AC the inspection and tune-up it needs for a great summer.

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Want to Skip AC Repairs This Summer? Schedule AC Maintenance!

April 12th, 2021

air-conditioner-condenser-3D-renderSpringtime! The weather is already warmer, and you may have even turned on your air conditioning system for a few hours to cool down. That’s great because it means we’re nearing the relaxing days of summer.

Now, how often do you want to schedule air conditioning repair in Fairfield, OH this summer? Yes, that’s a trick question. The answer is zero. Nobody wants to need to repair a major appliance in their home, especially not an air conditioner during the summer heat. 

Now, what if we told you that there’s a secret to avoiding the need for AC repairs this summer? And the next summer? Well, it’s not so much a “secret.” It’s more like something people often forget to do. It’s scheduling air conditioning maintenance with professionals during the spring. 

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Why Your Furnace Is Shutting Down Early

March 29th, 2021

cold-manWhen your furnace turns on to warm up your house, you expect it to run long enough to deliver an even distribution of heat throughout the rooms. If it starts to shut down early, the house will have cold spots. When a furnace behaves this way, it’s called short-cycling, and it’s a common problem we see in residential furnaces. In some cases, there’s a simple solution to short-cycling. Other times, you’ll need to call us for furnace repair in Mason, OH. When in doubt, always err on the safer side when it comes to a furnace and rely on professionals. 

Below are some of the possible sources of a furnace quitting before it gets the job done:

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The Condensing Furnace Option for Your Home Heating Future

March 15th, 2021

gas-furnaceAs we reach the end of the winter, you may find yourself debating whether furnace repair in West Chester, OH is the best way to keep your furnace running for the next few years. Spring is a good season for upgrades and replacements to your HVAC system, so if you think it’s time to put in a new furnace, the coming months may be when to schedule it.

You’ll need to make some choices about what you want from a new furnace. Just putting in as close a duplicate to your old one misses out on some major improvements in furnace technology. For example, the condensing furnace. 

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March Report Card: Grade Your Heater’s Performance

March 1st, 2021

thumbs-upMarch doesn’t mean we’re through with cold weather. But it’s when winter officially ends and we start the build toward summer. Now is a good time to think about how your heater performed during the winter so you’ll have an idea if you need to make any updates, repairs, or even a full replacement for it during the spring or summer. 

We’ll go with a grading system you’re familiar with—school report card grades! Consider how well your heater worked over the past winter. Take into account your comfort, how often you needed to run the heater, if it required any repairs, its age, and your sense of its reliability. Give it a grade from “A” to “F” and look at our handy guide below:

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Boiler Life Expectancy: What You Need to Know

February 15th, 2021

condensing-gas-boilerWhen you have a heating or cooling system installed in your home, you’d like to think it’s the last one you’ll ever need to purchase. Perhaps it will run forever and you’ll only need to have it repaired on occasion.

This isn’t reality, of course, and you know it. One day you’ll have to replace the boiler that warms your home through the winter. But how long can you expect that boiler to run efficiently and effectively?

We can help answer this question and give you some perspective on when a boiler replacement is the best option.

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Why Won’t My Gas Furnace’s Burners Light?

February 1st, 2021

natural-gas-burners-flame-furnaceWhen a gas furnace comes on, it makes a distinct whoosh sound as the electronic ignition system or standing pilot light ignites the gas jets on the burners. It’s a comforting noise that tells you the furnace is doing its job, generate heating, and the sound of the blower fan will tell you that the heat will soon move through the ventilation system to reach the rooms.

But what if the burners don’t light? This is a problem you may run across, and if the burners aren’t igniting, it will usually cause the furnace to shut down entirely as part of safety precaution built into it. Why is this happening, and what can be done about it?

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Fiddling With the Thermostat All the Time? Could Be Trouble!

January 18th, 2021

thermostatA piece of advice we often give to people who ask about ways they can save on their heating during the summer is to know how to set their thermostat from maximum efficiency. It’s best to keep a thermostat at a steady setting during the day, usually around 68°F, and then lower it by 8°F during the evening, or when people are away. This saves more energy than moving the thermostat up and down as you alternatively feel hot and then cold. This creates too much stopping and starting for the heating system, which wastes energy. The thermostat is a switch, not a throttle, so pushing it up higher doesn’t get you faster heating, only a heating system that runs longer.

But what if you’re already setting the thermostat at a steady temperature, but one day find that you’re getting too hot or too cold, and you have to fiddle around with the thermostat regularly to get comfortable? This probably isn’t a “quirk.” It’s a warning that something isn’t going right somewhere in the HVAC system.

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Ways to Help Keep Your Gas Furnace Running Safely

January 4th, 2021

natural-gas-furnace-burnerNatural gas furnaces are in millions of homes around the country—that should be enough to tell you that, as long as a furnace is properly cared for, it isn’t an automatic danger for a household. The modern gas furnace has safety features and is designed to run within strict parameters for protecting a home. 

Of course, it’s possible for a furnace to malfunction or run into issues that can create hazards from gas leaks or combustion. Prevention is the best tool you have to keep your furnace running safely through the winter. In this post, we have some important safety tips to use for the safest possible season with your gas furnace. 

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