Consumers sometimes ask about whether two-stage furnaces are worth the extra expense. It depends on your situation as one heating solution doesn’t fit every home. It helps to know what separates a two-stage system from the more common one-stage furnaces!   What Is A Two-Stage Furnace? The terms one-stage and two-stage furnace refer to the burner section inside the furnace and the valve that releases propane or natural gas to it. Average one-stage furnaces have a valve that only opens and closes, whereas two-stage heating has one more valve setting. It’s commonly called low fire, and the furnace starts in this first stage and runs at 70 or 80% of the full rated capacity.  The furnace will then enter the second stage, also known as high fire, only when needed. It determines whether to enter the second stage based on the time the furnace has been operating or if the thermostat indicates that it has to raise the temperature more than two degrees. So if you have a two-st...

Winter weather means HVAC systems across London run longer hours to provide warm relief on the coldest days. This means that higher heating bills are inevitable. Don’t let paying more money be the reason for the season – follow these tips to slash your costs and save money this winter!   Program Your Thermostat Keep your thermostat on a tight schedule that revolves around when you’re in and out of the home. Set the temperature to 20°C (68°F) when you’re at home and 17°C (63°F) when out or asleep. If your family can’t handle the shock, gradually reduce the temperature over the winter to see how much you can lower it while staying comfortable. This is easy when you have a smart or programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat lets homeowners schedule their heating to run only when it’s necessary. A smart thermostat hooks up to your wifi and gives homeowners even more energy-saving options. They can control the HVAC system from anywhere with a smartphone. If you’re still o...

The water heater is an important investment for your home. The tank you have installed should be large enough so that no one in the family has to start their day with a cold shower. However, if it’s too large, you’ll pay for the energy needed to heat all that water you’re not using. To determine what size is best for your family, start with the number of people living in your home.   What Size Of Tank Does My Family Need? Most water heater tanks are 40 to 60 gallons in size; this is between 180 and 270 litres, though in Canada we mostly measure tank size in gallons. Depending on your needs, the size can go as low as 20 gallons and as high as 100 gallons. Four factors determine which size is appropriate for your home: the energy source, size of the space for the tank, home size, and the number of people in the home.  Energy Source: Electricity, natural gas, and propane are the three most common energy sources for a water heater. It can also be hooked up to a boiler if ...

HVAC has always been a cutting-edge industry . Thanks to continued advancements, heating and cooling systems are more efficient, easier to control, and more environmentally friendly than ever before. Many HVAC systems are even connected to the internet, allowing computers the ability to handle tasks like temperature control and air quality.  This last point might cause some aspiring technicians to pause. Will HVAC systems still require technicians in the future?  What Are The Job Prospects For New HVAC Technicians? While we can’t speak for the country as a whole, the Government of Canada says that the outlook for HVAC jobs in Ontario is rated “Good” through 2020. There are three reasons for this:  Employment growth will create new positions. Retirements will make more positions available. The number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation is small. The outlook is also strengthened by trends in the United States. According to the Bureau o...

HVAC systems are complicated, and thus, so is the range of equipment we need to fix it! Our technicians won’t always use the wide array of tools for every job, but having them on hand lets them quickly find a solution to the issue with your heating or cooling. Every tool helps the Premier team do each job efficiently and safely!   The Smaller Essential Tools HVAC technicians use a lot of specialized equipment, but many of the essential tools are quite common. Screwdrivers, pliers, hammers, crescent wrenches, and flashlights help the team gain access to the inner parts of your HVAC system and work on the many different wires, bolts, and screws. Metal and tubing cutters are useful for cutting through and replacing any pipes and wires. A cordless, battery-powered drill gives increased access to parts of the HVAC system that are harder to reach.   Some tools are needed to install new HVAC systems. A reciprocating saw blade is necessary to cut through most materials in...

A home is dependent on the water heater. Think about cold showers, washing the floors with freezing water, and there being no hot water for the dishes. These unpleasant scenarios are why you need to keep your hot water tank in working order ! A water heater that is properly installed and maintained should last up to 12 years; a tankless heating system should last up to 20. They don’t usually work longer than that lifespan because of the natural sediment that flows in through the municipal system. While both tank and tankless water heaters have ways of dealing with this sediment, these protective measures will eventually break down. What Causes Hot Water Heater Breakdowns? Like every other appliance, water heater tank wears down through constant use. As natural particles in water move through the system, they break the glass that lines the inside to protect the metal. The glass is very thin, so to keep the tank from corroding sooner than it has to, a device known as an anode rod a...

The modern central HVAC system is very efficient. All of the actions, from the heating to the ventilation to the air conditioning, work using many of the same parts. This is because HVAC equipment doesn’t just create and pump out heat or air conditioning out of thin air (pardon the pun). Rather, it uses the transfer of thermal energy to change the temperature, and a device called the heat exchanger makes this temperature transfer happen. How Does The Heat Exchanger Work? In spite of its name, the heat exchanger is an important part of both the cooling and heating. Heat naturally moves from areas of high temperature to areas of low temperature, and the heat exchanger is in place to reverse this process to either cool or heat your home. It works by transferring thermal energy from one medium to another through coils in the system. Heat exchangers use combustion gases to heat the air or a cold fluid to cool it. A heat exchanger in an HVAC system uses conduction to transfer heat. Thi...