ServiceMax Blog: Archive for January, 2017

Air Filtration Systems vs. Air Purifiers: How to Choose for Your House

Monday, January 16th, 2017

Air filters, pl. noun: Devices that remove air contaminants by using a mesh of filters to trap particles in the air flow that moves through them.

Air purifiers, pl. noun: Electronic installations placed into HVAC systems that use ionization, UV radiation, oxidation, or other methods to eliminate pollutants without using filtration. Syn: air scrubbers, air cleaners.

Now that we’ve put up those two definitions, the next question is, “Okay, which one is the best for improving my home’s indoor air quality?”

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My Furnace Keeps Tripping My Circuit Breaker

Tuesday, January 10th, 2017

The last thing you want to happen on a cold winter day is to turn on the furnace to heat your home, only to have the furnace immediately stop working. When this happens, we recommend that you check on the electrical panel to your home to see if a circuit breaker has been tripped. If one has, reset the breaker and try the furnace again. If the furnace turns on, but then immediately trips the circuit breaker again, there’s a problem that needs to be addressed.

(Yes, a gas furnace can trip a circuit breaker. Natural gas furnaces do rely on a number of electrical components, such as the blower motor fan and the electronic ignition system. This isn’t just an electric furnace problem.)

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The Choice: Energy Recovery Ventilator or Heat Recovery Ventilator?

Monday, January 2nd, 2017

During yet another cold winter in Chicago, you may not realize that a key part of staying comfortable inside your house is maintaining a good level of indoor air quality. This is one of the unpleasant little secrets of the modern home: they don’t “breathe” well. This keeps heat from escaping in winter (and keeps the heat out in the summer) but it ends up trapping contaminant-filled, stuffy air indoors, and that can be a problem.

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