Category: Heating

While oil heat still rules the landscape in some parts of America, especially the Northeast, here in the Midwest and the Omaha area in particular the vast majority of homes are heated with gas, and natural gas at that. Propane being the other gas heating alternative. It’s not like you don’t have any other alternatives, it’s just that gas leads the way in energy efficiency and affordable operation, especially when you do a side by side comparison between gas and electric heat. To help you understand your gas furnace a little better, here are answers to the three questions we [...]

Let’s say you were planning a family trip to Orlando and Disney World for one of this year’s school vacation weeks. And you’re planning to drive. Well, if you’ve never made that trip by car, we’ll end the suspense right here and now: it’s a 1,427 mile trek and, according to Google, 20 hours and 49 minutes of driving time. Each way. But still, you’re not deterred. It’s a quest, like the Griswold family quest to Wally World in the first Vacation movie. So what do you do to prepare for a trip like that? You’re going to do everything [...]

If you’re thinking “Trick question, right?”, you’re probably not alone. Because right now, at this very moment, if you have no heat at all, or at least a partial loss of heating, then that’s a home heating problem by definition! Okay, we’ll give you that one. But it still doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything wrong with your furnace. So before you pick up the phone and eventually incur a repair cost that wasn’t necessary in the first place, here’s what we’d like to do first: Make sure your furnace has power. If power seems to be on everywhere in your [...]

It’s one thing to know and understand that your furnace won’t last forever. It’s quite another to accept the fact that at some point – and maybe that point is now – it won’t be worth spending even one more dollar to get it fixed. Of course between “brand new” and “time to replace” is a good long time – on average, about 15 to 20 years. With annual preventative maintenance, you can expect to go most of that time with few if any repair problems. But when furnace problems arise, these are among the most common: Pilot light won’t [...]

No matter how methodical you might be in budgeting your family’s finances and expenditures, chances are you don’t have a category for “new heating system” any more than you would for “build a small theme park.” Given that most heating systems last an average of 15-20 years, most likely you waon’t buy more than a few in your lifetime.  But what if one of those few times now?  Budget item or not, it’s a reality that has to be faced and, for your sake, the sooner the better. Still, short of a total system meltdown, how are you supposed to [...]

Whether you’re the type who spikes the heat the minute the temperature inside drops below 70 degrees or you’re determined to go without heat until November 1 – just because! – it’s still no fun when that first heating bill arrives. And as heating costs continue to climb, you might be wondering how you’re going to keep your family comfortable this season while staying on budget. One sure-fire way is to reduce the amount of heat that escapes your home on a daily basis. You see, the typical home loses a significant amount of heat through poor insulation in the [...]

For the most part, we’re all done complaining about the heat for 2014. But don’t worry, because that season we probably complain about even more is just around the corner.  You know, the one that starts with “W.” Between now and then, thank goodness, we have the fall season to enjoy in all its usual splendor – the changing colors, Nebraska football, harvest fairs, and cool, crisp evenings.   Not to be Debbie Downers or anything, but let’s not forget that it doesn’t take long before “cool and crisp” turns to “cold and bitter.”  Which makes now the perfect time [...]

Tankless water heaters are a great new option in Omaha.   At one time you had a narrow range of choices when it came to purchasing a new water heater.  But they all had one thing in common:  the inclusion of a storage tank to heat the water. Now you have a new and very different type of water heater to consider for your next purchase:  tankless.  In essence, the water heater has been re-invented. Tankless water heaters in Omaha are small, wall-mounted boxes that heat water only when a hot water faucet is turned on.  As cold water passes through [...]

Now, 4 Reasons Why You Should Schedule a Home Heating System Tune-up & Inspection Your home heating system is very much like a runner.  But one that runs marathons, not sprints here in throughout the greater Omaha and Council Bluffs metro area. Well, if a marathon runner is not fully prepared, he or she could easily collapse long before the finish line.  The exact same thing holds true for your heating system. In fact, heating system manufacturers recommend annual tune-ups and inspections even on brand new systems to help them perform at peak efficiency, all winter long. At Burton A/C, [...]

What Do Programmable Thermostats Do? With programmable thermostats,  you can easily save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to 68°F while you're awake and setting it lower while you're asleep or away from home. By turning your thermostat back 10°–15° for 8 hours, you can save about 5%–15% a year on your Heating bill—a savings of as much as 1% for each degree if the setback period is eight hours long. In the summer, you can follow the same strategy with central air conditioning by keeping your house warmer than normal when you are away, and lowering the [...]