Dowd Mechanical Heating & Air Conditioning Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Bensalem’

Why an AC Inspection Really Matters

Monday, April 17th, 2023

An AC inspection is a great way to monitor your air conditioner’s energy efficiency and keep tabs on how well it is working. After all, your air conditioner has a set lifespan, even if you don’t know exactly what it is. Your air conditioner could last anywhere between 10 to 15 years or longer with proper care.

AC inspections are also a good idea before you purchase any type of home or business. You may also have a more general inspection scheduled, but you don’t want just anyone signing off on your AC. Since an air conditioner is a major appliance that can be expensive to replace, you want an industry expert to check it out. If it’s time for an AC tuneup in Bensalem, PA, our team can help. In the meantime, you can keep reading to learn more about why an AC inspection really matters for your home or business.

Tags: AC Maintenance, Bensalem
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Sounds You Should Hear From Your Heater

Monday, April 3rd, 2023

You might spend time online looking up sounds that are concerning when they come from your heater. But one step in knowing what isn’t normal to hear is knowing what sounds are completely normal when they come from your heater. After all, your heater is not completely silent as it operates to keep your home warm.

The question is which sounds should you hear from your heater, and which sounds are a red flag? If you hear any of the sounds that we are outlining below, your heater is probably working completely normally. But if you hear any other sounds, especially ones that are loud or obnoxious, then it may be time to schedule heating services in Bensalem, PA. Keep reading to learn more about the sounds that your heater makes as a normal part of operation.

Tags: Bensalem, heater sounds
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Benefits of Radiant Heating Over Forced-Air Heating

Monday, February 20th, 2023

You may have heard about radiant heating, an alternative to the traditional home heating method of using a furnace or heat pump that sends heated air through ductwork. Radiant heating isn’t new technology. At the core, it just describes a type of movement of heat. When you feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, or you put your hand near a hot surface, you’re feeling radiant heat energy.

Radiant heat is the movement of thermal energy from one object to another without heating the air between them. This is different from convection heating, the movement of thermal energy through the movement of heated air, which is the type of heating you get from a forced-air system like a furnace.

The most common type of radiant heating system in homes is a hydronic boiler. The boiler heats water and sends it to terminal points in the living space: baseboard heaters, radiators, in-floor tubing. These objects heat up from the water and radiate heat into the rooms.

Installing radiant heating in Bensalem, PA is often a big project, and it’s best done during construction or remodeling. But there are several benefits of a radiant heating system compared to a forced-air one, and these may make you consider going with radiant for your next HVAC system.

Tags: Bensalem, Radiant Heating System
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Do Air Purifiers Really Make a Difference in a Home?

Monday, January 23rd, 2023

Most homes have poorer indoor air quality than they should. This is an unfortunate side-effect of the way modern homes are constructed to improve energy efficiency: the homes are built “tight” so little heat is able to escape in cold weather or get inside during hot weather, but this also prevents an influx of fresh air. Unwanted contaminants build up inside homes without any fresh air to sweep them away and replace them.

This is where air purifiers can serve an important purpose. But do these purification systems make any real difference?

The answer is yes and no. Let’s look at the no side first.

Tags: Air Purification, Bensalem
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The Benefits of Regular Water Heater Flushes

Monday, November 28th, 2022

We always stress the importance of having routine heating maintenance done for a residential heating system before winter arrives. It’s not difficult to convince people that it’s vital they have their furnace or other heater in top shape to handle the serious cold winters we experience in Pennsylvania.

It’s a bit harder to convince them of the importance of this same regular service for water heaters—and the reason is that water heaters work around the year and people tend to take them for granted. But water heaters must have regular maintenance to work their best.

One of the most beneficial regular maintenance jobs necessary for any water heater is the tank flush.

Tags: Bensalem, Water Heater Maintenance
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Does Rust on a Water Heater Mean It Must Be Replaced?

Monday, October 17th, 2022

Rust and other forms of corrosion weaken metal and cause it to decay. It’s rarely a good thing to have rust occur, and this is true for water heaters. You don’t want to see rust developing on any part of your home’s water heater.

But how serious is water heater corrosion? You may have heard that conventional wisdom is that when a water heater starts to show signs of rust, the whole unit needs to be replaced. There is some truth to this, but it isn’t the whole story. Below we’ll look closer at the issue of rust and your water heater.

Tags: Bensalem, Water Heater Repair, Water Heater Replacement
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How UV Air Purifiers Help a Home’s Air Quality

Monday, July 25th, 2022

You aren’t the only person who wants to know if an air purifier can help you clean out pollutants from your indoor air. Homeowners today have greater concerns about indoor air quality than ever before, and HVAC professionals like us can offer air purifiers in Bensalem, PA that make a difference.

And, yes, whole-house air purification systems can make a significant difference for indoor air quality. You’ll need the help of professionals to select and install the right set of purifiers and filters.

Air purifiers can use several methods to clean household air. Here are the most common:

Tags: Air Filtration, Air Purification, Bensalem
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Why You Aren’t Getting Enough Hot Water From Your Water Heater

Monday, July 11th, 2022

When your home’s water heater can no longer deliver the amount of hot water you need on a daily basis, your life will get far more difficult. As long as a water heater was correctly sized when it was installed, it shouldn’t have any difficulty meeting the daily requirements of a household. When the hot water volume starts to drop, it warns that something is wrong that will require either water heater repair in Bensalem, PA or a complete water heater replacement.

We’ll look over several of the more common causes of a drop in the amount of hot water you’re receiving from your water heater.

Tags: Bensalem, Water Heater Repair, Water Heater Replacement
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The Difference Between a Whole-Home Air Filter and an HVAC Air Filter

Monday, May 2nd, 2022

If you looked at the title of this post and thought, “Wait, aren’t those the same thing?”, then we recommend you read further. Homeowners are often confused about their options when it comes to getting air filters and air purifiers to improve their household indoor air quality. It often starts with mistaking the job of the standard filter that’s part of the HVAC system—also called the “furnace filter” or “AC filter” (one filter usually does both jobs.)

There’s an important difference between what we call a whole-home air filter and the filter located on the HVAC cabinet or behind the return air duct in the house.

Tags: Air Filters, Air Filtration, Bensalem
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Watch for These Warning Signs Your Water Heater Needs Repairs

Monday, April 18th, 2022

You never want a water heater malfunction to catch you by surprise. This could mean having to go without a hot shower in the morning, and that’s one of the worst ways to start your day. You can’t predict all water heater troubles, but the good news is that you can anticipate many of them. All it takes is knowing what warning signs you need to watch for and then calling our experts for prompt water heater service in Bensalem, PA.

Quick action not only prevents losing your hot water, it also keeps the problem from getting worse and even leading to possible water damage in your home. In the worst-case scenarios, the repair will get so large you’ll need to replace the water heater rather than repair it.

Below are some of the more common warning signs of a water heater malfunction.

Tags: Bensalem, Water Heater Repair
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