Humidity: The Key to Health and Aging Well?
Humidity is one of your skin’s best friends. It’s an essential for healthy, beautiful skin. In fact, the beauty benefits of humidity could be one reason why Cleopatra spent so much time floating down the Nile. However, if you don’t live near the Nile, you can use a humidifier to add moisture to your skin. This is especially important during winter when household air is warm and dry due to heating.
According to the EPA and other indoor environmental experts, the relative humidity inside your home should fall somewhere between 30 and 50 percent, depending on the temperature outside. More specifically, when the outside temperature is 20°F or above, the recommended relative humidity for inside is 35 to 40 percent.
Why are proper levels of humidity so important to your skin (the body’s largest organ) and general good health?
Low humidity causes dry skin, dry hair, itching and chapping. When skin becomes dry and irritated, eczema can flare. Mucous membranes in your nose and throat dry out, increasing discomfort and susceptibility to colds and respiratory illness. With low humidity levels, body moisture evaporates so quickly that you feel chilled even at higher thermostat settings. Dry skin can look tight, dull and flaky.
Adding a humidifier to your home can remedy these problems and help skin look younger and healthier.
Furnaces
Furnaces
What’s up with the cold draft in my home?
When it comes to repairing and providing maintenance for furnaces, you can rest assured that your investment will be protected when you use One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning®.
A home furnace is a major appliance that is permanently installed to provide heat to an interior space through intermediary fluid movement, which may be air, steam, or hot water. The most common fuel source for modern combustion furnaces in the United States is natural gas; other common fuel sources include propane (LP), fuel oil, coal or wood. In some cases electric resistance heating is used as the source of heat, especially where the cost of electricity is low. Combustion furnaces always need to be vented to the outside. Traditionally, this is through a flue, which expels heat along with the exhaust.
Central Warm-Air Furnace: A central warm-air furnace is a type of space-heating equipment in which a central combustor or resistance unit–generally using gas, fuel oil, or electricity–provides warm air that circulates through ducts leading to the various rooms.
- A forced-air furnace is one in which a fan is used to force the air through the ducts.
- In a gravity furnace, air is circulated by gravity, relying on the natural flow of warm air up and cold air down; the warm air rises through ducts and the cold air falls through ducts that return it to the furnace to be reheated, thus completing the circulation cycle.
The furnace typically is divided into three primary components:
- The burner (includes the heat exchanger, draft inducer and venting) – The flame originates at the burners and is drawn into the heat exchanger by the negative pressure produced by the draft inducer. The hot gasses produced by the combustion of the flame pass through the chambers of the heat exchanger and heat the metal walls of the heat exchanger. The gasses cool as they transfer the heat to the heat exchanger and are at about 120 degrees as they exit on a high efficiency furnace. The cooled gasses then enter the draft inducer blower and are pushed into the venting pipes. The exhaust gasses then are directed out of the house through the vent pipes.
- The blower and air movement - The blower creates a negative pressure on the intake side which draws air into the ductwork return air system and blows the air out through the heat exchanger and then into supply air ductwork to distribute throughout the home.
- Controls and Safety Devices - The controls include a gas valve, ignition control, ignitor, flame sensor, transformer, limit control, blower control board, and flame roll out switch. A limit control is a safety device that will open the electrical circuit to the ignition control and stop the gas flow if the furnace over heats. The flame roll out switch does the same thing if the flame was rolling out of the heat exchanger instead of being completely induced into it by the draft inducer.
Morvents One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® can help you make the best decision on which furnace maintenance service or plan is best for you.
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Easy for Us to Say… But More Convincing When You Hear It From Someone Else
It’s easy for us to say our One Hour Service Technicians are on-time, efficient, reliable, trustworthy, and clean. But that’s “company speak.” But if you’d prefer the real-life stories of actual paying customers, read what customers have told us in their own words.
“I was completely satisfied with the service and the staff. They went beyond my expectations and searched out a very irritating vibration in the return vent (which pre-existed the installation of the new system) – they stopped the noise.”
“Chris and his crew were wonderful. They were able to answer all of my questions. Very professional. Would highly recommend this group to friends and family. Thanks for a great job!”
“Thanks for the hard work every one did for me during my system concern. Thanks Donna for your patience with me. I’ll always refer you to my friends. Thanks again to every one.”
“We are very happy with your company from your sales representative to your installers. They were all very professional and we were comfortable throughout the process. I would recommend your company.”
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No More Unpleasant Surprises:
Air conditioner doesn’t turn on?
If your central air conditioner doesn’t go on automatically:
- Be sure the thermostat is set to “cool” and below the current temperature.
- A central air conditioner should be on a dedicated 240-volt circuit; check the main electrical panel and any secondary circuit panels for a tripped breaker or blown fuse. If you find the problem here, reset the breaker or replace the fuse.
- Make sure the furnace power switch is turned on and that the outdoor condenser’s power switch, mounted on the outdoor unit, hasn’t been shut off. Also, be sure the 240-volt disconnect next to the compressor (in a metal box, usually mounted on the house wall) hasn’t been shut off.
- Turn off the power to the air conditioner and check the thermostat.
- Remove the thermostat’s cover and unscrew the wire from the Y terminal.
- Turn the power back on.
- Holding the wire by its insulation ONLY, touch the bare end to the R terminal and hold it there for about two minutes. If the compressor kicks on, the thermostat is faulty; replace it or call an air-conditioning technician. If the compressor doesn’t go on when you hold the two wires together, turn the power back off and call a technician.
