One homeowner had an annoying screech coming from her hydronic heating system that was hard to trace because it only happened occasionally and then usually late at night. The servicemen could find nothing wrong, and of course it never made a screech when they were there.
RECORDING THE SOUND...
All-Electric heating can mean many things: baseboard heating / baseboard with split head high wall mounted non-ducted heat pumps / an electric central forced air furnace with or without a heat pump / or an electric central boiler for a hydronic system.
If you are thinking of removing your Oil o...
Heat pumps do not create heat. They simply pump it from one place to another, either raising the temperature or lowering it in the process. It's much like a water pump: that doesn't create water, it just move it to wherever you need it. Heat pumps are valuable because it takes less energy to move...
Underground tanks are banned
Many years ago we buried oil tanks in the ground. Think a minute about how bad an idea that was. When a very old tank developed a leak, we never knew about it and it just leaked oil into the ground for years, creating quite an environmental problem. That is why it is...
If you are looking at changing or upgrading your heating system – read this article. It may introduce you to things you have never heard about and can certainly save you a lot of money while improving the comfort of your home.
BANNING OIL HEATING
If you are concerned about the move to ban h...
Often furnace heating and air conditioning duct work is run though an attic and then back down into the house. Personally I think that this is a really bad idea unless there is absolutely no alternative route. Why?
First, most duct work is not sealed where it goes through the ceiling, so a lot o...
Many electrical utilities across the country offer a "Dual Energy" rate program. Before trying to decide if it is appropriate for your house, you should understand why the utilities have created this system. Click here to get the full picture on Hydro Quebec's residential electrical rates and su...
During the infamous Eastern ice storm of 1998, people went running out and bought every generator available and set them up to power something in the house during the extended black-out. Many of those efforts created great problems for the utility because homeowners were often feeding electricity...
Many people would like to filter the air in their houses in an effort to improve indoor air quality.
The most efficient of the furnace filter systems, when it is kept clean, is the electronic air cleaner. As you can see in the first photo, it is a large unit that is installed directly in the fur...
EN FRANÇAIS
There is an elephant in the room – QUEBEC GETS REALLY COLD. The ecological dream of an all-electric urban society is suicidal in a cold climate like Quebec.
Extended power system black-outs are a reality of life in Quebec. Every few years electrical system black-outs have forced...
