DB Heating & Cooling, Inc. Blog : Archive for November, 2014

10 Facts You Should Know about Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 27th, 2014

Thanksgiving has been celebrated as an official holiday in the United States for over 150 years, so you may think you understand all there is to know about this family feast. Most of us have heard the story of the pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving in 1621 after arriving in North America on the Mayflower. But did you know that only about half of the people on this ship were actually pilgrims? This fact is one of ten things that may actually surprise you about the Thanksgiving tradition!

  1. Although we often consider Thanksgiving a holiday unique to the United States, many other countries and cultures celebrate their own set of harvest-time and thanksgiving traditions. In Korea, Chu-Sok (or “fall evening”) is put on in remembrance of forefathers on August 15th of every year. Brazil celebrates a contemporary version of the U.S. holiday. Chinese, Roman, and Jewish cultures all have a history of harvest celebrations as well.
  2. President Harry S. Truman began the tradition of a ceremony held before Thanksgiving during which the president receives a turkey. George H.W. Bush was the first to pardon the turkey instead of eating it.
  3. In Minnesota alone, farmers raise over 40 million turkeys a year. In fact, U.S. farmers produce about one turkey for every one person in the country.
  4. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the average American will gain about one to two pounds every year during the holiday season.
  5. On the other hand, turkey is naturally high in protein and has been known to support and boost immune systems to protect against illness and speed up healing. So feast on!
  6. Abraham Lincoln issued a “Thanksgiving Proclamation” in 1863, but a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale can be credited with the idea. While Thanksgiving had been celebrated at different times of year in many areas of the U.S. for years, it was Hale, prominent magazine editor and author of the rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” who urged Lincoln to finally establish the national event.
  7. President Franklin D Roosevelt once tried to change the date of Thanksgiving to the second-to-last Thursday of the month in order to extend the holiday shopping season and boost the economy.
  8. Only about half of the people on the Mayflower were what we would consider today as “Pilgrims.” The other (approximately) 50 people were simply trying to find a way over to the New World.
  9. Gobble, gobble! Click, click? While male turkeys make a gobbling noise, females (hens) do not; it’s often described as a clicking.
  10. Even though we celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November, the month of June has been declared National Turkey Lovers’ Month by the National Turkey Federation so you can continue the celebration in the summer as well!

From our family here at DB Heating & Cooling, we’d like to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!

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Choosing the Right Filter for Your Hillsdale Home

Monday, November 17th, 2014

Do you wonder about the cleanliness of the air your family breathes every day? Indoor air quality is of the utmost concern to many homeowners, especially those with compromised immune systems, allergies, and asthma sufferers. An air filter in your HVAC system filters out particulates that may lead to such problems, but there are many types of air cleaners available on the market today. How do you decide which one is best?

Look at the MERV Rating

One of the ways to tell if you have a quality air filter installed is by checking the MERV rating. The MERV (minimum efficiency reporting value) is the system used to indicate the effectiveness of a mechanical filter, like the ones included in your HVAC system. If you use the standard filter that came with your unit, it may be in the low range of filters, with a MERV of around 1-4. But if you choose a filter with a MERV closer to 12-16, you’ll filter out additional particles that a less effective filter may have missed like mold spores and some chemical residue.

HEPA Filters

If you’ve done a lot of research on the topic, you may have seen information about HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filters, the most effective type of filters, removing 99.97% of particulate contaminants from the air. However, it’s important to note that, for most homeowners, a HEPA filter is actually not the best choice. These filters remove a large amount of contaminants because the fibers are wound so tightly together, which can also inhibit airflow. An HVAC system needs a certain amount of airflow to cool or heat a home, but a filter that is too thick may prevent this, causing your HVAC system to become overworked and possibly to break down.

Ask a Professional

Your professional indoor air quality technician is the person who can best choose the right type of filtration system for your home. Sometimes, a regular filter isn’t enough to keep pollutants out of your home. You may need to install a dehumidifier to prevent mold, or UV germicidal lights to kill bacteria and viruses living in the ducts as a supplementary precaution against air pollutants.

Call the indoor air quality experts at DB Heating & Cooling to find out about all of your options for air cleaners in Hillsdale.

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How Does a Ductless Mini Spit Work for Heating?

Monday, November 10th, 2014

Ductless mini-split systems are a fairly new addition to the heating system market. Though they are gaining in popularity, there are few who know how ductless systems actually work. Let’s take a look at what ductless mini-split systems do, and why you might want one.

What is a Ductless Mini-Split?

Most ductless mini-split systems are essentially heat pumps. Rather than rely on combustion to create heat, a heat pump moves heat from one place to another. A ductless mini-split is constructed of two different units, an interior and exterior. When the heat is turned on, the exterior unit evaporates the refrigerant in its heating coil, drawing thermal energy out of the air and into the coil. This absorbed thermal energy is then sent to the interior unit by way of the refrigerant line, where it is used to warm and circulate the air in the room. A ductless mini-split system has no ducts, obviously, and can only heat one room at a time.

Why Install a Ductless Mini-Split?

The first thing you should consider before choosing a ductless mini-split system is what eschewing ducts can do for you. Systems that use ducts lose about 20-30% of their heat on average to leaks in the ductwork. That’s a substantial waste of energy, and it results in a higher heating bill. Ductless systems deliver warm air directly from the unit to the room, completely avoiding the loss of heat and saving you money. Since ductless systems are already energy efficient (by virtue of moving heat instead of creating it) installing one can save you a sizeable amount over time.

Though you may be tempted to consider it a disadvantage to only be able to heat one room at a time, remember that multiple ductless mini-splits can be installed in a home at once. Each ductless unit will have its own corresponding thermostat, allowing you unparalleled control over which rooms you want heated and to which temperature. This will allow all the members of your household to determine the climate that is most comfortable for them, which central heating cannot do.

If you’re interested in installing a ductless mini-split system, call DB Heating & Cooling. We install ductless heating throughout the Waldwick area.

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Choose a Peerless Boiler for Your New Heating Installation

Monday, November 3rd, 2014

Many years ago, choosing a boiler for your home was a fairly simple process. Most boiler models offered comparable performance and efficiency and operated in a similar fashion, so homeowners merely needed to consider the initial price. Today, you have far more options for boiler installation in Bergen County, with varying levels of efficiency and above average performance.

The heating experts at DB Heating & Cooling stand by the efficiency and performance of Peerless boilers as a superior choice for boiler installation. Learn more about the benefits of choosing this option for heating and find out about the unmatched quality of Peerless boilers in Bergen County in today’s post.

Choosing a Boiler for Heating Installation

Boilers are the preferred heating choice of many homeowners, for a few good reasons. For one, boilers evenly distribute heat throughout a home, unlike forced-air heating options like furnaces which have been known to be somewhat inadequate. Boilers generate hot water and move it to a terminal point like a radiator, baseboard, or floor piping to provide radiant heating. And radiant heat simply feels more comfortable, because it radiates throughout a room instead of blowing through vents. Boilers are also known for their quiet operation, high efficiency, and durability.

The Efficiency of Peerless Boilers

Whether you are choosing a boiler for installation in your new home or replacing an older boiler, the efficiency of Peerless boilers is tough to beat. Boiler and furnace efficiency is represented by a percentage known as the AFUE, the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency of the unit. If the AFUE is very high, it means that most of the energy your boiler uses goes directly towards heating your home. For greater initial savings, you can choose a Peerless Series 63 with an AFUE rating of up to 83%. This is quite an upgrade if switching from an older unit, as those built 20-30 years ago had an efficiency close to 50-65%. But to save a lot more every month, you may choose a Peerless Combi 160, which boasts an AFUE of 93%, or a Peerless Purefire at an efficiency rating of 97.3%.

Be sure to speak with a professional technician at DB Heating & Cooling to find out more about installing Peerless boilers in Bergen County.

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