DB Heating & Cooling, Inc. Blog : Archive for February, 2015

Reasons to Consider a Boiler System for Your Home

Friday, February 27th, 2015

Have you spent this winter struggling with an ailing heater, or are you moving into a new home that needs a heating system? Why not consider the installation of a boiler? Boilers may not be the newest kid on the block as far as heating systems go, but this is actually a good thing. Boilers have a long track record of being durable and efficient, and having this long track record can give you the confidence that a boiler is a tried-and-true heating system that will provide your home with the heat it needs for years to come. Today’s boilers are the most energy efficient boilers around, and they offer some benefits you may not get with other kinds of heating systems. Professional installation is important for any heating system; having an amateur perform the installation to save a few dollars can cost you much more money down the road. The heating professionals at DB Heating & Cooling can help with the installation, repair, maintenance and replacement of a boiler for your Waldwick, NJ, home, so call us today!

Outlet Choices

One of the reasons a boiler can be a good choice for your home is that there are a few options homeowners can choose for outlet sources. Boilers can deliver heat through radiators, baseboard radiators and hydronic radiant floor, wall or ceiling heating. You can even combine outlets to suit your home’s style and your preferences.

Benefits of a Boiler System

Other benefits of a boiler system include:

  • Good for allergy sufferers – no matter which outlet(s) you choose for your boiler system, none will swirl dust and other allergens around as a forced air system will, which can be a big help for allergy sufferers.
  • Easily zoned – the piping system used with boilers can be easily zoned, providing more customized comfort for your home.
  • Gentler heat – the heat coming from a boiler system is radiant, no matter what outlet is used, and this delivery of heat is gentler and as such, can feel more comfortable.

Still have questions about installing a boiler system in your Waldwick, NJ, home? Call the heating experts at DB Heating & Cooling today and schedule an appointment.

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Is It Time for a Thermostat Upgrade in Bergen County?

Saturday, February 21st, 2015

Your thermostat is the control center for your HVAC system, but it is often the last part of your system to be upgraded. Having an outdated thermostat can make it difficult to achieve the maximum energy efficiency level for your home and can also add stress to your HVAC system. So what are your choices when it comes to a thermostat upgrade for your Bergen County home? Let’s take a look.

Types of Thermostats

Here are the main types of thermostats available to homeowners:

  • Digital – digital thermostats can replace a slide or dial thermostat simply by wiring it in. Digital thermostats have easy-to-read faces, precise temperature-setting and easy-to-use buttons. These features make them more energy efficient because you can set an exact temperature on them rather than aiming for a range, as can happen with a slide or dial thermostat.
  • Programmable – a programmable thermostat is a digital thermostat that can be programmed for up to 7 days. With a programmable thermostat, you can set up to 4 different temperature changes throughout a given day, which allows you to power down your heating or cooling when no one is home. This can save you a great deal of energy.
  • Wireless – a wireless thermostat is actually a small system in which the main thermostat, which acts as both a thermostat and receiver, communicates with wireless thermostats you can place around your home; the wireless thermostats just need to be within a certain range of the receiver, which is usually no more than 500 feet. Wireless thermostats can allow you to set the thermostat from wherever you are, adding a level of convenience to your home.
  • Smart – smart thermostats use all these technologies and then some to give you the highest level of control over your HVAC system. A smart thermostat can be accessed by any smart device you own, so you can manage, program, track and monitor your heating and cooling from virtually anywhere – you just need access to the internet.

Mismatched, outdated or just poorly-performing thermostats can put stress on your HVAC system and cause issues with comfort.

If your thermostat is no longer doing the job you need it to, call DB Heating & Cooling today and schedule an appointment with one of our experts.

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Some of the Unusual Movies Released for Valentine’s Day

Saturday, February 14th, 2015

Hollywood has always tried to match movies up to the seasons to draw droves of viewers to the theaters: October is packed with fright-offerings, while the winter holidays skew toward warm and pleasing family films (as well as Oscar hopefuls). Valentine’s Day falls in an odd spot when it comes to the movie release calendar, however, since February tends to be a slower time for the film industry. The studios are as likely to slot strange movies that don’t fit anywhere else in their annual schedules into the Valentine’s Day weekend as they are films with powerful romantic appeal.

So, while the second weekend of February has featured hugely successful romantic comedies like Hitch, The Wedding Singer, and (of course) Valentine’s Day, some truly weird choices have debuted in this weekend as well. And a few have even gone on to tremendous success despite the bizarre match with the holiday. Here are a couple of the odder Valentine’s Day movie releases:

  • Dracula (1931): Yes, this Halloween perennial and the start of Universal Studio’s Classic Monsters actually came out on Valentine’s Day! But perhaps this makes some sense, as the Dracula legend has often received a “doomed lover” approach in the many years since Bela Lugosi made the aristocratic vampire a screen icon.
  • The Silence of the Lambs (1991): Does any film seem less appropriate for Valentine’s Day than this unnerving and sometimes very violent psychological thriller? What’s even more astonishing than the film’s release date is that The Silence of the Lambs eventually nabbed the Oscar for Best Picture, an almost unheard of occurrence for a movie released so early in the year.
  • Daredevil (2003): This Marvel comic adaptation featuring Ben Affleck as a blind superhero does contain a romantic subplot, but the stronger connection to Valentine’s Day may just be that Daredevil wears a bright red costume.
  • A Good Day to Die Hard (2013): The least successful of the Die Hard film franchise, this is an excellent example of a studio dropping a film into a weekend where it doesn’t fit in the hopes that it works as counter-programming. (It didn’t.)
  • Wayne’s World (1992): Now here is an example of counter-programming that clicked with audiences. This comedy based on a Saturday Night Live sketch turned into one of that year’s biggest hits and spawned a sequel.

Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day with a trip to the movie theater, or you have your own special plans, everyone here at DB Heating & Cooling hopes you and your loved ones have a wonderful weekend.

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Indoor Air Quality Tips for the Winter Season

Thursday, February 5th, 2015

In an effort to stay warm while also staying energy efficient, many homes can become so air-tight that ventilation problems develop. Having good ventilation is an important factor in having healthy indoor air quality, particularly if you have a forced air system. However, there are some simple steps you can take to help maintain or maintain your indoor air during the winter, and to help you achieve that, here are some indoor air quality tips for your Bergen County home:

  • Change your air filter – if you have a furnace or heat pump system, the system has an air filter. These air filters should be changed every three months to keep them effective; when they fill up with dirt and dust, they can clog. This not only affects your indoor air quality, it can also affect the air flow in your heating system.
  • Move smokers outdoors – it may not be the best time of year to be outside, but second-hand smoke is one of the worst culprits of indoor air pollution and a leading cause of lung disease.
  • Make sure your ductwork is in good shape – faulty ductwork allows air to escape but it also allows numerous contaminants into your air deliver system and directly into your home. Duct repair and/or duct sealing can restore faulty ductwork, which will improve both indoor air quality and performance.
  • Dust and vacuum regularly – dust is major allergen, and when trapped inside for the winter, it serves only to aggravate allergies. Weekly vacuuming and dusting can greatly reduce the level of dust in your home.
  • Add some plants – plants help purify the air in your home, taking in contaminants, using them as food, and returning fresh oxygen to the air. Plus, they can also add a pleasing aesthetic to the living spaces of your home.
  • Use a whole-home air cleaner – if you have serious allergy sufferers, or just want to make a big improvement to your home’s indoor air quality, consider the installation of a whole-home air cleaner. Whole-home air cleaners are installed as part of your HVAC system, so they operate automatically.

Keeping your indoor air quality healthy helps keep you and your family healthy. For more indoor air quality tips for your Bergen County home, call the experts at DB Heating & Cooling today.

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