The Good News: For Every Problem, There is a Solution (for HVAC, anyway). A furnace that stops working is never fun. Nobody likes to be cold, and if you have small children or elderly family members living with you, low indoor temperatures can pose real risks to their health. Still, we’re grateful we don’t live in say, Minnesota, where a broken furnace can result in ... Continue Reading
Space Heaters and You: Safety Rules for Indoor Comfort You Need To Know
Extra Care Means Extra Safety At the end of the day, we just want our families and friends, neighbors and the community at large to enjoy a safe, happy holiday season. Whether you enjoy state-of-the-art HVAC or a simple wall unit air conditioner for summer and a small space heater for winter, your well-being should be most important. That’s why we devote a column ... Continue Reading
Is Your Home Too Cold? Here’s How to Troubleshoot Common Problems with Your Furnace
Easy Fixes Will Keep You Warm All Winter We may not have snow here in the San Gabriel Valley, but we do get cold winter mornings. Even in the Southland, nobody likes the feeling of a cold house, condo or apartment when it’s chilly outside too. If your furnace goes on the fritz, here are some simple guidelines for handling everyday fixes before they turn into larger ... Continue Reading
Quick Question: Would You Rather Pay 5 Cents or 35 cents per Kilowatt-Hour to Run Your HVAC System?
Proposed Ban on Natural Gas for New Homes Offers An Expensive Solution for Homeowners Even in California, the city of Berkeley has a longstanding reputation for radical solutions. Some of the laws to come out of the city have been ground breaking, prompting national conversations about cultural norms, values and expectations. Other city laws have drawn more ire than ... Continue Reading
BRRRRRR: How to Make Colder Rooms Cozy In Your Home
Do Some Rooms in Your Home Feel Chillier Than Others? Here’s How to Fix it It happens every winter. Some rooms in your home are toasty and comfortable while others seem perpetually cold and uninviting, no matter how high you set the thermostat. Don’t buy another throw blanket. Try one of these suggestions first to make your home a consistently cozy one. It may be a ... Continue Reading
When Your Furnace Isn’t Enough: Space Heater Savvy
Know the Rules and The Risks with Portable Space Heaters When it comes to convenience, space heaters are often seen as the perfect solution to add supplemental heat to your home, office or apartment. Portable and now available in a variety of styles and shapes, they are popular among college students, apartment dwellers, office workers and homeowners who don’t have a ... Continue Reading
Your Fireplace and Your HVAC System Don’t Always Mix
Don’t Let a Fireplace Burn Through Your Wallet Everyone enjoys using a fireplace, especially around this time of year. Sitting on the sofa, enjoying a cup of hot cocoa or adult beverage when it’s cold outside: for some, it just doesn’t feel like the holidays without a crackling fire. Nevertheless, there are some things you should know ahead of time before savoring ... Continue Reading
New Homeowners: Furnace Maintenance You Can’t Afford to Ignore
Save Money and Save Energy with These Simple Tips for Your New Home In the rush to handle every detail, the transition into a new home from your old one can be very stressful. Between unpacking boxes to arranging for a new mailing address, it might seem ridiculous to spend any time worrying about the HVAC system. Don’t ignore these easy ways to keep your furnace running ... Continue Reading
Furnace Troubleshooting: Things You Should Know
Your Heating Equipment Doesn’t Have to Leave You Steamed. When it comes to furnace repair, you can count on Air-Tro to find and fix the issue immediately. However, we understand that calling someone may not be your first impulse when it comes to minor issues around the house. To that end, here’s a simple guide to the most common furnace problems you may encounter. Impress ... Continue Reading
The Fall Furnace Question Everyone Asks
Is This HVAC Issue Happening at Your House? With cooler nights and even the occasional rainstorm, many Southern Californians are turning on their furnaces right about now. And like the flocks of Canadian geese migrating south, the crisp mornings and the crunch of colorful autumn leaves underfoot (okay, maybe it’s just one or two leaves), there is one question on many ... Continue Reading
Variable Speed or Single Stage? Understand Your Options When It Comes to a New Furnace.
New Choices, New Standards for Energy Efficiency When It Comes to Heating Your Home If you’re looking into replacing the furnace for your house or condo, you should be aware of the different types of products available, along with their advantages and disadvantages. While we’re always happy to consult with our clients and offer recommendations, it’s always nice to ... Continue Reading
Is Your HVAC System the Right Size For Your Home?
Why Right Sized Air Conditioning and Heating Equipment Matters to You A few years ago, many HVAC professionals and homeowners thought “the bigger the better” when it came to air conditioning and heating equipment for your home. After all, this is Southern California. Big dogs, big trucks, and making a big splash are the norm for many of us. Why wouldn’t you want the ... Continue Reading
Funny HVAC Advertising: From Underpants to Pugs, All in the Name of Air Conditioning
These Commercials Turn Heating and Cooling into Smiles Between changing your air filters to better ways to insulate your home, we know heating and air conditioning can seem awfully serious sometimes. That’s why we love the commercials below, that put the fun back into indoor comfort. Because Good HVAC Prevents Sweaty ... Continue Reading
It Could Be a Crazy Thermostat: Troubleshooting Temperature Regulation Problems in Your Home
Relax; Weird Furnace Issues Could Just Be From an Even Weirder Thermostat Is your house too hot or too cold a lot of the time, no matter what temperature at which you set your thermostat? Do you notice your furnace turning on and off more often than it used to? If you’ve already replaced your furnace filter, and checked for faulty hoses, it could simply be your ... Continue Reading
Don’t Let Your Furnace Go the Way of The Cleveland Browns This Season: Get a Tune Up Instead
Avoid an HVAC Losing Streak with a Sensible Maintenance Strategy It’s bad enough they have to live with an embarrassing 0-16 losing streak this season. But what’s even worse? Many of the players are still in Cleveland right now. As one of the coldest cities in the United States, it's currently topping out at a high of 7 degrees. And hey, if they handle their furnaces like ... Continue Reading
Join Your Air-Tro HVAC Specialists In Giving Back to the San Gabriel Valley This Holiday Season
Lots of Local Organizations Need Support Throughout The Year Whatever your faith, no matter what your beliefs, surely gratitude is in order for many of us in the San Gabriel Valley during this month of holidays. For those of us with a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and access to the Internet (if not a heating and air conditioning system to call our very own), ... Continue Reading
Have Fun and Stay Safe with These Easy Holiday HVAC and Fireplace Tips
Note to Self: Avoid Carbon Monoxide and Grandma’s Special Rum Punch With friends and family around the home and office for holiday parties and more, it’s easy to forget that your furnace and fireplace still require some oversight to stay safe this holiday season. It’s hard enough to avoid the nutritional hazards of your average office party or family get together. Don’t ... Continue Reading
Is My Furnace Working Correctly? Don’t Wait For Your Energy Bill To Find Out
Red Flags to Look For When Operating Your Heating System Of course we’ll always suggest you call a licensed professional to evaluate your HVAC system at least once a year. It’s the safest way to ensure your heating and air conditioning units not only function efficiently, but also last for a long time before needing replacment. However, we understand that sometimes ... Continue Reading
Carbon Monoxide and HVAC: A Safety Primer for Fall
It’s Time to Check Your Detectors for Peace of Mind Winter is almost here. Soon, the temperature will get pretty darn cold, especially at night, and turning on the furnace will seem like the most sensible thing to do to keep your home and workspace comfortable. Before you do that, however, do us a favor. Check your carbon monoxide detector batteries. Change them, if ... Continue Reading
Say Hello to Your HVAC System: Here’s a Simple Guide
Some People Don’t Know Anything About Their Heater or Air Conditioner, Mostly Because They Haven’t Read This Blog For many Americans, life is a whole lot more pleasant since the advent of the ordinary HVAC system. It keeps us cool in the summer and warm in the winter, for a fraction of the difficulty and cost that older heating and cooling techniques used to employ. ... Continue Reading
Fall Is Here: Quick Ways To Save Money On Energy For Your Home and Office
Spend the Extra on Halloween Candy or a New Wool Sweater; You Can Thank Your Thermostat Later Thank goodness, it’s finally here. The dog days of summer and the sweaty weather of late August and even September seem to have dissipated in favor of cooler nights and foggy mornings. While the sun is still shining most days, even the leaves are changing in a pale ... Continue Reading
Winter Is Coming: Time for a Pre-Season Furnace Checkup
Save Money and Avoid Surprises by Doing Yearly Furnace Maintenance Now Soon the cool days of autumn will be upon us. Unless you’re using a dragon to heat your home, your furnace will be in daily use sooner than you think! A little preparation and some simple tips will help you get your heating system into shape for winter’s chill. And here’s something to make you even ... Continue Reading
George Washington, HVAC Specialist?
America’s Founding Fathers Were Also The Nation’s First Official Climate Observers. Whether you’re walking in a parade, going to a family barbecue or just chilling indoors today and relaxing, we here at Air-Tro hope you’re enjoying this special day. In honor of this momentous occasion in our nation’s history, we want to tip our hats to the country’s first ... Continue Reading
Stay Safe: Carbon Monoxide Warning
The Danger No One Can See or Smell in Your Home If you have a gas or oil furnace, boiler, stove, hot water heater, kerosene heater or other, similar appliance in your home, don’t take chances when it comes to carbon monoxide. An odorless, colorless gas, carbon monoxide displaces oxygen in your bloodstream by attaching itself to hemoglobin. At best, carbon monoxide ... Continue Reading
HVAC Humor: Just a Bunch of Hot Air?
Because HVAC consultants have a sense of humor too! The HVAC community is not without a sense of humor. Well, at least we think so. From the new technician who says “everything’s fine” until you notice his singed eyebrows to the customer who asks for an HVAC system that helps with hot flashes, there’s plenty of opportunity for the lighter side in the course of doing ... Continue Reading
