Robbins Heating & Air Conditioning Blog : Archive for the ‘Heating’ Category

Where the Furnace Pilot Light Went—And What Replaced It

Monday, March 21st, 2022

furnace-burners-CUWhen people think of standard natural gas furnaces, they often think of the words pilot light. Standing pilot lights became part of gas furnaces back in the 1920s and marked a major improvement in using them at the time. Rather than having to manually light a furnace each time a house needed heat, people could instead turn the furnace on and the standing pilot was at the ready to ignite the gas burners. 

Does the furnace you currently have in your house use a standing pilot light? We’d wager the answer is no. In fact, it’s almost certainly no if your furnace is less than eleven years old. Standing pilot lights started to disappear in the 1980s, and now you’ll mostly find them used on commercial equipment and not in residential heating systems, such as gas furnaces and stoves. What happened to the pilot light? And what has replaced it?

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The Parts of a Gas Furnace That Help It Run Safely

Monday, March 7th, 2022

natural-gas-furnaceOne of our main concerns as an HVAC contractor handling heating in Colorado Springs, CO is ensuring our customers have gas furnaces that run safely through the winter season. Although gas furnaces are built with safety as the top priority, malfunctions can still lead to potential carbon monoxide hazards in a home as well as combustion dangers. 

We want to help you better understand your gas furnace, and in this post we’ll look at the safety features built into it to help it run hazard-free during the season. The more you know about these features, the more you’ll know about when the furnace isn’t running safely. Please don’t try to troubleshoot any of these features yourself or open up the furnace cabinet to tinker with it. Instead, shut off the gas to the furnace and call our technicians. We offer 24-hour emergency service for situations like this.

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Has Your Furnace Lived Up to Expectations This Winter?

Monday, February 21st, 2022

natural-gas-furnaceWeather isn’t done with us yet in Colorado Springs, but we’re now in the latter half of the season. Your furnace has already handled many days of keeping back the cold weather and warming your house. As you start to look ahead toward the warmer months, now is a good time to give some thought to your furnace and how well it’s worked for you this winter. 

The big question to ask: “Has my furnace lived up to expectations this year?” We’ll go more into this question below so you can get a better idea of your furnace’s condition and future.

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Some Unusual Signs of a Failing Furnace

Monday, February 7th, 2022

humidity-on-windowUnderstanding the common signs that you need furnace service in Colorado Springs, CO is a basic part of owning a furnace. But furnaces can fail in several ways, and some of the signs aren’t ones you’ll frequently find on lists of furnace repair warnings. These are often more subtle, but they can give you an early heads up that you should call our expert technicians. Repairing a furnace promptly not only protects you from getting trapped in a house with no heat, it also helps ensure the furnace operates at its safest. 

Here are several of the lesser-known signs of a furnace that’s malfunctioning…

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When Is a Furnace Repair for an Old Furnace Too Expensive?

Monday, December 13th, 2021

home-basement-furnacePeople don’t usually have any sentimental attachment to the furnace that heats their homes: these are functional items, although they serve a vital function. But people still find it hard to make the choice to replace an aging furnace because of the costs involved. “Why not just keep repairing it?” they think. The problem is that repairs can turn out to be far more costly than investing in replacing the furnace. 

We’ll take a look at this common conundrum. If you have an old furnace, when is it too pricey to continue with furnace repair in Colorado Springs, CO?

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Some Important Gas Furnace Basics

Monday, November 15th, 2021

furnace-testingDo you know how your gas furnace works? You probably have a basic idea: gas burners heat the air and this air goes into the ductwork to the rooms. You don’t need to have more complex knowledge than that to enjoy heat from your furnace, especially since you’ll need to have professionals handle any services you need for it. 

But you can benefit from knowing more about the basics of how your furnace works. More knowledge makes it easier to understand when the furnace is malfunctioning and requires service. It can also help you with safe practices.

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What Do Odd Smells From Your Furnace Mean?

Monday, November 1st, 2021

Girl-pinching-her-noseTemperatures have dropped down to the point where you’ve probably turned on your home’s furnace at least once—and you can expect it to stay running for longer stretches as we move into another cold winter. 

When your furnace first turned on, you probably noticed a dusty burning smell coming from the vents. Strange odors coming from your furnace are often warning signs that something is wrong with it and will require calling our professionals to inspect the furnace and see if you need heating repair in Monument, CO

Below, we’ll look at what these odd smells could mean and when to act on them.

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A Vital Safety Reminder About Gas Furnaces!

Monday, October 18th, 2021

furnaceAs winter approaches, it’s time to talk about your gas furnace. It will soon start its steady work of keeping your family cozy and safe during another chilly winter in Colorado. We want you to enjoy the best possible performance from your gas furnace, but even more importantly we want you to enjoy a safe performance from it. 

Although a gas furnace isn’t an inherently dangerous thing to have in your house, you do need to take some safety precautions each year to ensure it stays operating safely. Our technicians are here to help you with the necessary maintenance work the furnace needs in fall, as well as any furnace repair in Monument, CO you may need during the upcoming winter.

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Comparing the Electric Furnace to the Heat Pump: Which Wins?

Monday, October 4th, 2021

heating-elementGas furnaces are the top choice for a home furnace in Colorado Springs, CO. They’re powerful, provide heat fast, and the price of natural gas makes them less expensive to run than many other heating systems. But gas furnaces have an important restriction: they need a natural gas line to run.

For homes without natural gas, the choice for central heating comes down to two choices: an electric furnace or a heat pump. Which is better?

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How You Can Make Your Heating Cost Less This Year

Monday, September 20th, 2021

piles-of-moneyPlenty of locals enjoy the wintertime in Colorado Springs. For many, it’s their favorite time of the year. But no matter how much you enjoy the winter, you still need a warm house through the season, and keeping a house warm can get costly.

It doesn’t have to be too costly, however! We’ve put together a few tips for lowering your big heating budget from last year to one that’s more manageable. 

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