HVAC and Insulation From a Working Tech
Last February, I got a call from a homeowner in a panic. A contractor had just told her she needed a new $6,800 furnace — same day, emergency replacement — because of a “severely cracked heat exchanger leaking carbon monoxide.” She was scared, her kids were home, and the contractor was pressuring her to sign … Read more
I was called out to a house in late February — routine furnace tune-up, nothing unusual on the work order. The homeowner, a retired teacher named Carol, met me at the door and mentioned almost as an aside that her family had been having headaches all winter. Fatigue, too. She figured it was the dry … Read more
Last spring I got a call from a homeowner in Draper who was furious. He’d paid a handyman — not a licensed HVAC tech — to install a new 18,000 BTU ductless mini split in his master bedroom. The unit ran constantly, the room never got below 76°F on a 95-degree day, and after just … Read more
I walked into a 1,400-square-foot ranch home last July and immediately felt it — that thick, clammy air that sticks to your skin the moment you step inside. The homeowner had already bought a portable dehumidifier. It was running full blast in the living room, and the basement down the hall still read 74% relative … Read more
I’ll be honest — I used to be skeptical about air purifiers. As an HVAC technician, I’ve spent years telling clients that proper ventilation and filtration at the system level was enough. Then last spring, my own allergy symptoms got bad enough that I decided to put my assumptions to the test. I ran a … Read more
I get this question almost every week: “Dana, should I just grab the highest-rated filter I can find?” Last month a homeowner in Draper called me because her furnace kept short-cycling. She’d recently swapped to a MERV 13 filter, thinking more filtration meant better air. Within six weeks, her heat exchanger was running dangerously hot. … Read more
The number one call I get after someone buys a new smart thermostat goes something like this: “Dana, I followed the instructions, wired everything up, and now the screen just flickers and dies.” Nine times out of ten, I already know the answer before I even walk through the door. It’s the classic smart thermostat … Read more
I’ll be honest — when smart thermostats first started showing up on job sites, I was skeptical. I’d been in HVAC long enough to watch plenty of “revolutionary” products come and go. But after installing over 300 smart thermostats in the last six years, and tracking real before-and-after energy bills for my clients, I finally … Read more
A few years back, a homeowner called me in a panic. Her furnace had shut down mid-January, and she was convinced it was a major mechanical failure. I drove out, pulled the access panel, and found the culprit immediately: a filter so clogged it looked like a gray wool blanket. She had bought the “best” … Read more
Last January, I got a call from a homeowner in northern Minnesota. His furnace had died overnight. Temperatures outside were sitting at -12°F. He’d been reading online that a heat pump could replace his gas furnace entirely — and he wanted to know if that was true. That question, right there, is the heart of … Read more