HVAC and Insulation From a Working Tech
Last October, I got a call from a homeowner in a panic. Her furnace had stopped working the night before, temperatures were dropping into the 30s, and she’d already paid a local HVAC company $189 for a “tune-up” just six weeks earlier. When I got there, I pulled the furnace panel and found a flame … Read more
Last July, I got a call from a homeowner in the middle of a heat advisory. Her central air had “just stopped working” overnight. When I pulled the air handler panel, the blower motor was seized solid — the shaft wouldn’t turn by hand, the winding insulation had that unmistakable burnt varnish smell, and the … Read more
Last summer I got a call from a homeowner in the middle of July — let’s call him Ron — who was convinced his AC was “out of freon.” His house was sitting at 81°F when the thermostat was set to 74°F, and a buddy of his had already told him it was definitely a … Read more
Last month, I was called out to a home in the suburbs for a comfort complaint—the upstairs bedrooms were 8 degrees warmer than the downstairs in summer, and the homeowner’s energy bill had jumped $40 a month. When I opened the attic to inspect the ductwork, I found something I see at least twice a … Read more
Last month, I got a call from a homeowner in Edina who was frustrated. His electric bill had climbed 18% in the winter, his bedroom upstairs never got warm anymore, and his HVAC system was running constantly. When I arrived to diagnose the problem, I found exactly what I suspected: a brand-new MERV 13 filter … Read more