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If you see a bee in your home you probably try to shoo it out.  If you see spiders, ants, or cockroaches in your home you either kill them with your feet or call an exterminator.  The point is that when you have bugs in your home-you get rid of them.

Now why do we not try to do the same thing with diseases and viruses?  Sure, we wash our hands more during flu season but that is hardly on the same level as calling an exterminator.  Bryant’s Perfect Air Purifier can exterminate these things for you.

Here is a list of viruses that the Center for Disease Control has discovered that the Perfect Air Purifier is proven to kill and how long it takes:

• Common Cold virus (99.99%)——6 Hours
• Flu virus (99%)——————–2 Hours
• Bird Flu virus (99.9%)————-5 Hours
• SARS (99.9%)———————2 Hours
• Measles (99.9%)——————-1 Hour
• Smallpox (99.9%)——————18 Hours
• Anthrax (97%)———————24 Hours
• Tuberculosis (99.9%)—————24 Hours
• Staphlococcus (staph) (100%)——12 Hours
• Aspergillus versicolor (mold) (99%)-24 Hours

Diseases such as Tuberculosis are still around and can be deadly, while the flu and common cold can be a nuisance especially if you have to miss work or school.  This air purifier is a great way to help your family.

For more information on any of these diseases, you can check out the Center for Disease Control’s website, www.cdc.gov  and you can also contact Flame if you are interested in learning more about the Bryant Perfect Air Purifier.

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Many of us have become spoiled with all the air conditioning that is around here today. In fact, some of us even dislike it at restaurants and movie theaters because it is too cold!  People a hundred years ago would probably be in shock at how easily we accept this luxury and sometimes hold a slight distaste for it.

Since many of us (including myself) take this cool air for granted we often do not know much about how it works.  Well here are just a few things to know about central air conditioning:

-The concept of air conditioning is thought to go back as far as Ancient Rome, when water was used in the walls of homes to cool them down.

-Air conditioning is not just putting cold air in a room, it is actually taking the existing hot air from the room therefore making the room cooler.

-There are usually 2 units with central air conditioning-an outside one as well as an inside one.  The outside unit is the condensing unit and it where the refrigerant which is in a gas form is compressed to a liquid then it travels to the inside and is released on a coil.  When the pressure is taken off, the refrigerant reverts to gas state. This evaporation process absorbs heat, therefore it takes the heat from the area making the area cool.

-In the world of Central Air Conditioning, SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, and air conditioners are rated with a SEER number, higher=more energy efficient.

-In January 2006 the minimum SEER rating for an air conditioner became “13,” however now units can get up to a “20″ rating. Low SEER numbered air conditioners are cheaper to buy, but they will be more expensive to operate than a high SEER rated unit.

I bring a sweater or sweatshirt everytime I go out to dinner or a movie, even if it is 90 degrees out because these places usually seem to be freezing because of their air conditioner.  Though I will probably never be able to stop disliking that and you may not either-you now know some more information about air conditioning!

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Blood is vital to us as human beings, but unfortunately not everybody has enough of it.  That is why it is important for those who can to give blood to those who need it.  The American Red Cross came up with a list of 10 reasons why one should donate:

10.  You will get free juice and cookies.

9.  You will weigh less-one pint less than when you came in.

8.  It’s easy and convenient-it only takes about an hour and you can make the donation at a donor center, or at one of the many Red Cross mobile blood drives.

7.  It’s something you can spare-most people have blood to spare…yet, there is still not enough to go around.

6.  Nobody can ask you to do any heavy lifting as long as you have the bandage on.  You can wear it for as long as you like.  It’s your badge of honor.

5.  You will walk a little taller afterwards-you will feel good about yourself.

4.  You will be helping to ensure that blood is there when you or someone close to you may need it.  Most people don’t think they’ll ever need blood, but many do.

3.  It’s something you can do on equal footing with the rich and famous-blood is something money can’t buy.  Only something one person can give to another.

2.  You will be someone’s hero-you may give a newborn, a child, a mother or a father, a brother, or a sister another chance at life.  In fact, you may help save up to three lives with one donation.

1.  It’s the right thing to do.

On August 28, 2009 Flame Furnace will be the site of a Red Cross mobile blood drive between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.  You are welcome and encouraged to help save lives at this time.  In order to do so you must be at least 17 years of age and weigh at least 110 pounds.  You can check out this website for more eligibility guidelines:  http://www.redcross.org/en/eligibility

You must register for a time slot in order to give blood, walk-ins will not be accepted.  However, registering is very simple.  Go to http://www.givelife.org/ and type in “Flame” where it says “Step One:  Find a Blood Drive.”  Click on “Flame Heating, Cooling and Electrical” and then schedule your appointment in the desired time slot.  (If you are not already registered on the website, you will be asked to do so at this point).  If you sign up for a time, please make sure that you actually come!

If you need any help or have questions, contact the Red Cross or Flame Furnace!

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Let’s face it, heating and cooling almost has its own language with all the babble about efficiency, stages, ducts (ducks?), SEER etc…  Sometimes it is just easier to smile and nod when somebody speaks of furnaces or air conditioners instead of trying to understand.  So the Flame blog is here to help you.  Here are some basic facts about forced-air furnaces.

 Forced-air systems can heat every room in your home from one central unit.  Because of this they are the most popular systems in North America.  There are three main categories of a forced air furnace.  These are:

Single Stage: As the name suggests, this furnace only has one “stage.”  It was basically designed and set up for one situation.  Whenever you have your furnace on, it will its use its full heating output.  It was set up to heat your home on the coldest day of the year, which means when it is not around 0 degrees, it is actually too big for your home. 

Two-Stage:  This furnace has two stages- low fire or high fire.  Low fire is when the furnace is operating at only 66% of its full heating capacity and it’s also only using 2/3 of the gas.  This furnace will only operate on high fire (or 100% capacity) when it is really really cold.

Two-Stage with Variable Speed Blower:  This furnace is basically the two-stage with the added bonus of a Direct Current Blower System.  This blower system will deliver great airflow to everywhere in your duct system.  Also, since it is direct current and not the usual alternating current electricity that can save up to 75-80% off of your electric bill!

On top of these 3 categories there are 2 other options for a forced-air furnace.  These are either Plus 80% efficiency or Plus 90% efficiency.  A furnace is either one or the other and it fits into the above categories.  For example-you could have a Plus 80% Single Stage furnace or a Plus 90% Two-Stage.

These percentages deal with efficiency and money.  Plus 80% means that for every dollar spent on gas, 80 cents go toward heating your home while 18-20 cents go out the window (literally). The 18-20 cents are vented outdoors.  With a Plus 90% furnace 90 cents of every dollar go toward heating your home while 5 to 10 cents of heat are vented outdoors.

There are other differences between Plus 80% and Plus 90% such as that Plus 90%’s are vented out through a PVC pipe on the side of the house whereas a Plus 80% is vented out through the chimney which means your chimney requires a liner.

As a re-cap:  you can get either a Single Stage, Two-Stage, or Two-Stage with Variable Speed Blower and all three of these categories come with the option of either a Plus 90% or Plus 80% furnace.

Though this information probably will not make you fluent in the language of HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning), it should at least make you conversational.  As an added fun fact that you can impress people with-furnace comes from the Latin word, fornax meaning oven.

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Re doing your wood floor or putting in a wood floor is a big job.  You need to move all the furniture out of the room or rooms and you may not be able to go into a certain room for a while.  Whether you do-it-yourself or hire someone, there is a lot of work and inconvenience.                        

Throughout this experience, the last thing you may be thinking of is your furnace or air conditioner and duct work.  However, they are still important with this job.  First of all, remember to turn your furnace or air conditioner off when doing the work.  Because working on these floors-especially the sanding stage creates a lot of dust and your heating/cooling unit will just circulate the dust throughout the house.

Second, indoor air quality is a topic to think of when doing a floor.  Ventilation is key!  Products used to finish or stain the wood, such as Glitsa can creat vapors and fumes that smell and are not good for your health.  Depending on the person and concentration of the solvents one could experience a headache or nausea.  The furnace or air conditioner will not eliminate these vapors.  The best way to get rid of them is with outside air.  Therefore, one should open windows and use fans in order to exchange the indoor and outdoor air.

The amount of ventilation needed depends on a variety of factors including the house and its age.  Older, less energy efficient homes are not as tightly sealed and therefore they have natural leaks that will let clean outside air in and odor filled inside air out.  If you have an older home like this, you have more of a chance of being able to just turn your heating and cooling unit on and not worry about ventilation. 

Fans and windows work better at ventilation than heating/cooling units because they let in outside air, and also because the “bad” solvents and vapors can get taken in by your furnace/air conditioner and continue to travel throughout your home and duct work.

For more information you can read this article:   http://www.glitsa.com/documents/breathingEasy.pdf

or Check out the Glitsa website:  www.glitsa.com

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Despite some chilly weather, Summer finally seems to be arriving.  This means swimming, reading by a pool, listening for the ice cream truck and also higher gas prices.  Gas tends to go up in the Summer and that can leave people strapped for money (which is a shame if they wanted to buy ice cream from the ice cream truck).  here is some information about saving some money during the summer: 

• High Efficiency Air Conditioner-If you are in the market for a new air conditioning unit, you should invest in a high efficiency one.  When looking at air conditioners, check the SEER number.  This number measures the cooling efficiency of the unit, the higher the number the better!
• Turn off your air conditioner sometimes-I don’t mean torture yourself on a 90 degree day, but if the night is going to be chilly consider giving your air conditioner a break for a couple hours while you sleep with open windows.

• Have a Backyard BBQ-your oven or stove can give extra heat to your home when you use them and your air conditioner has to work harder to cool it down, so try grilling some burgers or chicken on your grill and that way the inside of your home can stay cool and you get more chances to be outside!
• Replace Filters-This is always important!  A dirty furnace/air conditioner filter restricts air flow and therefore the unit must use more energy to try to cool your home.  If you just change the filter, it will not have to do that!
• Programmable Thermostat-This is another item that helps you to save money all year round.  These thermostats allow you to set the temperature you want your house at depending on the time and day.  If no one is in your home between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.-why should the air conditioner be blowing full force?  You can turn down your thermostat manually, but this makes sure that you do not forget!
• Drink Water-When going out to dinner, buying a pop or alcoholic drink can add extra money on to your bill that is not really necessary.  (Also, water is healthier for you!)
• Water plants less-If you check the weather every morning-you can find out when it is supposed to rain.  That way you may not have to use your time and energy watering your plants today if it is just going to rain tonight.  You can even check the weather when you want, just go to websites like www.weather.com and punch in your city or zip code!
• Matinee movies-Often movie theaters will offer a matinee movie ticket price (or even a week-day ticket price).  The movies are still the same, and usually much cheaper.
• Insulate pipes from hot water heater-Insulating the pipes that carry your hot water will help to keep the water warmer longer on its journey to your shower!

These are just a few tips, and there are many other ideas and tips out there!  Just “google” money saving tips.  Some of these Flame can help you with, and hopefully you will have learned some heating and cooling tips that can help you out!  Now, since you’ve spent time reading this whole thing-go get yourself some ice cream!

If you have more ideas to add to this list-feel free to comment and share them!  Also, you can comment or contact Flame with questions!

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Attention Southeast Michigan!  Flame Furnace will be joined by another heating and cooling company, Roseville Heating and Cooling.  Like Flame, Roseville has been around for a number of years and is also a dealer of Bryant products.

If you have been to Roseville’s building in Fraser, there is no need to worry because the building will still be there available to customers.  Not much will change except the color of the trucks!

This collaboration of these two companies will hopefully benefit all parties involved including current and future customers.  If you have any questions about either Flame or Roseville Heating and Cooling-feel free to call or leave a comment!

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Though math, English, science and even computers are subjects that one is likely to find at a school, heating and cooling are not.  Therefore, it is understandable why most people probably do not know too much about what is going with their furnaces or air conditioners and that is O.K.  When discussing your air conditioner with a company or technician, you may have heard the words refrigerant, Puron and Freon flying around.  If you were not quite sure what those mean-here is some more information.

Puron and Freon are both refrigerants that help to cool your home.  If you remember learning a little bit about the Water Cycle in school-this is a little like this.  Both of these refrigerants start off as a gas.  When they are in the outside unit of your air conditioner a compressor compresses them to liquid form.  They travel as a liquid through a little tube into your home where they are released onto a coil.  Because the pressure is gone, the refrigerant reverts to a gas state.  When a liquid evaporates it absorbs heat and takes heat with it.  Therefore, when this refrigerant becomes a gas again-it takes away some of the heat, causing cooling.

Freon (R-22) and Puron (R410A) both go through the same cooling process but they have differences.  Puron is much more environmentally friendly.  It is non-ozone depleting and it is also chlorine free.  However, at the moment it is a little more expensive than Freon.  Freon is older and not as “green” or environmentally friendly.

The EPA is starting to phase out Freon due to the fact that it is harmful to the environment.  Starting in January 2010, heating and cooling manufacturers cannot make any units that use Freon.  Existing units that use Freon can still exist and be serviced however.  Unfortunately, Freon prices will probably start to rise since not as much of it will be being made.

Though it is great to use Puron and help the environment, it is not a small change to make.  A whole new unit is needed because Puron needs more pressure than Freon to be able to condense to a liquid.  Sometimes some of the same pipes and lines can be used for both Freon and Puron, but a trained and qualified professional would have to come and look to decide if that is possible in your home.  Therefore, if you are in the market for a new a/c or if your air conditioner is 10-12 years old or older you may want to consider purchasing a new Puron unit.  If not, it won’t hurt to keep the Freon one around for a little longer!

Now that you know more about refrigerants, you can possibly impress your friends with your knowledge!  If you have any questions, you can call Flame or leave a comment.

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Chim Chimney Chim Chimney Chim Chim Cha Roo!  Thinking of chimneys often conjurs up images of Dick Van Dyke and his chimney sweeps singing and dancing on the rooftops of London.  However, there is more to chimneys than that.

Your chimney could possibly be in danger and you may not even know it.  Here’s the deal.  Older furnaces are less energy efficient and therefore they let out or used to let out really high temperatures of steam out the chimney-around 700 degrees.  This number is also added on to the steam that is coming from the hot water heater.

Higher efficiency furnaces do not let out steam that is so high in temperature.  A really high efficiency unit (90% and above) does not even use the chimney!  They have their own plastic pipes that leave the home from the side of the house because the steam is only about 150 degrees.  An 80% efficiency furnace would still use the chimney but the temperate going up it would be drastically reduced to about 400 degrees.  Therefore, the big chimneys that are on houses are no longer necessary because these lower temperatures do not need as much room.

Because the whole space of the chimney is not being used by these higher efficiency furnaces, moisture can build up on the side and that and acid can seep through the mortar that holds the bricks or blocks of the chimney together.  This can cause problems or destruction to the chimney.

That is why a chimney liner is often necessary.  The liner is made of metal and it does like it sounds-it lines the inside of the chimney.  This constricts the space and makes it a skinner flue so that the steam and temperatures can fill up the whole area.  The size of the liners can be adjusted according to what type of furnace you have.  This liner helps to protect your chimney if you have a newer furnace.

If you aren’t sure if you need a liner-take a look at your chimney.  Is it brick?  Then you probably need one.  Metal chimneys are newer and therefore probably already small enough for your furnace.  To check if you already have a liner look at the top of your brick chimney.  If you have a liner, you will see a metal flue come out on top, just a little bit higher than the exit to the original flue.

Flame Heating, Cooling and Electrical can install chimney liners in your home for you and they can help you figure out whether or not you need a chimney liner.  If you have any questions-call Flame!

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We all know Paws of the Detroit Tigers and Sparty from Michigan State.  Now your favorite Furnace company has its own live mascot!  Meet Skyler, the black labrador retriever.

Skyler is about a 1.5 years old and she weights about 60 pounds.  She is all black and she frequently lets her tongue hang out the side of the mouth.  You can tell who she is by the black birthmarks on her tongue.  She loves playing with toys though she has yet to learn how to clean them up! Skyler was adopted from the Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society.

If you stop by Flame for information, you may be able to meet this loveable dog.  She is not in the office everyday because her “person Mom” would miss her too much at home.  If you have any questions regarding Skyler or heating and cooling call Flame or leave a comment!

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