Today we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.   We are very thankful for the opportunity to service your heating and air conditioning needs and contributing to the comfort of your home.

Thanksgiving means Food, Family, Football, and Desserts.    And, lots of each!    Unfortunately, this often means that people are not being kind to the environment.  When preparing to heap your table high with food, here are a few tips to make your holiday more eco-friendly.

Buy Local

Buying locally grown produce helps support community farmers and reduces emissions produced by big transport trucks.

Meal Preparation

Before you bring out your favorite orange sweater or start mashing potatoes, here are some tips to help you enjoy a tasty meal without a big spike in your electricity bill.

• Lower the thermostat by a couple of degrees before you start your meal preparation.   Chances are, you’ll be using the       stovetop and your oven, and the temperature inside your home           will heat up too.   Hosting dinner guests in your home will also generate more heat. Keeping the temperature around 68º will ensure your guests are comfortable and keep your heating costs to a minimum.

• If you haven’t already adapted your home for the winter season, please check our September Blog. It’s full of simple, helpful hints that will make your home more comfortable and energy efficient.  You can find this valuable blog in the archives on this website.  Your family will notice the difference.

• If you have a variable speed furnace, much of this temperature adjustment is done automatically by your ‘smart furnace’. Furnaces with variable speed airflow automatically adjusts the heat level in each room as your guests move from dining, to family room, to kitchen.    It adds comfort and savings.  Next month, we’ll send a comprehensive blog with the ‘Truth’ about variable speed airflow.  It’s a real difference-maker for your home and the environment.

• Avoid peeking. Opening and closing the oven door causes heat to escape and will increase cooking times.   It’s tempting – but costly.  Also, use tightly fitted lids on pots to help keep the heat in.  You’ll be able to keep the temperature setting lower and cook more efficiently.

• Whenever possible, use a microwave or toaster oven.  Both use less than half of electricity of your regular oven.

Post-dinner Clean-up

The second-best part of Thanksgiving dinner – Leftovers!    Place leftovers in sealed, reusable containers and allow the contents to cool before placing in the fridge.   Putting warm food in the fridge causes it to work harder to keep cool – increasing your home’s electricity use.

Though your mother may have told you to wash your plate before putting it in the dishwasher, that’s not really necessary any more. Simply scrape, rinse and load.    You’ll cut-down on wasted water.

We Help Homeowners

Your local HVAC Dealer has many ways to make your home more eco-friendly year-round.  They can also explain the benefits of:

• Variable Speed technology.
• Dual Heat Exchangers that re-cycle air for greater efficiency.
• Zoned Heating that varies for different areas of your home.

Look to your HVAC Dealer for installing advanced, state-of-the-art high-efficiency Armstrong Air furnaces and Air Conditioners.  They can also address your home’s possible need for integrating an air filter/cleaner and dehumidifier with your HVAC system.    HVAC dealers are expert at helping you determine the ‘right’ solution for your home and desired comfort level needs.

Trusted

We’ve been serving homes in our neighborhood for years with prompt, dependable, and reliable service that meets the highest standards.    Experience counts!  Your neighbors rely on and trust us to treat them ‘right’.

Once again, from our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.