"Green It Up!"
"Greenstar focuses on getting to the challenge before there is an emergency. A routine visit is an effective solution.” - Jeremy Prevost, CEO.
Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWEB) December 18, 2014
Greenstar Home Services, Las Vegas, Nevada and Orange County, California's leader in preventative maintenance for home plumbing, heating, water filtration, and air conditioning warns that furnaces which are not running optimally can be deadly. As homeowners enter the 2015 cold season and furnaces are turning on, Greenstar focuses on education and notes the importance of home inspections.
Most gas furnaces produce some carbon monoxide– it’s a natural byproduct of combustion, and it’s usually transferred away from the home via the furnace venting system. An efficient, clean-burning furnace produces negligible amounts of carbon monoxide, but an inefficient one can produce fatal amounts.
To prevent dangerous furnace challenges associated with carbon monoxide, Greenstar Home Services recommends having the furnace checked and cleaned every year. This is even more important if the furnace is old. Newer models have safety features that shut themselves down if problems are detected – while older ones don’t.
Greenstar recommends getting a professional licensed HVAC technician to perform a thorough evaluation of one’s heating system. A professional technician will verify that all valves and controls are functioning to manufacturer’s specifications. They will also check and inspect the hot surface igniter, amperage draw, clean the burner area, and verify that the venting is functioning properly. Most importantly, the technician will do a thorough evaluation of the heat exchanger.
The heat exchanger is the hub of a forced air furnace. If a heat exchanger fails or cracks, it poses a fatal risk to a household. Properly functioning heat exchangers separate the toxic gasses produced during combustion from the clean, warmed air used in forced air heating systems. However, when heat exchangers develop cracks or holes, carbon monoxide (CO) detectors prove they can emit dangerously high levels of the invisible, odorless, deadly gas—carbon monoxide. According to the Center for Disease Control, “500 Americans die from carbon monoxide poisoning every year and another 15,000 suffer carbon monoxide poisoning illnesses.”
When the heat exchanger reaches a high enough temperature, the furnace's blower turns on, pulling cool air from the return duct and blowing it across the hot heat exchanger, into the ducts that heat the home. Therefore, if a crack develops in the heat exchanger, the possibility that deadly gas can be blown into the home is all too real.
Jeremy Prevost, Greenstar CEO says “Many times we go to homes where the carbon monoxide detector has gone off and a cracked heat exchanger was the culprit. Greenstar focuses on getting to the challenge before there is an emergency. A routine visit is an effective solution.”
Greenstar follows the same guidelines set out by the American Gas Association. Any visible crack or hole discovered in a visual inspection is reason for requiring replacement of the heat exchanger or furnace. Greenstar advises that any homeowner who is informed that their heat exchanger is cracked or otherwise damaged must take that information seriously.
A homeowner that holds the belief that the holes are not significant enough to produce any real problems has “a very dangerous way of thinking” says Prevost. Greenstar always provides a visual confirmation of the crack and an explanation of how the crack was discovered. Once the crack or other challenge has been verified, it is urgent to take immediate steps to prevent any chance of carbon monoxide poisoning.
For more information about Greenstar Home Services, visit:
http://www.greenstarhomeservices.com
Facebook (Facebook.com/GreenstarHomeServices)
Twitter (@GreenStarHome1)
To view Greenstar’s blog, go to http://www.GreenstarHomeServices.com/blog
About Greenstar Home Services:
Greenstar Home Services provides environmentally conscious residential plumbing and HVAC service, repair and installation, as well as whole home central water filtration within the Orange County and Las Vegas markets. Our licensed technicians are available all hours of the day, seven days a week. With an expansive knowledge of home maintenance, we provide the highest level of service for our clients—and at an honest price.