The G-Force Blog

Register to Win a $200 HyVee Gift Card-Fill Out a Satisfaction Survey
Everyone can use a little extra grocery money and here's an easy way to get it. If you've had us out for a service call recently, just go to our website and fill out our survey or click here Satisfaction Survey. It only takes a minute and lets us know how we did on our service or installation and if we can improve anywhere. Once you fill out our survey you will be entered to win in our monthly drawing. The lucky winner receives a $200 Gift Card* from HyVee Food Stores. We really appreciate you taking the time to fill out this survey, and this information will really help us provide the very best in furnace, air conditioner and heat pump repairs and installations. Thanks for your help and good luck!
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Symptoms You Should Know
If your home does not contain a carbon monoxide detector, we highly recommend that you install one. Each year and average of 170 people in the U.S. die from carbon monoxide poisoning from non-automotive products. The biggest culprits are malfunctioning fuel-burning appliances like furnaces, ranges, water heaters, room heaters, portable generators, and fireplaces. Because carbon monoxide (CO) is colorless and odorless, it is almost impossible to detect. Because it can’t be detected by the senses, it’s good to know the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning so you can get help before it’s too late. 

 
Initial signs of CO poisoning mimic flu symptoms and include:
·         Nausea
·         Dizziness
·         Headache
·         Fatigue
·         Shortness of Breath
 
High levels of CO poisoning include:
·         Vomiting
·         Mental Confusion
·         Loss of Coordination
·         Loss of Consciousness
·         Death
 
The higher the level of carbon monoxide and the longer the exposure, the greater the danger. Leaks that start and build while everyone is sleeping are the most dangerous. It is highly recommended that you buy a carbon monoxide detector and install it in your home. Many models simply plug into an outlet, so it’s an easy and inexpensive way to protect your family. Another recommendation is to have your furnace checked once a year to make sure there are no leaks. A G-Force tune-up will detect any problems and avert carbon monoxide leaks from your furnace.
High Efficiency Furnaces-How Are They Better?
You’ve no doubt heard of high-efficiency furnaces, but what makes a high-efficiency furnace better and what can you expect to gain from installing one? First of all, a high-efficiency furnace uses fuel more efficiently. The measurement for efficiency is called an Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating. The Department of Energy calls any unit with an AFUE of 90% or higher, high-efficiency furnaces. AFUEs of 80%-83% are considered mid-efficiency. Most natural gas furnaces in the 1970s and 1980s were about 60 percent efficient—they only converted 60 percent of the energy in the natural gas into usable heat. Today’s models are obviously much more efficient. Here are some of the improvements that make these new furnaces so much more effective:
·         One of the main improvements manufacturers have made is in the combustion of fuel (how the air mixes with the fuel). High-efficiency models feature “sealed combustion” which mixes the air with the fuel at a controlled rate in order to maximize the heat from the fuel.
·         The higher-efficiency models are “condensing gas furnaces.” Exhaust gases are run through a second heat exchanger to remove and use all available heat that would otherwise be exhausted. These models pull out nearly all of the heat, sending cool exhaust out and leaving behind condensed water that is drained off.
·         Gas valves have been improved as well. A two-stage gas valve heats the furnace quickly, but then drops down to a more energy conserving flow.
·         Variable speed motors also save on electricity. Instead of the furnace going on and blasting the home with hot air for a short time and then turning off, variable speed motors run the blower for longer periods at lower speeds. Not only does it use less energy, it‘s quieter and your home stays more comfortable.
·         Another improvement is the electronic spark ignition. Instead of a pilot light that is constantly on, the electronic spark ignition fires the furnace on demand.
·         The top-of-the-line models are the most efficient and can interact with a thermostat and adjust furnace output and blower speed accordingly. Some models are up to 98.2% efficient.

You will see a significant reduction in your energy bills with a high-efficiency furnace. The exact amount will vary depending on the furnace you choose and the efficiency of your home. In general, you can expect to get your investment back in energy savings in 5-10 years. Call Getzschman and we can help you figure out which system makes the most sense for your home.
Heat Pump or Air Conditioner-Which Is Right for You?
What exactly is a heat pump and how is it different from an air conditioner? The main difference is that a heat pump can cool a home just like an air conditioner, but it can also function as a furnace to heat the home. Heat pumps and air conditioners function in a very similar way. An air conditioner transfers heat from the home to the AC unit where it is dissipated into the air. What happens is the refrigerant is pumped into a compressor where the molecules are pushed together causing the temperature of the gas to rise (as well as the pressure). When the refrigerant gets pushed into the condenser, it is changed into a liquid and cools significantly. When the cool liquid enters the evaporator inside your home, it uses the heat in your home to convert itself back into a gas. When it leaves to go to the compressor, it takes the heat from the home with it, thus, cooling the home.

A heat pump does basically the same thing to cool your home, but it is also designed to reverse the process and take heat from outside the home and move it inside. So in warm weather you can run your heat pump like an air conditioner and when the weather turns cold, you can change it over to run like a heater. The refrigerant liquid is converted into a gas outside the home and as it completes the conversion, it pulls any heat from the outside and brings it into the home.

So why hasn’t everyone switched to heat pumps? Heat pumps are most efficient around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. As the temperature drops, the heat pump has to work harder to keep your home warm. By the time the temperature drops to 37 degrees Fahrenheit, the heat pump has to work nonstop. Air-source heat pumps aren’t efficient enough in climates with temperatures below 30 degrees. Heat pumps cannot heat a house sufficiently in those extremely cold temperatures. You will find that heat pumps are more popular and make more sense in milder parts of the country where the winters don’t get so cold. Because heat pumps simply transfer heat, rather than burn fuel to create it, you’ll save money on your energy bills each month. They are also more environmentally friendly than a gas burning furnace. But up north, like here in the Omaha area, the furnace/air conditioner combination makes more sense.
The Cure for Winter Dry Skin, Chapped Lips & Static Shock
Does anyone in your home suffer from dry, itchy skin in the winter? What about chapped lips or even nose bleeds? The problem is the air in your home. It's too dry. While our furnaces keep us comfortably warm all winter, warmer temperatures chase away moisture. We close all of our windows and doors to stay cozy, but we also keep out any moisture from outside air. The result is dry air which causes a host of problems including:
  • Dry, itchy skin
  • Chapped lips
  • Nose bleeds
  • Static shock
  • Aggravated allergy and asthma symptoms
  • Frequent colds, flu and respiratory ailments
  • Sore throats
  • Dry coughs
  • Cracks and/or loose joints in wooden furniture
  • Gaps in wood flooring

Other signs to look for include limp houseplants, loose wallpaper, cracks in your drywall or plaster walls, your piano sounds flat. It's amazing how humidity levels can affect your everyday life. 

You can try to fix the humidity yourself by boiling water on the stove, air drying your laundry, setting bowls of water on the heat ducts or purchasing a portable humidifier, but none of these are very practical and all will only affect the individual room you have the moisture in. A better solution is to install a whole-house humidifier on your furnace. It will force moisture to travel through the ducts with the warm air and distribute it to every room of your home. Our service technicians can come to your home and set it all up and you don't even have to think about it. Give us a call for more information on whole house humidifiers at (800) 657-2158.
 

Last Chance for $500 Tax Credit - Ends Dec. 31st.
If you need a new furnace, don’t put it off until January. It could cost you $150 if you do. That’s because the federal tax credit ends Dec. 31st. If you buy a qualifying furnace in 2011, you get to claim $150 in tax credits. The tax credit covers other technologies as well, including water heaters, air conditioners, heat pumps, and boilers. Basically, for anything you add or upgrade in your home that saves energy, the government wants to reward you. If you need a whole new system (a furnace and an air conditioner), you could claim $450 in tax credits. 

The credit is equal to the full cost of the equipment up to the following caps:
Furnace or hot water boiler - $150
Central air conditioner - $300
Electric heat pump water heater - $300
Electric heat pump - $300
Water heater - $300
 
For more information about the specific tax credits, click here http://bit.ly/vw5gTr  All equipment must be new and be in compliance with all performance and safety standards that apply. We know which systems qualify and we can help you choose the right one for your home. So if you know you need a new furnace and/or air conditioner, give us a call ASAP and we’ll get you your new furnace and/or AC and your $150 to $450 tax credit too.
 
Important Note: The cap covers all purchases a homeowner has claimed from 2006 to 2011. So if you’ve already claimed $500 or more since 2006, you will not be eligible for any more in 2011.
How Preventative Maintenance Agreements Save You Money
There are a lot of advantages to having a preventative maintenance agreement. Becoming a member of our G-Force Club will help your furnace and air conditioner run more efficiently, saving you money. It will give you discounts on repairs and products, saving you money. And it will even give you priority service. Not to mention when your furnace and air conditioner are kept in peak condition you’ll be much less likely to find yourself needing emergency repairs. Below is a list of all of the benefits you get when you become a member of the G-Force Club.
· Energy Savings
With your system running at peak efficiency, you’ll save money on energy bills.
·  Fewer Repairs
Our servicemen will be able to spot and fix small problems before they become big ones.
· Priority Service
If you do have a problem, you’ll get priority dispatching so your system is back in operation quickly.
· Save Money on Repairs
Any repairs that are necessary will automatically be discounted15% on all labor and parts.
· Knowledgeable Experts
A knowledgeable, factory-trained, reliable staff of professionals takes care of your equipment to give you PEACE OF MIND. Our dispatcher will set up service calls around your schedule.
· 24-Hour Service
You never know when your furnace or air conditioner will break down, so we are available 24 hours a day to be there when you need us.
· Automatic Annual Renewal
We will automatically extend your service agreement on your anniversary date. You can cancel your membership hassle-free at any time.
Get the simple one-page G-Force Membership Agreement form from one of our representatives. Choose from Gold Club and Silver Club membership levels. Join today and start saving!!
What’s in the Air You Breathe Indoors?
At Getzschman Heating, our job is to make you as comfortable as possible in your home. That not only means temperature wise, but air quality as well. Do you often have itchy watery eyes? Headaches? Feel stuffed up? Breathless? Tired? Depressed? Did you know that all of these can be symptoms of bad indoor air? Dust, pollen and mold can collect in your air ducts and with every cycle of your furnace or air conditioner, they are re-circulated throughout your entire house. Most of the dirt that gets into your home never makes it out. In fact, of the possible 40 pounds that gets into the average home every year, up to 15 pounds can get trapped in your ductwork. And with dust, come dust mites.  

According to the American Lung Association, most people spend 60-90% of their time indoors. Most standard filters only catch 8-10% of the dust and irritants in your home. It’s no wonder people walk around feeling stuffed up and sick. Besides not being healthy, all that dust doesn’t do your system any good either. Dirty components make your furnace or AC work harder, reducing its efficiency and contributing to early system failure. There are a slew of good reasons to have your ductwork cleaned. Click here for $50 off our whole house duct cleaning service. Breathe easier with clean air ducts.
Furnace Tune-Ups – Are They Worth It?
Why get your furnace tuned up? It’s a legitimate question. Many homeowners ask themselves, “Is it worth it?” Well, there are actually three major advantages to getting your furnace tuned-up.
 
First of all it saves money. Yes, there is a cost involved. Our price is $89. But having an annual tune-up will help your furnace run more efficiently. When parts are cleaned, greased, tightened, replaced, etc, your system will be running with very little effort. This saves on utility bills. A system that is dirty and/or limping by will use much more energy and probably won’t perform well either. Your comfort will suffer as well. But besides that, catching a problem before it causes other bigger, more expensive problems is always the smarter move. For instance, maybe there’s a fan that’s loose. Left unrepaired, that fan can eventually come off and lodge in another part of the furnace causing the motor to overheat and requiring that both the fan and the motor be replaced. How much simpler would it have been to have a technician catch that and tighten a simple screw during a tune-up?
 
Secondly, regular tune-ups will prolong the life of your furnace. Obviously, when machines run more efficiently, there is less wear and tear on the individual parts. Furnaces are not cheap.
Get the most out of your system by taking care of it and having a professional check it out.
 
The third advantage to having a furnace tune-up is that you will avoid breakdowns. There is nothing worse than waking up freezing because sometime during the night your furnace stopped working. Or having a house full of people and a broken furnace. It seems like they always break at the most inopportune times. A tune-up is like an insurance policy against unexpected breakdowns. It’s not a guarantee, but it will undoubtedly lower the chances of a furnace problem.
 
And with Getzschman’s No-Risk Furnace Tune-Up, if your furnace breaks this winter, we will refund the full $89 or credit it toward the repair. No questions asked. So you really have nothing to lose. Click here to set up your No-Risk Furnace Tune-Up.
 
Why Geothermal?

Geothermal systems create a significant reduction in the heating and cooling costs as compared to the conventional heating and cooling systems most people have in their homes today. For every unit of electricity the system uses to operate, it provides 3 to 4 units of heating and cooling energy. A Geothermal system also provides:

Environmental Responsibility. Geothermal Systems reduce the consumption of fossil fuels for heating and cooling your home. This reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental damage associated with removing fossil fuels.
Increased Comfort. Geothermal uses the stable earth temperatures to maintain consistent indoor temperatures. This translates into a more even heat in the winter and better humidity control in the summer.
Cost Savings. Geothermal systems pay for themselves over time by drastically reduced utility bills. On top of that, the upfront costs can be offset by the 30% Energy Tax Credit for Geothermal Systems.
Safety. Geothermal systems do not burn fossil fuels, so there are no flames, no odors, and no risk from carbon monoxide when using Geothermal in an all electric system.
 
The reality is that Geothermal Systems are simply the most energy efficient systems available today. They are also environmentally friendly, so you can feel good when that thermostat calls for heating or cooling. Combined with the Energy Tax Credit, Geothermal systems are also more affordable than they have ever been. So now is the time to upgrade to a Geothermal system. Contact Getzschman for a free consultation.