Technician Awards
4 Tips to Keep Your Cooling Costs Down
Published March 31, 2012 | 
- Make sure your air conditioner is the proper size for the area you are cooling. The wrong size air conditioner will use more electricity and increase your energy bills. A unit that is too large for a given area will cool the area too quickly, causing the air conditioner to frequently turn itself on and off. If a unit shuts off quickly, chances are it hasn’t been running long enough to reduce the room’s humidity and you’ll be uncomfortable. If your air conditioner is too small, it will run constantly on hot days without ever getting good results.
- The location of your air conditioner has a lot to do with how efficient it will be. If you have a choice, locate your units on the north, east or the best-shaded side of your home. If the unit is exposed to direct sunlight, it has to work much harder and use more energy to cool your home. Keep shrubbery away from your air conditioner since it blocks vents and reduces the unit’s ability to exhaust air.
- Regular maintenance will insure that your air conditioner operates efficiently throughout the summer. Check the filter once a month by holding it up to a bright light. If you can’t see through it, it’s time to clean or replace the filter. You can also check your owner’s guide to find out how to safely clean the condenser coils and fins on the outside of the unit.
- You can save on cooling costs by avoiding cooling rooms that are not occupied. If you like your home to be cool when you come home at the end of the day, special automatic timers for air conditioners are available that will turn the unit on before you arrive home.
6 Simple Home Water Saving Tips
Published February 29, 2012 | Water conservation has become an essential practice as it saves our resources and helps kept your water costs down. Here are five tips that you a apply within your home.
- Check faucets and pipes for leaks
- A small drip from a worn faucet washer can waste 20 gallons of water per day. Larger leaks can waste hundreds of gallons.
- Check your toilets for leaks
- Put a little food coloring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the color begins to appear in the bowl within 30 minutes, you have a leak that should be repaired immediately. Most replacement parts are inexpensive and easy to install.
- Install water-saving shower heads and low-flow faucet aerators
- Inexpensive water-saving low-flow shower heads or restrictors are easy for the homeowner to install. Also, long, hot showers can use five to ten gallons every unneeded minute. Limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down and rinse off. “Low-flow” means it uses less than 2.5 gallons per minute.
You can easily install a ShowerStart showerhead, or add a ShowerStart converter to existing showerheads, which automatically pauses a running shower once it gets warm.
Also, all household faucets should be fit with aerators. This single best home water conservation method is also the cheapest!
- Turn off the water after you wet your toothbrush
- There is no need to keep the water running while brushing your teeth. Just wet your brush and fill a glass for mouth rinsing.
- Rinse your razor in the sink
- Fill the sink with a few inches of warm water. This will rinse your razor just as well as running water, with far less waste of water.
- When washing dishes by hand, don’t leave the water running for rinsing
- If your have a double-basin, fill one with soapy water and one with rinse water. If you have a single-basin sink, gather washed dishes in a dish rack and rinse them with a spray device or a panful of hot water. Dual-swivel aerators are available to make this easier. If using a dishwasher, there is usually no need to pre-rinse the dishes.
These are some very simple tips that you can apply everyday that will save you gallons of water daily.
5 Winter Tips to Maintain Indoor Air Quality
Published January 31, 2012 | With your home shut tight during the winter months and the furnace constantly blowing dry heat, very little fresh air enters the home. So, we suggest that you follow these easy tips for better air quality during cold winter months:
- If your furnace doesn’t have a built-in humidifier, you can still create the effect of one with simple steps.
- Keep a cool mist humidifier in the bedrooms, especially in the rooms of young children prone to colds and ear infections.
- Another inexpensive option is to place bowls of water on the floor near warm air registers to add to the humidity level and comfort of your home. Replenish water frequently.
- Add moisture to the air while you work in the kitchen. Fill a teakettle with water and heat the water to boiling on your stove top. Then open the whistle, lower the heat and let the water simmer away into the air. Just don’t walk away and let the teakettle boil dry.
- Keep the thermostat set at 68 degrees F during the day, and lower it to 64 degrees at night. Not only will you save heating dollars, the lower temperatures are better for sleeping.
- Good insulation and efficient windows are excellent for saving money and energy, but sometimes a detriment to healthy indoor air. On milder winter days, briefly open a few windows to freshen the air and eliminate built-up toxins from carpets, dust and poor air circulation.
- Vacuuming regularly is especially important during these cooped-up months, when dust and dirt can settle in vent systems and re-circulate through the ductwork constantly. Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter.
Importance of Servicing Your Furnace
Published December 31, 2011 | Your heating system burns fuel. In a well- functioning system, the heat from the combustion process goes into your house while the combustion gasses vent outside. There are several reasons why combustion gasses may end up flowing into the house. If an animal builds its home in your chimney, for example, combustion gasses can back up into your house. Combustion gasses that leak into your house present health and safety hazards. In a worst-case scenario, carbon monoxide poisoning can lead to death.
A well- tuned heating system is more efficient. This is good for the environment and saves you money. A quick adjustment of the fuel mixture in your heating system may make all the difference. Again, this is something only a Detroit Metro Area qualified Heating Technician can assess.
A qualified technician should perform the following checks:
- Safety test for carbon monoxide (CO)
- Check for hazardous debris in the chimney and flue
- Maintain air filters and re-install
- Check operation of thermostat and safety controls
- Check gas pilot safety system and service as required
- Maintain the motor and fan
- Check blower operation
- Check condition, tension and alignment of fan belt and perform required adjustments
- Service burners and set for proper combustion & ignition
- Check gas piping to furnace
The benefit to you is:
- Regular maintenance can help sure that your furnace runs to manufacturers’ design specifications
- Help reduce your monthly heating bills by ensuring your furnace is operating at peak efficiency
- Help increase the lifespan of your furnace
- Reduce the hassle of unexpected and inconvenient breakdowns
If you have questions about having your Furnace Serviced, please contact us.
Posted in Energy, Equipment Maintenance, Heating | 
Bloomfield Hills Furnace Service, Detroit Metro Furnace Service, Farmington Hills Furnace Service, Reford Furnace Service, Rochester Hills Furnace Service, Royal Oak Furnace Service, Servicing Furnace, Southfield Furnace Service, Troy Furnace Service, Warren Furnace Service | 
Leave a commentChoosing a Programmable Thermostat to Save Energy
Published November 28, 2011 | When shopping for a thermostat, bring information with you about your current unit, including the brand and model number. Also, ask these questions before buying a thermostat:
- Does the unit’s clock draw its power from the heating system’s low-voltage electrical control circuit instead of a battery? If so, is the clock disrupted when the furnace cycles on and off? Battery-operated back-up thermostats are preferred by many homeowners.
- Is the thermostat compatible with the electrical wiring found in your current unit?
- Are you able to install it yourself, or should you hire an electrician or a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) contractor?
- How precise is the thermostat?
- Are the programming instructions easy to understand and remember? Some thermostats have the instructions printed on the cover or inside the housing box. Otherwise, will you have to consult the instruction booklet every time you want to change the setback times?
Most automatic and programmable thermostats completely replace existing units. These are preferred by many homeowners. However, some devices can be placed over existing thermostats and are mechanically controlled to permit automatic setbacks. These units are usually powered by batteries, which eliminates the need for electrical wiring. They tend to be easy to program, and because they run on batteries, the clocks do not lose time during power outages.
If you have questions about programmable thermostats, please give us a call.
4 Tips to minimize the chances of your pipes freezing.
Published October 31, 2011 | Here are some simple things you can do that will minimize the chances for your pipes freezing.
- Drain water from swimming pool and water sprinkler supply lines following manufacturer’s or installer’s directions. Do not put antifreeze in these lines unless directed. Antifreeze is environmentally harmful and is dangerous to humans, pets, wildlife and landscaping.
- Remove, drain and carefully store hoses used outdoors. Close inside valves supplying outdoor hose bibs. Open the outside hose taps to allow water to drain. Keep the outside valve open so that any water remaining in the pipe can expand without causing the pipe to break.
- Check around the home for other areas where water supply lines are located in unheated areas. Look in the basement, crawl space, attic, garage, and under kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Both hot and cold water pipes in these areas should be insulated. A hot water supply line can freeze just as a cold water supply line can freeze if water is not running through the pipe, and the water temperature becomes cold.
- Consider installing specific products made to insulate water pipes like a “pipe sleeve” or installing UL-listed “heat tape,” “heat cable,” or similar materials on exposed water pipes. Many products are available at a building supplies retailer. Pipes should be carefully wrapped, with ends butted tightly and joints wrapped with tape. Follow manufacturer’s recommendations for installing and using these products. Newspaper can provide some degree of insulation and protection to exposed pipes
10 Tips for Hiring a Heating and Cooling Contractor
Published September 29, 2011 | 10 Tips for Hiring a Heating and Cooling Contractor
These are 10 excellent and highly recommended tips outlined by EnergyStar.gov to help you choose a reliable Heating and Cooling Contractor.
Ideas to Heating your Garage in the Winter
Published August 31, 2011 | Whether you use your garage for tinkering on projects or for just parking your vehicles, when winter comes, you’ll appreciate the warmth of a heated garage. Here are several ideas that help you.
- Making sure your garage is adequately insulated.
- Making sure the garage door seals to the garage floor
- Instating your garage door if it’s not.
- Using a portable type heater
- Propane heater (need to worry about fumes).
- Kerosene heater (need to worry about fumes).
- Gasoline heater (need to worry about fumes).
- Electric Heater
- Natural gas powered overhead blower/heater
- Electric overhead blower/heater.
- Electric baseboard.
- Hot water baseboard connected to a small circulatory pump, line voltage thermostat, and instant hot water on demand tank heater.
- Solar heat with a panel on the roof. In the short day light hours of winter time, it might not be too practical, but could be used for making hot water.
These are some of the ways you could heat your garage this winter.
We at CMC recommend that you contact us for a consultation on what would be the MOST cost and energy effective method to give you a nicely heated garage this winter.
Posted in Heating | Garage Heating, Garage Heating Farmington Hills, Garage Heating Redford, Garage Heating Rochester Hills, Garage Heating Royal Oak, Garage Heating Southfield, Garage Heating Sterling Heights, Garage Heating Troy, Garage Heating Warren, Garage Heating West Bloomfield, Heated Garage | Leave a comment10 Tips for Choosing a Good Plumber
Published May 10, 2011 | 10 Tips for Choosing a Good Plumber Great article that gives sound advise and excellent tips when choosing a good Plumber. (via Connect Utilities)
What’s a spring A/C maintenance entail?
Published April 8, 2011 | We recommend getting your air conditioning condenser and coil prepared for summer by a professional technician. Your condenser’s been getting snowed on all winter, so they will perform tests to make sure it’s running correctly. But it just begins there.
It’s always a good idea to check on your HVAC technician to ensure that work defined in your agreement is actually being done. At CMC Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, we take pride in our work, and want to see your air conditioning equipment have a long life.
Other items on our checklist include:
- Checking thermostat
- Checking or replace filter
- Checking for temperature drop
- Cleaning condenser coil
- Checking and adjusting air flow
- Checking electrical connections
- Checking amp and volt draw on motors
- Check refrigerant charge
- Lubricating moving parts
- Checking condenser drain
- Checking all capacitors
- Looking for refrigerant leaks
- Checking disconnect power box
Don’t wait until you’re already using your HVAC system to get it serviced by a quality technician. Air conditioner maintenance, like servicing your car, getting a physical, or any other activity involving maintenance, is meant to proactively prevent catastrophic issues from taking place.
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