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How To Prepare Your Air Conditioner for the Summer

June 14, 2021

If you’re like most families, you rely on your home air conditioning system to create a comfortable indoor environment. It’s never a good idea to simply turn on your AC unit and hope that it will run for the entire summer without a problem. Rather, it requires necessary maintenance steps in order for the system to run at its optimal function throughout the scorching hot summer months. Below are the necessary summertime preparation tips that you’ll need to ensure that your unit remains energy efficient this summer season. Clean Your Drain and Condensation Lines As your

How To Check Air Quality at Home

May 10, 2021

The air quality in your home has a direct effect on your health. That’s the main reason you want clean air at home. To ensure your family breathes healthy, clean air, you need to test it from time to time. Here is a simple guide on how you can check air quality in your Peoria, IL, home, provided to you by Bratcher Heating & Air Conditioning. Purchase Air Quality Monitor An air quality monitor will tell you exactly what the air quality in your home is like with clear, quantitative results. Look for a monitor that provides data on

Should I Turn Off My Gas Furnace in the Summer?

April 14, 2021

Summer weather will soon arrive in Peoria, IL, which means you won’t need the heat from your gas furnace. With the coolest nighttime temperatures dropping into the mid-50s in July and August, your home will be plenty warm without the furnace’s heat. Read on to learn about why it’s a good idea to shut down your furnace for the summer season as well as some benefits and a couple of drawbacks of making this decision. Why You Should Shut Down Your Gas Furnace Every Summer Gas furnaces that are more than 10 years old usually have

How Efficient is Geothermal Heating?

March 16, 2021

Geothermal heating is delivered by geothermal or ground-source heat pumps. If you plan to live in your Peoria, IL, home for a long time, a geothermal heat pump is an excellent investment in your comfort. These heat pumps have a long lifespan. The underground parts typically last for 50 years, and the parts that are above-ground have an average lifespan of 25 years. In addition to the lifespan of a heating system, it’s also important to consider its energy efficiency. Here’s what you need to know about how efficient geothermal heating systems are and what their energy efficiency ratings mean.

How To Improve Indoor Air Quality Naturally

February 11, 2021

When you think about pollution, your mind might instantly go to smog, industrial smokestacks or bumper-to-bumper traffic. However, the truth is that the air inside your own home can be even more polluted than the air outside. Many pollutants exist indoors due to household dust, conventional cleaners and building materials. Although indoor air pollution is a serious issue, there are certain steps you can take to improve your indoor air quality naturally. Clean Your Floors Regularly It’s very important to keep your floors clean. Whether you have hard surfaces or carpet, you should sweep, mop or vacuum as

How Does Geothermal Heating Work in the Winter?

January 21, 2021

You are tired of dealing with a furnace and the variable gas prices that go with it. You have heard great things about transitioning to a geothermal system, both in terms of operating costs and eco-friendliness. But you have also heard questions about how well these systems work during the coldest points of the Illinois winter. How does this system work, and will it be able to keep up with the bitter cold? How Do Geothermal Systems Work? To begin answering how well geothermal systems work in the bitter cold, you need to understand the basics of the

Best Practices to Minimize Wear and Tear On HVAC Systems

December 16, 2020

Having an HVAC system in Peoria, IL, means you’ll stay comfortable during the exceedingly cold winters and the humid summer months. Given the extremes of the weather here, your HVAC system is going to take a beating. To reduce this wear and tear, you must take care of it. Here are five ways to minimize the wear and tear on your HVAC system. 1. Change Your Air Filters Regularly When your air filters get clogged, your heating or cooling system has to work harder to push the air through. This puts unnecessary strain on your

Why is the Heat Pump Making Odd Noises?

November 19, 2020

Homeowners rely on their HVAC system to work properly to heat or cool their homes. Some may have a general idea about the parts inside the system, and such knowledge could allow a homeowner to keep a lookout for problems. If something’s wrong with the system, noises and other out-of-the-ordinary issues may raise alarms. When the heat pump starts to make odd sounds, a resourceful homeowner knows that the system requires an inspection. Unfortunately, there isn’t one single cause to point at when the unit makes odd sounds, but an experienced HVAC technician may be able to

6 Reasons Bigger HVAC Systems Are not Always Better

October 20, 2020

Many home and business owners mistakenly believe that purchasing the biggest HVAC system they can afford is always the best solution. This fact is especially true for individuals who are replacing an older system that did not adequately cool the home. The truth of the matter is that bigger is not always better when it comes to purchasing an air conditioning system. There are several reasons you come out much better by choosing a system with a size and design that is a match for the spaces you wish to cool. 1. Frequent On/Off Cycles

Why Upgrading Your Insulation Is Not a DIY Job

September 20, 2020

Adding insulation to your Peoria home is one of the best investments you can make. Adding insulation will help to keep your home more comfortable, reduce your energy costs, and increase your home’s value. However, all of these benefits assume that the insulation is installed correctly. Therefore, to receive the maximum benefit from your investment, it’s wise to have the pros at Bratcher Heating & Air Conditioning take-on your insulation installation project, even if you won’t get the satisfaction of doing the project yourself. Risk to Your Personal Safety Though the process of adding insulation is fairly straightforward, the places

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