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Have you considered zone heating?

1/30/2014

Have you been feeling sympathy for your hard working furnace, or boiler lately? Or worried about your next natural gas bill??
We are experiencing a particularly cold winter this year in Southern Ontario, so it is no surprise that we keep hearing the same concerns from multiple clients..
Concerns about homes that still feel chilly, even while the thermostat is turned up and the furnace or boiler rarely takes a break. All the while there are the fears of enormous utility bills due to thermostats being cranked way up, to try and fight the chill of record breaking outside temps.
Unfortunately, you could be fighting a losing battle - especially if you live in a drafty, or under insulated home.
A great solution to consider, if this is your predicament, is one we often suggest to our customers.

ZONE HEATING

Think about the room, or rooms you use most often. Imagine that room having a separate heat source, such as a cozy gas fuelled fireplace, that it used when that particular room is occupied. This would allow you to turn DOWN your central heating thermostat - while maintaining a very comfortable temperature in the room that is most often used. Your furnace works hard constantly to maintain a steady temperature throughout your home, whether the entire home is being used or not.

While zone heating can be a comforting bonus in the depths of winter, it can also be of great help during the spring and fall months. With a fireplace keeping your zone comfortable, you'll be one of the first to turn your furnace/boiler off in Spring, and last to fire it back up in the Fall!

Not only is zone heating with a gas fireplace a great solution to your house heating dilemmas, but as a bonus, they also look great! And perhaps the biggest bonus of all, is the peace of mind in knowing that your gas fireplace requires no electricity to operate. Therefore, it will continue to heat your zone even during a power outage, while your other heating systems will not.

Think about giving your central heating system, and your wallet a break by implementing a bit of zone heating in your home!

Give us a call to schedule a completely free, no obligation consultation and quote with our fireplace specialist.

Give us a call!

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Another Great Fireplace Installation by Family Comfort

1/23/2014

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We are big fans Valor Fireplaces. Many of Valor's timeless designs are based on fireplaces and stoves of the past. The best way to describe a Valor Fireplace, is by comparing it to a historical home that has been expertly modernized, in terms of it's interior mechanical workings, while taking great care to preserve it's exterior charm and character.

Here is a past installation of a Valor 738 natural gas insert. In this project, the unit was built into custom cabinetry, in a cozy family room.

Luckily this homeowner's installation was completed prior to Ontario's December 2013 ice storm. Our clients were without hydro for three full days, but were able to keep their home heated with the help of two gas fireplaces installed in the house.

Chimney liner has been dropped, and gas lines have been run. Now time for the fun part..

Leak testing the gas line.

Clean up!

Final adjustments are made to ensure the insert is level, and fitted correctly into the firebox before the logs are placed and trim/accessories installed.

The fireplace running..and warming us up after a particularly cold day spent working outside, and up on a roof!! FYI our photography is crooked, the fireplace is not!

A beautiful project completed. Sadly we can not take credit for the beautiful custom cabinetry work!

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Fun Facts about Natural Gas

1/19/2014

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Here are some fun and interesting facts about natural gas, courtesy of Spectra Energy. Some of them might surprise you!

Fueled by natural gas

This city bus runs on clean burning, low emission producing natural gas.

» Natural gas arrived in the home during the first century A.D. in Persia. It seeped from the ground and was ignited by lightning, producing an 'eternal flame' that burned day and night. Seeking to take advantage of this continuous heating source - and since pipelines wouldn't come around until the 1800's - the king of Persia built his royal kitchen next to it.

» Besides being a heating fuel, natural gas has other cool uses ... like chilling the glycol used to produce ice for hockey and skating rinks.

» Many NFL teams tackle cold weather by warming their fields using tubes heated with natural gas. This lets the turf grow in the winter.

» Museums use natural gas-fueled equipment to help maintain the proper humidity for the conservation of art, fabrics and historic papers.

» If all the natural gas pipelines in the U.S. were connected to each other they would stretch to and from the moon almost three times.

» Did you know that increased shale gas activity is expected to generate at least $37 billion in government revenues by 2020 and $57 billion by 2035? (IHS Global Insight) These types of revenues can help fund many items, such as road construction and provide other services.

» Rembrandt Peale, a famous portrait painter, founded the first natural gas utility in Baltimore in 1816 after using natural gas as an energy source to light an exhibit at his museum and gallery.

» William Hart dug the first natural gas well in the U.S. outside Fredonia, New York, in 1821. The well was about 27 feet deep compared to today's wells which can run more than 30,000 feet deep.

» The Philadelphia Zoo uses natural gas to cool a greenhouse for a rare bird and one of the most endangered species in the world, the Micronesian Kingfisher.

» Every hour on the hour in the evenings, a volcano erupts in front of the MGM Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. It's fueled by pina colada-scented natural gas.

» Slightly more than half of the homes in the United States use natural gas as their main heating fuel.

» We depend on natural gas to go about our daily lives. More than half the homes in the U.S. are heated by natural gas. And did you know it's used to manufacture items such as paper, fertilizer, brick, photo film, even medicine.

» Natural gas in its pure form is colorless and odorless. Utility companies add the smell of rotten eggs - a product called mercaptan - to make natural gas detectable.

» There are approximately four million Americans employed either directly or indirectly by the natural gas industry - America's 'Blue Jobs.'

» Did you take out the trash this morning? If so, thank natural gas, which is used to help manufacture trash bags.

» A study from America's Natural Gas Alliance reveals that if natural gas was an actual U.S. state, it would rank 12th in gross domestic product - just behind Virginia.

» There are more than 120,000 natural gas vehicles on American roads, as many companies and municipalities are deploying fleets of natural-gas powered vehicles to reduce emissions.

» Did you know that North America has more natural gas than Saudi Arabia has oil? As a nation, we must continue our focus on safely and responsibly developing this clean-burning, sustainable and versatile energy resource.

» Natural gas complements renewable technologies such as wind and power, providing the necessary low-emission backup generation.

» Natural gas is efficient. About 90 percent of the gas produced is delivered to customers as usable energy. Greater efficiency means fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

» Pipelines make new gas supplies accessible. In fact, according to the Energy Information Administration, there are 300,000 miles of intrastate and interstate natural gas transmission pipelines in the United States.

» North America reaps huge benefits from domestically abundant natural gas. In fact, proved domestic reserves are their highest in 40 years and domestic production is the strongest since 1974, according to the American Gas Association.

» Storage facilities help meet large and immediate natural gas demands. In fact, from November to March, consumers get 15-to-20 percent of their natural gas from stored gas, according to the American Gas Association.

A professional gas range, built for a chef (or professional home cook!)

» It's dinner time! A national survey shows that 80 percent of Canadian executive chefs prefer cooking with natural gas, according to the Canadian Gas Association. Chefs cited the speed and the outstanding quality of natural gas as the top two reasons they prefer cooking with natural gas.

» When used to generate electricity natural gas burns cleaner than other fuel sources, with less pollutants and no mercury. This means cleaner air in our communities.

» Between 2005 and 2010, natural gas companies contributed, on average, more than $4.4 billion per year in gas royalty payments to the federal government. (Source: IHS Global Insight, 2010)

» Natural gas development creates jobs. Did you know that more than 600,000 Americans are directly employed by natural gas development? (Source: IHS Global Insight, 2010)

» Did you know that to provide 1,000 households with electricity for one year, only .3 acres is needed to operate an electric generation facility powered by natural gas? In fact, the land requirements are significantly less than a facility operated by solar or wind, which require 6 acres.

» Did you know that in a single year the average U.S. home uses 665,720 U.S. gallons of natural gas? (Source: The Natural Gas Supply Association)

» Who uses the most natural gas? Power generators, which provide electricity to homes and businesses. In fact, it's estimated that more than 80 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas will be needed for power generation by the year 2030. To put this into perspective, 80 bcf/d of natural gas could power at least 400 million homes.

» Did you know that a modest increase in natural gas supply from shale deposits would generate more than 400,000 new jobs in the United States, more than $132 billion in U.S. economic output and $4.4 billion in new annual tax revenues? (Source: BlueJobs.org)

» Did you know that storing natural gas not only helps mitigate disruptions to service, it also helps reduce price volatility and manage weather-induced demand spikes?

Thanks to Spectra energy for these interesting, and little known facts about natural gas. We've even learned some!

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Always hire a TSSA licensed gas technician

1/15/2014

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Gas work is serious business, and at Family Comfort we take our work very seriously. When gas work is done professionally, it is done to code that is written and mandated by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority. When this code is followed to the letter, as it is here at Family Comfort, natural gas heating sources and appliances will perform exceptionally safely and trouble free. When code is not followed, usually the result of the work being done by an unlicensed technician or "handyman", the results can be devastating. When hiring a gas technician to do anything in your home that relates to natural gas, no matter how small, please be diligent and be sure to ask the right questions:

- Are you a certified gas technician, licensed by the CSA?
- Do you carry liability insurance that adequately protects me, when you are working in my home?
- Are you a TSSA licensed contractor? (a quick call to the TSSA can easily verify the info as well)

Cheapest is not best, especially when it comes to your safety. Professional licensed contractors pay hefty fees, insurance premiums, and are audited regularly by the TSSA to maintain their accreditations. They are continuously brought up to date when gas code changes, and regularly attend training to stay current in their field. Gas work is specialized work. The story below emphasizes the importance of hiring only licensed technicians:

http://www.tssa.org/CorpLibrary/ArticleFile.asp?Instance=136&ID=E088979C509711E3A788000C2922855A

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Why Natural Gas?

12/12/2013

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Thinking about converting your water heater, clothes dryer, stove, fireplace, or barbecue to natural gas? Natural gas is a safe, convenient, planet friendly and cost effective alternative to other fuel sources.

Consider the benefits..

Safety
Natural gas has an enviable safety record! Natural gas is non-toxic, and lighter than air which allows it to dissipate rapidly in well-ventilated areas. When used properly, it is one of the safest and most convenient energy sources.
Despite being naturally odourless and colourless, a gas leak is highly detectable due to the chemical odourant called "mercaptan" that is added to it, for increased safety. The industry is very closely regulated. Licenced Gas Technicians are held to rigorous standards. They are well trained, and audited regularly by the Technical Standards and Safety Association to ensure proper adherence to the Ontario gas code.

Environment
Natural gas is an extremely clean burning fuel, producing very few emmissions. When burned cleanly, natural gas releases heat, water vapour and carbon dioxide.
Coal, oil and wood on the other hand, release a variety of potentially harmful chemicals into the air when burned, as they are far more chemically complex. When natural gas replaces other fuels, greenhouse gas emissions are significantly reduced.

Cost
According to Enbridge Gas, "over the past five years, natural gas has been about 63 per cent less expensive
than electricity and about 64 percent less expensive than oil".
Consider also that electric heating, which is generated from coal or other fossil fuels, is only 30 percent efficient.
Natural gas heating by comparison, is 94 percent efficient!

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GEAR UP FOR WINTER

10/24/2013

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It's mid-October in the Golden Horseshoe. The escarpment is at it's most beautiful...auburn and ochre coloured leaves abound.
The familiar sound of crisp leaves being crushed underfoot is soothing, yet a grim reminder that winter chill is around the corner. We've had an unseasonably beautiful and warm fall, but the winds are changing and the cold is on it's way. What better time to think about a complete fireplace clean and service.
A fireplace clean and service ensures that your fireplace is running at it's peak performance and efficiency level, all winter long. It also greatly reduces the chance of a mid-winter breakdown.
Our technician will perform a complete checklist of services to ensure your fireplace meets health, safety and efficiency standards. Of particular concern is testing to make sure that combustion gasses (including carbon monoxide) are flowing out of your home, and that nothing is flowing back in. Although many of us take our hardworking fireplaces for granted, hoping that they will continue to keep us warm and toasty with out any special care; the truth is that your fireplace needs the same type of attention as your furnace does. Your natural gas fireplace is an investment that not only increases your daily comfort, but also your home's value. An annual service and clean will ensure that it continues to perform at it's peak efficiency, for many years.

Please ask us about our "Gear up for winter" service.

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Have you considered zone heating?

Another Great Fireplace Installation by Family Comfort

Fun Facts about Natural Gas

Always hire a TSSA licensed gas technician

Why Natural Gas?

GEAR UP FOR WINTER

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