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HVAC
If you notice your home is not heating properly, or your heating bill has recently increased, you may need to examine your furnace and flue. Your furnace’s exhaust stack, also known as the flue, vents fumes and carbon monoxide safely away from your home’s interior as you heat your home. Over time, the galvanized metal…
HVAC
How to Replace a Baseboard Heater Cover
A quick DIY way to update your home’s decor is to replace the baseboard heater cover with a new, unblemished model — and it’s easy enough for most homeowners to do by themselves. Replacing the cover gives you a chance to clean the unit inside, so you may see better performance, too. Positioned low to…
HVAC
Heater Covers: What You Need to Know
As much as we love heating equipment here at Modernize, we also understand that it isn’t usually the most attractive thing in a home. Baseboard heaters, radiators, and central heating registers tend to detract from your home’s overall appeal, rather than add to it. But there is one way to cope with these common household…
Other Home Projects
How to Increase the Energy Efficiency of a Fireplace
How to Increase the Energy Efficiency of Your Fireplace Fireplaces generate a lot of heat — when you’re standing right in front of them. Unfortunately, when the fire is out, they can suck warm air from the room and send it up the chimney, which wastes energy and leaves the room feeling cold. But with…
Other Home Projects
Warning: Learn These Home Heating Fire Hazards
Heating your home with poorly maintained equipment is like playing with fire—sometimes quite literally! Even if you don’t have a fireplace with an open flame, you could be putting the safety of your home and family at risk. Especially if you slack off on monitoring the condition and performance of your heating systems. While heating…
Other Home Projects
What Should I Turn the Thermostat to During the Day?
What’s the ideal temperature to set your thermostat to during the day? Like many homeowners, you might often wonder about just how high or low you need to set your furnace or AC to run when you’re away from home. You probably already know that it wastes money to heat or cool your homes when…
HVAC
Filters 101: HVAC Filtration Options
Many homeowners visit their local home improvement center to purchase a new HVAC filter and find a massive wall of filters in various sizes, types and efficiency ratings. Purchasing the right sized filter that meets your filtration requirements can be a daunting task — this post will explain the different HVAC filter options available as…
Plumbing
Tips to Save Energy at Home: Water Heating
1. Install Low-Flow Faucets and Showerheads Low-flow faucets and showerheads reduce water use while maintaining strong water pressure, so comfort stays the same. Look for fixtures with the WaterSense label, which certifies efficiency without performance loss. Also check the gallons per minute (gpm) rating — lower numbers mean less hot water used and less energy…