Winter Emergency Heating Services Boulder City

The costs associated with Boulder City's emergency HVAC services are typically higher because those demands are of a more urgent nature. They require immediate attention that can't be scheduled during normal working hours. And when you look at the services themselves—usually involving some sort of replacement or major repair—you're sometimes dealing with extra-labor and extra-material costs that can really add to the bottom line.

To get your HVAC system ready for the winter in Boulder City, first, make an appointment for an expert maintenance check to guarantee the unit operates safely and efficiently. Change the air filters. The better the air filters, the better the internal air quality, which positively impacts the performance of the HVAC system. Duct leakage can drop the efficiency of an HVAC system; therefore, checking for ductwork leaks is essential. If it's been a while since you've adjusted the heating thermostat, now is definitely time to check it. If you've never had a programmable thermostat, maybe now is the time to invest in one. Ensure that any and all vents are wide open and clear for the winter. Blocked vents can drop the performance of the entire unit. Finally, clean the exterior components of the unit to ensure that they will operate efficiently throughout the winter.

Boulder City's emergency heating service costs can vary widely. They might depend on the service provider, the kind of heating equipment that the customer has, and the exact nature of the heating emergency. Most Boulder City emergency heating services seemed to charge around $100 per hour, but I found Boulder's Service Center quoting only $75 to start. I called Weather Today, Inc., and they quoted $125. I called one more service provider, who refused to give me a quote, saying that it’s hard to estimate anything when it’s so cold outside.

Emergency heating systems are generally less efficient and more costly to run than regular heating systems. Emergency heat usually depends on electric resistance heating, which consumes a lot of energy and can drive up the thermostat amounts you pay after the month is up. Moreover, using it more than a few times over the course of a winter can lead to worn parts in your heating system that might fail without warning. And if your emergency heat doesn't use electric resistance, you might be using something even clumsier, like a heat pump with not enough electricity to work, which is quite the opposite of efficient and effective.

How long you can safely run your Boulder City unit in emergency heat mode depends on several things, like what kind of unit you have and how big it is, what kind of fuel it uses, and how severe the winter weather is. If they're typical for the industry, your emergency setting and your actual unit should be very close to each other in function. That said, ten hours, if you're getting really close to the emergency scenario, might be your cap as far as a single day without refueling or turning your unit back to regular mode goes, but that's not an industry figure. If your unit has no fuel source or can only run on electricity, then you're risking burnout or electrical shorts if you run your emergency any longer than that.

Indeed, calling on emergency heating services in Boulder City can escalate your energy bills. Backup systems, on which the emergency heating service often relies, are less energy efficient and use more energy than the usual heating setup. This means that having an emergency service come and make your heating system actually heat (as opposed to not heating at all) is likely to cost you more than if you were, for example, just relying on regular heating that was mostly doing its job.

Emergency heating can be a burden on the pocketbook. The systems most typically used for emergency heat, like portable electric heaters, are not what you would rely on for cheap and efficient warmth. The opposite is true! Those sorts of emergency solutions usually come with extremely high energy costs. Why is that? Well, not only are the systems we use not particularly energy-efficient, they're also powered by energy sources that aren't inexpensive. On top of that, there's the issue of just how urgent this kind of heating is: when we need emergency heat, we typically need it fast and we need it now. That's not the kind of service that comes at a discount. And just when you think it can't get any worse, consider the supply chain issues.

Relying on emergency heat all winter is not a good plan. Emergency heat—which typically comes from electric resistance heaters—is really intended for use only when your main heating system is on the fritz and needs immediate repairs. Still, some folks have unwittingly used it as a "go-to" heating method for more prolonged periods. These unseasonably chilly bills had a lot of people panicking. In my case, using oh so much KWH of electricity for heating likely racked up a hefty monthly bill.

It is not recommended to leave your thermostat set to emergency heat for a long time. This setting is not designed for extended use and consumes far more energy than your standard heating methods. This is because emergency heat works through a supplemental heating unit that is almost always set to run in an electric resistance mode. "Electric resistance heating is not efficient," says Bob Lonn, an engineer with the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program. In fact, Lonn goes on to say that if your heat pump has a supplemental unit, the unit is most likely not very efficient at all.

Usually, in winter, it's advisable to keep the house at a comfortable level when you are home and about. That's generally around 68°F (20°C), though of course, you should always set it to whatever feels comfortable for you and your family. When you set back your thermostat by 7-10°F for 8 hours while you are sleeping or away, you can trim your energy use and save money on heating.