I confess I’m a fan of decorating shows. It began with “Trading Spaces”; the cardboard wallpaper room was my favorite episode. I’m now under no illusions that my neighbors are clamoring to decorate my “space” so I have progressed to watching “Clean House” just to make myself feel better there are people with more stuff than me. (Oh admit it; you watch for the same reason. It’s like gawking at the woman with the ghastly hairdo.)
These shows are great for decorating ideas but not so good when it comes to energy efficiency. They often suggest installing recessed lighting to add a little zip to your indoor space. Recessed lighting is essentially cutting holes in your ceiling. Heat rises, right? Fancy term - the stack effect. Common term - money leaking from your ceiling. Avoid recessed lighting unless you’re fond of supporting your local utility company. If you already have recessed lighting, don’t fret. We can seal those lights and make them airtight. (Then we’ll slap your hand and tell you not to do it again.)
Thinking of redecorating? Avoid recessed lighting when you have a choice. If you already have them, seal what you have. What’s it look like? I’m glad you asked.
No, that’s not a cowboy hat for a large dog. It’s a seal kit. The answer to those holes in your ceiling. We can install these on our next maintenance or service visit. Then you can get back to gluing cardboard to your neighbor’s walls. (And posting the “For Sale” sign out in your front yard when they’ve realized what you’ve done.)
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Holtkamp Heating & Air Conditioning of Buford, GA is privileged to announce the winner of its annual “Helping Heroes” program. Helping Heroes was started to celebrate local residents who have proven their dedication to their community, family or church.
The 2010 winner is Calvin Jones of Lawrenceville. Calvin was nominated by a fellow parishioner at McKendree United Methodist Church. He and Brenda have been members for 26 years and both sing in the choir. He volunteers countless hours through his church, most notably as Disaster Response Coordinator on the Missions Committee and has participated in over 20 mission trips both here in the U.S. and abroad, including Mexico, Costa Rica, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi. Cal has served as head cook for the Annual Chicken BBQ at McKendree United Methodist that raises money for missions work.
Cal also participates in food drives for the Lawrenceville CoOp. He takes great pride in the bi-annual Great Day of Service which focuses on helping Gwinnett County Senior Citizens. He has also participated in Habitat for Humanity in Gwinnett County, Cumming and in a Methodist Children’s Home cottage rebuild.
Calvin has an adopted daughter who is currently in middle school. He and his wife, Brenda, have sponsored several foster children before adopting. Five months ago, Brenda had a negative reaction to anesthesia and has been in the hospital battling numerous infections and is still on a ventilator. Cal continues to work his full time job at Icon Software in Suwanee while caring for both his daughter and Brenda.
Calvin has been awarded a fully installed Trane High Efficiency Furnace and Aprilaire Whole House Filtration System designed specifically for his home. This will provide a warmer, more comfortable environment in preparation for Brenda’s homecoming. Please join Holtkamp Heating and Air Conditioning in celebrating the life and service of Calvin Jones!
Cal Jones and Matthew Holtkamp
Kevin installing the new unit
All done and looking good!
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As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Georgia residents will be eligible for rebates after buying Energy Star rated appliances, such as refrigerators, heatpumps and furnaces. Rebates up to $1200 per home are available beginning Feb. 12 on a first come, first served basis, i.e. when the money runs out, it runs out.
Courtesy of Brad Norman at Georgia Power, we’d like to bring your attention to a few details:
1) Rebates are paid out in the from of Visa debit cards to customers.
2) Customers are responsible for submitting their rebate application, not the dealer or store.
3) Note there is not an end date listed. The state of GA is receiving $8.6 million. Once the funds are gone, they are gone. There is no guarantee how long the funds will last. Call 1-866-296-1633 to ensure funds are still available or visit www.GeorgiaRebate.com.
4) Customers will qualify for both $199 rebates if they purchase an EnergyStar Dual Fuel system ($398) because they are considered two different appliances.
5) Customer must fill out a separate rebate application for each appliance (Dual Fuel = 2 systems - 1 for furnace, 1 for heat pump)
6) Limit $1200 per household
7) Customers may apply for one rebate per category, meaning you cannot claim for 2 heat pumps or 2 furnaces.
To find out the details and exactly how much is offered for each appliance, click here for the Georgia Fact Sheet. And of course, feel free to give us a call if a new heat pump or furnace is in your future. With all the rebates and tax credits available right now, it’s a smart time to replace an inefficient system!
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Thanks so much to all of you who nominated a hero for our first annual Helping Heroes Program. We had dozens of entries and the stories were extremely inspiring as neighbor recognized neighbor for their heroic involvement in family, community and church. After much deliberation, we are privileged to announce Calvin Jones of Suwanee as our Helping Hero for 2010. Calvin has won a completely installed high efficiency Trane heating system and Aprilaire Whole House Air Filtration System. Look for a complete profile of Calvin in the next week and his heroic journey showing why he won this awesome prize. Congratulations Calvin. You’re our hero!
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Whenever a cold snap hits – lower than 25 degrees here in Atlanta Metro – your furnace or heat pump may seem to run constantly, leading you to believe that perhaps your unit is too small and unable to keep up. There is a simple explanation for this. Every unit is installed with a “set point”. This is a temperature determined by the United States Air Force Weather Data Service that reflects the typical coldest winter day for the area.
Our set point here in the Atlanta area is 21 degrees F. That means that whenever the temp dips below 21 degrees, your heating system should theoretically run nonstop in order to overcome the cold. In fact, once an outside temp reaches below 21, your indoor temp could be several degrees below the thermostat setting. This is perfectly normal.
Why do our heating systems need a set point? A set point is used to correctly size a system before installation. By knowing where the furnace or heat pump will be installed, the installing company can determine how big the unit needs to be to keep up with the area’s weather. A correctly sized furnace or heat pump makes the home comfortable by eliminating hot and cold spots because it doesn’t needlessly cycle on and off, giving short hot bursts of air following by cold drafts. Eliminating short cycling also prolongs a system’s life and reduces your utility usage. A correctly sized unit is integral to both comfort and efficiency.
So just remember, cold snaps mean your furnace or heat pump will run constantly until the temp warms up a little and then the normal patterns will continue. However, if you still feel you’re having a problem with your unit, give us a call. We’d be happy to help!
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Hard to believe we’re ready to usher in a brand new year. This past year has proven challenging, but the new year brings an air of new promise and blessings. We’re excited to announce the launch of a new program called “Helping Heroes”. Its purpose is to honor the true American Spirit found in dedicated, hard-working people here in our community.
Amid this past year’s uncertainty, many around us may be feeling the burdens of economic stress, job loss, and overbearing expenses. They are in their own rite heroes to their families, communities, and churches as they work to fulfill their obligations. Many are too proud to ask for help and that’s where you come in!
Holtkamp Heating & Air is giving away at no charge an installed high-efficiency Trane heating system to a family in our community. Do you know someone who fits the definition of “hero” and is in need of our services? Click here to complete the simple online nomination form. We will accept nominations through January 22, 2010. The winner will then be chosen and the new system installed in late January. We’ll post their hero story and picture on this blog so you can celebrate with us.
Thank you for taking the time to share your Hero story. Together we can begin 2010 with purpose and peace.
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I’ve had a couple inquiries lately about our service area and realized it’s not posted anywhere on our site! So until we remedy that situation, here are the areas we serve: Buford, Sugar Hill, Suwanee, Cumming, Braselton, Hoschton, Oakwood, Dacula, Lawrenceville, Duluth, Norcross, Lilburn, Alpharetta, Roswell, Atlanta 30350, Atlanta 30345, Dunwoody 30338, Chamblee, Doraville, Tucker, Decatur.
We are always expanding our service area so if you are not listed above, still give us a call to doublecheck. If not, we would be happy to refer you to another quality contractor!
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Well, we’re parents again. Not sure if we should celebrate or have an omelette. Huh? We were rewarded with our first egg last Saturday at 2:34 p.m. (Yes, I know the exact time it happened.) Lucy, our buff orpington chicken, started acting a little funny and walking in and out of the coop, which she never does. She usually stays outside to cluck at every man, woman, and SUV that comes down the driveway. All the sudden she reimerged all prancy-like. I ran over to the nesting boxes and lifted the lid and wahoo, a nice, warm, very clean brown egg. Knew you’d want pictures. Here they are! (It’s 2 inches and 1.5 oz. just for the record.)
Our Lucy, Star of Holtkamp House
Lucy, and the other slacker chickens
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It’s almost turkey time. I’ll bet you’re thinking about Aunt Polly’s stuffing and cozy fires with bunny slippers. Or maybe this is the year to break out that Snuggie for the football game. (Noted for another blog entry.) Which ever way you’re inclined, it’s time to get the facts on carbon monoxide and keep your family safe this winter.
We all know CO is bad. We know that every home should have a CO detector. But at what level does CO become dangerous? I did a little research and found that mild CO exposure is 70-100 ppm (parts per million) and causes flu like symptoms such as headache, sore eyes and runny nose. 150-300 ppm causes dizziness, drowsiness and vomiting. 400 ppm causes unconsciousness, brain damage and ultimately death. This is assuming you’re exposed for eight hours.
So then I took a little drive to check out the carbon monoxide detectors being sold in the big box stores and local family shopping arenas. Here’s what I found: hold on to your stuffing.
At 70 ppm (flu like stage), the big box store CO detector takes 60-240 minutes to alarm. At 150 ppm (the dizziness and vomiting point) it will alarm in 10-50 minutes. At 400 ppm, it will alarm in 4-15 minutes. Will I already be dead? I don’t mean to make light of this serious discussion but I’m thinking by the time this thing goes off, I’m already sick or on the floor. I don’t think it’s worth taking the chance. The Journal of Am. Med. Assoc. says the CO poisoning is the leading cause of accidental poisoning in America.
Contrast that to the CO detectors we recommend and install - they alarm at 5 ppm within 30 seconds. No guessing there.
Smart ways (in addition to this CO detector) of limiting your exposure to CO? Professional, regular maintenance for your gas appliances (Our ComfortCare plan for your furnace.) Don’t use a BBQ indoors. Do not run your car inside the garage; back it out as soon as possible. Make sure your fireplace is vented properly. And never use a space heater indoors.
If you’d like more info on CO, watch our movie. We can help keep your family safe this heating season. So you can enjoy every one of those 36 meals you’ll have from this year’s turkey. Gobble gobble!
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We just returned from the annual Trane Dealer Conference in Washington D.C. We took advantage of the opportunity to drag the kids around D.C. for some educational experiences. During our tour of the Capitol, I was contemplating a very public display (but that’s another blog entry) when I faintly heard the tour guide explaining something about “the father of air conditioning”. She was pointing to a statue in the infamous Statuary Hall of John Gorrie, a physician from Florida credited with inventing the first refrigeration system! No joke. Thought you’d want to see his statue. Click here to read his full story.
A few days later we were taking in Mount Vernon (George Washington’s home). And much to our surprise, we discoverd the father of our country had his own way of keeping his cool. Check out his foot operated fan chair below!
Okay, so now you can never say that my blog doesn’t include a healthy dose of American culture. Enjoy!
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