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Showing posts from 2016

What to do when you home doesn't react well to winter weather

There is a lot that can go wrong with your house in the cold. Winter has arrived here in the northeast right on time compared to last year when it didn't show up at all and the year before that when it showed up a month late. When the cold weather comes so can a lot of problems around your house. As we know water freezes at 32 degrees, this can happen in your home even if you have the thermostat set at 50, 55, 60, or even 65.  The pipes that carry water throughout your home can freeze and cause a great deal of damage. The rate and chances of your pipes freezing depends on the inside temp and the outdoor temps and weather conditions. On a typical winter day where the temp is in the twenties or thirties as long as you keep your house somewhere in the 60's and have decent insulation you'll have a pretty low risk of any pipes freezing inside your home.  Once the temps start to drop in November you should close any outdoor water taps and bring in any hoses. Make sure to g

Best of Central Mass

What does it mean to be the best? On December 1st the Telegram & Gazette, a local newspaper here in Worcester held it's first Best of Central Mass awards. These awards covered several different categories from best restaurant, to best university, to best home store, to best heating and cooling company, and many more.  What does it mean to be the best though? For each category it could mean something different but when you're voted on by the residents of the region then it means that you're doing something right.  People and more importantly customers know your name and know that you do something better than others that do the same thing as you. For the winner of the Heating and Cooling Company, ckSmithSuperior  it means that they provide a needed service to thousands of homeowners and businesses in Central Mass better than dozens of others.  The competition, pun intended is hot in Central Mass for heating and cooling companies. With a lot of companies providi

Propane for the entire Home

What comes to mind when you think of propane? New England is one of the most popular places in the country for oil heated homes, Propane is much more popular in the midwest and the west coast. That leaves many of us to associate propane with one of it's arguably best uses, grilling.  Propane  can be used for a number of things throughout your home, from heating your entire home, to heating your water, keeping your pool open longer, drying your clothes, cooking your dinner, and much more.  The question for many oil or electric homes that have an interest in converting to propane is, what is involved? To convert any home to propane, first you'll need a tank. Similar to oil, propane heat requires a tank to store the gas that is used by your home's equipment. A difference between oil and propane in terms of the tank is the location. Propane tanks have to be located outside of the home while oil tanks traditionally are found in the basement of the home. Having a tank instal

What do to do when inclement weather hits

What to do when the weather is frightful With hurricane Matthew hitting the Caribbean and Accuweather publishing it's winter weather prediction for the country. Calling for frequent storms in the northeast it can lead some to wonder what they should do when bad weather strikes. In the event of a snow storm or a blizzard like what we saw in 2013 the most important thing to do is to stay inside once the storm starts. As we all know road conditions can deteriorate quickly, in most cases it is best to let the storm run it's course.  To prepare for a blizzard it's important to have an emergency kit for your home in the event that you lose power. The kit should include a flashlight, a first aid kit, non-perishable food, batteries, matches in a waterproof container, toothbrush and toothpaste, soap or body wash, paper papers and plastic utensils, water, sleeping bag, manual can opener, and pet supplies.  Now you many only be without for a few hours and all of these supplie

Just wait five minutes the weather will change

New England Weather is Ever Changing. La Nina, El Nino's little sister, cousin, crazy aunt was and may still arrive for winter 2016, however it looks like there will be a much lower chance of it arriving. The NOAA also believes that it does arrive it will show up much later than originally thought. As the old saying goes wait a minute the weather will change, it seems like the same applies for the weather predictions. La Nina is the opposite of El Nino, where El Nino brought a warm water bubble in the pacific ocean. La Nina is suppose to feature a cold water blob in the pacific ocean, La Nina has not taken a step that traditional La Nina's do. The cooling of water in specific spots that affect wind patterns has not occurred yet and has lead the NOAA to reduce it's chances of a La Nina happening from 70% to 40%. The NOAA now believes that we will have a neutral pacific weather pattern, neither an El Nino or a La Nina. What does that mean for our winter? It would appear

Types of Air Conditioning

What to do what to do to stay cool To be honest I started looking around the internet for Central Air units because of the massive heat wave/ heat index rise that has been floating over the Northeast. While I work for a heating and cooling company, I just bought a house that I don't want and can't do major work to, yet. That didn't mean I haven't asked around to figure what is involved. My home doesn't have ductwork as it is a forced hot water boiler heated home. I have baseboards in all the rooms that bring heat to the rooms, meaning that I can't just add central air conditioning to the ductwork in my home. That doesn't mean that I can't add ductwork to the attic of my home to get central ac. There are several different types of AC that you can have installed in your home, which we've talked about here before. Central AC, Mini-Split ductless AC, Window AC, and Portable (not even worth the hassle) each have their own benefits and downfalls.

La Nina Winter

There is a Strong Chance of a Weak La Nina This past winter we experienced one of the strongest El Nino's the planet has ever seen and it brought with it a much warmer than average winter. This was a nice rest for many homeowners after the past two winters that brought exceptionally cold weather and snow. Since the El Nino has ended meteorologists have been looking to see if a La Nina will arrive. La Nina is the cousin or sister of El Nino. Which is caused by the warming of water in the pacific ocean, La Nina is caused by the cooling of water in the pacific ocean. La Nina's have three different strengths weak, moderate, and strong and each has varying effects on the weather here in the Northeast. By all accounts we are looking at a strong chance of a weak La Nina starting in the Fall or Winter. A weak La Nina brings cool or colder area to the Northeast more inline with a traditional winter. It looks like we will also have to deal with more snow in the second have of the se

Summer Heat

This is Going to be one for the Record Books We've been experiencing a wide arrange of extreme weather over the past few years, from a year of monthly global temperature records, to record setting cold last winter to record setting warmth this past winter and a relatively mild summer last year.  This summer looks to be a more traditional hot summer for us in New England. The Weather Channel has published there 3 month temperature prediction for June through August and as you see above, we're in for a hot summer.  That will mean a lot of fans and/or AC's running to keep you cool. This could also mean a lot of time in the pool or by the beach. When it comes to keeping cool inside of your home, it's important to make sure that you're mini-split and central AC's are properly maintained. Like your heating system, your cooling system needs to be properly maintained to keep running at it's optimal level. Having your cooling system running at it's o

La Nina Summer

We Could Experience much Warmer Temps this Summer Last year and even the year before that we talked about El Nino and boy did it come, we saw one of the mildest winters this past winter. Now what, El Nino is the warming of the waters in the pacific, but what happens after the water has warmed? After the warm has warmed, it naturally cools off this is called La Nina. Traditionally La Nina follows El Nino's and present the opposite effects of El Nino. Of course La Nina don't always follow El Nino's, in the past we've seen El Nino's that extend into the next winter or La Nina's that extend for several years. For this year most weather outlets are predicting that we'll see a La Nina arrive around Fall or Winter. To understand what we might see this summer we have to look at last year. For 2015 we didn't see the real El Nino until mid fall and it continued through mid winter, but its effects were seen during the summer.  It brought us unseas

Spring Outlook

Only in New England Spring is rhere and it has felt like we've been in Spring off and on for the past couple of weeks. It sure has been an odd winter, like last year it was one for the record books. This winter we had the most days at 50 degrees or above during December, January, and February, but only in New England could you have a 50 degree day followed by negative 15... As for this Spring it is shaping up to be warmer than average, just like our winter.   While this is the average temperature is suppose to be higher than what we're use to, this doesn't mean that winter is going anywhere. We've seen temperatures this winter, since March is still winter, range from -14 to 75 here in New England. This weekend, as winter comes to its official end we could get a Nor'easter dumping a foot of snow on us.  Only in New England could we have one week where we see two days in a row in the 70's and most days in the week in the 50's and 60's and the fo

Brutal Cold

How to prepare for the cold Starting this afternoon, Friday February 12th through this Sunday the Northeast will see the coldest temperatures of the Winter. Temperatures will barely make it out of the single digits and feel like temperatures could reach -20's by Sunday morning due to powerful wind chills.  This can lead to a wide range of issues from frozen pipes, fuel run outs, and broken system due to over working. It is also important to understand the damage this kind of cold can do to your body with prolonged exposure. It is important to keep your home's thermostat set to at least 65 degrees through this weekend. This is the best way to keep your pipes from freezing inside of your home. The most vulnerable pipes are those that are in external facing walls, this walls will be hit with extremely strong wind burst. You can buy insulating covers and temperature activated heating tape for your pipes at your local hardware store. These shouldn't be an issue in newer h

Winter Weather

As an Oil or Propane Customer what should I do when snow is in the forecast? This weekend, parts of New England could see a considerable amount of snow. What does this mean for Oil and Propane home here, well not much is changing temperature wise.  However, snow in most cases worries customers and leads many to request an additional or quicker delivery of fuel. In some cases it's enough to push those that have been holding off on getting a delivery to get a delivery. When you see snow in the forecast and you are an automatic delivery customer, you can rest assured that your company should already have your next delivery planned. Most good fuel companies use a program that determines how much fuel your home uses a season. That means that when you get a delivery there is a good chance that your company will have an idea of when you should need another one.  This can change with temperature fluctuations as they normally use the average temp, but they will monitor changes in the