John A. Kinkaid Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.

HVAC in a Time of COVID-19

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has changed the way most of us go about our daily lives. Home and business owners are left with questions like: Can COVID spread through HVAC systems?

Though it is difficult to measure, there is no definitive evidence that COVID-19 has been transmitted through an HVAC system. That said, there are several measures that can help curb the spread of the virus. Let’s take a look:

Humidity and COVID-19

Some research suggests that adding moisture to the air can damage the outer membrane of the virus. In fact, the lower levels of humidity most indoor spaces experience in the winter months create just the kind of environment that COVID-19 thrives in. The virus may also remain viable for longer periods of time in spaces with low humidity. This is an important factor to keep in mind, even in the summer, as increased humidity makes “droplets” less likely to linger in the air. An additional benefit to adjusting humidity levels is that it helps moisturize our mucous membranes, which can aid in the body’s ability to fight the virus.

The caveat of increased humidity is that too much moisture in the air can damage furnishings and finishes. It can also cause adverse health effects in some individuals. Consult with an HVAC professional to determine and set up optimal levels of humidity in your space.

Clean and Sanitize HVAC Equipment

Though it is unlikely that COVID-19 particles remain viable in an HVAC system for much time during lockdown, having equipment cleaned and sanitized has multiple benefits. It is a wise precaution if there have been confirmed cases of the virus in a space. In any event, cleaning your system lets it use less power, operate more efficiently and it keeps your equipment in good condition.

Ventilation

Increasing ventilation in a space by adding more outside air can help dilute any particles present. For more information on HVAC operations concerning the virus, check out this guide to building operations during the pandemic from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Call a Professional

Kinkaid proudly serves Montgomery, Bucks, Philadelphia and Chester Counties. We offer residential and commercial installation, and maintenance and repair on all makes and models of HVAC equipment. We also offer a variety of service plans and financing options. Contact us today to get started!

Is It Safe to Use Your Oven to Heat Your Home?

Safe to Use Your Oven to Heat Your Home

Nothing’s more frustrating than when your heater breaks and you have to wait in the winter cold to get it fixed. Sitting in your home, freezing and covered in layers of blankets can be hard to stand! Space heaters might help, but they can’t heat your entire home. And they can run up your electric costs! It seems like the easiest option would be to turn on your gas oven and leave it open for a while. Just a few minutes couldn’t hurt, right? In this week’s blog, we’ll answer the question, “Is It Safe to Use Your Oven to Heat Your Home?”

Is It Safe to Use Your Oven to Heat Your Home?

First, let’s make this short and simple: no. It is not safe to use your oven to heat your home. If you have a gas oven, leaving it open to heat your home releases harmful carbon monoxide throughout your home. Given some time, carbon monoxide can be fatal. Additionally, if you suffer from a lung condition such as asthma, emphysema, or other similar conditions, carbon monoxide can exacerbate your condition. And this might mean a hospital visit!

Now, you might wonder, “But didn’t they use ovens to heat their homes in the old days?” No, people actually used wood ovens to heat their homes. The oven would be connected to all sorts of pipes that ran throughout the home to keep it warm. But wood ovens do not use natural gas. Therefore, they do not release carbon monoxide.

Other Tips Besides Using Your Oven to Heat Your Home

Second, if you’ve chosen a subpar HVAC company who won’t be able to serve you for a while, consider these tips to help heat your home:

  • Open all your blinds, drapes, and curtains during the day. Close them at night.
  • Install storm windows on the outside of your home.
  • Close all your doors and focus on heating at least one room in your home.
  • Make sure your windows are locked and not just closed.

Go with Kinkaid Instead!

Since it isn’t safe to use your oven to heat your home, what else can you do? Call us at Kinkaid Heating and Air Conditioning! We’re the best HVAC company in the Philadelphia area. We’d love it if you reached out for a consultation. Don’t delay!

Benefits of a Routinely Clean A/C Filter

clean a/c filter

Getting your car oil changed, cleaning the microwave, clearing out your inbox, and having a clean A/C filter. These are all routine activities we feel like we can get away with not doing for a while. Who hasn’t gone a few extra thousand miles before getting their oil changed? Or let their inbox fill up with emails from 6 months ago? Seems innocent enough. But letting your A/C filter get dirty comes with certain risks. Below you’ll find just a few reasons why you should regularly clean your A/C filter.

Block Allergens

First, allergens slammed the Philadelphia-area this past Spring. Additionally, it seemed to run much later into the year than usual. Thus, if you’re allergic to pollen, you cannot afford to let your A/C filter get dirty. A clogged filter becomes more susceptible to tearing, thereby letting in all sorts of allergens. But with a habitually clean A/C filter, you don’t have to worry. While the allergens outside may challenge even the strongest allergy medicine you can take, you can trust you’ll breathe easy inside with a clean filter.

Keep Out Dust and Dirt

Second, not only does a clean A/C filter keep out pollen and other allergens, it also keeps out pollutants. Dust and dirt can not only irritate allergies, but also make your house dirty. With Summer comes humidity, causing dust and dirt to stick to everything it lands on. This can cause mold and mildew. Then, this can lead to spending more time and money on cleaning your house. Furthermore, as the dirt and dust gets sucked back into the return air vent, it will go through your AC unit, coating it and causing it to slow down and not work efficiently.

Clean A/C Filter = Better A/C

Third, a clean A/C filter is like having clean lungs. If your lungs stay clean and strong, they don’t have to work as hard. So, if you keep your A/C filter clean, your unit won’t have to work as hard to maintain the temperature you desire. Having a more efficient unit can lead to lower electrical bills. In addition, it helps keep every part of your unit clean and running smoothly. Thus, you don’t run the risk of needing an expensive repair or replacement in the future.

Clean A/C Filter with Kinkaid!

So, always keep that A/C filter clean! A clean A/C filter blocks allergens, helps keep your home clean, saves you money, and keeps your unit running smoothly. But if you need help cleaning your unit, or need a repair, reach out to us at Kinkaid! With over a century of experience in the HVAC industry, we’re a team you can trust.

Spring Storm Tips For Your Home

rain storm

Spring is here, and all that snow has turned to rain! It’s time to prepare your home for the spring storm season. Make sure it’s ready to handle even the fiercest storm. Here are 6 tips from the experts at John A. Kinkaid Heating & Air Conditioning:

1. Clean out those gutters

As always, it is important to keep gutters clean and free of debris. It is especially important during heavy rain, when water will be gushing through your gutter system. Keeping all gutters, drains, and downspouts clear of debris keeps the rain flowing away from your roof, walls, and foundation.

2. Maintain your sump pump

With all this rain, there is the potential for flooding. A sump pump helps drain excess water from your basement to prevent flooding in your home. Make sure the pump is clean, operable, and the outflow is draining properly. A battery back-up for the pump keeps it running during a power outage.

3. Trim your trees

Trimming your trees every spring prevents overgrown limbs from breaking off in a particularly nasty storm and falling on your home or power lines. Pruning your trees prevents unnecessary home damage and power outages.

4. Invest in an automatic standby generator

An automatic standby generator keeps vital electrical systems in your house working during an emergency. This includes the sump pump, HVAC system, and any emergency medical equipment required by members of your household.

5. Secure outdoor furniture

Outdoor furniture such as patio sets and pool-side chairs are great accessories, but they can quickly become dangerous projectiles during a violent storm. Securing your outdoor furniture, lawn decorations, and any other objects that are not sufficiently anchored inside a garage or shed is important for the safety of your family and your home.

6. Get your HVAC system inspected by your local HVAC experts

Be sure to get your HVAC system inspected this spring. Make sure everything is working properly and efficiently so that your system can make it through the storm unscathed. Plus, you’ll want to make sure your A/C is ready for the summer heat!

Contact us in the Willow Grove area at 215-657-1262 and in the Ambler area at 215-646-5577. Or contact us online to request an appointment today!

Home Heating Myths That Cost You Money

home heating myths

Most of us are looking to save a little money this winter. There are a lot of myths out there about how to save money on your home heating bills. Some of them are true, but some of them will actually cost you more money than they save. Here are 3 of the most costly home heating myths you should never test yourself, explained by the experts at Kinkaid.

Home Heating Myth 1: Use a fireplace to help heat your home

Yes, it is technically possible to heat part of your house with a wood burning fireplace. However, that beautiful fireplace you sit around with your family every winter won’t work as your main source of heat. It’s decorative, so it’s not actually designed to do anything practical. Even if you do have a practical wood burning stove, it would take an atrocious amount of wood to heat even one room of your house to a comfortable temperature for any reasonable length of time.

Wood burning stoves take constant care and maintenance above and beyond any other heating system. Open flames also require oxygen to burn. So, you’re taking what little warm air your home already has, burning it up, and shooting it out the chimney. There is also the added safety risk of the open flame. Dealing with any type of fireplace or wood stove is always riskier than any other heating method.

You really end up paying money to “save money.” Better to just pay a few extra dollars for a safer and more modern heating system.

Home Heating Myth 2: Changing the temperature constantly costs more money

This one might seem to make sense on the surface. The argument is that you shouldn’t turn the temperature down at night or when you are out of the house because it will take more energy to bring that temperature back up once you get home. For most home heating systems, this isn’t true. Turning the temperature down overnight and while you’re out of the house gives the system a break and makes it work less hard for long periods of time. This not only saves you money in the short term, it also reduces wear and tear on the system, potentially saving you money in the long term as well.

Home Heating Myth 3: If your HVAC is running fine, it probably doesn’t need a tuneup

The last thing you want is your HVAC system breaking down in the middle of the winter, leaving your family stranded in the cold. It is important to get your system a routine checkup every year to prevent any unnecessary emergencies. Your technician might identify issues that wouldn’t become apparent to you until it’s too late.

Contact us in the Willow Grove area at 215-657-1262 and in the Ambler area at 215-646-5577. Or, contact us online to request an appointment today!

Outdoor Holiday Decorating Safety

holiday outdoor safety

The holiday season is here. But there is still time for a few do’s and don’ts on outdoor safety from John A. Kinkaid Heating & Air Conditioning for your family and home this holiday season.

1. Hanging Outdoor Lights

DO: Keep electrical cords off the ground.

DON’T: Attach electrical cords or lights to metal rain gutters.

DO: Use insulated tape or plastic clips to fasten lights or electrical cords outdoors.

DON’T: Use metal nails or tacks to hold lights and electrical cords in place.

2. Using Ladders

DO: Choose the correct ladder for the job.

DON’T: Settle for a ladder that is too short and try to rig it to make it work anyway.

DO: Check for certification marks to ensure your ladder meets the applicable safety standards.

3. Clean Your Gutters

DO: Clear your rain gutters of any debris before hanging outdoor lights, electrical cords, or other decorations on the outside of your house. Overflowing gutters could cause water to run down over outdoor lights and electrical cords and become a fire hazard.

DON’T: Let debris build up after decorations have been put up. Even if you clean out your gutters before decorating the outside of your home, you still need to check your gutters regularly to ensure debris is not building up again. This is especially important after storms or windy weather.

4. Clear Your Roof of Snow and Debris

DO: Clear your roof of snow and debris before hanging outdoor decorations on your house.

DON’T: Leave debris on your roof. Cleaning out your gutters does no good if you leave debris on your roof. The debris from your roof will just wash down into your gutters, undoing all your hard work.

5. Give your HVAC a tuneup

Be sure to get your HVAC system serviced in time for the holidays! If you’ve gone to all the work of decorating your home inside and out, you don’t want it ruined by a faulty HVAC system, leaving your family out in the cold.

Contact us in the Willow Grove area at 215-657-1262 and in the Ambler area at 215-646-5577. Or contact us online to request an appointment today!

Holiday Home Safety

holiday home safety

The holiday season is in full swing and it’s time to go over some last minute preparations. Here are 7 quick tips from John A. Kinkaid Heating & Air Conditioning for how to keep your family safe this holiday season.

1. Check those holiday lights

Check all your holiday lights for frayed cords, missing or broken bulbs, and cracked sockets, as these can all be fire hazards. When replacing bulbs, be sure to unplug the lights. Also, make sure that the bulb is the correct wattage and voltage.

2. Turn the lights off when you leave

This doesn’t just apply to lights. Turn off lights, blow out candles, and turn off or bank the fireplace. These can all be fire hazards even when you are around to keep an eye on them. If no one is there to monitor the situation, things can get out of control fast.

3. Keep combustible materials away from open flames

A lot of us like to light candles and fireplaces around this time of year, but it is vital to keep all potentially combustible materials away from open flames. If you want to put a candle on your windowsill, consider what type of curtains you have. Can you pull them back far enough that they are safely out of the way? Many houses have burned to the ground from a simple curtain catching fire.

If you have a fireplace, make sure you keep any extra firewood and kindling far enough back from the edge. Use a metal fireplace screen as an extra precaution.

4. Use one big extension cord instead of several small ones

Make sure you get an extension cord that is the correct length for your purposes. Chaining together several smaller extension cords can actually be a fire hazard. Just make sure it isn’t so long that someone might trip on it and fall into the fireplace.

6. Test your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors

With all these fire hazards around the house, putting new batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors is a good idea. Test to make sure they are up to date and working. The last thing you want is to have your holiday season ruined by a house fire.

7. Give your HVAC a tuneup

Be sure to get your HVAC system serviced in time for the holidays! Get those filters changed and everything up to date to ensure your family’s safety so you can enjoy a worry-free holiday season.

Contact us in the Willow Grove area at 215-657-1262 and in the Ambler area at 215-646-5577. Or contact us online to request an appointment today!

4 Home Preparation Tips For Fall

While the heat of summer is still in full swing, the cool fall weather is not far off. The days are getting shorter and school is starting up again. Before you know it, winter will be here! It is always good to get a jumpstart on preparing your home for the colder months ahead. Here are some great tips for preparing your home for fall, brought to you by the experts at John A Kinkaid Heating & Air Conditioning.

1. Clean the Fireplace and Chimney

Most of us love a big roaring fire on those cold winter evenings, especially during the holidays with our family and friends. But cleaning out your fireplace and chimney before using it is a vital safety precaution. You never know what can get stuck up in the chimney and if there is a blockage somewhere, it can easily become a real fire hazard.

2. Check Your Weather Proofing

Heating your house during the winter can get expensive. One easy way to cut down on the cost is to check the weather proofing around your doors and windows. The last thing you want is for all that expensive heat to be seeping out through cracks around your doors and windows. So, check your weather stripping to ensure there are no drafts.

3. Home Safety Check

Replace the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. The risk of fire increases over the holidays due to increased usage of candles and fireplaces in many households. Keep your family safe by being proactive. Always be sure that you have an emergency evacuation plan in place in the event of an emergency. Be sure to account for small children, elderly, handicapped, and pets when drawing up your emergency plans.

4. Get Your HVAC System Serviced This Fall by Your Local HVAC Experts

Now is the perfect time to get your HVAC system serviced to ensure that it is ready for fall. Don’t wait until the last minute! The last thing you want is for your HVAC system to fail in an emergency and leave your family out in the cold.

Contact us in the Willow Grove area at 215-657-1262 and in the Ambler area at 215-646-5577. Or contact us online to request an appointment today!

For more advice on heating your house, check out our blog Four Common Heating Myths Put to the Test.

Firework Safety

firework

July 4th is just around the corner. Many families across the United States are gearing up for the festivities. Most of these festivities include fireworks in some form or another. Here are some quick firework safety tips from your friends at John A. Kinkaid Heating and Air Conditioning.

Firework Safety Best Practices

1. Know your local laws

Three states have completely banned all consumer fireworks. These are New Jersey, Delaware and Massachusetts.

2. Always supervise children

Never leave children unattended with lighters, matches, sparklers or fireworks.

3. Be careful where you point fireworks

Never point fireworks at yourself, other people, animals or buildings. This applies even when you are just trying to light the firework.

4. Beware of “duds”

If a firework has been lit but appears to be a “dud,” do not approach and attempt to relight it. Some fireworks may have a problem with the fuse that delays setting the firework off. Many of these fireworks will still go off; it just may take longer than expected. Approaching an apparent “dud” before it has gone off may result in serious injury.

5. Keep fireworks away from structures

Never set off fireworks near homes, garages, barns or other structures that may catch fire. Many fireworks produce sparks and a small amount of flammable debris. This is not usually enough to light grass on fire, but it may be enough to light a building on fire if it lands the wrong place. Remember, what goes up must come down. You don’t want a firework to land on the roof of your house and burn your home down.

6. Keep alcohol away from fireworks

Make sure that anyone who is handling fireworks or even standing too close to them is not drinking. Being intoxicated can cause impaired judgement. The last thing anyone wants is someone with impaired judgement handling flammable materials.

In addition, alcohol is a flammable substance. Fireworks produce sparks and flammable debris. The combination of the two could spell disaster if they were to combine and start a fire.

7. Keep fireworks away from the grill

Many grills have gas tanks that are extremely flammable. Sparks or flammable debris from fireworks could cause an explosion if a gas tank were to catch fire.

Need more safety tips from your HVAC experts? Contact us today!

Severe Weather Preparedness

severe weatherWhile spring is almost here, winter is not necessarily ready to let go. It is important to remember that the danger of severe winter storms hasn’t passed yet. Here are some helpful tips from your friends at John A. Kinkaid Heating and Air Conditioning on being prepared for what winter — and early spring — storms might throw your way.

Make a plan

Talk to your family/household members about what to do in the event of a severe weather emergency. This is especially important for families with young children who many become frightened in a stressful emergency situation. Know if anyone in the household has any medical concerns that may become a problem during a severe weather emergency and ensure you have the necessary emergency supplies in the event of a worse case scenario.

Have backup power sources

If you or a loved one has a condition that requires medical equipment, be especially sure that you have sufficient alternative power sources, as emergency personnel may not be able to get to as quickly as usual. Also, have an alternative heat source on hand, such as a fireplace.

Get your vehicle winterized

You or a mechanic you trust should check over at least one family vehicle to ensure that you will not be stranded in an emergency. Check your battery, antifreeze, wipers, windshield washer fluid, ignition system, thermostat, lights, flashing hazard lights, exhaust system, heater, brakes, defroster, and oil. Also make sure the vehicle’s gas tank is full in the event of a storm warning.

Stock up on non-perishables

Ensure you have a stock of food items such as cans of soup and other easy-to-make food items that do not necessarily require strict temperature controls. If you have a pet, also ensure that you have a sufficient supply of pet food, litter, medications and whatever else your pet needs to weather the storm with you.

Keep your HVAC system serviced and in good repair

Always make sure that HVAC system is up and running smoothly so there are no nasty surprises in the middle of an extreme weather emergency. Contact John A. Kinkaid Heating and Air Conditioning today to get your system inspected and serviced for your family’s safety and peace of mind.

For more winter storm safety tips, check out a few of our other informational blogs including:

How to Stay Warm During Power Outages This Winter

6 Tips To Prepare Your Home for Winter

7 Ways to Save Money and Stay Warm This Winter