Busting Myths about Heating Your Home

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Can you tell the difference between myths and truths about heating your Midwestern home? Keep reading to find out more from Cincinnati HVAC pros.

Myth: Turning up the heat to a higher degree will heat up your home faster. This is a complete myth that will cost you. The same amount of air is being processed and heated and no matter how high you crank the heat up your home will still warm up at the same speed it normally does. This causes your system to work overtime and suck up more energy to reach that high degree if you don’t turn the thermostat back down to where you actually want it to be.

Truth: Programming your thermostat to different temperatures during the day will save you energy and money on your utility bills. By setting lower temperatures when no one’s home or at night when you’re sleeping, you give your HVAC unit time to rest and use less energy without causing your family any discomfort when the home is occupied and bustling.

Myth: Duct tape effectively seals ducts to save energy. Completely false! By closing off vents you are forcing air to go out of other vents causing an influx of heat to one room over the other and depending on the location of your thermostat, this can cause the system to continue running longer. Duct tape also loses its stickiness when it collects dirt and dust. Ask yourself, what place in your home has more dirt and dust than the ducts, which is pushing it toward the vents you are trying to seal off?

Truth: Where you place your furniture matters. If your sofa is blocking a vent, all this is doing is heating the back of your sofa and preventing the air from flowing freely to the rest of the room.  Placing beds on top of floor vents? Same deal. Your box spring may have a cozy “my blankets just came out of the dryer feel” but the rest of the room will be cold and you’ll be rushing to get changed and out of the room to stay warm.

Myth: Having a wood burning fireplace will help save money and take the burden off of your furnace. To keep the smoke from coming back into the home you have to have the flue in the chimney open which is literally sucking all of that “paid for” heated air up and out of your home. Fireplaces used to be essential for heating the home but as technology has progressed fireplaces were kept for ambiance or as entertainment-oriented areas of the house.

For more on how your HVAC system works to keep your home warm, reach out the experts at Apollo Home Heating, Cooling & Plumbing. We’ve been keeping Greater Cincinnati homes warm in winters since 1910.

"Ernie & Mike did a superb job on my new furnace and A/C installation. Despite having more than a day’s work to do, they came in and stayed until the job was done. They were organized, efficient, and protected the rest of the house well. Got both furnace and A/C installed the same day. Ernie was courteous, informative, and clearly knew his job better than anyone I’ve encountered before. The units look so good guests now get The Tour of our new system. Apollo is clearly not a fly-by-night company. I would recommend them to anyone in need of a new furnace and/or A/C."
- Jerry A.
"I called Apollo because of a water leak I thought I had in our upstairs shower going into the kitchen. Robbie came and assured me everything was fine & looked at all the other plumbing. He ended up changing a few pipes for our washer & clearing a drain. He was very nice & knowledgeable with all my questions. I ended up signing up for the care plan & was very happy with my service."
- Cassandra B.
"The team at Apollo exceeded my expectations. As a business owner, my attention to the details and commitment to providing excellent service is high. From the sales rep. to the installation team, everyone’s performance was outstanding. For example, the installation team went to great lengths to protect our floors, placing floor runners and across the wood floors and up the stairs. They even were spot washing walls upon their departure. I highly recommend this company."
- Randy B.
"We scheduled an estimate AND a tune-up. We knew something was wrong with our furnace, but hoped we could make it through the rest of the season. Upon telling Bill what our furnace was doing, he warned us immediately what the possible outcome was going to be; a cracked heat exchanger. He watched the flames roll backward, tested carbon monoxide levels, which were so high they meter’s last reading was 5,600 before saying “high”. He immediately shut it down, tagged it, and explained that with levels that high and children in our home he wanted off right away. He continued his inspection and showed us via a camera that not only was it cracked in multiple places, but had holes all over it. He gave us a few options for repairing it; his knowledge as well as genuine concern was beneficial and refreshing. Luckily we also scheduled an estimator, Micah, to come too and we were able to get costs between repairing and replacing (with several options). We decided to replace with a much higher efficiency furnace and one sized properly to our home. Hands down, not only did they both provide us great service and knowledge, but without sounding dramatic, they may have saved our lives. This was our first time calling Apollo, but it won’t be our last."
- Sarah B.
"Apollo is an excellent company. I always receive great service. Alex A. was professional and friendly. He kept me informed during the process of checking my furnace and heat pump to make sure they were working properly. The company makes sure you are notified who is coming and when they are on the way. All my interactions with the company have been wonderful."
- Beverly S.
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