Cold Weather Safety

Brrrr! Cold and wind in Boonville, Newburgh, Rockport, and Evansville this winter will cause all of us to feel the pinch in our wallets as it will cost more to keep our homes and businesses warm. Certainly all the energy-saving tips you have learned over the years are still valid: turn your thermostat down when you are away from home, insulate your walls and attic, seal up all the cracks in your windows and doors, change out your older inefficient furnace for a new more energy-efficient one, and of course, wear warm clothes and blankets!

But while you are trying to stay warm, don’t neglect safety! Make sure that your heating system has been professionally cleaned and tuned-up so that it is running at its best. Regular maintenance by a professional heating & air conditioning technician can prevent breakdowns at inconvenient times–like weekends, the middle of the night, and on the coldest and windiest days of the winter! You sure don’t want to be without heat when those cold winds are blowing! Maintenance of your heating system is money well-spent, because your technician can spot issues that can affect your family’s safety, too, such as the potential for Carbon Monoxide production from a poorly-maintained or defective furnace.

Make sure you have a working Carbon Monoxide detector on every level of your home, especially in sleeping areas. The ones sold in the big box stores give you some very basic protection, but the higher quality models, such as the Kidde model sold by BNG Heating & Cooling, gives you a digital readout of the Carbon Monoxide level in your home, and detects it at a much lower concentration than the basic models. This means your family is better protected from this dangerous,  odorless gas.

BNG also provides and installs smoke detectors that fit INSIDE the ductwork of your heating system, detecting smoke at very low levels and shutting down your HVAC system to keep the deadly smoke from spreading throughout your home. Ask your technician about it!