DuAll Heating & Cooling Blog : Archive for December, 2014

5 Facts about Santa Claus

Thursday, December 25th, 2014

Many holiday traditions involve the story of Santa Claus, the lovable old man who spends most of his time at the North Pole taking a single evening to deliver presents and candy to children everywhere. But since Santa Claus is so elusive (unless he happens to be visiting your local shopping mall), how do we know so much about him? Where exactly does his journey begin? Our holiday guide details 5 of the most common traditions associated with Jolly Old Saint Nick.

  1. The Origins of Santa: The name “Santa Claus” comes from St. Nicholas (a name which became Sinter Klaas for short in Dutch), a Christian Bishop from 4 A.D. who was known for giving his fortune away to those in need in Turkey. Santa Claus’ first associations with gift-giving comes from Holland’s St. Nicholas’ feast day, during which children would leave out their shoes overnight and find presents waiting inside the shoes on the next morning.
  2. The Stocking by the Chimney: While many people associate Holland’s shoe tradition with the origins of hanging a stocking, this isn’t entirely accurate. Hanging stockings instead comes from the legend of a time St. Nick helped a man afford to marry off his daughter by throwing a bag of gold down the chimney, which landed in a stocking that was hanging up to dry.
  3. St. Nick’s Outfit: Santa got his fashion sense from a wooden cutout handed out during a meeting of the New York Historical Society in 1804. But it wasn’t until a 1930s Coca Cola advertisement that his traditionally blue, white, and green outfit was transformed into a big red suit.
  4. Leaving Cookies out for Santa: Food was traditionally used as ornamentation during the holidays in medieval Germany as apples and cookies commonly adorned the home at wintertime. When the Christmas tree became a common symbol of the season, edible treats began to vanish, a phenomenon which became attributed to Santa Claus’ snacking habits.
  5. Why Santa Drives a Sleigh: Santa gets his sleigh from a tale spun by Washington Irving, the same author who brought us the Headless Horseman. He wrote down an account of a dream in which Santa Claus drives a weightless wagon through the sky, and the stories became so popular, they stuck around.

Here at DuAll Heating & Cooling, we hope that you have a joyful and safe celebration, no matter what holiday traditions you engage in this year. Happy holidays!

Continue Reading

How a Faulty Thermostat Affects Your Heating

Thursday, December 18th, 2014

The thermostat is very likely the only component of your heating and air conditioning system you really interact with. Your heating system’s thermostat communicates to your heater when the temperature has dropped below the desired setting. The heating system then switches on and heats up the air until the necessary conditions have been met.

You may think that a thermostat works under a fairly simple mode of operation. But a faulty thermostat will have a huge impact on how effectively your heating system operates. Thermostats can be responsible for anything from no heating at all to severely worn down parts and controls. This list details a few of the ways a faulty thermostat can affect your heating in Naperville.

  • Reduced Heating: One of the most common side effects of a faulty thermostat is reduced or absent heating. Your broken thermostat may prevent heat from entering your home or it may simply reduce the amount of heating you feel throughout the house. Reduced heating could be symptomatic of a number of problems, like a broken safety switch or a faulty blower fan, but an issue with the thermostat generally indicates a new one is necessary.
  • Poor Efficiency: Even if you own one of the most efficient types of heating systems available on the market, a broken thermostat can reduce efficiency by quite a stretch. This component may at some point be unable to communicate to the heater when it is time to shut off, not only making you feel uncomfortable, but also requiring far more energy to run.
  • Worn Parts: A faulty thermostat may also cause your unit to short cycle if there is a faulty wiring connection. Short cycling is when the unit turns on and then shuts off shortly afterwards. This can cause the parts to become damaged and wear down over time.

Replacing a thermostat doesn’t have to be a negative experience. A trained technician can help you select a thermostat with advanced settings so that you can have greater control over what times of day your unit switches on and off in order to better track your energy usage over time.

Contact DuAll Heating & Cooling when you need any services for your heating in Naperville, IL.

Continue Reading

The Benefits of Tankless Water Heater Installation

Thursday, December 11th, 2014

Tankless water heaters have become a very popular option for homeowners of the last few years, and for good reasons. However, it’s important to understand how a tankless water heater works in order to see the differences between a traditional water heater and a tankless one. While each type is very capable of providing your home with hot water, a tankless water heater can provide you hot water as you need it, versus having hot water on standby. The process isn’t as complicated as it can sound, as we’ll explain below.

How a Tankless Water Heater Works

There are two types of tankless water heaters:

  • Point-of-use – small systems that typically mount underneath sinks, etc., to heat just that one outlet; point-of-use tankless water heaters are fueled by electricity.
  • Whole-home – larger systems that heat water for your entire home. These systems usually use gas or propane, but can also use electricity.

No matter which type of tankless water heater you use, the heating process is the same. Tankless water heaters use heat exchangers to heat the water on demand; the heat exchangers reside in the core of the tankless system. When you turn on the hot water tap of a tankless system, the water flow starts the heat exchanger; the heat exchanger generates heat that is then transferred to the flowing water. As the water circulates through the heat exchanger, it absorbs the generated heat, and the hot water starts to flow from your faucets. All tankless systems have a maximum pre-set temperature in order to avoid scalding.

Benefits of Tankless Water Heaters

  • Tankless water heaters can use up to 40% less energy than a standard tank water heater, which can reduce monthly utility bills.
  • Tankless water heaters have a longer life span than tank water heaters (10 to 13 years vs. 20 years).
  • Tankless water heaters take up far less space because they do not have a large tank attached to them.

If you are interested in the installation of a tankless water heater in your Plainfield property, take the time to schedule a time with an expert.

DuAll Heating & Cooling has the experts you need to help with any water heater installation, so contact us today and schedule an appointment!

Continue Reading