Expert Articles

A geothermal system can’t be beat. The installation cost is more expensive than traditional heating and air conditioning systems, but your annual heating and cooling costs can be significantly lower.

Holmes Heating wants to inform all Ottawa homeowners of new minimum energy performance standards for residential gas furnaces – standards that may affect how a new gas furnace is installed into your home.

Glossary of technical terms every home owner should know.

Watch our informative video on maintenance tips for your furnace.

Since we spend most of our time indoors (an estimated 90% of each day!), it’s extremely important to maintain a comfortable and healthy indoor environment. Think of it this way – your home is a lot like your body, and it needs to stay properly hydrated in order to maintain the health and comfort of those living in it.

Is it time to replace your old hot water tank? Curious about the benefits of an on-demand tankless water heater? Wondering if it’s the right system for you? In most cases, the answer is a resounding “yes”!

Purchasing a new heating, cooling or indoor air quality system for your home is one of the most important buying decisions you and your family will make. Before committing to such a large investment, it’s important to do your research and ask some serious questions so you can avoid making the following mistakes:

Whenever you sign on to a financing program, it always pays to read the fine print.

Think your gas furnace has quit? You could save yourself the cost of a no-heat service call by checking the following:

It sounds easy, but believe it or not, many people don’t know how to turn their furnace on or off. Here’s a simple, step-by-step breakdown:

Proper maintenance of your furnace filter can help optimize airflow from your furnace, which will keep it running efficiently and economically during the coldest months of the year.

Air leaks account for a significant amount of a home's heat loss in winter – resulting in increased heating costs as your furnace constantly tries to replace the warm air that has escaped from your home. Fixing these leaks will save you money on your heating bills.

If a room in your house is too cold during the winer, it might be because your furnace isn't supplying enough warm air through the registers in that particular room. There's a simple way to test the airflow from your furnace registers to make sure they are working properly -- the garbage bag airflow test.

If you become aware of a furnace problem that might involve the exterior vent, do a quick inspection and see if any snow, ice or some common household item might be blocking the vent.

If you can hear that your furnace is on and the fan is running, but all you’re getting is cold air, you likely have ignition failure.

In the unlikely event that you smell something like a rotten egg smell, you could have a gas leak.

As odd as it sounds, air pollution can often be worse inside your home than outside. Today’s home are becoming increasingly airtight, and while this saves you money on your heating bills, it also means any dust, dirt and pollen that makes its way into your home has a much harder time escaping.

The air we breathe can affect our health, comfort and productivity.

While we can’t do much about the pollution outside, we can do something about the pollution inside, where we spend 90% of our time. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor pollution levels can be anywhere from 25 to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air.

Is your aging HVAC equipment causing your home's indoor air quality to suffer? Or is your indoor air quality actually causing damage to your heating and cooling systems?

Both options could be true.

The ideal rate of humidity in the home is between 35% and 45% -- anything higher than this causes mould.

You thought there was a problem with your HVAC system ... but candles might actually be to blame!

Today's children spend more than 90% of their time indoors -- at home (especially with the lure of personal computers and video games), school, hockey arenas and shopping malls. But did you know that research has shown that concentrations of pollutants can be up to 100 times higher indoors than outdoors?

Did you know that it costs more to heat dry air than humidified air? Warm dry air acts like a giant sponge, soaking up moisture from everything it touches.

Here are some easy-to-implement tips that will save energy when using your air conditioner and reduce your summer energy bills:

Today’s high density housing projects and the close proximity of residential lots means that an air conditioning unit is often installed very close to a neighbour’s lot.

At least one carbon monoxide detector should be installed at knee-height, adjacent to the bedrooms in your home. Others should also be installed on the main floor and basement.

Is your carbon monoxide detector beeping or flashing for no apparent reason? First, try resetting it by taking it outside and then plugging it in again.

To avoid a potentially dangerous carbon monoxide buildup, we recommend the following actions:

Considering switching to natural gas-based heating?