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Med City Builders Blog

Your Furnace in Cold Weather

  • By Jenni Jordan
  • 18 Jan, 2016
When I meet with my customers on the final walk through, I spend time discussing the major mechanical systems in the home. The last topic was on the Air to Air Exchanger and today I will focus on the homes heating system or Furnace.  
I typically install forced air furnaces in my homes. The furnaces I use offer a two stage system. A two stage system is like a car with 2 gears. We run the home in the low setting or first gear all the time. This constantly evens out the homes temperature and pressure. When the system calls for heat in the winter or cold in the summer, it shifts to the higher setting or second gear. This has nothing to do with a 2 zone system, as that just makes different parts of the home have the ability to have different heating or cooling capabilities.  
Your new furnace should never be turned off?!? I tell customers on the day they move in to switch the thermostat setting to ON and never look back. This does two things for the new home. First, it balances the temperature in the home and makes all levels and rooms of the home feel the same. Many people make the mistake of shutting off ducts to parts of the home thinking they are getting more benefit to the areas they spend the most time in. The reality is, they are making the home more likely to have condensation form due to the dramatic temperature changes. If we can have the entire unit/home the same temperature, the condensation will be minimized as well as the comfort level being increased. The second benefit to running the furnace all the time is that it will level out pressure. When ducts are shut down to certain areas of the home, the cold air return keeps pulling air back to the furnace. If we aren’t supplying as much as we are returning, we create a negative pressure area. This can lead to condensation in parts of the home as it acts like a vacuum. Low pressure also lowers the temperature. I’m not saying we don’t make minor adjustments to the dampers in a home, but closing them off will cause issues down the road.
The bottom line for furnaces in new homes is to keep air in motion. This eliminates moisture and makes it the most comfortable space. The easiest way to accomplish this is to continuously run your furnace in the ON setting. You will actually use less energy down the road. There is nothing like free cool air in the basement in the summer, being sent to the upper floors to reduce cost on the cooling bill. There is also nothing like taking the free hot air rising to the highest levels of the home and sending it back to the cooler areas to reduce heating costs in the winter months. Good luck and stay warm this winter!
By Jenni Jordan 09 Sep, 2020
This seems like a common thing to say with the current state of the world and this COVID pandemic, but many don’t take the time to figure out why this might be the wrong thing to say.  For many of us, our home has been and always will be our single best investment.  The key to any good investment is time and many who see the wild swings in the stock market soon forget.  I often have clients ask me when the right time to buy or build a new home and I have kept my answer the same for the past 20 years.  It is “Yesterday" but you can’t go back in time obviously.  Each year we begin with price increases in labor, materials, and typically land.  We often think that this seems too high for our customers but by the following season our customers call and say how thankful they are that they built when they did.  This year will be no different for anyone who took that leap of faith and next year will be the same.  Our home has been the only place we are able to take our masks off, the only place many of us have been able to work, and the only place our kids have been able to learn over the past year.  That being said, we should look at our home as the place we should invest the most in and if and when the time is right for our family we should make the move to do what is right at the time.  Recently we have seen an uptick on the lumber costs across the nation and that has caused many to hit the pause button and think that if we wait until next year we might be better off.  Historically we have seen an average of 2-3% in new home increases from fall to the next spring and this is the overall effect that we are seeing with the higher costs in the materials today.  If the lumber prices go back down next year, you are only going to be paying the same amount for your new home and likely more with the normal set of increases we see yearly.  Interest rates are another factor.  We currently have historically low rates and next spring that home you can build now will be unattainable with a small shift in that rate.  The bottom line is this.  Never be afraid of taking the leap if your time is right.  Your home has been and always will be one of your best investments you can make for yourself and your family.  Yesterday is almost here so now is the time to get moving!
By Jenni Jordan 24 Oct, 2017
Winter is almost here and there is no better time to talk about our homes ventilation systems. The cold is fast approaching and I thought I’d touch on two vital air movement systems in our homes to prepare for it. … Continued
By Jenni Jordan 03 Feb, 2016
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By Jenni Jordan 07 Jan, 2016
Today I’m going to run down my typical walk through discussion with my customers regarding their air to air exchangers. I normally start off by making sure people don’t overthink what the system is designed to do. Anyone who has … Continued
By Jenni Jordan 03 Apr, 2015
Sounds pretty mundane, but in the MN building industry it is a pretty hot topic. As code continues to be understood by us all, the best and most cost effective ways to build a home always seems to filter to … Continued
By Jenni Jordan 12 Mar, 2015
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By Jenni Jordan 27 Oct, 2014
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By Jenni Jordan 18 Jul, 2013
You are selecting a quality builder with Med City Builders.    Andy is great from the first detail down to the follow up after the build. He explains everything thoroughly and does not cut corners in the build.    His … Continued
By Jenni Jordan 13 Jun, 2013
I just had a moment to catch up from the wild spring and start to the summer and was thinking about the new issues we are up against as builders and building customers.  The lots in Rochester are becoming very … Continued
By Jenni Jordan 16 Apr, 2013
The simple answer to this question is absolutely yes.  It would seem odd to think that doing something this simple can make a difference, but it really can.    As I have discussed in earlier blog topics, the heat in … Continued
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