Rentmeister Total Home Service Blog: Archive for January, 2015

How Do New Water Heater Regulations Affect Me

Monday, January 26th, 2015

As of April 2015, the US Department of Energy has implemented new rules concerning the efficiency of water heaters. These rules will have a pretty big impact on the water heater industry, but it will also have an effect on the options available to homeowners.

By and large, the new regulations deal with how much energy is allowed to be lost during the heating process, mandating that all new water heaters convert more energy into heat. Let’s take a look at how this can affect you.

Rise in Cost

More efficient water heaters are a good thing, and everyone should want to get as close to 100% energy efficiency as possible. However, the federal mandate is forcing the manufacturers’ hands, and that is going to lead to a sudden spike in water heater cost. Instead of the gradual increase associated with newer technologies entering the market and older ones phasing out, this is going to be a significant leap forward with no time for people to acclimate.

This means that manufacturers will have to do whatever they can to meet the new federal requirements, even if it means building more complex and expensive water heaters. That extra cost is going to get passed on to the consumer, as is often the case with newer systems and technology. Even if older water heaters are still available, you likely won’t be able to find an HVAC technician to install them for you. Just like the low-flow toilets that are required in several states, these more efficient water heaters will be the only ones HVAC technicians are allowed to install.

What to do about it

So, what should you do if you have an older water heater? Well, if it is less than ten years old you probably don’t have to worry about it. No need to replace a water heater that is still fairly recent and isn’t having issues. If you were already considering installing a new water heater, however, you should have one installed as soon as possible. The water heaters on the market today are still likely a good step up in efficiency from the one you have, without being as expensive as the new ones that are about to hit the market. If you act fast enough, you can come out of this whole situation with a new water heater and more money in your pocket than if you had waited a couple of months.

If you are thinking about installing a new water heater, call Rentmeister Total Home Service. We provide water heater installation services throughout Salt Lake City.

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Best Floor Types for Radiant Heating Systems

Friday, January 9th, 2015

**Rentmeister Total Home Service No Longer Services Boilers Or Radiant Heating Systems, We Apologize If This Is An Inconvenience**

One of the great benefits of radiant heating is the nice, toasty floors you get, but if you have a floor covering that isn’t very conducive to radiant floor heating, you may lose this benefit. Radiant heating works by heat objects, which is why it’s important to plan for a floor covering that will heat well and radiate that heat to your home. To help you get an idea of the types of floor coverings that will work best with your radiant heating, the installation experts at Rentmeister Total Home Service have put together a list of floor covering types to consider:

Tiles (Stone, Porcelain and Ceramic)

Tiles floors are some of the best around for radiant heating. If you have ever put a rock in or near a fire, or have seen a brick oven stove, you’ll be able to understand why tile is some of the best kind of flooring to use with radiant heating. Tile conducts heat very well and is highly resistant to the heating process.

Laminates

Laminate floors are very popular for a lot of reasons, and can be a good option for radiant heating. However, there are some precautions to take with laminate flooring to ensure the best results. First, it’s important to make sure that your underlying floor structure and/or concrete (if you used it) is completely dry; this helps minimize changes that can develop due to heat and moisture as well as reduces warping and cracking. It is also important to use the correct adhesive. Most laminate flooring comes with manufacturer instructions and recommendations that your technician will follow as part of the installation.

Hardwood

Natural wood floors will contract and expand with changes in temperature and humidity, so if you want to use natural wood with your radiant heating system, it’s best to consider hardwood that is quarter-sawn, kiln-dried wood. You may also want to consider engineered hardwood flooring. Engineered hardwood flooring is comprised of hardwood and fiberboard, placed together into several layers. The multiple layers and combination of woods make engineered hardwood very stable.

As you can see, you have a lot of choices when it comes to floor coverings for your radiant heating. Have question? Call Rentmeister today!

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The History of “Auld Lang Syne”

Thursday, January 1st, 2015

There are numerous different traditional songs associated with Christmas—but there is only one song that comes to mind immediately when people think of New Year’s Eve: “Auld Lang Syne.” It is hard to find a New Year’s Eve party where people won’t leap into singing “Should old acquaintance be forgot…” as the first stroke of midnight sounds. This tradition encompasses the globe, with almost every culture that celebrates New Year’s on January 1st breaking into song with the same set of lyrics.

Where did this song come from? And what do the words “auld lang syne” actually mean? The best place to ask these questions is Scotland. The Official Gateway to Scotland website calls the song “one of Scotland’s gifts to the world, recalling the love and kindness of days gone by, but in the communion of taking our neighbor’s hands, it also gives us a sense of belonging and fellowship to take us into the future.”

The melody of the piece originates from Lowland Scots folk song tradition. It was legendary Scottish Romantic poet Robert Burns (1759–1796) who created the words we know today, however. During the later years of his life, Burns dedicated much of his work to collecting Scottish folk tunes and giving them new life. The first mention Burns makes of “Auld Lang Syne” is in 1788, when he calls the song “a glorious fragment.” Burns wrote new lyrics to the old melody, and used the words “auld lang syne,” which is Scottish for “old long since,” and which can be translated into standard English as “long, long ago” or “days gone by.” The phrase was already known in earlier Scottish poems and folk songs, and appears to be the equivalent of “Once upon a time…” for Scots fairy tales.

Soon after Burns introduced the song to the public, it spread across Scotland as a New Year’s custom, and then to the rest of Great Britain. Scottish immigrants took the song with them as they moved across the globe, and by the middle of the 19th century it was a holiday tradition throughout the English-speaking world. By the close of the 20th century, it was a global phenomenon to ring in the New Year.

We imagine that you’ll end up singing or hearing “Auld Lang Syne” at some point this New Year’s (maybe you’ve already heard it while watching It’s a Wonderful Life).

All of us at Rentmeister Total Home Service would like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy coming year in the tradition of the song.

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