Bel Red Energy Blog

If you are thinking about getting a generator after the recent power outages, you have a lot of choices to make:

• Portable?
• Permanent Stand-By?
• Gas, Natural Gas or Propane?
• How many kW (kilowatts)?
• What Brand is Best?
• Etc.

We've placed some short videos from Kohler and home improvement expert Ed Del Grande on our YouTube Channel. These videos provide helpful information on generators, so you can decide what kind of generator is right for you. These videos explain the pros and cons or portable and stand-by generators, explain how they work, and provide some basic information on what features to look for in a quality generator.

If you didn't set your clocks back one hour, you are now finding out the hard way that daylight savings time is over. Don't forget to take this opportunity to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. You do NOT want to find out the hard way that the batteries in these life-saving devices have failed!

Batteries in these devices should be changed every 6 months. And did you know that, unlike smoke detectors, the sensors in carbon monoxide detectors are only designed to last 2-3 years? If it's been more than 3 years since you replaced your Carbon Monoxide detector, contact Bel Red today and ask about our low-level CO detectors - which provides the best protection available for you and your loved ones, along with a long-lasting 5-year sensor.

Congratulations to Lyle Gardner and Jose Salmeron for being selected for the Installation Job of the Week for the week of 10/10/11. Lyle and Jose installed a new high efficiency, variable speed, modulating gas furnace and whole-house air filtration system at the Ostrom residence in Kirkland. More importantly, they moved the existing AC coil, incorrectly installed by the original installers, to the proper position to prevent the possible formation of phosgene, a very dangerous gas. Lyle and Jose improved the Ostrom's comfort, efficiency and indoor air quality, and more importantly, protected their health and lives!

Every gas or propane furnace has a heat exchanger that takes the heat from the fuel the furnace burns and transfers it to the air that moves through your home. As with any burning of fossil-fuels, a by-product of combustion is Carbon Monoxide (CO). This odorless and colorless gas can be deadly in small quantities, and prolonged exposure to even minute amounts can cause fatigue, confusion, and flu-like symptoms. Your furnace’s heat exchanger protects you from this dangerous gas, but over the long-term the volatile conditions inside your heat exchanger can cause cracks or holes.

Bel Red Energy Solutions has become a member of Comfort Institute, an international indoor comfort research, training and consumer protection organization dedicated to helping homeowners achieve a safe, healthy, clean, comfortable and affordable indoor living environment. By joining Comfort Institute, Bel Red is now able to bring the most effective tools, skills and techniques to bear to assist its customers with improving the comfort, health and safety of their homes.