The UNICO system is a high velocity small ducted air conditioning system designed to be retrofitted into older homes where air conditioning is not present. This is the first of a 3-part blog that will detail the versatility and effectiveness of this system while at the same time maintaining the architectural and design integrity of your home.

As depicted in the graphic above, the UNICO system typically fits into your attic or crawlspace access and small ducts are then carefully and artfully installed throughout the house. This eliminates cumbersome metal ductwork and registers. Small flexible ducts are carefully and thoughtfully woven through ceilings and walls to reach the first, second and third floors of a typical house. The system is completely sealed for maximum efficiency, with air always fresh and clean.

Conventional systems often leave homes with hot and cold spots as well as drafts. The UNICO System uses aspiration air flow. Conditioned air gently mixes in with air already in the room. There is no draft and the airspaces is uniformly cooled.

Verne & Ellsworth Hann is recognized as a “UNICO Preferred Contractor” (UPC) company. We have installed high velocity systems across Northeast Ohio. Homes that are located in Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights and University Heights can often be 100-years-old. It takes a contractor that is respectful of the unique design elements of your home and has the professional skillset to accomplish an engineering challenge.

Every UNICO System is uniquely designed. There is no cookie-cutter installation when it comes to a UNICO System. Choose the contractor that always overcomes engineering design obstacles and provides superior customer satisfaction results. Call Verne & Ellsworth Hann to schedule an appointment to bring your 19th century home into the 21st century.

Another high efficiency furnace installation by Verne & Ellsworth Hann and another customer who is happy with the quality of his new system as well as the professionalism used during the project. But what is the gray material on the supply ductwork on the right? We are getting that question more frequently. And it all has to do with efficiency and the building code enforced by the municipality in which you live.

As national building codes become more diligent about efficiency in all phases of homebuilding additional scrutiny is given to even the smallest facets. In this particular case the focus is on even the most minimal air leakage from the return air ducts to the furnace. In essence, if every seam and connection of the return ductwork in completely sealed, then there will be no air drawn in from the basement. The system becomes more efficient. Efficiency translates into less energy consumed and more energy dollars saved.

Most energy-conscious and code abiding installers seal ducts with a gray mastic. Gray because it’s close in color to sheet metal. Mastic is a pliable material that goes on soft and then hardens. it’s applied liberally in order to ensure it gets worked into all of the air gaps in the seams and joints.

To be clear, National Building Standards are often adopted by state building codes which, in turn are adopted by local municipalities. Not all municipalities enforce all of the codes. That is up to the discretion of that particular building department.

But, as the push towards greater efficiency increases, more municipalities are demanding compliance from the contractors who perform work in their cities.

Verne & Ellsworth Hann is up to speed with all of the building codes in all of the municipalities in which we work. As an educated consumer seeking multiple estimates for a new HVAC project, you need to be asking your contractor about his code compliance awareness and history.

For a more detailed reading of the building code as adopted from the Ohio Mechanical Code by the Board of Building Standards you can read the complete code standard chapter 4101:8-16-01 on Duct Systems here. Paying particular attention to  sections 1601.4.1 through 1601.4.7 on joints and seams.

That’s a lot of detailed information to digest in order to understand why the installer is painting a gray substance onto the new ductwork  of your new high efficiency furnace.

But rest assured that Verne & Ellsworth is familiar with all codes in all municipalities.

 

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is essential to a healthy home in the winter. Dry air symptoms can include itchy skin, a dry nose, sore throats, the flu and can even affect hardwood flooring. AprilAire humidifiers are the equipment of choice for installation by Verne & Ellsworth Hann. The photo above shows a humidifier mounted to a recent installation we completed for a customer in Geauga County. We also offer retrofit installations for systems that currently do not have home humidification.

More people are becoming aware of IAQ issues within their home. Of course health is of paramount importance, but equally important is comfort and heating efficiency.

Humidifiers help alleviate that static zap you get when a buildup of electricity is discharged between objects or people. This static electricity occurs when objects have an imbalance of negative and positive electrical charge. In dry air the imbalanced charges have nowhere to go. In humid air, this electricity is discharged harmlessly because moisture acts as a natural conductor allowing the charge to leave objects – and you!

To be more specific about the health benefits consider that physiological passages from the nose the depths of the lungs are most functional when a room has a relative humidity level of between 40% to 60%. Mucus lined passages prevent pathogens from invading into deeper body tissues by constantly washing particles away. This critical defense mechanism is impaired by dry air, enabling harmful organisms to reach deep lung tissue and the blood stream.

In conclusion, whether its for comfort or health, an AprilAire humidifier may be the best decision for yourself and your family. It may be the best homeopathic decision you can make. Whether you live in Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights or any part of Northeast Ohio, give Verne & Ellsworth Hann a call to solve your home humidity issues. Stop living in a desert. Start living in a comfortable, healthy IAQ environment.

A majority of the homes built on the Eastside of Cleveland, in particular Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights, were piped with commonly used galvanized steel pipe. At the time it was a good solution for both plumbing and heating. It was manufactured in the United States, probably from the steel mills of Cleveland or Pittsburgh. It was installed by highly proficient pipe fitters working side-by-side with the carpenters of the day in order to produce a reliable piping system that would last 100 years.

Well, it’s been 100 years and the time is up for a lot of this piping. A lot of it has been replaced over the years, but there’s a lot of it still hidden in the walls out there. And that’s a problem

As evidenced by the photo above it can become a major annoyance in heating. You may move into a house that has radiators and are unfamiliar with hot water or steam powered boilers. They can seem downright mysterious to new homeowners.

When you encounter a radiator that is always cold, it’s common to think it’s a problem radiator, or a problem radiator valve. Perhaps you felt confident the new boiler you bought would solve all of your problems. Except that problematic cold radiator is still cold. Now what?

If you’re dealing with one of the premiere boiler installers in Northeast Ohio, Verne & Ellsworth Hann, we know a thing or two about heating systems. We understand it can be as much about how the house is piped, what it is piped with, and what are the most likely causes for problematic cold radiators.

Some heating companies say they install boilers. But, in reality, they only install furnaces and will install a boiler (reluctantly and poorly) if forced to. At Verne & Ellsworth Hann, we install boilers every week of the year. We are the largest residential boiler installer in Northeast Ohio. We know a thing or two about cold radiators. Just ask us. 216-932-9755.

In many ways your furnace and ductworks are the lungs to your house.  Whatever is inside that system is the air that your breathe. What you are seeing in the photo above is the blower motor wheel assembly of a furnace system Verne & Ellsworth Hann recently replaced. This is the power plant of a heating system, the point of origin of all air movement throughout your home. After taking one look at this, you must agree, nobody would want to live with this in their house. Yet many people are unaware of this hidden health danger.

The air quality in your home could potentially be worse than the outdoor air quality. People who develop respiratory conditions like asthma or C.O.P.D. ( Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ) and are constantly battling for every breath they take may want to take into consideration the battleground for clean air begins at home.

The homeowner who got this furnace system replaced won on multiple levels. The air quality in their home was instantly improved, plus they had a new reliable high efficient heating system that saves money and increases the value of their home. Stop and think about that for a minute; reliable low cost heating and better air quality. Who would equivocate over making a decision like that?

After seeing what was in their old heating system, this particular homeowner was taking the additional recommendations to improve air quality by having a humidifier installed and added a UV light to kill any rogue germs or microbes.

Homeowners should not be frugal when it comes to a complete furnace installation. One trip to a doctor’s office could easily end up costing more than a modest investment of better quality indoor air.

If you could see into your lungs you may be motivated to change your lifestyle. If you could see into your furnace you would be motivated to change your furnace and air conditioning.

You might say that Verne & Ellsworth Hann are the pulmonary specialists of your home’s heating and cooling system.

The finishing touches have been added to our new location at 2026 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights on the corner of Yorkshire Road. It now looks night and day from the way it used to appear. Here are photos taken at night and at day. Much in the same way you could go to the corner store for milk, bread or perhaps your pharmacy needs; now we can reliably say that you can get your heating and cooling needs just down the corner. Can that be said of every heating and cooling contractor in Northeast Ohio? Most are hidden away in the back office of a commercial business park. Our building is highly visible from Lee Road in Cleveland Heights. We’re easy to find, easy to talk to, and people who use us often give us a positive review because they’ve had a positive experience.

 

We all know how those home remodeling projects turn out; three times longer than expected and twice the cost. You can imagine the multiplication factors involved if that’s on the commercial side of the equation.

Our remodeling project for the exterior of our building began a little more than one year ago. And on Monday October 31, 2016 we saw the culminating element put into place — our exterior signage. The exclamation point that says, we are here, and we are here to stay.

Not only is Verne & Ellsworth Hann one of the oldest tenured businesses in Cleveland Heights, we are one of the oldest tenured heating and cooling companies in Northeast Ohio.

We’ve witnessed a lot of innovation over the years, and our technicians have stayed abreast of all of those advances. But now that we live in a world of accelerated change, it takes even more skilled people at all levels of our business to make sure the next generation of heating and cooling systems will be reliably installed and maintained.

We often feel we a foot in each century; having to repair and maintain equipment that has been around since coal was the primary heating source, as well as the 21st century high efficiency equipment that can provide comfortable, even heating in your home while exhausting nothing more than vapor.

If your home was built in the 20th century and you’re interested in a 21st century solution to your heating and cooling needs, call Verne & Ellsworth Hann at 216-932-9755.

And if you drive by our building at 2026 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights take a quick look at our completed remodeling project. Hopefully our lawn will start to come in before winter arrives.

Getting a massive 375,000 BTU steam boiler into the basement of a customer’s home is no easy feat. It usually takes a coordinated team effort of between four and six men. It’s a workflow that we are accomplished and polished at because we do it almost 60 times a year.

Our competition puts in a fraction of that number.

What can complicate the workflow is a bad weather day. On this particular day it had been raining persistently for the past 20 hours and the rain was still coming down. We can’t wait for a good weather day to put in a boiler.

What was required was for us to make sure everything was loaded up under roof in our warehouse, secured and completely covered in waterproof tarps. Heavy plastic was used to cover all fittings that had to be delivered.

We like to think that we’re providing a safety net for everyone we work for by installing reliable heat systems. But sometimes we need to break out the umbrella. Rain or shine, give Verne & Ellsworth Hann Heating a call at (216) 932-9755.

You don’t have to know the science behind how air conditioning works to understand that the unit outside (the condenser) needs to be able to breathe for optimal efficiency.
The condenser is the component of your system that expels the heat the system gathers during the cooling process. If that process is interrupted it results in poor cooling.
One of the ways the cooling process is undermined is because of excess foliage growing all over it. It doesn’t take a heating technician to solve this problem. Just get out your pruning shears and give your condenser the one thing it needs the most — room to breathe.
If you are updating any of the landscaping, or starting with a blank canvas in a new home, plan on giving your condenser the room that it needs. Putting down a perimeter of weed block fabric with a top layer of river stone is ideal. This way, no weeds can take root and infiltrate your system.

Good question. Because if it’s not installed correctly, it’s not performing up to its energy savings potential. According to industry watchdogs up to 40% of all heating and air conditioning systems are improperly installed. That’s a lot of hard earned money being handed over to companies masquerading as professional but are, in fact, semi-professional or downright unprofessional.

You need an installer who fully understands the building sciences and can properly install an HVAC system. (HVAC: Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning).

And how’s the average homeowner to know if the pitch of an exhaust pipe is bad? Or the chimney flue wasn’t properly addressed during installation and while there may not be any immediate problems, years from now you’re confronted with an expensive chimney repair?

Even if you try to become an educated consumer regarding the equipment and what is best for your house, how can you be assured that the installation of the equipment was done right and up to code?

A properly installed system will give you optimal comfort and the best energy savings. You’ll also be rewarded with a more reliable piece of equipment because an improperly installed furnace or air conditioner will often fail prematurely and require a higher rate of repair. A properly installed system will also give you better air quality.

Your best protection is to deal with a reliable company like Verne & Ellsworth Hann which has a proven track record with the Better Business Bureau, Angie’s, comes recommended from the equipment manufacturers themselves, and is licensed and bonded in the city you live.

While that’s a good place to start, you can also ask your neighbors or relatives about their experiences with Verne & Ellsworth Hann. We’re confident you’ll be headed in the right direction after that. Just give us a call at ♦ 216-932-9755 ♦