Fall is an ideal time to make small changes that add up to a cleaner environment and in many cases, lower your energy bill. Here’s how you can make your home a little greener:

Fall is a great time to make green changes to your home and reduce your energy footprint (and bills!)

• Plant some trees and shrubs. Fall is the best time to plant these, because it allows root systems to grow and establish during their dormancy. Not only that, but shrubs and trees can provide natural insulation to harsh winter weather, reducing your home’s heating needs.

• Apply environmentally-friendly fertilizer to your grass. You can buy chemical-free, all natural fall fertilizer yourself, or ask your fertilizer company for this safer, greener alternative. Helps your soil and the St. Louis water system become greener and cleaner.

• Turn your hot water heater temperature down. Just five degrees lower will provide long term savings on your gas and electric bill. You probably won’t notice the difference in temperature, and this means less energy consumed.

• Program your thermostat to your family’s routine and save energy and home heating costs. If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, consider upgrading to a more efficient model.

• Make recycling your glassware, paper, cardboard and plastics a habit. It’s amazing how much we consume that can be reclaimed and re-purposed.

• Use Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs. CFLs use about 75% less energy and last about far longer than incandescent bulbs.

• Replace your old, inefficient home comfort system with a new high-efficiency model. You can begin saving on energy bills right away. Plus, many new systems qualify for tax rebates and incentives.

Even seemingly insignificant environmental changes can help impact the air quality in the greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Like many businesses and homeowners in our city, Ricotta Heating & Air is helping to reduce the impact our company, our products and, by extension, our business customers and homeowners, are having on the environment.

-Lew of the Ricotta blog team

Did you pay huge electric bills this summer because of an aging air conditioning system struggling to keep up with our extreme heat and humidity? If your system is more than 10 years old, you may want to look into replacing it. And replacing it with a geothermal system might be the best bet for your home.

Geothermal heating and cooling is no longer considered cutting edge technology. It’s a proven heating and cooling method, saves energy, reduces utility costs, and uses the earth’s ability to store heat.  In fact, studies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have shown that homes utilizing geothermal heat pumps can save:

• 50 – 87% off heating costs
• Up to 50% off cooling bills

Over a relatively short period of time, the reduction of energy usage alone will save more than your initial upgrade costs of purchasing new geothermal equipment and having it installed. Not only that, but new geothermal systems may qualify for a federal tax credit of up to 30% of their total cost.

At Ricotta Heating and Air, we specialize in providing a variety of geothermal heat pumps to St. Louis, Missouri and surrounding areas. We have specially trained HVAC technicians who can help determine the optimal pump and ground loop configuration to heat and cool your home or office.

Still have questions? A Ricotta Heating & Air representative in your neighborhood will be happy to provide a complimentary geothermal analysis and proposal for a new construction or existing home. We can help you see if a new geothermal unit is right for you.

Call Ricotta at (636) 274-5900 to schedule an appointment.

- Lew of the Ricotta blogging team

Yes, it’s still extremely hot and humid. Hard to believe that fall is but a month away. Which is why right now is a great time to schedule a pre-season fall maintenance check up with Ricotta Heating & Air.

This is especially true for commercial users. And since Ricotta is a member of ACCA, and its service technicians are professionally trained in servicing both commercial and private residences, we can take a look at any type of system, from the smallest mobile home to the largest commercial property. We’ll clean it, service it, and check for wear as well as any potential problems.

Central forced-air heating systems are by far the most popular method of heating and cooling homes and businesses – and Ricotta has serviced thousands throughout the St. Louis metropolitan and surrounding communities throughout our many years in the business.

We provide emergency and scheduled heating and cooling service for homes and businesses in the following Missouri communities:

It’s a good idea to schedule a service call with Ricotta to have your entire system checked in late summer or early fall to be sure your air conditioner is running at peak efficiency with no problems. At the same time, Ricotta Heating & Air will check to be sure that the first time you need to turn on your heater, your system will be ready to go!

-Lew of the Ricotta blog team