Dominion East Ohio and most heating contractors recommend yearly inspections and maintenance, particularly with newer furnaces. They’re more sensitive than older models and are designed to shut down when certain problems arise so the furnace won’t be damaged.
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The nonprofit American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, however, says servicing every other year is sufficient for natural-gas furnaces. (It recommends servicing every year for oil-fired systems and every two or three years for heat pumps.)
Don’t wait longer than two years between gas furnace inspections, however. A technician can spot and correct problems that cause your furnace to run less efficiently or wear out faster, both of which will cost you money. He or she can also discover combustion and venting problems that can lead to the production of carbon monoxide, which can cost you your life
On The Shelf: Swap your lawn for edible plants
Consider the front lawn. We mow it. We feed it. We spend time and money on it. And what do we get back?
Not much, Ivette Soler argues.
Soler, a garden designer and writer, advocates trading swaths of grass for front-yard food gardens that feed both our bodies and our aesthetic sensibilities. She teaches readers how to do it in “The Edible Front Yard: The Mow-Less, Grow-More Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden.”
Soler isn’t talking about planting a typical vegetable garden in front of your house. Instead, she aims for a pleasing landscape that combines both ornamental and edible plants and enhances the home’s appearance and value.
She suggests plants that will look good throughout the season, teaches the principles of garden design and leads readers through the process of removing a lawn and installing and maintaining the garden.
“The Edible Front Yard” is published by Timber Press and sells for $19.95 in softcover.
What’s New: Projector puts stars in your eyes
BlissLights let you create an illusion of starlight in your home or yard.
BlissLights are projectors that create either moving or static pinpoints of laser light in a room or an outdoor space. All you have to do is plug in the projector and point it where you want the stars to appear.
The light is safe enough even for use in children’s bedrooms, the company says.
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