Bay Area residents can now make a clean air choice and save money on their gas insert purchases! The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is offering a $200.00 rebate when you purchase a gas stove or gas insert. In addition, the Energy House will add an additional $200.00 for each qualifying rebate for a gas insert or gas stove.  So you can receive a $400.00 savings as long as the program lasts. This is a great time to save some cash!

Switching from burning wood to using gas will reduce air pollution and improve air quality in your neighborhood. In order to get your reservation number, go to sparetheair.org and follow the instructions to get your rebate authorization.The Energy House has a wide selection of gas stoves and gas inserts to fit all pocketbooks. If you go to our website www.energy-house.com you can get more information regarding the products and get directions to our two showroom locations.

Spare the Air Program

The Winter Spare the Air season runs from November 1, 2008, through February 28, 2009. This winter, for the first time in the Bay Area, it will be illegal to burn wood, pellets, or manufactured fire logs when a Winter Spare the Air Alert is issued.

In the wintertime, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) becomes the pollutant with the greatest impact on air quality. Fine particulates can bypass the body’s natural defenses, penetrating deeply into the lungs and even passing into the bloodstream. Prolonged exposure to the fine particulates in wood smoke has been linked with aggravated asthma, lung and heart disease, and increased mortality rates. Wood burning in fireplaces and wood stoves creates about one-third of the winter particulate matter air pollution in the Bay Area.

When our morning forecast predicts unhealthy particulate matter concentrations, the Air District will issue a Winter Spare the Air Alert. Winter Spare the Air Alerts will be posted on our Spare the Air home page and on the Air District’s www.baaqmd.gov home page. It will also be recorded at 1-877-4NO-BURN. Residents and businesses can sign up for e-mail AirAlerts and automatic Phone Alerts as well, so they can “check before you burn.”

The Spare the Air Program was established by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to educate people about air pollution, and to encourage them to change their behavior to prevent it.

During the summer months ground-level ozone is the pollutant of concern.  Ozone is formed when pollutants combine on hot summer days, and it accumulates when there is little wind.

In order to protect public health, the Air District issues Spare the Air advisories on days when air quality is forecast to be unhealthy due to high ozone levels. People who are especially sensitive to pollution are advised to limit their time outdoors, particularly in the afternoon hours. These advisories are posted on our web site, recorded on our 1 (800) HELP AIR forecast phone line, announced in local newspapers, and broadcast on local TV and radio stations.

On Spare the Air Days, we ask Bay Area residents to reduce pollution by making clean air choices. These simple actions include driving less, taking public transportation, trip-linking, walking, biking, choosing non-gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment, and avoiding polluting household products.

On this site you will find answers to frequently asked questions about air pollution, descriptions of its health effects, information about how various communities and employers are working to prevent pollution, clean air tips, and a variety of other educational resources.

In addition, the air quality forecast allows you to keep track of air quality conditions in your region of the Bay Area.

New Artisan DVS & DVL Double Doors Now Available

Our new Artisan Double Doors for the DVS and DVL Inserts are now in stock. The doors are rectangular in shape and feature the same hand-hammered finish and wrought iron bars that have made our line of Artisan faces a stand-out favorite for many years. These doors are finished with charcoal paint. Mount a set of these doors on a small or a large backing plate to create a face that will cover most sizes of fireplace openings, eliminating the need for surround panels. The Artisan doors will create a spectacular focal point in a room. The DVL Artisan double doors also feature a matching accent across the top to give a more finished look.

DVL Insert, Double Door Architectural Faces

FPX believes design and style are every bit as important as efficiency and durability. Our new line of double door faces for our gas fireplace inserts eliminates the drab, black surround panels most people associate with a fireplace insert. The double doors, which open to reveal an unobstructed view of the fire, cover the fireplace opening. This new concept is available in two sizes (large or small), and covers the majority of fireplaces. We also offer two choices in shape (arch or rectangular), four choices in design (Basic, Artisan, Classic or Arts & Crafts) and four choices of colors (black, or accent the doors with bronze, antique nickel and antique copper onlays). The lively bright flames, luxuriant heat and comforting dependability (our gas inserts continue working when the power goes out) are a few more compelling reasons to convert your drafty, inefficient wood fireplace into a warm, inviting comfort zone.

We have extensive displays of both wood and gas inserts in our Gilroy showroom at 6205 Engle Way (408-842-6570) and our showroom in San Carlos at 1300 Industrial Road, #17 (650-593-1496. Come on in and get out of the cold!

For further directions or more information, visit our website at www.energy-house.com.

Fall is in the air and the phone begins to ring with calls from customers asking why their fireplace won’t turn on. The answer to this in a moment.

Modern gas fireplaces and inserts are typically worry free but there is some maintenance required. How much varies from unit to unit. – take a look at the manual left with your unit. Manual? Can’t recall where that particular document is? Most manufacturers have a website and offer you the ability to download the manual for your unit. Details on the specific tasks you’ll want to have done will be in the manual.

Back to why your unit won’t light. The truth is it could be any number of things but the most common reason we’ve found is spider or insect eggs in the valve orifice. Insects tend to like these areas and a fireplace left idle for several months is likely to have enough insect debris to cause the flame not to light.

Much of the annual maintenance can be performed by the homeowner. A few things you should be careful of:

- don’t move the logs. Log placement isn’t a random thing. The entire unit is designed for the logs to be in a specific orientation. If they are moved you may have sooting, flame impingement, or other issues.

- don’t cover burner holes. Even the small ones contribute to the overall performance of the fireplace.

- use a non-abrasive cleaner on the glass. Be sure to clean any reside from the glass before you use the unit.

The Energy House is available for service calls for fireplaces and inserts we installed. Unfortunately we are not able to perform service on units we did not install.