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A HVAC system is one of the most important parts of the air quality in your home. Your system will have an air filter that helps to keep the air quality in your home at good levels. If you have a dirty furnace filter, it will cause many different changes in your home, including poor air quality. To ensure that you have clean air, you should change out your furnace filters every three months. More often, if you are using cheaper air filters or you have a lot of pets or people coming in and out of your home.

What Causes an Air Filter To Get Dirty?

Several things can get clogged inside of your air filter, and these include:

• Pollen
• Dirt
• Dust
• Pet hair
• Pet dander
• Smoke
• Bacteria
• Mold spores
• Viruses

The longer you go without changing your air filter, the more these things will build up and will compromise not only your air quality but your HVAC system as well.

The Dangers of Dirty Air Filters

The first danger of a clogged furnace filter is that the airflow will be blocked by dust and debris. The air will then get pushed along the filter, and those particles will get into the air you breathe. When you have poor air quality in your home, you and the residents in it may experience eye discomfort, congestion, and headaches. You will want to make sure that you change your air filters frequently to avoid this issue.

Another risk of having dirty air filters is that they can cause a fire in your duct system or your furnace. When the air can no longer pass through, it can suck some of the debris out, posing a severe fire risk that can damage your HVAC system and your home.

Your blower motor works to circulate the air throughout your house. When you have a dirty air filter, the blower fan will get dirty. Once your blower fan becomes dirty, it will cause the blower to have issues functioning. It can even lead to the blower motor from stopping altogether.

One thing that you do not want to see is a higher energy bill. If you do not clean your air filters regularly, you will see an increase in your energy bills each month. When the unit becomes clogged, it will cause the unit to work harder, pulling in more power. If you see a higher-than-normal power bill, the first thing that you should check should be your air filter.

On top of everything else, you may need more repairs simply because you did not keep your air filters clean. A huge part of HVAC maintenance is keeping those filters clean, so the system does not have to work as hard. To avoid expensive repairs, clean your filter regularly. If you are unsure whether or not you need to replace the filter, take it out and inspect it. If it looks dirty, replace, or wash it immediately. Even if you replace your filter early, you will not hurt your HVAC system and will help to improve the air quality of your home.

What Is the Best Type of Air Filter To Use?

When you go out to purchase an air filter for your HVAC system, you will want to get a filter that is the correct one for the model that you have. Getting too small or too big of a filter will ensure that it does not work properly. For example, too small of a filter will allow air to get around the filter and into your air. Too big of a filter, and it will not fit around your HVAC system. If you are unsure of the type of filter you should get for your system, you can always speak to a local HVAC professional who can help you to get the best filter possible. They can also give you recommendations on whether you should be using a disposable or washable filter.

Taking care of the filter that goes with your HVAC system will help to ensure that you do not have any air quality problems and that your system lasts for many years to come. Remember that proper maintenance will help to save you money on energy bills, repair bills, and will ensure that your HVAC unit is working as it should.

One of the things that customers really care about these days is the way in which the companies they buy from treat the environment and how they implement green policies. If it’s something that you know your target audience of customers really cares about, it makes sense to find ways to connect with them along those lines. We’re going to talk today about some of the ways to do just that, so read on and learn more.

Seek Feedback from Customers

First of all, you should do your best to listen to your customers more closely. You can’t easily respond to their wants and preferences if you don’t know what they are. So it might be in your best interests to seek their feedback regarding green issues. That way, you can really find out where their priorities lie and what they really think about these matters. It offers a good starting point.

Design Sustainable Packaging

The packaging that your products come in is one of the most obvious things that your customers will notice about your business and the way in which it deals with green concerts. If you’re using a lot of plastic or materials that are not sourced sustainably and aren’t easy to recycle, that sends completely the wrong kind of message to the people that you’re trying to win over.

Be Vocal About the Changes You’re Making

When you’re making green and sustainable changes to your business, there’s nothing at all wrong with being vocal about them and why you’ve decided to make them. If you want to really feel the benefits to your reputation that come with making such changes, you have to let people know what you’re doing. Doing them secretly is all well and good, but people want to know too.

Become More Efficient and Less Wasteful with Resources

The more efficient you are with your resources, the less wasteful you’ll be. That’s why it’s so important to invest in things that allow you to work efficiently. That could mean investing in storage options, such as a large water tank to help you conserve water better. And that’s just one example among many ways in which you can operate more efficiently.

Make Commitments You Can Stick To

Finally, you should try to only make the kinds of commitments that you know you can stick to. If you’re not committed to making sure that you’re following through on the promises you make to customers, they’re going to call you out when you fail to deliver, and that’s something that has the potential to do serious damage to your company. Don’t let that happen.

As you can see, there’s a lot to take into account when it comes to how you engage customers that care about the environment. They want to support businesses that have the same values they hold dear, so be sure to make the most of the ideas above and show your target audience how much you care about this stuff.

Becoming a trade professional is a straightforward decision for many of us. We have a certain skill set, are interested in a certain industry or simply want to get involved in a trade that can secure a stable career and income. However, things aren’t always as simple as picking up your tools and heading out to work. If you work for someone else, this is fine and will work. But if you want to work for yourself, you’re going to have to put in the work of securing clients and customers on a routine enough basis to generate a consistent income.

Nowadays, this means having a good quality website. Think about it – if you’re looking for a tradesperson, what would you do? Chances are, you’d type a few keywords like “plumber” or “roofer” into a search engine and click one of the first results to put up. You’d learn what you needed from their website and would make a decision on whether you want to use their services or not based on this. So, if you’re going to make a success of yourself, here are a few suggestions that can help you to create the website you need to secure your sales!

Use Web Designers and Developers

First, you’re going to need to reach out to a web designer and developer. They’ll be able to create the actual website for you. When talking to these professionals, it’s good to discuss things like the color scheme you’d like, creating a logo, how the pages are laid out and so much more. You may also want to reach out to a UX designer, who will be able to make sure that the pages are easy to use and direct people, step by step, to actually getting in touch with you. Once your website is up and running, you’re going to need to use specialists in SEO to help it rank in search engine results. This means when people search for the services you’re providing, your site will appear at the top of the list of links.

Get a Photographer

A photographer will be able to take pictures of your work to secure further sales going forward. It’s a good idea to get a few photos of you at work, doing whatever trade you might do, as well as your tools and equipment. This will give you some content for the website itself, such as on your “about me” or “services” pages. Then, you could do with some quality pictures of the work you’ve completed, which is ideal for a portfolio page, where potential clients can browse your work and see how good you are at what you do! Most photographers will edit and resize images to perfectly fit your site in their post-production processes. If you’re unsure, check whether this is a part of their package or a service that they offer. If it’s not included, you can easily find online tools or software that offer a photo size converter to ensure your images are optimized for your website.

Use a Copywriter

If you’re not too good with words, you should reach out to a copywriter too. This professional will be able to write all of the text on your website. They’ll be able to explain what you do and advertise it well. This can help people to get a good idea of your skill sets, how long projects could take and can work as a form of advertising and marketing, showing you in the best light possible. Many freelancers or agencies will complete this work for a reasonable price. Make sure to have a consultation with them to ensure they know everything that you have as a selling factor, from qualifications to specialist skill sets or experience and how far you’re willing to travel. You can write a list for them to refer to and check the copy over once it’s complete. If anything’s missing, or anything comes to mind later, you can always request edits.

Get Reviews

It’s a good idea to dedicate a part of your site to reviews from previous and existing clients. This is a form of social proof that will give new customers confidence in actually using your services. Ask previous customers to write up a short review and submit it on your page. This can really enhance your reputation and secure a lot more bookings or sales.

As you can see, there are a fair few steps you’re going to need to take when it comes to creating a website for your services and securing the sales you need to keep your business up and running. Hopefully, some of the information above should help you to experience as much success as possible.

Keeping your field employees happy can be a challenge. Being so cut off from the office, it’s often hard for them to feel connected to the rest of the team. 

As an article entitled, Distributed Teams Vs. Remote Teams: What’s The Difference? points out, there is actually a difference between distributed and remote teams. Generally speaking, in the trades, we operate distributed teams, since employees are on multiple different sites due to the nature of the job. 

Of course, there are difficulties in running remote teams that office-based businesses simply don’t face. But, fortunately, there are also solutions. We run through them here. 

Be Flexible With Your Employees

Today’s workers want employers to give them high levels of flexibility. They expect to work in roles where they can choose their hours and decide when they show up to client sites, within reason. 

Employers, therefore, are beginning to offer more flexibility. Instead of just getting customers to set when and where they want field workers, tradespeople themselves are getting more control over the process. There’s more of a negotiation going on, with workers able to deal with family issues around their work, and spend more time working in the early mornings and late evenings, if necessary. 

Give Them The Tools They Need To Succeed

Don’t rely on your staff to supply all the tools they need to get on and do the job. They won’t always have them, and they certainly won’t be inclined to buy them out of their own salary. 

Before they join your organization, check what they have first. Then lease them any remaining tools that they need to complete their collection. You may be able to come to a rental agreement with some employee where, in exchange for use of your platform or business, they pay a surcharge or fee for any tools they use on the job.

If that doesn’t sound palatable, adopt a policy of providing tools outright. However, make sure that each employee has access to official company tools. Don’t allow the use of any tools they may have acquired from prior work. 

Show More Support For New Hires

More experienced field workers generally know how the business operates and what they should be doing. They don’t require any hand holding. Newer hires, though, generally require a few months of guidance before getting up to speed. 

Unfortunately, most plumbing and trade businesses are failing their employees in this respect. They’re offering a brief onboarding and then relying on them to get on with the job themselves. In most field service businesses, that’s not how it works. There’s a long run-in before employees become fully independent. 

There are many ways that you can support your new recruits throughout your onboarding process. This includes: 

• Providing clear training on company policies and processes
• Offering all the tools and equipment that they need to do their job properly
• Providing information via the cloud, such as shared documents, payment information and review scores

Keep Them In The Know

Field employees can often feel a little left out of the loop and cut off from the rest of the business. They have little or no visibility of what’s going on at the top, and that can be a problem. 

Fortunately, this is an easy issue to solve: just provide them with regular updates. Either call field staff individually, or if you don’t have time for that, organize monthly group chats on Zoom. Let them last an hour or so, and offer plenty of time for employees to ask questions and get clarifications. Also, invite them to raise issues and look for ways to solve problems that they might face on the job. 

Show Your Appreciation More Often

In general, managers and company executives are really bad at showing employees their appreciation for all the hard work they do. They might pay lip service to it from time to time, but it’s often too little, too late. 

The lack of praise doesn’t come from malice. Instead, it arises from the fact that most company bosses simply don’t have time to go around verbally patting people on the back. 

The trick here is to automate the process. Assign a manager or director to praise field employees when they meet certain targets of milestones. If necessary, use software to support you that tracks employee performance. Get it to send you reminders every time they achieve metrics that qualify. 

Listen To Feedback

You might think that your business is perfect, but your field employees will almost certainly disagree. Because they work on the front line, they see all the flaws first hand. 

Always take time to listen to feedback. Make sure that everyone in your organization knows that they’ve been heard. When you listen to people, you quickly make them happier and more engaged at work. Even if you don’t follow through on their requests, it can make a tremendous difference in how they perceive you. 

Foster More Social Interactions

Field employees can sometimes feel lonely. Their work involves spending a lot of time by themselves, working on projects at client sites. Sometimes, customers will spend time talking to them, but that’s rare. For the most part, they’re alone. 

Some workers are okay with this, but many aren’t. They want to feel like they’re a part of an active, vibrant community of workers, all pursuing a shared objective. 

Fortunately, there are plenty of things that managers can do to reduce loneliness and increase team cohesiveness. These include: 

• Regular video chats via Zoom and other video meeting software
• Virtual team-building activities
• Social hours after work
• Business conferences and events

Assign Mentors

Another popular strategy today is to assign workers mentors. These can help them with virtually every aspect of their work, from technical advice for how to plumb a toilet, to coping with career stress. 

You don’t have to have one mentor per employee. If there’s someone in your organization (or even a person outside of it) who is able to offer sound advice, get them to work with multiple field staff at the same time.

Use Technology To Stay Connected

In terms of technology, field operations have never had it better. Today there are more software solutions available than at any point in history, changing the way that people work forever. 

You’re not limited to one type of tool either. There are messaging apps, job boards, video communication tools, and payment gateways. However, the best software combines all of these features and more so that you don’t need to add anything else to your stack. 

Such field software does actually exist today. In fact, it’s been around for quite some time. Start using it and see whether it makes your employees stick around for longer. 

Offer A Mix Of Work

Depending on your business setup, you might also be able to offer employees a mix of field and in-office work. Variety is the spice of life, as they say, and that couldn’t be truer for field workers. While working on client sites is interesting, many also want to return to the office from time to time to find their bearings. If this is an option for your company, you might want to try it. 

Conclusion

In summary, there are now more methods than ever to keep your field employees happy. There’s no reason for them to become disgruntled or look for better work elsewhere, so long as you adopt the right approach. Use the methods above to improve your operations and hold on to your most valuable staff.