It’s spring, and the Eastern Panhandle’s frigid winter nights are giving way to longer days and milder temperatures. But before you know it, summer will be making its presence felt, and midday will become sizzling hot.
How did your home’s air conditioning do on the hottest days last summer?
We understand that most customers would prefer to repair their struggling A/C equipment than replace it. New cooling equipment can be pricy, but it’s also an investment in your family’s comfort. And you’ll be amazed at how upgrading your system can immediately lower your electric bills.
Roach Energy handles more air conditioning installations than just about any company in the region. We can help you weigh the costs and benefits of repairing or replacing your A/C equipment.
If your A/C system breaks down or required multiple repairs recently, then you should consider these variables to determine if you should repair or replace it.
If you think your A/C equipment may need to be retired, please don’t wait to contact the HVAC experts at Roach Energy. We have fewer repair calls in the spring and can get to you immediately. We’ll have plenty of time to select the right cooling system for your home, secure equipment and install it — all before the first scorching summer afternoon!
Please don’t wait for your A/C to break down in the dog days of summer. With lingering supply chain delays, you could end up suffering through the heat while we scramble to secure a new system.
And Roach Energy can help you keep your system working efficiently for years to come with one of our A/C service plans. This coverage guarantees you an annual service visit to calibrate and clean your system and address any issues that might cause a breakdown and shorten its lifespan.
We’re ready and excited to show you all the high-efficiency cooling options available to you. Contact us today for a free estimate!
While the equipment that heats, cools and ventilates your business may serve a similar function to a residential HVAC system, it’s a different animal altogether. Commercial HVAC equipment is sized, stored, powered and maintained differently. Overall, it’s far more complicated to install, service and repair.
You must ensure the HVAC technicians working with your business’s systems know what they’re doing. If they don’t have the training and experience to service your commercial equipment properly, you could wind up facing a serious — and costly — maintenance issue.
Throughout Berkeley, Morgan, Jefferson, and Washington counties, the Roach Energy team helps commercial clients keep their HVAC systems running at peak performance. Here are some tips for addressing repairs to your commercial equipment.
When it comes to commercial heating, cooling and ventilation equipment, safety is the primary concern. If you lose your heat in the winter or don’t have sufficient airflow for an industrial or manufacturing setting, we will get to you immediately and repair the issue.
For less-urgent repairs, there might be some wiggle room for addressing the problem. These issues may reduce the efficiency of your HVAC system but won’t risk a total breakdown that can halt operations and put your workforce in unsafe conditions.
A Roach Energy technician can look at your HVAC systems and determine if they could use a non-urgent repair or general maintenance in the near future — or if a system breakdown is imminent.
The best time to deal with less-pressing repairs is in the off-season. Whenever possible, we try to address commercial heating repairs in the summer and air conditioning repairs in the winter.
Generally, arranging regular maintenance for your business’s HVAC systems is the best way to preemptively deal with these issues. When we service a commercial-grade boiler, furnace, A/C or ventilation system regularly, we can catch problems long before they become urgent repairs. We also have a firmer grasp of the system’s long-term health and can begin discussing HVAC equipment replacement as components reach the end of their lifespans.
There are other significant advantages to regular commercial HVAC maintenance, including the following:
Businesses, farms, warehouses and work sites count on Roach Energy for a range of commercial HVAC services. We appreciate that no business is like another and can craft a heating, cooling and ventilation solution that meets your needs, space and budget. All our technicians are specially trained for today’s high-efficiency commercial HVAC equipment. You can be confident that your employees and equipment are in the best hands.
Has it been too long since someone looked at your commercial HVAC systems? Get in touch with our team to schedule an inspection and service.
Businesses and homeowners alike are discovering that propane is a versatile fuel that can power various systems and equipment. In the Eastern Panhandle region, Roach Energy supplies commercial propane to restaurants, hotels, warehouses, construction sites, farms, landscaping companies and many other clients.
Here’s a rundown of propane’s essential functions for businesses and worksites.
The propane we deliver lights cooktops, powers commercial-grade clothes dryers, heats water for hotel showers and keeps spas and pools warm. No wonder restaurants, hotels and laundromats depend on Roach Energy for bulk propane, fuel tank storage and equipment services.
Today’s agricultural businesses and landscapers depend on propane for a range of uses. These include the following:
Unlike natural gas, you don’t need a utility connection to use propane, which is a significant value for agricultural businesses that may not be near a gas utility.
When temperatures plunge in Berkeley, Morgan, Jefferson and Washington counties, construction sites need temporary heat to ensure their workforce is safe and comfortable. Propane provides fast, robust heat. It’s also vital in ensuring the integrity of your project. Propane heat can:
Propane remains a popular fuel for forklifts. Propane forklifts have some significant advantages over other options:
Our electric grid is overburdened, and blackouts are unfortunately on the rise. What do schools, daycares, nursing homes and hospitals do when the grid goes down? They turn to propane generators.
Propane generators are the most dependable backup electricity option around. Propane has a virtually unlimited shelf life, unlike gasoline. You don’t need to rush to a gas station (which might not be open during a blackout) to fuel your generator. It’s connected to your propane tank.
We’ve proudly provided dependable commercial fuel delivery and HVAC services for seven decades. We are a locally-focused company, not an international corporation. Roach Energy has the adaptability and familiarity with the region to develop a custom fueling plan and be there when you need us for an emergency delivery or repair.
We want to help you grow your business. Contact Roach Energy today for a free consultation.
Roach Energy is a full HVAC services provider. HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and it encompasses all the systems that keep your home cool and the summer and warm in the winter.
But what equipment and services are included under the umbrella of HVAC systems? Let’s break down what each part of HVAC means (not necessarily in the order of the acronym) and how we help households in Berkeley, Morgan, Jefferson, and Washington counties with them.
During the most frigid months in the Eastern Panhandle region, homes and businesses alike count on Roach Energy to stay warm. We deliver top-quality heating oil and propane to power heating equipment. We also install, maintain and repair systems from top manufacturers like Trane, Carrier, Buderus, Luxaire, and Utica Boilers.
Furnaces keep you warm by heating air and blowing it through the ductwork into your living areas. These systems are also called forced air systems. The ducts they use can also be used for central air conditioning. Furnaces can usually warm your house quickly since their start-up time is minimal.
Boiler systems don’t use ductwork. Instead, they work with your home’s plumbing. A boiler heats water in a tank, then circulates either steam or hot water through your pipes and into radiators or radiant flooring systems. Boilers can be pricier to install and take longer to heat your home, but the heat they produce is exceptionally comfortable.
West Virginia and Maryland experience extreme heat as well as frosty cold. It’s no wonder that customers count on us for cooling solutions, which our world-class HVAC team offers.
Central A/C uses the ductwork in your home and an outdoor condenser to deliver cool air. You can control cooling operations using your home’s thermostat. At Roach Energy, we install and service central air conditioning systems from Carrier, Trane, and Luxaire.
If your home doesn’t have ducts, you aren’t stuck using ineffective window A/C units. Ductless mini-splits provide powerful, zoned cooling — you can keep different areas of your home at different temperatures — as well as supplemental heat. They consist of an outdoor condenser and an indoor air handler, which connect via a thin tube through your wall.
Mini-split systems are pricier to install than central A/C, but they’re generally cheaper to operate and have a longer lifespan!
If you have ductwork in your home, it might carry more than hot and cool air. Ducts can circulate dust, viruses, mold, germs, bacteria, and other toxins. But Roach Energy has indoor air quality (IAQ) solutions to keep the air in your home safe to breathe. These IAQ fixes include:
These products can protect you from dry and itchy skin, exacerbated allergies, asthma attacks, colds, and various other illnesses.
Now that you know what HVAC means, experience the advantages of having the best HVAC team in the region. Contact Roach Energy today to service your heating or cooling equipment.
According to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), the air inside our homes can be up to five times more polluted than the air outside. How much of our time do we spend indoors? 90 percent!
When the indoor air quality (IAQ) of your eastern Panhandle home is subpar, your family suffers as a result. Poor air quality worsens breathing ailments like asthma and promotes the spread of viral illnesses. Older adults and children face the worst effects. Airborne toxins aggravate allergies, dry out your skin and speed up the deterioration of wood finishes, cabinetry, paint, wallpaper, and artwork.
So how do you get rid of the dust, pollen, debris, mold, bacteria and other pollutants in your home? Your air filters can catch some but not nearly all of them. Luckily, at Roach Energy, we have a stellar IAQ team that can find a solution to clean the air you’re breathing. One of the best weapons in our arsenal is an air purifier.
While air filters catch airborne impurities and oil diffusers and humidifiers counter them with additional particles, air purifiers either eradicate or purify the toxic agents in your ducts. Depending on the product, they may employ UV light, negative ions or another technology.
When you install an air purifier in your home, you significantly lower the impurities circulating through your HVAC system and ductwork.
You’ll be amazed at the range of positive results you see after installing an air purifier. These benefits include the following:
If you’re looking to improve the quality of the air you breathe in your home, we have a range of excellent solutions for you. The Roach Energy IAQ team sells and installs many products from Aprilaire. These include industry-leading air purifiers, as well as:
Aprilaire also has a wireless app so you can monitor your home’s IAQ on your mobile devices, wherever you go!
Are you ready to take the next step in purifying your home’s air? Get in touch with Roach Energy to get started.
If you run a construction site, farm, landscaping business, vehicle fleet or other company that depends on diesel, you know what a crucial, and expensive, fuel it is.
Simply put, economies, both large and small, run on diesel. It powers trucks and buses, generators and off-road equipment. But why is it always so much more expensive than gasoline?
In 2022, both diesel and unleaded gas saw startling price surges. But while gas came down near the end of the year to close to where it was at the beginning, diesel prices remain stubbornly high.
In greater Martinsburg and throughout our service area, Roach Energy offers gasoline and diesel delivery for commercial customers. We can clarify how the two fuels are different — and why diesel is almost always more expensive.
Although gasoline and diesel both originate from crude oil, the distillation process creates differences between them. Most notably:
Believe it or not, there was a time when diesel cost less per gallon than gasoline. Those days are behind us now. Here are the three main factors that led to diesel prices becoming higher.
Construction companies, farms, landscapers, construction and trucking — they all count on Roach Energy to meet their fueling needs. We offer on-site delivery of both on-road and off-road diesel, plus gasoline. While there’s little we can do to mitigate the national and global factors that affect diesel prices, we can lower your fueling time and simplify the process, which can significantly improve your business’s productivity.
If you want to get started with a customized diesel delivery plan, contact the Roach Energy team.
The average storage-tank water heater lasts around 8 to 12 years. That means you’ll likely need to replace your water heater more than once if you live in one house for an extended period.
But there’s an inconvenient fact for homeowners: many people don’t consider replacing their water heaters until their current model fails. This is the worst circumstance to find a new appliance. While you and your contractor scramble to secure the equipment, you won’t be able to bathe, wash dishes or do laundry. That means the water heater replacement you end up with will be whichever model becomes available first.
That’s a lousy way to choose a new water heater. The average American household uses 20 percent of its energy on hot water generation. It’s a good idea to plan your water heater installation early so you can make a considered and informed decision.
You might be surprised to learn that you have many different hot water options. Whether your home uses heating oil or gas, there are good alternatives to enjoy plentiful hot water and energy savings.
This is the most common type of water heater. It holds a tank of between 30 and 80 gallons of water. Traditional tank water heaters are the most affordable option, with low installation costs and maintenance.
However, these models take up a fair amount of space in your home and aren’t very energy efficient. They will burn fuel to reheat water in your tank, even if you aren’t using it.
These models have tanks like traditional water heaters. But they don’t heat water with a direct flame. Instead, they use a heat exchanger powered by your home’s furnace or boiler. When paired with a high-efficiency heating system, they result in incredibly low hot water costs.
The most advanced and energy-efficient option for heating your water is a propane-fired tankless water heater. Tankless appliances take up very little space in your home and produce virtually unlimited hot water on demand.
Some homeowners are reticent to go tankless because the upfront costs are higher. But they save you significant money on energy costs and last longer than storage tank models. Plus, we can help you qualify for a manufacturer’s rebate on a top-of-the-line product from industry lead Rinnai.
If your current water heater is over 10 years old, you should look out for these signs that it might break down:
If you notice any of these warning signs, contact a service technician at Roach Energy. We’ve helped countless eastern Panhandle families replace older hot water systems. We’ll help you find the right model for your home and get it installed promptly. We even help with financing.
Reach out to our team today to explore your options for an upgraded water heater.
Heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes — when you add all these daily activities together, you end up with a considerable percentage of your home’s energy use. So, it only makes sense that the homeowners we talk to in Berkeley, Morgan, Jefferson and Washington County want to choose the best energy source.
Both electricity and propane can power a home’s heat and appliance, but they don’t do it equally well. Propane is more efficient, affordable and versatile. It’s also greener than electricity!
While it’s true that both propane and electricity can power home heating, water heaters, ranges, ovens and dryers, propane can do a lot more. Consider these propane appliances that improve your home and sometimes even boast its value:
Customers want to know if propane is less expensive than electricity. It can be challenging to compare the two because you pay for electricity by the kilowatt-hour (kWh) and propane by the gallon. Still, you can compare their rates using this metric: the energy produced by 1 gallon of propane equals 27 kWh of electricity.
However, comparing the cost of energy production doesn’t account for propane’s superior efficiency.
Propane-fired heating equipment can reach fuel efficiencies as high as 98 percent, and they’re much more effective at keeping you warm. Propane furnaces heat air to 140 degrees regardless of how cold it is outside. Electric heat pumps struggle to make rooms comfortable when the weather is below freezing.
Propane equipment is almost universally more efficient than electric equipment:
All-electric households are at the mercy of a power grid that is more fragile and unreliable than ever before. In fact, the U.S. Energy Information Administration recently found that Americans faced the most time without electricity on record.
With propane, you have your own dedicated fuel supply with a propane tank on your property.
Some people claim that electric heat and appliances are totally green. But the facts say otherwise. U.S. electricity generation relies on fossil fuels like natural gas and coal. In 2021, 32 percent of American carbon emissions came from electricity generation.
Propane is not a greenhouse gas. It has a lower carbon intensity than most fuels (and grid electricity). Plus, it’s methane-free and contains almost no particulate matter, a known carcinogen.
Do you need a dependable propane delivery company? Contact Roach Energy to start receiving high-quality propane at your home.
For people who only use propane for a freestanding grill, fire pit or patio heater, the only size container they’ve known is probably a portable 20-pound cylinder. Making the switch to propane for home heating or hot water means familiarizing yourself with the different stationary propane tank sizes.
At Roach Energy, our team has lots of experience helping new propane customers in the Eastern Panhandle region identify the right tank for their needs. Here’s a rundown of the standard tank sizes and factors we consider for choosing a propane tank.
There’s a range of propane tank sizes, from compact tanks meant to power one or two appliances to huge commercial models that hold tens of thousands of gallons.
It’s worth noting that propane companies only fill tanks to about 80 percent. Like water, propane expands with heat fluctuations, but its volume increases 17 times more than water. Leaving 20 percent empty space in a tank accounts for this volume change.
Here is a basic primer on standard residential tank sides and what they’re used for:
| 120-gallon | One or two appliances like ranges, dryers, space heaters or a water heater |
| 250-gallon | Large propane appliances like water heaters, pool heaters or generators. |
| 500-gallon | Whole-home heating for an average household |
| 1,000-gallon | Heating and appliances for a larger home or commercial building |
When the Roach Energy team works with a new propane customer, we consider the following variables:
Whether you’re adding propane to your home or looking to switch from a propane company that’s let you down, the Roach Energy team can take care of your tank and gas line needs. We sell and lease propane tanks in many sizes. Our technicians will work with you to find the right one for your home, then handle installation quickly and safely.
We’re also ready to be your dependable, responsive propane delivery partner!
Get in touch with us today to become a customer.
We’re well into fall in the Eastern Panhandle region. Temperatures are low in the evening and only getting lower, so lots of people are spending their nights indoors. What could make a night cozier than a beautiful fire in your hearth?
Of course, not every home has a functional fireplace with an open chimney. And even if you have a working wood-burning fireplace, building a fire safely requires a lot of work and attention.
That’s why the team at Roach Energy recommends that customers explore their gas fireplace options. We carry propane-fired gas logs from trusted manufacturers, including Heat & Glo, Monessen, Quadra-Fire, SimpliFire, and Vermont Castings. Here’s how gas logs work.
Gas logs are composed of ceramic logs and piping. They’re placed within a hearth or stove. Propane passes through ports in the piping, where it’s ignited and provides a steady, controlled, stunning flame.
Gas logs have a safety pilot, which prevents gas from escaping into your living area. You can control the flame with a dial or remote. One signal turns on the fire, and another turns it off. No mess, no hazards — just perfect ambiance and warmth!
To hold up under continuous high temperatures, the most common materials for gas logs are ceramic or refractory cement mixes. Some products are reinforced with steel, too. Although there might be some color changes on your gas log’s façade over time, it will maintain its structural integrity and remain attractive after many roaring fires.
Vented and vent-free gas logs are produced for different spaces. A vented gas log might be your best choice if you have a fireplace with an open chimney. It will make a larger, more stunning orange flame than a vent-free product. On the other hand, you will need to keep your chimney’s damper open continuously to vent byproducts from combustion. This makes vented gas logs less effective as supplement heat options.
Conversely, a vent-free product doesn’t require an open chimney. Its flames are more contained and less realistic compared to a vented gas log. However, it produces more powerful heat for your living space, a special bonus in the winter.
Like most propane-fired products, having a professional clean and inspect your gas log every year is a good idea. A Roach technician can look at your gas log, perform adjustments and calibrations on the equipment, perform safety inspections, thoroughly clean it and make any needed repairs.
Our team has installed and serviced many gas logs. We can assess your existing fireplace or hearth and help figure out the best product for you. Then, we can seamlessly install and service it annually to ensure many years of wintertime comfort!
Contact the Roach Energy team for an appointment to explore your gas fireplace options.
