HVAC in Lacombe

Lacombe at a glance

Lacombe is a city about 25 km north of Red Deer and 125 km south of Edmonton, set in the rolling parkland between the foothills and the open prairie. It became Alberta's 17th city on September 5, 2010.

What that means for your heating

Lacombe mixes an older town centre with newer subdivisions. Older homes may still have original ductwork, gravity-style returns or hot water radiators, while newer ones run high-efficiency furnaces. If your home heats with radiators, see boilers and hot water heat.

Parkland winters

The parkland's humid continental climate brings long, cold winters. Basements and main floors heat differently, and the far rooms of older homes often lag. Balancing dampers and sealing ducts are worth trying before replacing equipment.

Father Lacombe's town

The city is named for Father Albert Lacombe, the Oblate missionary who brokered peace between the Cree and Blackfoot and helped negotiate the Canadian Pacific Railway through Blackfoot territory. The first permanent settler, Ed Barnett, a retired North-West Mounted Police officer, arrived in 1883, and Lacombe has had its own police service since 1900. Heritage buildings downtown are often heated by older boilers or have had several systems added over the years, which makes a careful yearly check worthwhile.