Happy New Year!
Monday, December 28th, 2009 | Uncategorized
Make a New Year’s Resolution
To Give Your HVAC a Tune-Up
Every year, we make New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight, get more sleep, and eat healthier. However, we never seem to make those resolutions about the structural components of our house. Do you ever hear, “I vow to weather-strip my house, give my HVAC a yearly checkup, or check for leaks in my house?” Ur, no.
Don’t get me wrong, New Year’s Resolutions to make you healthier are wonderful, but how about giving some love to the structure who shelters you from the cold and heat
I know energy conservation is just not as sexy as discussing red hot green tips for Valentines or discussing the pleasure of amazing, down to your toes, organic chocolate. However, it is one of those “do I have to?” concepts that everyone has to do to reduce our energy consumption. Your wallet will thank you. Even so much that you will be able to afford something for your Valentine this year.
Let’s make this as painless as possible! We already had a lengthily discussion about how to give a little heating and cooling duct TLC, right?
Move the couch. Check around your house and look if your registers are blocked by furniture. All you are doing is heating the back of your couch. So, move the couch that is blocking the register!
Program it, Baby. Get a programmable thermostat so you are not cooling or heating your house like it is full of people when you are at work. According to Energy Star, a programmable thermostat can save you $180 per year in energy costs.
Change the Filter. Don’t forget to change the filter at a minimum every 3 months. Dirt will slow air flow and increase energy costs. My thermostat reminds me to change it. Ask your HVAC contractor, what type of filter is best for your system.
No kinks, please Check to make sure there are no kinks in your duct vents. Think of when you are vacuuming and the line gets kinked. You lose suction. Well, your ducts are no different.
Seal around the vents When we were building, in order to obtain an energy star certificate for the house, we were required to seal around all of the vents. Without these vents being sealed, air is lost under the floor or in the attic since many people have vents in their ceilings of their second floors.
Have your system checked Treat your air conditioning and heating system like you treat your car. Regular maintenance is important. Have the HVAC system checked at least yearly. In addition, make sure the supply and return ducts are balanced. If there is a leak in one, this will cause building pressure to be skewed. Also, check whether or not the duct are adequately sized for your system.
“The efficiency of air distribution systems has been found to be 60-75% or less in many houses because of insufficient and/or poorly installed duct insulation and leaks in duct systems. Properly designed and installed duct systems can have efficiencies of 80% or more for little or no additional cost, potentially saving a homeowner $50-200 or more per year in heating and cooling costs. Moreover, efficient duct system installations can reduce equipment size, further saving money for new or replacement equipment,” according to the Department of Energy.
A simple yearly maintenance will be worth the cost. I am on a yearly plan with my service provider. They come in the fall and spring to check the system.
Replace any inefficient or broken systems. Is it time to replace your system? Energy star has a list of tell tale signs that it is time for you to say good bye to your heating system. If your system is in need of replacement consider replacing it with an energy star approved system. States rebates may be available.
Now, was that painful? Let me know any other tips you might have about keeping your HVAC system purring like a happy cat.
Article taken from on January 12, 2009 (www.green-talk.com)
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