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 Keep the air filter clean. It is a good idea to change your air filter every 30 to 60 days during the season (heating or cooling), more if you run your blower on “constant fan”. Dirty air filters reduce airflow and result in less comfort and higher operating costs. Worse, the reduced airflow is a primary cause of equipment failure. Inadequate airflow can cause stress that will crack a heat exchanger in the heating season and can create pressures that cause compressor failure in the cooling season.
Keep your equipment maintained. Every furnace, boiler, heat pump and air conditioner comes with recommended (and required!) annual maintenance from the manufacturer. Just as with your car, maintenance will keep the equipment operating at peak efficiency and avoid breakdowns. Regular maintenance will add years of useful life to your equipment as well. Comfort systems are a big investment – take care of them. Follow the links for more on Precision Tune-ups and Energy Savings Agreements.
Invest in a programmable thermostat. Now we will be the first to admit that programmable thermostats aren’t for everybody. Some people find them to difficult to program and an inconvenience. But for those that catch on to the technology easily, they can provide significant savings – 5 to 10% of your fuel bill in some cases. And today’s programmable thermostats are more user friendly than those of days gone by. Remember – if you purchase an installed programmable thermostat from Apple Heating and are not happy with it, we will remove it and refund your money in full.
Add insulation. If you don’t have at least R-30 (about 9”) of insulation in your attic, consider adding insulation here. If your sidewalls are not insulated, that too is a must. The amount in the sidewalls will be determined by the construction of the home. Another area of the home where energy savings can be achieved through insulation is the basement. Insulating your basement and/or your crawl space can save up to 10% of your heating energy – every year. That adds up quickly. Consult with a professional insulation contractor.
Replace old windows. If you have damaged, leaky, or single pane windows, you are paying to heat the outdoors!
What are my options for improving my comfort? Glad you asked! There are numerous ways to improve comfort in the home. Here are some options:
Duct replacement and Air Balancing. Many times comfort problems are not related to the equipment or the thermal envelope. A new duct system or renovations to an existing duct system can often solve chronic comfort problems. Less severe comfort problems can sometimes be solved with Air Balancing.
Zoning. An all-too common comfort problem is the two-story or tri-level home. There is usually only one thermostat located on the main floor. The upstairs gets a lot of heat because heat rises. The lower level of a tri-level is cold for the same reason. You try to set the cooling to a lower temperature to cool down the upstairs and it helps a little but turns the downstairs into a meat locker. Or you turn the thermostat up in the winter to try and get comfortable in the lower levels and the upstairs overheats. Zoning is the solution. Put a separate thermostat in each area, controlling automatic dampers and ensuring even comfort throughout your home. Hey, it’s your home – don’t you deserve to be comfortable?
Dual-capacity and Variable Speed. The latest technologies in home comfort systems are dual-capacity and variable speed. Dual capacity matches the equipment output more closely to the load, providing more even heating and quieter operation. Variable speed technology allows indoor blowers to operate at different airflows, matching the airflow to the system output, and enhancing humidity removal during the cooling season. Oh yeah, variable speed blower motors save $200 to $400 per year on electricity costs – and that’s on a gas furnace.
Humidifiers. In the winter our homes become drier due to the dry outside conditions. As the home gets drier, it makes us feel colder. This is because our skin regulates body temperature partly through evaporation – and when it is dry evaporation rates increase. The evaporating moisture makes us feel colder – the opposite of what happens in the summer when high humidity makes us feel hotter. Automatic humidifiers will add needed moisture to the home – making you feel more comfortable and saving the cost of the humidifier in energy savings.
High efficiency air cleaning. If air-borne pollen, dust, dander and other particles are making you or a family member uncomfortable, you could benefit from a high-efficiency air filter. A good filter will clean the air whenever the blower is operating. One strategy for relief is to put the blower on “constant fan” setting. This will allow the air cleaner to clean the air even when there is no call for heating or cooling.
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