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Archive for the ‘Weatherizing Your Home’ Category
November 29th, 2011 by Melissa Doyle
Last month I wrote about upgrading your insulation, but before you want to completely overhaul the insulation in your home, you’ll want to have to friendly neighborhood HVAC contractor perform a home energy audit. This will tell you just how insulated your home is against the elements and measure the resistance to heat flow of your walls, doors, ceilings, windows, and skylights. You want a high resistance to flow – this means your are properly insulated.
After your home is audited, you will receive a written report estimated your energy usage based on the local climate, your thermostat settings, roof overhang, and solar positioning. The report will show your energy usage at any given time of day and give you tips for decreasing energy usage. Accuracy is greater improved if you have your electric company billing statements handy. They have your actual usage, not just estimates. The suditor may also interview everyone in the house to find out your personal usage habits so you can better improve your energy efficiency.
I know this may seem like alarge upfront cost – the audit alone can be a few hundred dollars, and when you add the suggested changes the cost can add up. Just remember the money you will save in decreased energy bills. Your wallet and the environment will thank you!
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Insulation, Tips for Homeowners, Weatherizing Your Home
October 25th, 2011 by Melissa Doyle
Winter will be here before we know it and with all this crazy weather we’ve had this year, it’s sure to be a cold one! But I have a few quick and easy fixes for those freezing temps. It’s all in your insulation!
Heat travels from areas of high heat to areas of low heat - in other words, the heat from your nice, warm living room rises to make a nice, warm attic instead. To fix this, fill any cracks and fissures with caulk or spray insulation and replace any old or damp insulation. Ten to twelve inches of insulation is all you need; this gives your insulation an R-38 rating, but R-50 (approximately 16 inches) is recommended. Your attic stairs are also a place where heat can leak into the attic. Foam tape around the door will help block airflow. Holes cut to allow cables to run in and out also let air in and out; filling these holes with spray foam insulation drastically reduces the air flow. If you have a basement, insulate that as well; just make sure the insulation is water proof. This will keep your home cooler in the summer. In some areas of the country it‘s already nice and cool out and the last thing you want to think about is keeping cool, but if you’re already taking on an insulation project, the basement is an easy addition. Lastly, put weather stripping around your doors and windows. This will seal any holes in the frames to keep warm air from escaping. Adding curtains to your windows also adds one more layer of insulation.
These are all fixes you can do yourself that will make your home more comfortable as well as decrease your heating bill. It’s not a drastic decrease, adding to your attic insulation will result in approximately a 20% decrease, but it is still a little more money in your pocket.
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Insulation, Saving Money, Tips for Homeowners, Weatherizing Your Home
March 15th, 2010 by Melissa Doyle
Spring hasn’t even officially begun yet, and already it’s getting HOT in some parts of the country. Well, hot enough to think about turning on the air conditioner. Don’t forget to have one of our certified AC Doctor contractors service your system before that time comes. The yearly check up can catch potential problems so you can stay cool this summer. Here are some more tips to help you stay cool.
Change your air filter. I just can’t express enough how important it is to have a clean air filter. The nationwide standard for changing your filter is once a month. That is not enough for warmer areas where the air conditioner is running constantly. When your unit runs more often, you filter gets dirty faster. A dirty filter causes more strain on your system and your body. Filters are designed to pull allergens out of the air and when it is full your AC has to work harder to get air through it and allergens are no longer pulled out of the air you breathe.
Clean your unit. When dirt builds up on the coils it restricts air flow. Turn off your unit while mowing the lawn, and then hose it off afterward. Even if you have a bag to collect the cut grass, your lawn mower kicks up dust and dirt. Turning off your unit keeps this dust and dirt from being sucked into your home. Hose off the dirt that gets spewed onto your system so it doesn’t impede air flow. It will also wash off any animal urine that can eat away at your coils.
Shade your unit. Keeping your condenser in the shade keeps the air around it cooler so it doesn’t have to work as hard to cool the air. Just be careful, plants that are too close to the condenser can hold hot air close to your condenser, which completely negates the effect of shading your unit. You also want to keep animals off of the condenser. Aside from urinating on it, they can block air flow by laying on it.
Even doing this routine maintenance is not enough for your system. It really does need to be serviced at least twice a year - once at the beginning on the cooling season and again at the beginning of the heating season. If anything seems off, call your AC technician. There may only be one or two small things wrong, but they will add up. You don’t want to be without AC when the temperatures are in the upper 90’s and climbing!
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Weatherizing Your Home
January 7th, 2010 by Melissa Doyle
As winter comes on full force, we are all feeling the biting cold. Yes, we even feel it in Houston! But I have a few quick and easy fixes for that. It’s all in your insulation! In my last blog, I mentioned that heat travels from areas of high heat to areas of low heat. In other words, the heat from your nice, warm living room rises to make a nice, warm attic instead. To fix this, fill any cracks and fissures with caulk or spray insulation and replace any old or damp insulation. Ten to twelve inches of insulation is sufficient, giving your insulation an R-38 rating, but R-50 (approximately 16 inches) is recommended. Your attic stairs are also a place where heat can leak into the attic. Foam tape around the door will help this. Holes cut to allow cables to run in and out also let air in and out; filling these holes with spray foam insulation drastically reduces the air flow. If you have a basement, insulate that as well; just make sure the insulation is water proof. This will keep your home cooler in the summer. I know, it’s winter and freezing outside, the last thing you want to think about is keeping cool, but if you’re already taking on an insulation project, the basement is an easy addition. Lastly, put weather stripping around your doors and windows. This will seal any holes in the frames to keep warm air from escaping. Adding curtains to your windows also adds one more layer of insulation. These are all fixes you can do yourself that will make your home more comfortable as well as decrease your heating bill. It’s not a drastic decrease, adding to your attic insulation will result in approximately a 20% decrease, but it is still a little more money in your pocket.
Posted in AC Doctor News, Insulation, Weatherizing Your Home
September 22nd, 2009 by AJ Nahmad
We love seeing articles like this one on azcentral.com. It let’s us know that the power of energy-efficient HVAC is finally becoming a well deserved headline.
Arizona’s summer is long and hot, no doubt about it, so the importance of having a green home that can keep you cool at a price that’s affordable is all the more important. We love that the author of this article is letting the citizens of Scottsdale know that newer, more efficienct A/C units can save homeowners significant moola. Readers are encouraged to contact a contractor about getting a right-size system and programmable thermostat. It’s almost too easy!
So we praise you azcentral.com and we’ll be keeping an eye out for other articles like this from around the country to praise as well. It’s catching on…
Posted in Energy Efficiency, HVAC Installation Tips, HVAC Products, Insulation, Saving Money, Water Heating, Weatherizing Your Home
July 30th, 2009 by AJ Nahmad
Where do you draw the line between wasteful spending and money well spent? That’s a million dollar question these days. Well, we offer you this answer…spending money in order to save money is money well spent; using money to benefit your community, your country, and your natural environment is money well spent; and we’d hope you agree that spending money to make your family healthier and more comfortable is money well spent.
These are fundamental principles that can help us make smart decisions with our finances while times are tight. So where does that lead us?
Well, knowing that HVAC typically accounts for about 50% of the energy consumed in a US home, weatherizing your home and upgrading to a high-efficiency heating and air conditioning system with indoor air quality features is an extremely responsible way to spend hard earned money. These upgrades to your home will save you money on your utility bills, reduce allergens and pollutants in the air your family is breathing, and reduce your family’s impact on global warming. What other purchase can make such an impact?
The Federal Government will give you up to $1,500 for these energy efficiency upgrades; State and Local governments as well as Utility companies will often chip in hundreds of dollars too.
Really we’re talking about the mission of ACDoctor.com. We truly believe that when a homeowner upgrades his or her HVAC system it’s a win-win for their family and for the environment, and we want to connect homeowners with high-quality HVAC professionals that can help.
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Saving Money, Weatherizing Your Home
April 20th, 2009 by Eric Benishek
In honor of Earth Day check out some low and no cost ideas to save on your utility bills today while you reduce your homes impact on the environment @ http://green.yahoo.com/earthday/
Once you’ve exhausted this list, if your A/C unit is older than 3 years you could save $100’s of dollars on your utility bills by installing a high efficiency A/C system. With all the great federal and utility incentives there has never been a better time to upgrade your system (and keep in mind the federal incentive of up to $1,500 is only available through 2010). Check out www.ACDoctor.com for more information.
Posted in Energy Efficiency, HVAC Products, Saving Money, Weatherizing Your Home
March 25th, 2009 by Eric Benishek
As I mentioned in my last blog…the stimulus bill has $1,500 waiting for us. The way it works: you are allowed to take a 30% credit on energy efficiency related improvements in your home, up to $1,500, on your 2009 or 2010 taxes. The best place to start is to request an energy audit from your local utility or a qualified energy auditor in your area. This way you can ensure you address your homes most pressing energy needs first.
Here are a couple of projects that meet the requirements from the stimulus bill:
- Seal leaks and improve insulation in your home first…this can result in up to 10-20% savings on your utility bill
- Upgrade your air conditioning and/or heating equipment to high efficiency equipment which can result in savings per month of 15-30% off your utility bill.
- These two projects alone could reduce your utility bills 25-50%!
So what are you waiting for? Go to our contractor search pages and get a quote.
For further information on which energy efficiency products and projects qualify, check out EnergyStar.
If you have any suggestions or questions on home energy efficiency, please send me a note at http://twitter.com/Effcyman .
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Saving Money, Weatherizing Your Home
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