Thursday, May 26th, 2011
Attics are, for those of us who have them, typically the last thing on our minds, unless we’re digging out the Christmas lights. While they may not always be on our mind, they should never be forgotten, especially when it comes to keeping your home cool and your energy bills down this summer.
Attics tend to be pretty decent heat syncs. Heat has a natural propensity to rise, so attics tend to get really hot on sunny summer days, even hotter than outdoors! So, the first step to keeping that hot air from finding its way back into your home is to make sure the attic is properly insulated and sealed from the rest of the house.
The second step is to look into an attic fan. Using vents to draw in cool air and force out the hot air, an attic fan can do wonders for keeping your house cool this summer. Since your AC won’t have to work so hard to keep your home comfortably cool, you’re monthly bills won’t get out of hand.
Attics play a big role in the overall temperature of your house, and should be treated as such.
Posted in Air Conditioning, HVAC Services | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
Summers down here in Sunny Southern California tend to be a bit on the hot side. Alright, perhaps a lot of the hot side. All the more reason to know some great tips and tricks for keeping the summer heat out of your home and outside where it belongs.
- Close the blinds on sunny days. Light beaming in through a window heats the surface of whatever it touches inside your home. You can combat this by closing the blinds or curtains to keep out excess sunlight.
- Use appliances that generate heat sparingly. This includes the dishwasher, oven or stove and the dryer as the main guys. The less you use any heat generating appliances, the less heat you’ll have to deal with inside your home this summer. A great idea for this is to use them more at night when it’s cooler, and the excess heat won’t be so noticeable.
- Turn the AC off at night. Take advantage of the cooler nights and open some windows in place of running the AC. The less you run the AC, the lower your electric bill will be.
- Keep your air filters clean. Even a slightly dirty air filter can cause your AC to work overtime moving around the same amount of air, which costs you money!
- Set your AC higher. A higher temperature on your AC’s thermostat can make a big difference on your monthly bills. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, raising the temperature your AC’s set to by 1 degree can mean a savings of 7% on your electric bill.
Everything add up, and every little bit counts. Do your part this summer to help keep your expenses down and your wallet full.
Posted in Air Conditioning | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011
A fair question, to say the least. It’s probably a safe bet to say that most of us have some kind of heating and air conditioning system in our homes, what with the hot southern California summers and deceptively cold winters. Most heating and cooling systems are built to last a while, but not forever. Since one of the last things on our minds is when to replace or upgrade our heating and cooling systems, we decided to take care of this question here on our blog.
So, when should you go about replacing your heating and cooling system? Well, we may not be able to give you a set date, but we can give you a list of some of the signs that your system is nearing its last leg.
First off, if your heat pump or air conditioner is 10 years old, than it’s time to look into replacing it. Even if the components themselves are in good working condition, the system is not nearly as energy efficient as the new ones today, so upgrading to a more energy efficient system can save you bundles on your monthly utility bills.
Another good sign to keep an eye out for is how often your equipment needs maintenance or repairs. If things are breaking more and more often, that it’s probably a good idea to upgrade. Same with if your energy bills have been creeping up. The older a system gets, the less efficient they begin to run and the higher your energy bill gets.
Having uneven cooling or heating throughout your home is another sign that it may be time to think about getting a new system, or at the very least, having your current system looked at and maintenance.
Either way, with the continued advancements in technology, it’s probably a good idea to look into having your system upgraded at least every decade – the money saved in utility bills alone would be more than worth it.
Posted in Air Conditioning, Heating, Indoor Air Quality | No Comments »
Monday, May 2nd, 2011
Your HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) system is a pretty important part of your home, regardless of whether it’s at the forefront of our minds all that often. Like other aspects of our homes, like the plumbing and electrical wiring are just supposed to work, and your HVAC system usually isn’t any different. Unlike your electrical wiring and plumbing, there are steps you can take to actively protect your HVAC system from some uncertainty later on.
Like any other appliance in your home, your HVAC system requires electricity to work. However, one of the main differences between your HVAC system and, say, your TV (other than their obviously different designs and intents) is that a lot of people put a surge protector on their televisions. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for your HVAC system.
Hooking up a surge protector can protect your valuable and somewhat delicate HVAC components just as well as it can your television in the event of a power outage – or more specifically, the power coming back on afterwards.
Posted in Air Conditioning, Heating, HVAC Services | No Comments »
