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Are You Getting The Most From Your HVAC System ?

Energy costs are headed upward and in the not too distant future, paying your heating and cooling bills might seem like carrying an additional mortgage. Installing additional insulation and energy efficient windows may help the problem or you should consider upgrading your HVAC system to help keep your time costs in order, but when you take those drastic measures - are you currently getting the most from your current HVAC system?

Tweaking your HVAC System for Better Efficiency
Whenever your home was built, an HVAC contractor did load calculations predicated on room dimensions and window locations to determine how big is your HVAC system. The calculations were also used to size the home's supply and return vents and the floor plan determined their utmost locations. Those calculations provided a good starting point for ensuring the house's first owner received an HVAC system that conditioned the inner of your home efficiently, however, everything might have changed the moment a family group moved into the residence.

Furniture placement, window treatments, and how your loved ones goes about living their lifestyle make a difference the performance of one's HVAC system and before long you could notice that some rooms are too warm while other parts of your home seem impossible to heat. Don't panic - typically you don't need any large scale repairs, all that's needed is really a system tweak.

A Balanced HVAC System
If you're having issues along with your HVAC system heating or cooling your home properly, ask a company in the future out to complete a method balance. New homes sometimes have one trip by the HVAC contractor to balance the heating and cooling system included in their warranty.

The HVAC contractor will use a meter to determine venting at each supply register and use trunk line dampers to increase or decrease venting as needed. If your ductwork doesn't have dampers, they may recommend they be added - that will be typically a fairly easy and inexpensive task. In some cases the contractor may suggest adding supply or return vents to rooms that don't respond adequately to venting adjustments.

The One Zone Dilemma
One of the very most common HVAC problems many homeowners encounter is uneven heating and cooling distribution in a multi-level house with a one zone system. A one zone system means this one HVAC unit with a single thermostat is working to keep up the temperature on different quantities of the home. When you have a predicament like this and the thermostat on most of your level is defined at the temperature you want, there's a good chance your upper floor or finished basement will always be too cold or too warm with respect to the season.

It can be hard for an HVAC contractor to ease this problem with manual ductwork dampers since you may wish to regulate the temperature on the particular level you are already using. In this situation, the contractor may suggest adding a digital damper to your system -- this allows an additional thermostat to be added on top of the or finished basement level of one's home. The electronic damper permits you to direct venting far from the particular level not currently in use and keep consitently the temperature perfect where you are.

In extreme cases your contractor may recommend adding an additional HVAC system to your home. Asking an HVAC contractor to balance your system is a great way to make sure you're getting efficient performance from your system and don't forget to help keep your filters clean.

Elevation Mechanical owner Chris Baker and Miguel Quijas works hands on in the heating and air conditioning industry daily, keeping him update with current trends in the heating and air conditioning business Visit website.

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