Lower Your Monthly Bills By 50%!
Lower Your Monthly Bills By 50%!
With energy prices skyrocketing, what can you do to significantly cut the cost of heating your home?
Here are some options for helping reduce your monthly heating bills:
- If your furnace is over 15-20 years old, a new, high-efficiency furnace can dramatically reduce the cost of heating your home by 20% – 40%.
- If your family can’t agree on a comfortable temperature, or if you’d just as soon close off rooms you’re not using to save on heating, a zoned system can help you save both energy and money.
- Did you know you can extract heat from chilly outside air to heat your house? This is the magical power of a heat pump that uses refrigeration technology rather than fuel combustion. Some homeowners have lowered their heating and cooling costs by as much as 50% by installing a heat pump.
Humidity: The Key to Health and Aging Well?
Humidity is one of your skin’s best friends. It’s an essential for healthy, beautiful skin. In fact, the beauty benefits of humidity could be one reason why Cleopatra spent so much time floating down the Nile. However, if you don’t live near the Nile, you can use a humidifier to add moisture to your skin. This is especially important during winter when household air is warm and dry due to heating.
According to the EPA and other indoor environmental experts, the relative humidity inside your home should fall somewhere between 30 and 50 percent, depending on the temperature outside. More specifically, when the outside temperature is 20°F or above, the recommended relative humidity for inside is 35 to 40 percent.
Why are proper levels of humidity so important to your skin (the body’s largest organ) and general good health?
Low humidity causes dry skin, dry hair, itching and chapping. When skin becomes dry and irritated, eczema can flare. Mucous membranes in your nose and throat dry out, increasing discomfort and susceptibility to colds and respiratory illness. With low humidity levels, body moisture evaporates so quickly that you feel chilled even at higher thermostat settings. Dry skin can look tight, dull and flaky.
Adding a humidifier to your home can remedy these problems and help skin look younger and healthier.
Air conditioner doesn’t cool?
Air conditioner doesn’t cool
A central air conditioner that runs but doesn’t cool may just need to be cleaned. Plan to do this on a relatively warm day. Follow the instructions in your owner’s manual.
- Before you begin, turn off the power to the unit. There is normally a shut-off or disconnect panel on the house wall next to the outdoor compressor. Otherwise, shut off the air conditioner’s 240-volt circuit at the main electrical panel.
- Rake leaves and debris away from the outdoor condenser.
- Remove any protective grille or cover from the condenser’s fins.
- Use a soft brush to clean dirt and debris from the fins, and then vacuum them with a brush attachment (be careful not to damage the fins).
- Unscrew and lift the top grille off the unit, if possible. If the fan is attached to the grille, be careful not to pull any wires loose.
- From inside the unit, hose down the fins (protect the wiring and motor with plastic sheeting). If your owner’s manual calls for lubricating the motor, do that now—but don’t overlubricate.
- Reassemble the unit.
- To test it, turn the power on and set the thermostat to turn the unit on. Let it run for a few minutes, and then feel the two pipes that connect to the condenser unit (slide any insulation back). One should feel warm, the other cool. Otherwise, call an air-conditioning technician—the refrigerant may need to be recharged.
Important note: Avoid straining an air conditioner’s compressor by waiting at least five minutes between turning it off at the thermostat and turning it back on.
Air handler squeals
Squealing sounds from a forced-air heat pump generally occur when the belt that connects the motor to the fan slips. If the blower is making a grinding noise, shut off the unit and call a heat pump repair technician—the motor’s bearings are probably shot.
In most cases, the belt is improperly aligned or worn and needs replacement. Refer to your owner’s manual.
This job involves removing the access panel, loosening a couple of bolts that hold the blower motor at the proper tension, and realigning or adjusting the belt. In many cases, it’s a good idea to remove it and buy a replacement.
When reinstalling the belt, be careful not to over tighten it as this can wear out the motor bearings.
Room temperature drops too low
When room temperature drops lower than the set temperature on the thermostat, it usually means that the thermostat is improperly calibrated or installed where it doesn’t sense a proper sampling of room air.
Air Conditioning Safety Guide
Tips For Protecting Your Personal “Getaway.” Your home is your safe haven. It’s also a significant investment and the place where you and your family spend most of your time. What can you do to assure your family’s safety and comfort when they’re at home? Request your free Consumer Guide for creating a home environmental system that helps keep your home cleaner and more comfortable with fewer safety hazards.
Service Technician Professional Education
Air ducts are noisy
Many heating/cooling ducts are metal so they conduct noise quite readily from the air-handling unit to your rooms. To break the conduction of sound, you can have a heating contractor insert flexible insulation ductwork between the heating/cooling system and the ductwork runs.
If you hear a pinging or popping sound coming from the ductwork, this may be caused by thermal expansion or by air blowing past a loose flap of metal. Track along the duct runs, listening for the sound. If you find it, make a small dent in the sheet metal to provide a more rigid surface that’s less likely to move as it heats and cools.
Water pools next to air conditioner
Air conditioners and high-efficiency combustion furnaces create significant condensation, which exits through a plastic drain tube. This should go into a floor drain or be carried away by a small “condensate pump.” If water is pooling at the base of the appliance, something may be blocking the water’s flow, or leaking, or the pump may not be working.
- Look to see if one of the tubes is leaking. If it is, replace it.
- Test the condensate pump by pouring water into its pan. If the pump doesn’t start, either it isn’t receiving power or it is broken. Be sure that it’s plugged in and test the circuit. If it’s broken, either get it repaired or replace it.
- If the pump runs but doesn’t empty the pan, the ball-like check valve just before the discharge tube is probably stuck. Unscrew the check valve, loosen the ball inside, and look for an obstruction.
- If it appears that a condensation drain tube is clogged with algae, remove it if possible (you may have to cut it and replace it later with a coupling). Run a wire through it to clear it. To kill the algae, pour a dilute solution of bleach (1 part bleach to 16 parts water) through the pipe.
- Ice may be blocking the tube. If this is the case, be sure the filter isn’t dirty. If the filter appears to be fine, the air conditioner’s refrigerant supply is probably low. This is when it’s time to call an air-conditioning technician.
Major room temperature swings
When room temperatures swing more than about 3 degrees between when the air conditioner goes off and on again, it generally means that the heat pump isn’t cycling on often enough. Adjust Thermostat Heat Anticipator.
