Updating Your HVAC System
The shock of skyrocketing utility bills might have you considering updating your HVAC system. What should you understand about these newer HVAC systems?
It appears that fuel costs aren’t going to decreasing any longer. The more current heating and cooling system systems are a lot more reliable than older units and use considerable long-lasting energy expense savings. The Federal government has mandated that any cooling systems need to have a SEER rating of a minimum of 13 starts in 2006 and this is excellent because a twenty-year system might have a SEER rating of just 7 or 8. Nevertheless, for real cost savings, you should have a look at your entire house as an energy eating beast that needs to be put on a diet strategy. This consists of repairing air leaking windows and door seals.
It does a bit excellent to alter an older HVAC system and expect a wonderful decrease in utility bills if you do not take care of the places where you are losing energy. New HEATING AND COOLING systems are costly and the temptation may be to simply install a brand-new high-efficiency furnace and air-conditioning system and hope for the best. The fact is, the decline in utility bills might be discouraging since you might have ignored a considerable player in the whole HVAC system like the ductwork.
A poorly developed, leaking and under-insulated ductwork system can squander 30 percent or more of the cash you pay to run your cooling and heating unit and nullify any gain you may recognize by establishing a brand-new high-efficiency system. Many duct systems are improperly insulated and leakage conditioned air into un-conditioned attics and crawl spaces. Professionals normally find disconnected ductwork throughout many house examinations.
When ducts leakage, conditioned air can be forced out unsealed joints and lost. In addition, also un-conditioned air can also be drawn into return ducts through unsealed joints. Attic temperature level can be extremely high in the summertime and cold in the winter season. So, any attic air that enters your system through un-sealed duct joints will require to be cooled in the summertime and heated in the winter season, this increases the load on your system and increases your energy costs.
Remarkably an older home may have a much better-designed duct system than a new home and may simply require a leak check insulation upgrade. More recent homes, on the other hand, maybe a victim of cost-cutting measures and badly created duct systems.
Making use of flex duct has grown in appeal since ease of setup and the high cost of the store made sheet metal ducts. Flex ducts even set up correctly are a poor alternative to correctly created correctly insulated sheet metal ducts. It prevails practice to make plenums and coil boxes out of the taped-together duct board.
Make sure to include an assessment of your ductwork system in your strategies to upgrade your HVAC system. There is no use in stressful valuable conditioned air to the outdoors through leakages and worn-out duct insulation. If your duct system needs an overhaul, you might want to think about a high-velocity shipment system that uses smaller sized PVC pipeline ducts. These high-velocity systems are to set up and insulate.
The bottom line on an HVAC system upgrade for maximum effectiveness needs to include more than simply the new devices. Do not ignore the ductwork and include it in your budget!
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