We get this question all of the time. “How come my air conditioner unit seems to work in some rooms better than others?

There are several reasons for this and one is simply the laws of nature. When buying a new home, it doesn’t take long to figure out that some rooms will occasionally be hotter or cooler than others. Your upstairs bedroom may take longer to cool in the hot summer, or the kitchen may be chillier in the winter.

The good news is you don’t need to worry! There may not be anything wrong with your air conditioning system. If your home is multi-level, you will naturally experience the effect of warm air rising to the upper level and cooler air falling to the lower. In addition, solar gain can cause temperatures to rise in certain rooms. This is definitely the case in rooms with west-facing windows during the late afternoon. But, Central Florida weather and forces of nature are not the only factors that will raise your home’s indoor temperature. Cooking and showering will cause the humidity of your home to increase. Even without a raise in temperature, higher levels of humidity can cause you to feel warmer and uncomfortable.

While the laws of nature (and the law of teenagers blow drying hair & taking long showers may be out of your control, you can use your home’s air conditioning system to improve the situation. By adjusting or closing registers that are too cool in summer or too warm in the winter, you can divert conditioned air to rooms where you need it the most. However, we recommend investing in a new zoning system that allows you to divide your home into multiple cooling and heating areas. With a new zoning system, you will still have only one central air conditioner or heat pump, but you will have a series of dampers installed in the duct system which will direct the air only where it is needed. You will also have thermostats located in the various zones of your house which will give you better control of your homes comfort and help with reducing your energy cost.

Next month we will discuss the benefits of programmable thermostats and how working together with zoning systems can reduce your energy bills by 30%.

Contact Us today for a home comfort evaluation. Comfortable Home Systems 780-458-0706.

Well, the EPA claims that indoor air quality is 2-5 times more polluted as compared to the outdoor air!

There are two major factors that impact indoor atmosphere – air circulation and moisture levels.

According to the ALA, the most effective way of maintaining clean and healthy indoor air is to eliminate the sources of air pollution, such as cigarette smoke and chemicals. Here are the other air filtration techniques suggested by ALA:

Regular maintenance of air conditioners or dehumidifiers:

Asthma is a leading chronic illness that plagues most American children. The problem is generally triggered by dust particles, and leaks and drips that encourage the growth of mites and molds. Cleaning the AC or dehumidifier filter at least once a month can go a long way in keeping your home free of contaminants.

Proper ventilation:

Proper ventilation is a must for improving the indoor air quality. High moisture levels can increase dampness and the growth and spread of mold and mildew, which threaten to damage the walls and furniture as well as health. Even regular household activities, such as cooking, bathing and breathing, produce vapors.

Tips to help the humidity level below 50%:

1. Install exhaust fans in bathroom

2. Remove mold-damaged item

3. Fix all leaks

Proper dryer venting is much more important than most homeowners realize. Considering the stakes involved and the frequency of residential dryer fires, the topic of dryer venting deserves more attention than it gets.

Take a look behind just about any dryer and you’ll see what I mean. In most cases, one may find the flexible duct hose having multiple bends and crushed against the wall. Add to that picture some lost socks, an empty fabric softener box and a considerable accumulation of lint dust and you’ve described a rather dangerous condition.

Besides the danger of fire, these annoying conditions prolong drying times, waste energy and contribute to additional lint build-up. Poor quality workmanship, improper terminations and long duct runs add to the dilemma.

Fact!  These Five Conditions Promote Lint Build-Up In Your Dryers’ Exhaust Duct.

Duct Run May Be Restrictive or Excessive
New construction trends are placing laundry rooms in nontraditional areas of the house, further away from exterior walls than in the past. These locations require longer dryer duct runs and more elbow fittings in order to reach an outside wall.

Bird and Rodent Nests in the Vent Hood
In some parts of the county, birds and rodents build nests within the exterior termination hood.

Flex Hose Crushed or Kinked Excessively

The transition hose behind the dryer tends to get crushed or kinked excessively when the dryer is moved back, either inadvertently or by vibration. This kink or partial blockage drastically reduces the unit’s ability to efficiently vent the air.

Incorrect Vent Hood with Screen-Like Features
It’s not uncommon to find an exhaust termination hood or vent that is not specifically for dryer venting or that has some sort of lint catching grill or screen feature. Even so, dryer specific vent hoods require an inspection and regular cleaning, as they too get debris buildup.

Condensation within the Conduit Duct
Running the exhaust system through an un-insulated area like a crawl space or attic in cold northern regions may cause condensation within the pipe. Condensation within the pipes attract and promote accumulation of lint to the duct walls.

Summary

A clean, unobstructed dryer vent improves the safety and efficiency of your dryer. As the dryer vent becomes obstructed and filled with lint, drying time increases and causes the dryer itself to overheat. Likewise, this prevents the adequate removal of air and moisture from the dryer, and a typical 40 minute cycle turns into an hour and 40 minute cycle, resulting in a waste of energy, additional clothes fibers lost and the frightening possibility of a fire. Clothes dryers are one of the most expensive appliances in your home to operate. The longer they run, the more money they cost you.

What are airborne contaminates and what can we do to prevent them?

Most people would be surprised to learn that some everyday household items contaminate the air we breathe. These items include: pollen and spores, pet dander, human skin flakes, candle soot, infiltrating dust, viruses, bacteria, and fungi, radon gas, tobacco or wood smoke, cooking smoke and airborne grease and various chemical fumes.  With every breathe we breath, millions of airborne particles are taken in. And believe it or not, the smallest of particles are the one that cause the most concern. Viruses, bacteria, smoke and grease are at the top of the list of these small indoor contaminates that can do the most damage to our health and home.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the demand for cleaner air in our homes has been on the rise.  The effectiveness of the filtration process depends on the type of air cleaner used, and the number and size of the particles in the air. When visiting our customers, we often learn that they are not aware that the basic throw away fiberglass filters collect as little as 3% compared with more effective HEPA filters that capture approximately 99.9% of airborne particles.

These are some of the main air cleaners and filters and how they are categorized:

Basic Filters, which come standard with most HVAC systems. These filters do very little in preventing the small particles and are primarily useful in collecting the large dust that can clog your equipment.

Media Filters, which filter the air using webs of polypropylene fibers. These are the least used filters amongst residential consumers although they are probably among the best available when it comes to efficiency and cost.

Electronic Air Cleaners, Electronic air cleaners draw air through an ionization section where particles obtain an electrical charge. The charged particles then accumulate on a series of flat plates. Ion generators disperse charged ions into the air, similar to the electronic air cleaners but without a collector. The more effective electronic air cleaners capture up to 99.9% of airborne particles.

High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filters are composed of a mat of randomly arranged fibers, generally made of fiberglass. They are designed to block pollutants and particles by trapping airborne particles to the filter fibers using one of three techniques: interception HEPA filters, impaction HEPA filters and diffusion HEPA filters.

Even though the weather over the past few months has been very mild, we still have about 6-8 weeks of potential cold weather this winter. When the weather gets cold, many residents living in older homes are the ones that are most vulnerable to heat loss.

In order to make your living space more comfortable in cold weather, it’s important to winterize your home by creating fewer opportunities for the cold air to enter and the warm air to escape your home. Residents with homes that are not properly sealed and/or poorly insulated are far less comfortable and are at serious risk of encountering high energy bills when the mercury falls.

Understanding Why Homes Lose Heat?

There are a few primary reasons homes and buildings lose heat. They are heat conduction and air infiltration. Heat conduction is when heat transfers through a material. Air infiltration is when air moves through cracks and crevices. The loss of heat inside a home is caused by both heat conduction and air infiltration.

Heat conduction occurs when heat transfers through a substance and energy is transferred from one molecule to another via direct contact. The molecules themselves do not necessarily change location, but merely pulsate more or less quickly against another.

An example of heat conduction is when the handle of tablespoon that is resting in a cup of hot coffee gets warm. Even though the handle is not actually submerged in the hot coffee, the fluid is close enough to the heat source to get hot. The reason is that when a fluid is heated, some of fluid near the source of the heat tends to be less dense and expand outward. When these less dense areas rise, cooler portions flow in to replace them, which are then themselves subject to heating.

Infiltration is a word that is probably most familiar from its association with the military. In this form, infiltration is the movement through or into an area by either friendly or enemy troops. Air Infiltration also is defined by the word movement. It is defined as the amount of air that escapes in and out of a home through its cracks and crevices.

In our next post we will look at a list of things you can do to weatherize your home or building, such as caulking, weather stripping, insulating, and many other things you can do to help protect you from high energy bills and reduced comfort.

All furnaces on sale, we will beat the competitor by 5%.

We have a sale on maintenance agreements! $159.00 gets you 1 maintenance check up, no overtime charges and 15 % on parts and priority service. Call today (780)458-0706 or www.comfortablehome.ca

We finally got our first snow this weekend.  It’s not too bad since it is already mid November now.  Since the weather is getting colder, I want to offer some handy hints for homeowners.

Try not to wear cotton clothing

Cotton absorb sweat and the moisture stays on your skin.  Any movement inside your jacket will draw heat away from your body and make you cold.
Close your Windows properly
Make sure you close both layers of the windows completely to avoid any air leaking out from the windows.  If you notice a leak at your window, you may consider purchasing a removable window-caulk or plastic to seal them.  For short-term solution, use a towel or an old t-shirt to cover the leak area.

Use Curtains over the windows.
Use cheap clear curtain to block the sun light from the window.  This will keep the cold air out and the heat from the sun warming your house.  If you want to secure it even more, you can cover the windows with “clear plastic sheets and make it airtight.”

Drink warm beverage
Drink warm beverage to keep yourself warm.

Keep warm with Fleece
Fleece to keep yourself warm in cold weather.  If you don’t want to spend a fortune on a fleece, you can consider digging out your old fleece ages ago because your old fleece works as much as a new one.

Wool is the warmest
Wool can take the moist away from your skin faster than other fabric.  Also, it is very good at keeping warm, dry air next to you.

-Reduce dishwashing, using your stove until evening on a hot days.-Try not to use a dehumidifier while the air conditioner is operating.  The dehumidifier will increase the cooling load and makes the air conditioner to work harder.-Clean you indoor and outdoor AC/Heating coils constantly to avoid dirt build up.  The air conditioner requires more power to perform when coil is fill with dirt and dust.-Try to keep your windows and door close during hot season to avoid unwanted heat and humidity.  If necessary, ventilate by opening the window at night.-Set your thermostat between 72°F~78°F.  Your energy consumption will increase by 8% for every degree below 78°Fl -Make sure the refrigerant charge is not overcharge or undercharge.Room Air Conditioning Units
-Don’t place electronic or lamps near your thermostat because the thermostat can sense the heat from these appliances and can cause the air conditioner to use more power then necessary.
-Set the fan speed on high when humidity day, and set the fan speed low for more comfort when the humidity is high.  The low speed can cool your home better on a humidity day and remove the moisture from the air.-Set your air conditioner’s thermostat as high as possible  in the summer.  Your overall cooling bill will be lower if there is less difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures.  Try not to set your thermostat at a slighter setting than normal because that requires longer cooling time which is unnecessary expense.

Lastly, proper maintenance on your air conditioner will also save your energy.  Here are several tips below.-when you start using your air conditioner at the start of the cooling season, inspect the seal and make sure your air conditioner and the window frame are in contact with the unit’s metal case.  Moisture can damage the seal and cool air can escape from your house. -Check your filter every months and make sure they are clean.  A nice filter can reduce the energy consumption by 5% to 15%.-Cover the air conditioner or store it during winter season.

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) claim that indoor air is 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor.  The two main reason are is the air circulation and moisture levels.

The most effective way to reduce the pollution at home is to avoid smoking indoor and reduce the chemicals that is use at home.  Also, try to open the window and circulate some fresh air.

Dust particles, mites and molds at home can harm your health.  You should clean your AC or dehumidifier filter at least once a month.  Perferrably every 2 weeks to keep your home free of contaminants.

Consider getting proper ventilation to improve the indoor air quality.   High moisture level at home could increase dampness and the growth of mold and mildew.  It will damages the walls, furniture, books and also your health.  Other household acitivities such as cooking, bathing and breathing also produce vapors. There are several tips to reduce the humdity level by 50%.  Install an exhaust fans in your bathroom. Fix all the leaks and throw out mold damaged stuff at home.