HVAC information for Homeowners

If your condo is feeling too humid, there are several possible reasons there could be more humidity than there is supposed to be, then climate can contribute to high humidity in a home… If it’s humid outside, chances are it’s going to be muggy inside a home, then the increasing seasons and temperature can be significant factors for rising indoor humidity levels and the main culprit for an uncomfortable environment.

However, simple activities that you do everyday can affect the humidity levels by adding more moisture to the air.

Cooking and running the dishwasher can add more water vapor to the air in the family room… Long, hot showers add a lot of moisture to the washroom. Installing exhaust fans can help with lowering humidity levels! An interior plumbing leak from a washroom or family room sink can cause increased moisture in the air. It’s important to check pipes often for cracks and corrosion. When it comes to your A/C equipment in your home, larger is not consistently better. An oversize window or central A/C equipment may be the very reason for excessive moisture in a home. The evaporator coil found inside the A/C equipment acts as a dehumidifier and pulls humidity from the air as it runs. If the equipment is too large, it may cool a room or home too quickly, running for only 10 to 15 minutes at most on a hot day before it abruptly shuts down each time. A longer runtime is needed to dehumidify a home correctly, humidity can come up through the soil underneath the foundation of your home. This is called rising damp. Basements can be humid since they are often poorly insulated and don’t have windows, and this can compound any issues. If you live in weather conditions with excessive rain, ensuring gutters and downspouts work correctly and rainwater is directed away from the condo can keep moisture out.

radiant floor heating

If your house is feeling too humid, there are many possible reasons there could be more humidity than there is supposed to be; however, climate can contribute to high humidity in a home, but if it’s humid outside, chances are it’s going to be muggy inside a home…

However, the increasing seasons in addition to temperature can be significant factors for rising indoor humidity levels.

In addition to the main culprit for an uncomfortable environment, simple activities that you do everyday can affect the humidity levels by adding more moisture to the air. Cooking in addition to running the dishwasher can add more water vapor to the air in the home office, then long, tepid showers add a lot of moisture to the bathroom. Installing exhaust fans can help with lowering humidity levels, an interior plumbing leak from a bathroom or home office sink can cause increased moisture in the air. It’s pressing to check pipes often for cracks in addition to corrosion, but when it comes to your A/C device in your home, larger definitely isn’t always better. An oversize window or central A/C device may be the reason for excessive moisture in a home. The evaporator coil found inside the A/C device acts as a dehumidifier in addition to pulling humidity from the air as it runs. If the device is too large, it may cool a room or apartment too suddenly, running for only 10 to 15 hours on a tepid afternoon before it abruptly shuts down. A longer runtime is needed to dehumidify an apartment correctly, but humidity can come up through the soil underneath the foundation of your home. This is called rising damp. Basements can be humid since they are often poorly insulated in addition to not ever having full size windows, in addition to this can compound any troubles. If you live in weather conditions with excessive rain, ensuring gutters in addition to downspouts work correctly in addition to rainwater directed away from the house can keep moisture out.

 

 

heat pump maintenance

This is called rising damp, however basements can be humid since they are often poorly insulated in addition to not having windows, in addition to this can compound any issues

If your condo is feeling too humid, there are several possible reasons there could be more humidity than there is supposed to be! Climate can contribute to high humidity in a home… If it’s humid outside, occasions are it’s going to be muggy inside a home! The increasing seasons in addition to temperature can be significant factors for rising indoor humidity levels in addition to the main culprit for an uncomfortable environment… However, simple activities that you do everyday can affect the humidity levels by adding more moisture to the air. Cooking in addition to running the dishwasher can add more water vapor to the air in the study room! Long, boiling showers add a lot of moisture to the powder room. Installing exhaust fans can help with lowering humidity levels, then an interior plumbing leak from a powder room or study room sink can cause increased moisture in the air. It’s important to check pipes often for cracks in addition to corrosion; then when it comes to your AC device in your home, larger isn’t regularly better. An oversize window or central AC device may be the reason for excessive moisture in a home. The evaporator coil found inside the AC device acts as a dehumidifier in addition to pulling humidity from the air as it runs. If the device is too large, it may cool a room or apartment too quickly, running for only 10 to 15 minutes on a boiling afternoon before it suddenly shuts down. A longer runtime is needed to dehumidify an apartment respectfully… Humidity can come up through the soil underneath the foundation of your home. This is called rising damp, however basements can be humid since they are often poorly insulated in addition to not having windows, in addition to this can compound any issues. If you live in weather conditions with excessive rain, ensuring gutters in addition to downspouts labor respectfully in addition to rainwater directed away from the condo can keep moisture out.

Cooling install

If your house is feeling too humid, there are many possible reasons there could be more humidity than there is supposed to be.

Climate can contribute to high humidity in a home.

If it’s humid outside, chances are it’s going to be muggy inside a home. The changing seasons and temperature can be significant factors for rising indoor humidity levels and the main culprit for an uncomfortable environment. Simple activities that you do everyday can affect the humidity levels by adding more moisture to the air. Cooking and running the dishwasher can add more water vapor to the air in the kitchen. Long, hot showers add a lot of moisture to the bathroom. Installing exhaust fans can help with lowering humidity levels. An interior plumbing leak from a bathroom or kitchen sink can cause increased moisture in the air. It’s important to check pipes often for cracks and corrosion. When it comes to your AC unit in your home, bigger isn’t always better. An oversize window or central AC unit may be the reason for excessive moisture in a home. The evaporator coil found inside the AC unit acts as a dehumidifier and pulls humidity from the air as it runs. If the unit is too large, it may cool a room or home too quickly, running for only 10 to 15 minutes on a hot day before it abruptly shuts down. A longer runtime is needed to dehumidify a home correctly. Humidity can come up through the soil underneath the foundation of your home. This is called rising damp. Basements can be humid since they are often poorly insulated and don’t have windows, and this can compound any issues. If you live in a climate with excessive rain, ensuring gutters and downspouts work correctly and rainwater is directed away from the house can keep moisture out.

New heating and cooling information

The direct sunlight heating of the air inside the house was a big cause of the overwhelming HVAC cooling costs.

It didn’t take but a few months living down south to fully understand the impact of the heat and humidity of summer. And man, did we ever have the lesson. My wife and I moved to the south from the north. Both of us have dealt with the opposite of summer where we are from. The cold back home was the HVAC concern for sure. We had air conditioning in the summer. But it didn’t quite get the use that it probably could have. No, our HVAC concerns were all about the gas furnace and heating the house. So when we moved south, our biggest HVAC joy was no longer dealing with that sort of cold weather. However, we got a real lesson on just how much HVAC cooling can get out of hand without realizing it. Our home is perched on a nice bit of property smack in the middle of a natural setting. There aren’t any neighbors so my wife and I chose to go without window dressing. We loved being able to see everything all around us all the time. And then, I got the first utility bill of the summer. The HVAC cooling costs were overwhelming. We figured out right quick that the windows couldn’t be left uncovered at all. The direct sunlight heating of the air inside the house was a big cause of the overwhelming HVAC cooling costs. So we got solar drapes and a smart thermostat installed. The HVAC cooling costs were cut by nearly 40 percent. So that was our first HVAC cooling in the south lesson. And lesson learned!

 

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Before I had kids, I laughed at the joke that the happiest day of the year for a mom is when the kids go back to school in the fall. Oh, I thought that was so funny. Then I had kids. And I live in a region where it gets broiling hot outside from near noon til the evening. So that means lots of HVAC cooling. And guess where my kids are all summer? Right, they’re inside the air conditioning with me all day. So that old joke about the first day of school is my reality. Honestly, I’m lucky to have a great house with plenty of room. We also have state of the art HVAC equipment that makes cooling the house no problem. I sometimes want to punch my husband as he leaves in the moring for his office. Not only does his office come with its own thermostat but it doesn’t have any of our kids in it. But I mellow myself out and am grateful for the fact that he takes such good care of us. And that goes for making sure we are comfortably HVAC maintained during the high heat of summer. He makes sure we get the air conditioner tune-up from the HVAC professional each spring. And he also does all the monthly HVAC chores like making sure the air filter is changed and there are no air flow obstructions. Plus, he makes sure that when he gets home, I have the chance to get free of the kids for a bit while he makes dinner. But next year, I’m lobbying hard for a pool so I can send the kids out of the house and into the pool.

 

Home services

There are plenty of purchase I make as a lead up to Christmas.

And I’m not including gifts in any of those purchases.

There are big grocery shops and plenty of stuff for the house. Of course, there is the tree and the new decorations. Seems like Christmas lights don’t last like they once did. And I stop at the hardware store to buy a case of HVAC air filters as well. That sounds weird right? It’s not like the Christmas season is when I buy my annual allotment of HVAC air filters. No, it’s a reminder for me to be ever vigilant about making sure the air filter gets checked on a weekly basis during the holiday season. But why would you need to check an air filter that often during the holiday season. It’s the candles man. My wife is crazy about the candles in our home. She burns candles during the holidays like they are simply going out of style. And for me, I didn’t realize until it was almost too late just where all the burnt candle wax ends up. You guessed it. All that wax goes straight to the HVAC return and lands on the HVAC air filter. Hence, having many air filters on hand during the holiday season. I learned this the hard way when I noticed that the HVAC unit was continually cycling on over and over. It wasn’t all that cold outside so I was mystified. As I always do prior to calling the HVAC company, I made sure there weren’t any obstructions inside and out and I checked the air filter. That air filter was almost completely sealed with candle wax.

 

Heating tune up

Sometimes I have to work rather hard simply to see things through my kid’s perspective.

But it’s worth the effort because it keeps me from going off on them a lot more than I do.

Honestly, I don’t like getting after my kids at all. Having grown up with a dad that would just blast me over something like daring to touch the HVAC thermostat had an effect. Still, I’m the dad and I have a responsibility to help mold my kids into decent adults. Still, it’s a very, very different world than the one I was faced with at their age. So it helps when I check myself a bit and consider that as my frustration grows at times. But the whining does get to me. My kids have a great life with just about every want granted. That makes hearing them whine about the heating and cooling in the house a bit tiresome. We have three kids who have very different heating and cooling needs. There is no genetic similarity with regard to their individual internal thermostats. This results in far too much thermostat yanking and yelling at one another. Ultimately, I end up with someone coming to me to whine about the thermostat setting. Instead of hollering at them, I called the HVAC company. I priced out how much it would be to have an HVAC technician convert our existing HVAC over to zone controlled HVAC. Then, I gathered the kids. I told them I would happily take care of this heating and cooling dilemma with the zone controlled HVAC. But they had to stop whining about the HVAC and the other petty stuff or I’d make them help pay for the zone controlled HVAC conversion. It’s much quieter in my house these days.

hvac brands

My granda was always telling me how soft I was.

He did this with a wink and a grin.

The man was such a sweetheart and loved me so much that he could never be really mean to me. But when ever I complained about something, he’d grin at me and point out how soft I was. It didn’t really dawn on me then the perspective he was coming from. It does now. This was a guy who never even had residential HVAC until well into his middle adult life. And that’s the one of the least of the privations he experienced in his life. But just thinking about the fact that he didn’t even experience modern HVAC technology until well into his forties or even early fifties is something. Just considering that gives me pause for thought. The winter wouldn’t have been all that big of a deal. We don’t have much intensity when it comes to winter weather around this part of the country. I’m sure they got my just fine with a wood stove. No, it’s the summer that makes me cringe to think about without the aid of HVAC cooling. There really wasn’t much one could do but let the heat dictate your life. They got up well before sunrise to get their work in. And the heat of the day was spent in the shade with as little movement as possible. Just the hint of a breeze was such a prize. It does make me feel a bit soft as I sit inside my perfectly air conditioned house.

Air conditioning professional

Though the idea of residential HVAC technology or heat pump has been around in this country since the late 40’s, I’m still amazed by it.

Where I live, the heat pump is certainly the go to HVAC technology for HVAC cooling.

And the bonus is that we are able to also utilize the heat pump HVAC technology to heat our homes in the winter. This isn’t true for some of the northern climates in this country. But for us, the heat pump is more than adequate when it comes to heating our homes during our milder variety of winter weather. I know that when we get a cold snap where the temperatures fall close to freezing, our heat pump is more than equipped to handle heating our home. What’s fascinating is the fact that our heat pump can actually extract heat energy from what would be considered quite cool temperatures. And it does this using the same HVAC technology. Only for heating, the heat pump simply reverses the process. All the heat pump has to do is reverse the refrigerant flow to bring heat energy into the house. I can do this virtually on its own without supplemental heat source to temperatures of 40 degrees. And that just sort of blows my mind. Once the temperature drops below 40 degrees outside, the efficiency of the heat pump is diminished. And once it gets below 25 degrees, it’s not a very efficient way to heat a house. But for our purposes, the HVAC technology in the heat pump is just exactly what we need.

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