Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing Blog: Archive for the ‘Balance’ Category

How to solve HOT and COLD rooms…

Wednesday, October 7th, 2015

Have you ever wondered why some rooms are not as comfortable as others, and sometimes an entire floor can be uncomfortable? This can be very frustrating however, the good news is it can be fixed. There are many reasons why this happens, but the most common issue is air flow. When an HVAC system is installed there are a lot of assumptions made and very few checks and balances to ensure the system is working properly.

The first step is to find an HVAC contractor who is trained, understands how air flow works in the home and is able to measure and test. The easiest repair is simply what is called air balancing. Dampers should have been installed when the house was built, but unfortunately many homes are lacking them. If your home is missing dampers, they can and will need to be added.

Your contractor will provide what is called a room by room load calculation to determine how much air flow is required to the rooms. He or she can then do simple steps to ensure the proper amount of air flow is being directed to each room.

The most important part of testing is to ensure your duct system is in good working order. It must be sized properly and free of any duct leakage. Both these problems can rob a home of the precious air that is needed to be comfortable. Duct systems can be repaired and sealed to make sure the right amount of airflow is being distributed throughout the house. In some cases it is necessary to replace the entire duct system to guarantee proper sizing, insulation and no duct leaks. A good duct system is key to making your home more comfortable and providing your family with the clean healthy air.

And there is another benefit. Unlike any other repair you do in your home, fixing your ducts can actually help pay you back. A good duct system will use less energy and save on monthly utility costs.

Posted in AeroSeal, Balance, Duct Repair, Duct Test, Health, Healthy Homes, Home Performance, Home Performance Assessment, Home Testing, Indoor Air Quality, Less Dust | Comments Off on How to solve HOT and COLD rooms…

Solving Drafts (and other common problems) with Duct Repairs

Friday, July 31st, 2015

Leaky ducts cause drafts, dusty homes and higher utility bills!

There are a number of reasons that you might feel drafts or inconsistent temperatures throughout your home. However, there is one culprit that is more common than all others: leaky ducts.

When your ducts are leaking into the walls, crawlspace, attic or floors, some of the air that is supposed to be delivered to the home never makes it where it is supposed to. That paid for heat (or cool) moves through the structure to outside.

When the duct work is sealed either by hand or with our preferred method, AeroSeal, the air is delivered to all areas as was hopefully intended.

In addition to causing inadequate air delivery, duct leakage causes the home to suffer pressure imbalances which are a leading contributor to the introduction of unconditioned dirty air from the crawl space and attic. This introduction of “bad air” will contribute to poor indoor air quality, exacerbating respiratory issues, and cool drafts moving through the home.

Homes with duct leakage can suffer these issues:

Excessive dust and toxic airborne particulate
Drafts
Unexplained odors
Uneven heating or cooling (especially the extremities of the home)
Excessive indoor humidity
Increased asthma, allergy and other respiratory symptoms
Higher than expected heating or cooling bills

If you, or anyone you know, have experienced any of these challenges, it’s important that you contact your local home performance trained HVAC contractor to explore the solutions that are available.

Check out the video below to see how one homeowner solved their drafts:

Posted in AeroSeal, Allergies, Asthma, Balance, Efficiency, Home Performance, Indoor Air Quality, Respiratory Issues, Safety, Sick House, Understanding Duct Issues | Comments Off on Solving Drafts (and other common problems) with Duct Repairs

Is it CHI or CHEE?

Saturday, October 12th, 2013

The Chinese have a term ‘CHI’ that is defined as: The light, refreshing, uplifting feng shui energy that is beneficial to your health and well-being. We’d like you to consider your ‘CHEE”
They tell us that Good Chi, takes many forms, such as:

The energy you experience walking by the beach (high amount of negative ions are beneficial to your health)
The energy you experience in a lush forest (Japanese have the expression of “wood bathing”)
In a harmonious interior environment with a good flow of feng shui energy, clean air and plenty of natural light.

At Barron, we can’t help you with the FengShui design of your home or suggest which local beach or forest might put your spirit in the best position to receive ‘good Chi’ (probably any of our great outdoor areas will do the trick)…but we can help in positioning your home to be in the perfect condition to control, clean and condition the indoor environment we will spend most hours of the day in.

Many homes can’t keep windows open during good weather due to allergens and outside air moving into the home and causing respiratory issues. This leaves a home feeling stuffy or uncomfortable. Then to make matters worse, when they lay down to sleep in the evening in a home that may be too warm or uncomfortable to provide the beneficial sleep…the home can go into a state (due to negative pressure) that brings a tremendous amount of dust, contaminants & allergens into the home. The contaminants enter through can lights, attic hatches, electrical switches or under wall plates and pollute the air we breathe. Ever wonder why you wake up more stuffy than when you went to bed?

At Barron, we appreciate the CHI but we’re more about the CHEE.

What’s CHEE? We’re glad you asked…

CHEE stands for the Comfort, Health Energy Efficiency of your home. Creating the perfect balance of those three is Barron’s specialty and what we feel is the key to providing the perfect indoor living environment. We work hard at good CHEE so that the path to your front door can bring the same feelings of peace and serenity that a walk on the beach or next to the forest can provide.