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

Is Aeroseal Right for You?

Monday, November 21st, 2016

Do you have uncomfortable hot or cold rooms in your house, dusty or musty air that aggravates allergies, or high utility bills that leave something to be desired month after month? The bad news: You may have leaky ducts.

The good news: Aeroseal’s duct work sealing technology has helped improve home comfort, overall air quality, and energy savings in homes across the country. When 30 cents of every $1 spent on heating/cooling leaks before making it to your living space, properly sealed ducts make a big difference in savings.

Posted in AeroSeal, Duct Problems, Duct Sealing, Duct Test, Dust, Energy Savings, Healthy Home, Healthy Homes, IAQ, Indoor Air Quality, Less Dust | Comments Off on Is Aeroseal Right for You?

Got Dust? The spots you might be missing…

Tuesday, May 24th, 2016

If you’re like most homeowners – dusting is not one of your favorite chores (are any chores fun?). We all like to give it the old “college try” and hit our tabletops, television, and maybe even our picture frames on a weekly basis. But, take a minute right now — look up at your return grilles then look down at your supply grilles. Yuck, right? Don’t feel bad – lots of people have the same dusty, grimy register covers in their homes. So why is this forgotten area of your housekeeping so important?

Posted in AeroSeal, Air Cleaner, Allergies, Clean Home, Duct Cleaning, Duct Sealing, Healthy Home, IAQ, Indoor Air Quality, Respiratory Issues | Comments Off on Got Dust? The spots you might be missing…

What is in your home dust?

Wednesday, January 6th, 2016

Have you ever noticed all of the “icky” debris from your vacuum when you empty the canister or change the bag?

Have you ever broken your vacuum cleaner bag as you were disposing it or looked at canister of debris before dumping it? This should provide an accurate picture of what type of air the typical homeowner is breathing in their homes.

Every home’s duct work leaks! Every time your furnace runs more things are sucked into your duct work. Things like dust, pet hair, cooking grease, cigarette smoke, and other debris that will stay in your duct work – until they eventually break down and are released back into the air stream for you and your family to breathe.

“Most homeowners simply have no idea of how much dust, dirt, and debris the duct system harbors, according to Brendan Reid, Founder of Comfort Institute and Senior Success Coach . Since the air ducts are out of sight they are often out of mind”. As a reminder, about 50 percent of household dust is from dead skins cells which we constantly are shedding.

Sealing your ductwork not only improves indoor air quality by reducing dust and allergens, but can make you more comfortable in your home by reducing hot and cold spots, rooms, and floors in your house. We suggest using the Aeroseal process, but other forms of duct sealing can be effective.

A few recommendations for breathing healthier air in your home are sealing your duct work before you purchase a new heating and cooling system, clean your duct work every 3-5 years, and have a good air filter that you change according to manufacturer’s recommendations. This combination will help reduce household dust and keep the system running efficiently.

Posted in AeroSeal, Air Duct Cleaning, Air Purifier, Asthma, Duct Cleaning, Duct Sealing, Dust, Healthy Homes, Less Dust, Respiratory Issues | Comments Off on What is in your home dust?

Got Dust? You can do something about it.

Wednesday, December 9th, 2015

Don’t let the dust bunny be an issue during the holidays.

With the holiday season in full swing, it’s time to start preparing the house for guests. Finding dust in your home is no fun, and no matter how much you clean it always seems to come back.

Dust is made up of all kinds of particles including plant pollen, dead skin cells, pet dander, insulation and fibers from clothing and paper. When it accumulates, it’s annoying and can wreak havoc on asthma and allergy sufferers. To make matters worse, with dust come dust mites. Grossed out yet?

While it’s impossible to completely rid your home of dust, here are some easy tips for keeping it at bay.

Clean Smart.

Using feather dusters will push the dust around and cause it to settle somewhere else. Use a damp cloth or microfiber or electrostatic cloth to capture dust. Always start cleaning a room from the top and work your way down. Change your bedding once a week and de-clutter. Don’t forget to shake out dirt and dust from your area rugs and pillows. Sweep and vacuum a few times a week to keep dust build up minimal.

Use Doormats.

Dirt and dust can be carried through the front, back or garage doors on the soles of your shoes or feet. Using heavy duty doormats will help cut down on the dirt and dust tracked into your home.

Change Your Filter.

A dirty filter will not only reduce the quality of the air in your home, they also lose their ability to to trap dust. Clean them regularly to maintain a healthy airflow. We recommend changing your filter once a month.

Set an Appointment with Your HVAC Contractor.

It’s important to have humidity levels between 40% – 50% to reduce static. Static attracts dust and makes in harder to remove. A Comfort Adviser will check the humidity levels in your home to ensure a healthy, comfortable and static free environment. It’s also very important to have your ducts tested and inspected for leaks. A Comfort Adviser will be able to identify sources like duct leaks which allows dirt, insulation particles and dust to circulate in your duct system and make way into your home. The decision to have your ducts sealed or cleaned may be the solution to minimizing dust in your home.

It’s important to remember that no matter what you do, you will still end up having some dust in your home. It is our goal to help you minimize the dust in your home. Have a trained Comfort Adviser do a thorough inspection of your ducts and living environment.

Posted in Air Cleaner, Air Duct Cleaning, Allergies, Asthma, Duct Sealing, Dust, Healthy Homes, IAQ, Indoor Air Quality, Respiratory Issues | Comments Off on Got Dust? You can do something about it.

Are Windows a Priority?

Friday, December 27th, 2013

One of the first industries to jump onto the energy efficiency bandwagon was the window industry. Claims of huge energy savings and increased comfort are touted by the industry as advantages to replacing old windows. While these claims definitely have merit, according to a study done by Michael Blasnik & Associates window replacements fall low on the list of home improvements that will get you the most bang for your buck when it comes to energy savings.

I often hear customers protest, “But I know my windows are leaky. I can literally feel the cold draft when I am near them!” I usually reply, “I absolutely agree. But take a deep breath because that’s fresh, clean air!”

Homes need to breathe. In the average home we like to see the all the air in the home change about 8 times per day (depending on occupancy and cubic footage of the conditioned space). This air ideally comes from clean, outdoor air as opposed to polluted air that comes into the home after passing through musty crawl spaces, dusty attics and dirty garages.

So, what’s the verdict on replacing windows? In some cases, such as extremely old, single pane or damaged windows, the expensive replacement may pay off in energy savings over their life time HOWEVER generally our customers find more bang for their buck in terms of CHEE (comfort, health, and energy efficiency) in sealing up leaky ductwork and sealing off air access to crawl spaces and attics.

Want to know more about where your home gets its air and opportunities for improvements to the CHEE of your home? Read our blog entries on indoor air quality (IAQ), dust, and air sealing or call Barron to schedule a Whole Home Performance Test on your home.

Posted in Air Changes, Duct Sealing, Home Performance, IAQ, Understanding Energy Efficiency | Comments Off on Are Windows a Priority?

Tips to Lower Your Furnace/Boiler’s Energy Usage

Tuesday, December 10th, 2013

Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable.
Keep the temperature fairly constant, as frequent changes will utilize more energy by causing unnecessary cycling on and off. Setting back the temperature at night, however, is recommended.
Clean or replace furnace filters once a month or as needed.
Oil-fired boilers should be professionally cleaned and tuned once a year. Gas-fired equipment needs to be checked every other year.

Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they are not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
Keep draperies and shades on south-facing windows open during the heating season to allow sunlight to enter your home; close them at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.
Close the door to an unoccupied room or area that is isolated from the rest of the house and turn down the thermostat or turn off the heat for that room or area.
Use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans wisely. Turn these fans off as soon as they are no longer needed. In about 1 hour, these fans can pull out a house-full of warmed or cooled air. They can also pull dangerous furnace combustion gasses into the house in some situations.
Check your ducts for air leaks. First look for sections that should be joined but have separated and then look for obvious holes.
Do not use duct tape to repair leaky ducts. Standard duct tape has been shown unreliable in sealing duct leaks. Various mastics or non-cloth-backed tapes are preferable.

Posted by Wes Diskin

Posted in Air Duct Cleaning, Duct Sealing, Energy Efficiency, Furnaces, Temperature, Thermostat | Comments Off on Tips to Lower Your Furnace/Boiler’s Energy Usage

AeroSeal Infographic

Monday, November 25th, 2013

AeroSeal is the fastest growing method to improve the duct system in your home. Recently highlighted on the Today Show and This Old House, it’s fast becoming a ‘standard’ improvement on any home performance project. Visit www.BarronHeating.com/AeroSeal to watch an educational video on its use and function

Posted in AeroSeal, Duct Repair, Duct Sealing, Dust, Energy Efficiency, Smells | Comments Off on AeroSeal Infographic

TELL-TALE SIGNS OF PROBLEM DUCTS

Friday, October 25th, 2013

Now that you know here each branch duct leads, you are in a better position to ask whether your system is likely to be a big energy loser. Here are the things to look for.

Uninsulated Ducts in Unconditioned Spaces

Heat transfer through duct walls can contribute significantly to energy losses. Conductive heat losses are typically at least as great as the energy losses due to air leakage. If the duct system runs through an attic or vented crawlspace and is not insulated, you can be sure that much energy is being wasted. If the ducts are in a basement, you will have to weigh the fact that insulating the ducts will cause the basement to get colder. If both the ducts and the basement walls are uninsulated, you should consider insulating the basement walls instead of the ducts.

Disconnected, Torn, or Damaged Ducts

A thorough inspection of the duct system should be made to look for holes large enough to see. Some sections of duct that are supposed to be joined together may have fallen away from each other, leaving a gap through which large quantities or air can leak. Flexible duct sections may have been torn during installation or afterward. Fiberglass ductboard sections are subject to damage if weight is placed on them. Whatever the cause, visible holes in ductwork are a clear indication that the system needs fixing. Blind-Alley Ducts Occasionally found in duct systems that use joist spaces or other parts of the building structure to channel air flow, blind-alley ducts occur as a result of mistakes made during installation.

A blind-alley duct leads nowhere (except possibly to the outside), while the register it was supposed to serve has no source of heat. The room containing this register will then be too cold. If it is an important room, the thermostat setting may be raised in an attempt to get enough heat to this room. If a room always seem too cold or a register doesn’t seem to have any air flowing out of it, it may be worth investigating.

Inadequate Return-Side Ductwork

As we’ve noted, it is common to find building spaces pressed into service as part of the duct system. These tend to be leaky, especially on the return side. Even worse, some homes are designed without any return ductwork at all. In that case, unless the furnace is in the conditioned space, it will be surrounded by cold basement or crawl-space air and will have to use more energy to warm this cold air for delivery to the home than it would have if warmer air from the living space were available from return ducts. A system without return ductwork can also depressurize the furnace room, giving rise to the health hazards we’ve already discussed.

Content from D.O.E Reaseach & Develpment

Posted in Bad CHEE, DOE, Duct Problems, Duct Sealing, IAQ, Understanding Duct Issues | Comments Off on TELL-TALE SIGNS OF PROBLEM DUCTS

Fixing Your Duct System Makes “Cents”

Wednesday, October 9th, 2013

In this article we are going to be discussing the EFFICIENCY MATH of purchasing a furnace and how duct sealing plays into your decisions.

Many customers start with the goal of “increasing their efficiency”, however, what they should be focusing on is “decreasing energy use”. In a lot of ways this is similar to the Government cutting spending or increasing taxes. For example, if there is a budget that needs to be met, they can either cut spending or increase taxes to meet it. Saving energy is like this in that if we need to lower your energy use we can either cut waste or increase efficiency.

The real kicker is that not one of us would buy a hybrid car and then run it on half inflated tires, but thousands of consumers make a similar decision every day when buying a heating system. Time and time again, they are told to increase the equipment efficiency without regard to whether the duct system is diminishing the total system efficiency through leaks to the outside.

It is a matter of simple math that no one ever explains, which scenario from below would you pick?

80% Furnace with Aeroseal Duct Sealing (Approx Cost $3500)

($1.00 Given to Furnace) x (Furnace Efficiency of 80%)
= $0.80 Delivered to Ducting
($0.80 Delivered to Ducting) x (3% Duct Leakage After Aerosealing)
= $0.776 Delivered Into the Home (Not bad…)

95% Furnace without Duct Sealing (Approx Cost $3500)

($1.00 Given to Furnace) x (Furnace Efficiency of 95%)
= $0.95 Delivered to Ducting
($0.95 Delivered to Ducting) x (33% Average Duct Leakage)
= $0.627 Delivered Into the Home (Ugh, that’s horrible.)

95% Furnace with Aeroseal Duct Sealing (Approx Cost $5000)

($1.00 Given to Furnace) x (Furnace Efficiency of 95%)
= $0.95 Delivered to Ducting
($0.95 Delivered to Ducting) x (3% Duct Leakage After Aerosealing)
= $0.922 Delivered Into the Home (Winning!)

The Moral of the story? It is important to buy the right things for the right reasons.

Posted by Wes Diskin

Posted in AFUE, Duct Sealing, Energy Savings, Healthy Home, High Efficiency Systems | Comments Off on Fixing Your Duct System Makes “Cents”

Asthma Triggers and Information

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Asthma is a serious lung disease.

* During an asthma attack, the airways get narrow, making it difficult to breathe.
* Symptoms of asthma include wheezing, shortness of breath, and coughing.
* Asthma can even cause death.

If you have asthma or a child with asthma, you are not alone.

* About 17 million Americans have asthma.
* Asthma is the leading cause of long-term illness in children.

The air that children breathe can make a difference.
* Asthma may be triggered by allergens and irritants that are common in homes.
* Help your child breathe easier: consult a doctor and reduce asthma triggers in your home.

Clear Your Home Of Asthma Trigger

Below are five common asthma triggers found in homes and what you can do to reduce you and your child’s exposure to them.

Not all of the asthma triggers listed here affect every person with asthma.
Not all asthma triggers are listed here.
See your doctor or health care provider for more information.

Secondhand Smoke

Asthma can be triggered by the smoke from the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar and the smoke breathed out by a smoker.

Choose not to smoke in your home or car and do not allow others to do so either.

Dust Mites

Dust mites are too small to be seen but are found in every home.

Dust mites live in mattresses, pillows, carpets, fabric-covered furniture, bedcovers, clothes, and stuffed toys.

Wash sheets and blankets once a week in hot water.
Choose washable stuffed toys, wash them often in hot water, and dry thoroughly. Keep stuffed toys off beds.
Cover mattresses and pillows in dust-proof (allergen-impermeable) zippered covers.

Pets

Your pet’s skin flakes, urine, and saliva can be asthma triggers.

Consider keeping pets outdoors or even finding a new home for your pets, if necessary.
Keep pets out of the bedroom and other sleeping areas at all times, and keep the door closed.
Keep pets away from fabric-covered furniture, carpets, and stuffed toys.

Molds

Molds grow on damp materials. The key to mold control is moisture control.

If mold is a problem in your home, clean up the mold and get rid of excess water or moisture.

Lowering the moisture also helps reduce other triggers, such as dust mites and cockroaches.

Wash mold off hard surfaces and dry completely. Absorbent materials, such as ceiling tiles and carpet, with mold may need to be replaced.
Fix leaky plumbing or other sources of water.
Keep drip pans in your air conditioner, refrigerator, and dehumidifier clean and dry.
Use exhaust fans or open windows in kitchens and bathrooms when showering, cooking, or using the dishwasher.
Vent clothes dryers to the outside.
Maintain low indoor humidity, ideally between 30-50% relative humidity. Humidity levels can be measured by hygrometers which are available at local hardware stores.

Pests

Droppings or body parts of pests such as cockroaches or rodents can be asthma triggers.

Do not leave food or garbage out.
Store food in airtight containers.
Clean all food crumbs or spilled liquids right away.

Try using poison baits, boric acid (for cockroaches), or traps first before using pesticidal sprays.
If sprays are used:

Limit the spray to infested area.
Carefully follow instructions on the label.
Make sure there is plenty of fresh air when you spray, and keep the person with asthma out of the room.

Also… House dust may contain asthma triggers. Remove dust often with a damp cloth, and vacuum carpet and fabric-covered furniture to reduce dust build-up. Allergic people should leave the area being vacuumed. Using vacuums with high efficiency filters or central vacuums may be helpful.

When your local weather forecast announces an ozone action day, stay indoors as much as possible.

Posted by Wes Diskin

Posted in AeroSeal, Air Cleaner, Air Purifier, Allergies, Asthma, Duct Cleaning, Duct Sealing, Filtration, IAQ, Indoor Air Quality, Respiratory Issues | Comments Off on Asthma Triggers and Information