Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing Blog: Archive for the ‘Duct Test’ 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?

Does Your HVAC System Suffer From High Blood Pressure?

Wednesday, November 4th, 2015

Your furnace, heat pump or air conditioner is the heart of your comfort system.

It’s often said that your furnace, heat pump or air conditioner is the heart of your comfort system. Following the analogy further, your air ducts are its veins & arteries.

And just like high blood pressure is bad for your heart, high “duct static pressure” is bad for your heating and cooling system, your comfort – and your wallet.

When you go to the doctor for a check-up, common practice is for the doctor or nurse to measure your blood pressure. Our service technicians now have the instruments and training to do the same for your ducts when we do the seasonal tune-up, or a home and duct performance assessment.

We’ve been doing this for a while now, and the results are often eye-opening. The heating and cooling equivalent to 80 over 120 is “half an inch” of water column pressure for most systems. When we test the duct pressure, we now routinely find pressures significantly higher than this –often over double!

Why does this matter?

Higher Utility Bills: High pressures in the ducts leads to lower airflow. Lower airflow means lower efficiency. Lower efficiency means higher monthly utility bills.

Comfort: Lower airflow leads to poor distribution of conditioned air throughout the home, contributing to hot and cold spots, or the system not keeping up on the hottest or coldest days.

Noise: High static pressure is often a clue as to why a system is excessively noisy – the same repairs to reduce static pressure usually decrease noise as well.

Repairs: Low airflow causes furnaces to overheat internally, and air conditioners and heat pumps to not function smoothly. Many common expensive repairs – or premature total failure – are directly attributable to low airflow.

The good news is that identifying high static pressure allows us to prescribe the right medicine to make your system and your home happier! Each system is different – but most common airflow improvements are fairly simple and economical. And best of all, they pay for themselves through more efficient operation and lower utility bills.

Next time your HVAC contractor visits your home, ask your technician to take the time to check your ducts static pressure and explain the results. If you are having any comfort, dust or high utility bill issues, give a home performance trained contractor a call and they’ll explain your options for home & duct performance assessments.

Posted in AeroSeal, Buying Tips, Comfort, Comfy Home, diagnostics, Duct Repair, Duct Test, Furnace, Healthy Homes, High Efficiency Systems | Comments Off on Does Your HVAC System Suffer From High Blood Pressure?

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…

What You Gain From An Energy Audit

Friday, October 4th, 2013

With qualified and experienced inspectors an energy audit will pinpoint the cause of many problems that lead to an uncomfortable home. Whether its uneven temperatures, bad air quality, or dust problems it is important to look at the home as a system to find the appropriate solution.

There are many important areas to test and analyze for an effective audit on home performance.

First is an informative meeting with you, the home owner. There is nobody who knows the experience of living in your home better than you. The inspector should know when and where you experience discomfort throughout your home. Take note of the air quality, consistency of heating, odors, and anything else that you would like to change.
Next comes an analysis of your utility bill. Seeing where you have been spending money on energy in the past and present gives you a basis of comparison for future savings and the return on your HVAC investments.
The testing begins with a Blower door test. This will help to locate air leakage pathways. Included in this is duct leakage (and repair if necessary). Studies indicate that duct leakage can account for as much as 25% of total house energy loss.
By using Infrared Thermography, the most sophisticated analytic tool in energy auditing, wall cavity and ceiling insulation and moisture related issues in your walls can be seen.
Moisture Analysis is an often overlooked, but very important step in monitoring the health and durability of you and your home.
Its important to analyze flue gas at the hot water heater and other fossil fuel appliances. Combustion Analysis and combustion safety are one of the main focal points in the energy audit and homeowners are often unaware that they have problems with their combustion equipment.
The last thing is to look into Weatherization Services. Your energy audit should offer a comprehensive report that will outline the most cost effective path for weatherization work.

Energy audits range in price from $100 up to over $1000. When finding the right provider for this service make sure they offer all of the necessary tests and have the experience and expertise to get you the answers you need.

If you’re interested in an energy audit learn about Barron Heating’s $195 Home & Duct Performance Assessment.

Posted in Blower Door, Duct Test, Energy Savings, Green Living, Healthy Home, Home Performance | Comments Off on What You Gain From An Energy Audit