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Are Your Home’s Comfort Systems in Sync With One Another?

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Are Your Home's Comfort Systems in Sync With One Another?Your home has several components that work together to provide whole-house comfort. These include your insulation, ductwork, airtightness and HVAC equipment. Any weaknesses, or inefficiencies, in one area will have a detrimental effect on the whole. Therefore, it’s important to make sure that all of your home’s systems are working in sync, so your family will benefit from an optimally efficient home.

Here are things to consider in terms of whole-house efficiency, especially as we head into another winter season.

Is your home adequately sealed? A leaky home allows warm conditioned air to escape outside during the cooler months (and warm air to infiltrate in the summer). Walk around your home’s perimeter and use caulk or spray foam to seal any noticeable cracks or gaps, often found where utility lines or pipes enter the home or where building materials meet. Inspect window and door frames. On the interior of your home, inspect door and window frames, replace worn weatherstripping, and seal any other visible leaks. You can find leaks by walking the interior perimeter of your home with an incense stick, watching for spots where the smoke wavers. This signals a leak.

What is the status of your insulation? If you live in an older home, you may want to consider upgrading your insulation to current industry standards. This can make a considerable dent in your utility spending. Begin upgrades with the attic and crawl spaces and continue from there.

Have your ducts been inspected recently? Airflow obstructions and leaky ducts are a significant source of energy waste. Have your ducts inspected by an HVAC technician to see if your duct system needs repairs, sealing or insulation.

How old is your HVAC equipment? Most heating and cooling systems will last for about 15 to 25 years, depending on how well they’re maintained and how much work they do. However, new technology makes modern HVAC equipment considerably more energy efficient than older models. You may want to consider replacing your equipment if it’s more than 15 years old, or repair bills for the last few years are approaching 50 percent of the total replacement cost. Make sure you observe routine maintenance appointments to optimize your system’s efficiency. And remember, if other components of your home are lacking – such as poor insulation or a leaky envelope – that high-efficiency furnace won’t do you much good.

Contact Jackson and Sons to learn more about getting comfort systems in sync in your eastern North Carolina home.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Eastern North Carolina (including Wayne, Johnston, Greene, Lenoir, and Duplin Counties) about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock


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