Hot room culprits

Unfortunately, this is a question that we get asked much too frequently, and we can always solve the problem. Homeowners usually blame the heat gain in certain rooms on their windows. While windows can be a contributing factor, they only contribute to hot rooms if they are directly sun struck with no shading (like trees, shade screens, film or awnings). More often than not, we discover that the cause of a hot room, is not directly related to needing to replace a window, but rather, missing insulation, improperly configured ductwork and duct sizing, and duct leakage.

Let’s take a closer look at the three key factors that can contribute to certain rooms being warmer than others in your home.

1) Missing, inadequate, or misaligned insulation –

Many people think that if they pump more insulation into their attic, their problem will be solved, but this is far from the truth. For insulation to function at its full potential and do its job, it has to be touching a continuous surface at ALL times. It can’t hover even 2″ above the drywall because it will not function the way it’s supposed to and insulate the home. Some common areas that insulation contractors fail to address are: dropped soffits, kneewalls, fireplaces and chimney areas, arches, and any other architectural design features.

2) Duct leakage-

Think about it; if there are holes in the supply side of the duct system, conditioned air just gets dumped into the attic, not your home! This deprives your home of the cool air that it needs to keep certain rooms comfortable.

3) Duct configuration and sizing-

More often than not, the home’s that we check have return intakes that are extremely undersized, or kinked ductwork. This means that the system is being starved for air, depriving your home of the air that it needs.

Bottom line is that an energy audit is a great place to start when trying to solve the hot room issue. The answer doesn’t lie in replacing your windows, or AC unit- there’s usually more to it that most contractors don’t specialize in.

Contact us today at 480-839-0082 if you’d like to find out how you can live in a home that has even temperatures in every room!

Ideal Air: 16-Point AC Checkup for $65.95 for SRP Customers

Through the SRP Certified Contractor Program, SRP is offering a 16 point HVAC checkup for just $65.95 for each unit. This offer is only available until April 30th. Call Ideal Air at 480-839-0082 today to receive your 16 point AC checkup!

To qualify, your HVAC contractor must be on SRP’s Certified Contractor list. The 16 point inspection includes the following:

1. Checking the thermostat operation

2. Cleaning and/or replacing the filter (if customer supplies this)

3. Checking the temperature split

4. Inspecting the fused disconnect

5. Inspecting the wiring and tightening electrical connections

6. Inspecting the contacts, relays and pressure controls

7. Inspecting the electrical safety circuits

8. Checking the voltage and amperage of all motors

9. Inspecting the indoor blower and motor for dirt

10. Inspecting the bearings and lubricating all moving parts

11. Inspecting the belt and adjusting the tension

12. Inspecting and cleaning the condensate drain

13. Inspecting the outdoor coil

14. Inspecting the duct sealing at the unit and securing the panels

15. Running and testing the system

If your system is loud or noisy, is 10 years or older, runs for very long periods of time, or your bills have increased over the years- it’s time for an inspection!

Save yourself the hassle of your system breaking down in the middle of the summer, when temperatures have skyrocketed, and beat the heat!

This time of year, especially when it gets cold outside in the evenings, we get many calls from homeowners concerned that there is cold air blowing out of the duct registers in their home when their heat is running. We wanted to address this, as many times homeowners think this is an issue with their heating and cooling system, but if they have a heat pump, it’s actually typically a very normal process.

Don’t know if you have a heat pump? Check out this article on how to tell if your unit is a heat pump or air conditioner.

Let’s understand the basics of how a heat pump works:

In the summer, a heat pump picks up the heat in your home and dumps it outside.

In the winter, your heat pump picks up heat from the outside and dumps it into your home (yes, even when it’s cold outside). Now, that may be hard to grasp, but this is the way it works.

In the summer, your indoor coil is cold (and pulls humidity out of the air, which comes in the form of water), which is drained from that PVC pipe located on your roof or side of your house. In the winter, that same humidity is pulled out of the air, but it comes in the form of frost on the outdoor coil (condenser). If you see frost on the outdoor coil, it is natural to the process, and it is not a sign of any kind of malfunction- the reason the coil is cold falls back to the second law of thermodynamics, which states that energy always moves from areas of higher concentration to areas of lower concentration.

As the frost builds up on the outdoor coil, it could potentially inhibit the ability for air to flow across that coil. Once the frost builds up, your heat pump automatically goes through what we call a defrost cycle to keep allowing the air to flow across the coil freely (which is a necessary function of your system). You may have noticed a loud sound right before cold air blows out through the vents in your home. The sound you hear is the reversing valve switching your unit over to cooling mode. Frost on the outside coil is condensation that forms up on the coil in the form of frost. When a heat pump begins the defrost cycle, the outdoor fan shuts off, and the system switches over to cooling mode. The reason for this is that in the cooling mode, the outdoor coil actually becomes hot. This is because hot refrigerant circulates through the outdoor coil, which in turn melts the frost. The reason the fan shuts off during this process is so the system doesn’t pull the cold air from the outside across the coil while the hot refrigerant circulates.

While the system is in cooling mode, the frost that had built up on your outdoor coil then turns to water, runs down the outdoor coil, and piles towards the bottom. When the defrost cycle is complete and the defrost sensor closes, the system runs in heating mode again. This is when the fan kicks back on, and all of the frost that ran down to the bottom of the coil in the form of water is pushed out of the top of the unit, sometimes in the form of steam. If you see steam coming out of your outdoor coil, that is a normal operating procedure for a heat pump system, so don’t be alarmed.

Bottom line:

Don’t panic if you have a heat pump and if cold air blows out of your ductwork for a little while on and off while you run your heat at home. Don’t panic if you see frost on your outside equipment’s coil. Don’t panic if steam comes out of the top of the outside equipment. It’s all part of the process of heating your home with a heat pump!

What’s the best way to protect yourself from high energy prices? A home energy efficiency upgrade!

According to recent information from the Consumer Price Index, energy prices are the most volatile of any category across the country. This chart displays just how incredibly volatile they are, compared to other commodities:

As you may know, home energy efficiency improvements are one of the best ways to protect yourself from the volatility of energy prices. Simple upgrades such as insulating your attic, sealing your ducts, and air sealing areas such as the crawlspace and attic can have a tremendous impact on your home’s energy consumption (and your utility bills).

For more information, give us a call.

At Ideal Energy, we practice what we preach so we can be sure that what we recommend to people indeed, works. In August, one of our team members’ pool pump went out, so naturally, we replaced it with a brand new Pentair variable speed pool pump.

Their energy usage is already very low due to the solar electric system on their roof and other various home performance upgrades that have been done. However, we compared their energy usage for August 2011 to August 2012, September 2011 to September 2012, and October 2011 to October 2012 and found that their usage has dropped drastically since the pool pump upgrade. The table below shows the exact kilowatt hours that were used and the dollar amounts charged for comparative purposes:

2011 to 2012 Energy Usage Comparison

After doing some simple math, we realized that in 3 months our team member saved $183.24, just by replacing the old junker pool pump they had with a new variable speed pool pump. They saw a 45% average savings off of their energy bill (for the three months).

APS and SRP are giving homeowners a $200 rebate for installing a variable speed pool pump. As you can see, it’s totally worth the investment and is one of the biggest energy savers that we have yet to see.

Making your home more energy efficient by upgrading your air conditioners and furnaces, sealing the ductwork and air gaps, installing shade screens, and more efficient pool pumps, has never been easier with the National Bank Green Returns Financing! For APS customers, financing rates are set at a fixed 4.99% rate, and at a 5.99% fixed financing rate for SRP customers. From time to time, the rates will vary, so keep checking for updates on the latest rates!