our opinions : ADVICE FROM AN EXPERT
In The Comfort Zone
Nothing brings on a case of the summertime blues like an air conditioning unit that stops conditioning .
By Brett Hobson CEO Comfort Experts
JUNE 2017 PARKER COUNTY TODAY
74
Question : What do you do if your home is not so comfortable anymore ?
Answer : It ’ s gotten hotter by the day as we enter June , and your AC has started running at least a part of every day to keep your family comfortable . But you don ’ t remember it being this uncomfortable last year when you ran your system . It may not be as bad as you think – because let ’ s face it , all of us are afraid of having to replace our air conditioners . It ’ s an expensive upgrade , and one that ’ s not readily available in most family budgets .
There may be something else going on . It may be a duct issue . The biggest red flag for these kinds of problems are hot and cold spots throughout your home . When you think about your AC system , the air returns are the veins while the ducts are the arteries . Both are important for your system to run at its lowest cost and highest efficiency . There are a few reasons that your duct system may be the problem with your air conditioning system .
1 . Duct system was improperly designed or installed . According to the National Comfort Institute , the average duct system in the US is only 57 percent efficient . If your system is not working at the highest efficiency , it is costing you not only efficiency but also money . If your system is inefficiently designed , it doesn ’ t supply and return the required airflow to heat or cool your house efficiently assuming that you have the right-sized equipment and everything is functioning as it should .
2 . Your ductwork is leaking . In an average home , 20-40 percent of the air that circulates is lost through the ducts . If your ducts are leaking , you lose even more . Leaks can also allow pollutants from outdoors to enter your home and negatively impact your air quality .
3 . Grills and registers are loose or poorly sealed . If this is true for your system , the air can escape before it ever reaches the rooms . Because the air is lost , it causes your system to work harder to make up for the poorly sealed registers .
4 . Damaged or torn air ducts . Your ducts are located in places where they can become damaged ; twisted , kinked , crushed or torn insulation all restrict the airflow through your system making it less efficient . You probably don ’ t go into your attic or under the house , so this may be occurring without you ever knowing about it .
5 . Poor or missing insulation . The air that you have paid to cool can escape from the ducts if your system is not insulated . Proper insulation of duct work will decrease the loss of warm air in the winter and cool air in the summer .
6 . Dirty ducts inside your home . According to the EPA , the air quality inside your home may be up to 100 times worse than what is just outside . If your ducts need cleaning , the dirt , dust , pollutants and germs are being allowed to recirculate throughout your home .
If you had a system checkup at the beginning of the season , any of these issues would have been diagnosed . It ’ s not too late to have a system checkup now before the dog days of summer really hit . Your air conditioning and heating system isn ’ t a plug-and-play appliance like a refrigerator . It ’ s a complicated machine that needs to be checked every so often . It ’ s really about the comfort of your family and if your system isn ’ t working at its top efficiency , it ’ s costing you not just your comfort , but also your money .