Relevance of Static Pressure in HVAC

Static pressure is not a common topic among residents when considering HVAC issues. However, you must understand this concept as it affects your energy bills, the lifespan of your system, and impacts your home’s comfort. In this post, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about static pressure. What Is Static Pressure? Static pressure refers to the amount of resistance air faces as it passes through your HVAC unit. We measure this pressure using a manometer in inches of water column (wc). The ideal static pressure for most HVAC units is 0.5 inches of wc. What Is High Static Pressure? High static pressure is when the pressure in the HVAC unit rises beyond 0.5 inches of wc. It is the most common type of static pressure problem, and it emerges from one or a combination of the following factors: Poor ductwork installation Poor system design Blockage in the ducts or air filters Missing or wrongly sized air filters Closed dampers What Is Low Static Pressure? Low static pressure is when the pressure in the ducts is too little to maintain the dampers open. Generally, your home will experience low static pressure if you have an undersized HVAC unit and oversized...

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Is Closing Air Vents the Right Way to Reduce Home Energy Costs?

Closing off the upstairs air vents in your Eatonton home is certainly one way to prevent heated or cooled air from flowing into these areas. However, it’s hardly an ideal strategy for saving cash. Selective air vent closures will produce limited, short-term savings at best. More importantly, if you subject your HVAC system to the additional stress of having one or more vents closed throughout the building, it can wind up costing you a veritable fortune over time. Why Closing Vents in Unused Areas Doesn’t Work Closing vents in unused areas of your house doesn’t lower the amount of energy your air conditioner or heater is using. In fact, it can actually increase it. When the air ducts are closed, the air pressure inside of your home’s ductwork increases. This causes your HVAC equipment to work both harder and longer to achieve the temperature that you’ve set at the thermostat. Common Problems Caused by Closed Air Vents Extra stress on your HVAC system will lower its remaining lifespan. It can also cause a number of serious problems to develop over time. These include: Damaged ductwork due to higher levels of air pressure Energy loss caused by leaky ducts Higher indoor...

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Will Opening Windows as I Sleep Help Me Save Energy?

Sleeping with your windows open might seem like an excellent opportunity to enjoy the fresh air and save money on cooling your home. Although many individuals are sold on this idea, it couldn’t be further away from the truth. Yes, there are some benefits associated with opening windows; however, it’s best to keep them shut during the night for better sleep and protection of your HVAC system. Indoor Air Pollutants Your system plays a crucial role in keeping your indoor air healthy and breathable. With your windows open and your system off, you’ll be allowing pollutants such as dust, pollen, and other allergens to circulate in your home. This could potentially trigger allergies or cause illness if you live with an individual with a weak immune system, including children and elderly loved ones. Moreover, if you or your loved one is asthmatic, these pollutants might cause them to wake up in a world of irritation as well as discomfort. And if you decide to run your system while your windows are open, dust will accumulate in your system over time, causing it to work harder than it usually would. In the end, it’ll use up more energy to clean your...

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Tips for Evaluating Your New Home’s Heating and Cooling

Moving into a new home allows you to enjoy enhanced comfort, privacy and peace of mind. One of the most important parts of your new home is its heating and cooling system. Use these three tips to assess your new home’s heating and cooling equipment so that you can avoid any unexpected issues throughout the year. 1. Install a Smart Thermostat A quick and easy way to assess the heating and cooling performance, cost and efficiency in your new home is to install a smart thermostat. Smart thermostats track energy use by the minute. This allows you to determine what times of the day the heating and cooling system uses the most energy. Smart thermostats also include an app for your phone, so you can get up-to-the-minute information on your home’s comfort and energy use. 2. Review Your Utility Bills Another way to assess the heating and cooling of your new home is to review your utility bills. For a newly constructed home, you may want to talk with neighbors who have homes with similar floor plans and square footage. Ask them how many kilowatt-hours of electricity their homes use in the summertime and how high their gas bill is...

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How Can You Fix Uneven Heating in Your Home?

When some rooms are warmer than others, you have uneven heating, which shouldn’t be happening. Your heating system may need an air filter change, repair or replacement. Replace the Air Filter You could try replacing the air filter to see if that fixes your problem. Clogged air filters can cause all sorts of problems, such as uneven heating, weak airflow and high energy bills. They cause parts within the heating system to break faster as well. You should stay on top of changing your air filter based on the manufacturer’s recommendations. Unblock Air Vents and Air Registers Closing your air vents and blocking air registers can cause uneven heating. You should go through your home to double-check that all vents and registers are open and unobstructed. Furniture and other objects shouldn’t be too close to the vents and registers because this restricts airflow, which can interfere with the system’s ability to evenly heat your home. Schedule a Tune-Up If your heating system hasn’t had maintenance in over a year, then you need to schedule a tune-up. Heating systems are more likely to experience problems when they don’t receive annual maintenance. Problems that occur in a poorly maintained system tend to...

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3 Tips to Prevent Your Furnace From Leaking Carbon Monoxide

The majority of furnaces use a fuel-combustion process to heat your home, and carbon monoxide is a byproduct of this process. When your heating system is working properly, all of that harmful gas stays contained within the heat exchanger until it’s vented from your house through the flue pipe. However, there are a number of things that can cause that carbon monoxide to escape into your home, which will result in a major health hazard. As long as you’re proactive about preventing leaks, there’s no reason you should have to worry about this happening. 1. Keep up With Maintenance Keeping your furnace’s heat exchanger in good shape is the most important thing you can do toward preventing a carbon monoxide leak. When you bring in technicians for a maintenance tune-up, they’ll inspect the heating system to make sure its components are in good working condition. If your unit’s heat exchanger or flue pipe looks to be in any danger of cracking, they’ll catch it and get ahead of the problem. 2. Replace the Air Filter If your furnace’s air filter becomes clogged, it can result in a backup of airflow as the appliance struggles to do its job. These backups...

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What Is a Heat Exchanger Used For?

Your home’s heating system contains many parts that work to deliver the right air temperature throughout your floor plan. The heat exchanger is one such device within a fuel-burning furnace. How Does the Exchanger Work? The heat exchanger supports the transfer of heat from place to place within the heating system. As propane or natural gas burns, it creates a byproduct called flue gas. Flue gas is moved out of the system through an exhaust vent and away from the house. However, as it travels through the system, it moves across the exchanger and heats the metal of the component. In turn, the heated metal heats up the air surrounding the exchanger, and the heat is sent into the home. Heat Exchanger Maintenance When maintaining your heating system, it’s important to verify the condition of the heat exchanger. Cracks and holes are a sign the component needs to be replaced. In order to see inside the system and inspect the exchanger, a camera with a flexible arm is helpful. Conducting a combustion analysis or carbon monoxide test is also required. Are you looking for furnace maintenance services to help you manage the health of your heating system? has a team...

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Heat Conservation Tips for the Winter

When the winter arrives and the weather gets harsh, it’s easy to let your monthly heating bills get out of hand. If you’re not careful, you can end up spending a fortune on bills and burning out your heating system. Fortunately, there are some simple measures you can take to conserve heat and save money during the winter. Lower the Thermostat One simple method is to simply lower your thermostat by 7 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit each night when you sleep. If you do this consistently, those 8-hour periods of rest for the furnace will add up, and you’ll save significantly on your heating bills. As a result, your heating system will do a better job of heating your home and be less likely to experience problems or breakdowns. Utilize Your Curtains You can also use your home’s curtains to remove strain from your furnace. Curtains do a good job of trapping heat inside your home, so make a point to close them in the evening. This will prevent warmth from escaping through your windows and allow you to lower your thermostat. When the sun is shining, open the curtains instead. The natural heat from the sunlight will fill your...

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Why a Heater Might Not Turn Off

Heaters are great for keeping you warm and cozy in the winter months, but there can sometimes be too much of a good thing. When you’re having trouble turning off your heater, your home can get uncomfortably hot, and your utility bills can skyrocket. Several customers in Eatonton, GA, have reached out to for heating repair services because their heaters have been continually running. If this is what you’re experiencing, we’re ready to help you address the issue. Reasons Why a Heater Will Keep Running A common reason why a heater won’t turn off is that there’s an issue with the thermostat. A thermostat can fall out of calibration, or it can be damaged in a way that prevents it from communicating with your heater. The problem could also be caused by the primary controller. This component responds to the thermostat and tells the heating unit when to fire up, continue running, and shut down. It makes sense that if there’s an issue with the primary controller, your heater won’t function properly and may cause your home to get too hot. Another culprit could be the water checking system if you use hot water to warm your place. If the...

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Finding the Most Efficient Heating System for Your Home

Most people don’t know what it takes to generate heat throughout the house on a very cold day. Heating provides great comfort to you and your loved ones, but it may be running at half of its full capacity. Your home may be consuming a lot of energy to produce a minimum output of heat. That is why finding the most efficient heating system for your home is a task to take seriously before winter comes again. Most Efficient Types of Heating The most energy-efficient heating system for your home provides the greatest amount of heating while wasting as little heat and electricity as possible. The most efficient type makes use of heat pumps. A heat pump works by moving cool air to a warm space using reverse cycle air conditioning. An air-source heat pump captures heated air and removes the heat using a refrigerant and evaporator coil. The pump is designed to capture and remove heat from hot or cool outdoor air. A geothermal pump captures and removes heat from the soil or a body of water near the home. A vertical loop system is drilled deep underground or underwater. Water or a refrigerant travels through the loop as...

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