How to Save Energy During the Winter Months

Energy saving tips for the winter season will help to keep more money in your wallet and save energy during the cold season. Most techniques below are cheap and pretty easy to implement. Other methods require energy upgrade investments from your local HVAC company that will pay off over time in energy savings.

To manage your heating bill, turn the thermostat down when you are not home, when you go to bed at night or when you have a house full of guests. Before winter hits , make sure that your thermostats are functioning properly. Set the temperature at the most 68 degrees. With a programmable thermostat you can schedule when you would like to have your heating on.

If you are able replace single pane windows with double-pane windows.  If you can't replace your windows you can reduce drafts by attaching a clear plastic film or heavy-duty, plastic clear sheet on your windows.

Heavy curtains or blinds will help to keep the warm air in and the cold air out. Weatherstripping is another simple step in keeping the warmth inside the house. Besides weatherstripping your windows you should weatherize your pipes, vents, doors and water heaters.

The attic and basement are usually where you will find air leaks. Evaluate whether your attic is sufficiently insulated. If it has the insulation of less than R-30 (11" for fiber glass, 8" for cellulose), it needs to be enhanced. You should also check if you need to add the insulation to your basement and your crawl space. Call your local HVAC company to have your insulation performance checked. 

Have all your heating equipment checked by a professional contractor. It is a wise decision to replace older equipment with an energy-efficient model.

Warm air travels up and builds up near the ceiling. Switch your ceiling fan to run in a clockwise direction to dispense the air and move warm air around the room.

If you tend to stay in one room of the house for most of the day, you might consider a space heater for that room only. Close the vents in the rooms you are not using. You could also invest in a new zoned heating thermostat so that you could set the temperature for each room idividually. 

Clean air filters in your heating system to increase energy efficiency and airflow. These filters need to be checked once a month, and replaced when dirty- it may be monthly or every other month.

19% of an average electricity bill comes from water heating. You can lower the bill by using less hot water, turn down the thermostat, insulate your water heater, or investing in an energy-efficient model. When installing the insulation make sure you follow the manufacturer's recommendations or hire a licensed contractor.

By following these winter energy saving tips you can keep your home more comfortable during winter, save money and help the environment too.

How to Test Your Heating & AC Ducts for Leakages

Developing a home that's energy-efficient has numerous benefits. It'll lower your carbon footprint, therefore making your house more eco-friendly. It'll make your house more energy-efficient, therefore costing you less every single month in your energy bill. There are many areas within your home that you should pay attention to in order to find air leaks that wreak havoc on efficiency and your wallet. Certainly one of the individual areas is the air conditioning (heating, ventilating, and ac) unit's ductwork. Even when your house is new, but particularly if it's old, air leaks can exist through the system.

Checking and repairing any air conditioning leaks within the ductwork is crucial to keeping the system, as well as your home, efficient. A lot of the ductwork inside a house send either heated or cooled air in to the different spaces of the house. Usually, there's one large duct that functions as the return to the heating/cooling unit itself. Each one of these ductwork should be correctly sealed from air leaks to be able to function correctly and effectively. Many houses, however, frequently have significant problems like shredded insulation, damaged duct junctions, even holes chewed with the insulation and ductwork by rats and/or rodents.

Air conditioning ductwork are pressurized, so leaks which exist could be far worse and much more pricey than other air leaks around your home. The quantity of air that escapes via a leak inside a duct is magnified due to that pressurization.

Being able to access all your ductwork could possibly be the trickiest part, although fixing the leaks could be relatively easy. Leaks many times can be seen with just a flashlight. You may also make use of the "wet hands" technique - turn the air conditioning unit on therefore the ductwork become pressurized and ready: a wet hand may lead you directly to the leak. If you have trouble finding the leaks yourself then I suggest calling a qualified HVAC specialist to come out check the ducts for you. If you were able to find the leaks yourself then continue on with how to repair the leaks.

Hardware stores carry various kinds of sealing kits for ductwork. Prior to going towards the store, though, you will need to have the ability to tell the sales representative assisting you what material your ductwork are, and just how they're suspended to be able to find the appropriate repair package.

Duct tape can be used for  a lot of things, however this is somewhere the title states everything! Easily repair rips or tears in ductwork with duct tape. Take this into account when you use duct tape - it doesn't adhere well to dusty surfaces. When the surface where your leak is provides extensive dust (also it most likely will), then you've two options:

1. Clean off the dust (much more difficult than you think)

2. Wrap the duct tape around and round the section in which the leak is and just hide the dust - much simpler than the first option!

If while you are checking the ductwork you see the insulation appears thin, it is simple to add more to the surface of the existing insulation.

Caulk works effectively to seal the air leaks that are commonly found at the junctions between ducts and the registers where the air is pushed out into your home.

Winterizing your House

 As the winter months approach, it truly is time to turn our consideration to what we are able to do to insure the safe operation of our heating appliances at the same time as look at different ways to assist conservation of power. Here are a handful of ideas which can insure a secure, warm and efficient winter season in your house.

1. Seal gaps and cracks around windows and doors with weather stripping and caulk. Even the tiniest of leaks can add as a great deal as much as 10% to your heating bill.

2. Cleaning your gutters is really a chore no one looks forward to, but an excessive buildup of leaves & other debris may cause water to seep back into your home, resulting in unwanted water damage. As the winter season approaches, it's a excellent time to inspect and clean your gutters to insure their optimum performance through the wet, cold winter months.

3. Have your furnace inspected by an HVAC  professional to insure it can function properly when required, and don't foget to replace the filter. A dirty filter will cut down on the overall effectiveness of your HVAC system.

4. Check your fireplace to insure it is going to operate safely and correctly - this might include things like contacting a chimney sweep if it has not been cleaned recently.

5. Be sure to test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors throughout your whole house. If you don't have detectors currently, it is highly recommended that you get them installed. Check the batteries with a battery tester  to ensure they have most of their life left and and replace them if they are not good.

6. Drain outdoor hoses, faucets and sprinkler systems to help reduce the risk of pipes bursting. For those who have unprotected pipes in your attic, it is a excellent time to wrap them to help prevent a rupture of these pipes.

7. Look into a programmable thermostat. Current models let you to set your heat to allow the house to become warm while awake in the daytime and allow for reduce temperatures when you are asleep or away from the house in the daytime.

5 Places Your House May Be Leaking Air

Air leaks through the building envelope- the walls, foundation, and roofs-can possess a substantial effect on durability, even when compared with water leaks. Not only can air leaks carry moisture into framing cavities, leading to condensation that causes mold and rot,  it is typically responsible for a sizable portion of a home’s energy use and indoor air quality challenges.

Where are the leaks?

When developing a new structure, paying close attention to a tight and continuous air barrier need to be a top rated priority. There are well-established (and oft-neglected) very best practices for “building tight,” but acquiring leaks in current buildings is really a diverse challenge. Your caulk and spray foam can are ready to go- where to look for leaks?

You have to think like the air, and air molecules are like mice: it is unbelievable what they could fit through. Here, in no certain order, are my 5 most likely suspects for air leaks on existing properties. One key concept is the fact that air leakage pathways are generally interconnected-and so are a number of these five.

1) The chimney chase. From the basement up through the  roof, the chimney chase can be a perfect venue for the “stack effect,” in which warm, buoyant air floats up and out of your residence, with cold outdoors air becoming pulled in in the bottom to replace it.

An unfilled gap among a brick chimney and the wood framing is prevalent in old houses, building a jet engine of air leakage. Seal it wherever you'll be able to access it-in the basement and attic, at least-using fire-safe components. A lot of old homes have unused chimneys. Check that the cleanout door and any other chimney openings are adequately sealed.

2) Light fixtures and plumbing. Plumbing is often routed in “chases” operating from the basement up via the first and second stories. Though not generally operating by means of the attic like the chimney does, this once more represents an excellent opportunity for stack impact air leakage, which air will never fail to capitalize on.

When the air motion reaches the second story and is looking for any path by means of to the attic and beyond, it turns to light fixtures, wiring penetrations, smoke detectors, and bath fans, all of which are typically cut by means of the attic floor. It could appear like that globe light is firmly attached towards the ceiling, but air can very easily discover some cracks by way of. To make matters worse, these holes are normally buried under attic insulation, generating them tougher to fix. Applying spray foam from the attic side, and only then piling on insulation, would be the most effective answer.

3. Interior wall cavities. Interior walls may well be among your home’s worst culprits for air leakage. An power audit which includes a blower door test, can prove the point, but if you’re still putting that off, obtain a spot in your home where there is some cracked or missing plaster or an old wall register that is not hooked up anymore. On a cold, windy day, place the back of your hand or possibly a lit match up against the crack and feel the cold breeze.

Because of how homes are framed, particularly balloon-frame homes (built up till the mid-1950s), interior walls communicate together with the floor structure, which communicates with all the exterior wall, often at a place with no insulation or air seal. Plaster repair, spray foam, or caulk might be proper fixes based on the setting.

4. Windows and doors. Remember, we ask a whole lot from windows and doors. We put these holes in the building to let in light and air-but then we place up blinds to help keep the light out and we get upset when the windows are drafty in the winter.

New, higher quality windows shouldn't be leaky, but most current homes do not have new, great top quality windows. Older windows can be reconditioned, and executing so is generally cost-effective. Through an energy audit I identified considerable leaks in the bottom of my double-hung windows, and at the point inside the middle exactly where the sashes meet. I installed new weatherstripping, which cut off the leakage pretty much totally.

We hope that the door started out airtight, but with all the opening and closing, putting stress in the middle with the door, they effortlessly get warped out of shape somewhat, pulling away from the weatherstripping-and the weatherstripping gets old. New weatherstripping can often repair the problem, but if the door is definitely bent out of shape, it may possibly not be sufficient.

5. Basement masonry and sills. The above-grade portion of basement walls, plus the junction amongst the foundation along with the wooden sill are commonly huge air leakage holes. (As a rule, any junction between systems or materials is really a weak point.) A foam “sill seal” is ordinarily utilised right here in new construction, but in current properties the wooden framing is frequently sitting on a brick or block foundation, plus the slight crack among the two, multiplied from the building perimeter, is enough to leak many air.

Add to that the masonry itself: cracks in the stone, brick, or block will leak. Also, concrete blocks may possibly appear solid, but all those little pores can let a great deal of wind through. Use of either spray-applied foam, rigid foam, or a combination, is often a frequent method to defeat these problems.

To have your home checked for air leaks contact Sandium.Com to set up an appointment for a energy audit.

Home Heating System: Boost the Heat in a Cold Bedroom

By Don Ames

Homeowners know when they're cold and they know where their cold. They may not know how to light a pilot light, or air seal an attic floor, or balance a home heating system, but they know when they are cold. Bedrooms are often the coldest room in the house and most often people just live with it. Stick the kid in the cool bedroom, throw a couple extra blankets on the bed and tell them to finish their homework.

Dealing with a cool bedroom is frustrating. If you turn up the heat to warm the room, the rest of the house gets too warm. Shut all the heating registers except the bedroom and it puts too much back pressure on the furnace. Too often I see a household try to adjust the temperature of one room by closing heating registers in other rooms and soon they have half the registers in the house closed and the home heating system working overtime to satisfy the heating request at the thermostat.

Usually, the home heating system is designed by a professional Heating Contractor that went to HVAC school for several hours a week for a number of years. A Heating contractor must pass an apprentice program before he or she can even take the test for their journeyman license.

HVAC Education

During the educational phase of the heating and cooling training, they are taught how to do a heating load calculation on a home. They take the heating load and develop a designed heating system that includes furnace size, fan capacity, duct size, air flows, and register size. In other words, heating systems are designed to heat all rooms evenly and to work as a system with all registers open.

If you have one bedroom that is cooler than the rest of the house, one of two things has happened:

• The heating system was designed by a contractor that barely passed the test, or
• the heating system is broken.

Recently, I had a homeowner complain that they got very little air flow out of the heating register in their dining room. The dining room was cooler than other parts of the house. With a flow hood, I registered a 75% decrease of air flow at the register as compared to the register in the living room. I removed the register grill, took a flashlight and mirror and looked down the inside of the heating duct.

With the mirror to see around the initial elbow, I could see that a flow damper valve was installed in the heating duct. Further inspection showed that all the heating ducts in the home had a flow damper installed near the registers. The damper in the dining room was the only one that was closed most of the way. The homeowner was not aware that flow dampers were a part of the homes heating system.

Heating Duct Damper

Flow dampers are a bit unusual in my neck-of-the-woods, I don't see them very often. Flow dampers are added to a heating system to allow manual adjustment of the flow of air to the registers. With dampers, the flow of conditioned air can be balanced so warm and cool areas of the home can be eliminated. To keep from putting increased pressure on the furnace fan motor, when one damper is closed down another damper should be opened up.

Sometimes, I believe a heating contractor may throw in a bunch of flow dampers when he looses his pencil and can't be sure of how big to make the heating ducts or how many registers need to be in a room.

6 Ways to Boost the Heat in a Cold Bedroom.

Repair Heating Duct:
There is always the possibility that the duct system has a problem that can be fixed. Ducts can become partially or totally disconnected and flexible ducts can become pinched off or collapsed. This is the first and most important fix considering the cold bedroom. This fix will not only warm the bedroom, but also increase energy efficiency and energy savings.

The first step is the inspection of the duct leading from the plenum to the register to be sure it is securely connected. Also, look for holes, crimping, or collapsed areas. Heating ducts damaged by animals is also a possibility that you should be looking for.

Disconnected heating ducts can be reconnected, but damaged heating ducts most often need to be replaced as they are difficult to repair.

Check for a Damper:
The sneaky heating contractor may have placed a damper in the heating duct and kept it a pretty good secret. Look and feel inside the duct by removing the register cover. Also, remove insulation from the outside of the duct, especially near the register and check for the telling signs of a damper. A metal rod with a small handle and a few anchor screws indicate a damper inside. Open the damper and your cool room problems maybe over.

Balance Room Pressure With a Cross Over Duct:
Now we need to talk about room pressure and balloons. Crack the bedroom door open about an inch, turn the furnace on and see if the pressure builds up in the room and closes the door.

The heating system is a circle of air. Air is heated in the furnace, pushed through the heating ducts into a room and then sucked by the same furnace, out of the room, back through the return air duct to the furnace. If the air in the room cannot get back to the furnace, the room builds air pressure, like a balloon, which restricts the flow of conditioned air into the room in the first place.

With an increase of pressure in the bedroom, the conditioned air is forced through a different duct and into an adjoining room.

To fix the potential problem, many homes have cross over ducts installed in the ceiling or over the door that allow the air in the room to get back into the hallway even when the door is closed. In some larger, higher priced homes, they may have eliminated the room pressure problem by installing a return air register in every room.

To balance the room pressure and stop this problem, the two most used repairs are installing a cross over duct through the wall over the door or simply cutting the bottom of the door off so there is a wider gap between the door and the carpet.

Increase the Size of the Duct:
Maybe the Heating Contractor ran out of 8 inch ducting so he decided 6 inch was close enough. There is a real possibility that the back bedroom is cool because the heating duct system was not engineered correctly. When this happens, the best fix is to correct the mistake and replace the duct with a larger one. If the home is fairly new and the Contractor is still around, you might get this done as a freebee.

In this way, the cool room will get a larger share of the air coming from the furnace. This repair can still be a do-it-yourself'er if your willing. Heating duct material, both ridged and flex, can be purchased at your favorite home store. Some zip ties, a few sheet metal screws, a sharp knife and a pair of tin snips should do the trick.

If the heating duct size is simply too small to service the room, besides replacing the duct with a larger one, the only other fix that might work is installing a booster fan in the duct or adding a complete second duct and register.

Duct Booster Fan
Place a baffle in the heating plenum:
This adjustment can be very effective - especially in a manufactured home. A section of the main heating trunk ( the plenum ) needs to be opened up so a metal baffle or shield can be placed in the main trunk line that will direct more air into the heating duct that goes to the cold room. This is a very effective way to grab more of the conditioned air that passes down the main heating trunk and direct it in the direction you want it go. This is an inexpensive and permanent fix that works very well.

Install a Booster Fan in the Duct:
This $30 part won't create more heat, but it will pull more heat to the cool room. The booster fan should be installed as close to the offending room as possible and can be wired directly back to the furnace fan so the booster fan will run each time the furnace comes on. Installing it can be a pain. A section of round metal duct either needs to be dropped down or added to the system. Be sure the duct system is air sealed or this added fan will pull unconditioned air into the system and lower your energy efficiency.

I know dealing with a cold spot in your home can be a frustrating ordeal. Hopefully I have provided some solutions to the problem that will work for you and your home. The home heating system was designed to provide the comfort you are expecting and deserve and, with a little T.L.C., will provide years of energy efficient service.

If you live in the South Bay Area of California and you are dealing with cold spots in your house- please visit Sandium.Com to schedule a visit with one of our technicians. 

by Don Ames, a home energy auditor that is your host at http://www.detectenergy.com and the publisher of the eNewsletter, the Energy Spy Insider.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Ames

Energy-Efficient HVAC Solutions For Your Home - Heating and Cooling Green

By Matt Gallo

In today's environmentally conscious world, everyone wants to do their part for a more sustainable future. But it's hard to know what you can do to limit your impact on the planet. One of the easiest and most eco-friendly choices is to install an energy-efficient heating and cooling system in your home for dramatically reduced energy usage. And, as if that wasn't enough, the lower energy consumption of these heating systems will also help you save big bucks on your bills! In fact, some Energy Star rated HVAC systems can save you up to 30% on heating and cooling.

Solar Heating Systems

Solar heating systems are a great hot water heating solution that's eco-friendly and has extremely low operating costs. These systems can provide up to 80% of your home's hot water for major energy cost savings. Used to heat hot water, pools, and water for radiant heating, solar heating systems harness the free energy of the sun. And, although solar hot water heating can be expensive to install, it usually pays for itself in less than five years (in reduced energy bills and government incentives). Once the equipment is paid off, you have almost zero operating costs.

Hybrid Heat Pumps

Hybrid heat pumps are efficient combinations of gas furnaces and traditional heat pumps; blending two energy-efficient systems allows this hybrid to get the best of both worlds! Heat pumps function quite efficiently during warm months, but at cold temperatures they typically lose their effectiveness. Hybrid heat pumps work like a hybrid vehicle, turning on the gas furnace when necessary to supplement the efficiency of the heat pump. Switching between the two heat (and cooling) sources allows the system to automatically adjust for optimal function.

Ground Source Heat Pumps (Geothermal Heating and Cooling)

Ground source heat pumps are among the most efficient heating and cooling options on the market today. They're eco-friendly as well as inexpensive. This specialized type of heat pump utilizes the relatively constant temperature of ground to heat your home in winter and cool it in summer. A loop of piping is installed in the ground near or under your house, and liquid (antifreeze or water) flowing through the loop heats or cools your home depending on the season. In summer, the soil is relatively cool, so it chills the liquid, which in turn cools your home; in winter, the soil is warmer, heating the liquid. Ground source heat pumps are a completely safe method of heating and cooling your home with a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. They can even reduce your home heating costs by up to 70%!

Radiant Floor Heating

Radiant heating is another environmentally-friendly heating solution that has gained popularity in recent years. Radiant heat functions by circulating heated water through pex tubing in your flooring. This warms the floor and radiates heat throughout your space as the warmth from the flooring rises. Because the tubing must be installed under the flooring, radiant floor heating is recommended for new construction or during major remodels. However, despite the expense and hassle of installation, many homeowners love the energy-efficiency and great tactile experience of radiant heating. Just imagine walking across a toasty-warm floor instead of icy cold tile! Radiant heat can be used as a whole house heating system or installed in individual rooms (commonly kitchens and bathrooms).

Consult your local HVAC contractor to learn more about these different energy-efficient options for heating and cooling your home. They'll be able to give you expert advice about your specific area and help you select the best HVAC system for your needs. If you're ready to switch to green heating, new energy-efficient systems are the answer you've been seeking!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Gallo

How To Save on Your Home Heating Costs

Contact Sandium.Com to have a professional come out and service your furnace and make sure you are ready for the winter weather.

Heating Our Homes

Heating our homes today can be an expensive endeavor. Finding ways to cut your heating bill can mean an enormous savings in fuel cost. Sometimes an initial investment may be required such as a new boiler or furnace. Sometimes simple maintenance can cut costs.

Doing everything possible to save fuel today is the green thing to do. Our fuel supply is a limited commodity and until we develop sustainable types of replenish-able alternative energy sources, we should all be doing what we can to conserve.

When older homes are in question, the main heat loss is usually through the drafty wooden windows and doors. Replacing these with energy efficient new models with thermally insulated glass and sashes, can save as much as twenty five percent of your heating bill.

Adding insulation to your attic space is another easy way to gain some savings. Most of the heat from your house will eventually end up in the attic. The longer you can keep it in the room your using the better.

Crawl spaces are often neglected when insulating. Mostly because they're usually very hard to access. It's worth the extra push to crawl in there and add some insulation. Your efforts will be rewarded both by fuel savings and a more comfortable room above to live in.

Having your heating system cleaned annually is another good way to keep saving money. A clean system runs very efficiently and also will have fewer breakdowns. This can keep you from ending up in the cold waiting for a service company that may not always be readily available.

Having a service company in the wings waiting is something every homeowner should make a point of. Do not wait until the middle of a blizzard to find someone after your broken down and freezing. Losing your heat in extreme cold can cause frozen pipes to explode the plumbing and you can also lose the entire heating system. Great cost will need to be expended to repair the damage from frozen pipes.

If you have an older heating system in your home, it's highly recommended you investigate the new high tech computerized boilers and furnaces available today. Efficiency capabilities have increased dramatically in recent years and some new equipment can end up paying for itself relatively quickly not to mention the boost to the comfort level in your home.

Federal Tax incentives are available for high end high efficiency gas and oil apparatus that meat certain rating requirements. This added together with fuel savings will allow the average homeowner to afford the upgrade.

Finding the right people to work on our home heating apparatus again should be tackled well before the heating season. This gives us time to find someone that comforts us by showing they know what they're doing. Nothings worse then finding out your heating contractor is unreliable right when you need them.

Heating Our Homes is so very important and so very costly that it is always on our minds in the winter months. Thinking about them in the summer months will benefit us a lot more.

Visit Sandium.Com to schedule an appt to have your heating system evaluated or to have an energy audit done. 

Article courtesy of InfoBarrel.

Central Air Conditioners

Central air conditioners circulate cool air through a system of supply and return ducts. Supply ducts and registers (i.e., openings in the walls, floors, or ceilings covered by grills) carry cooled air from the air conditioner to the home. This cooled air becomes warmer as it circulates through the home; then it flows back to the central air conditioner through return ducts and registers.

Air conditioners help to dehumidify the incoming air, but in extremely humid climates or in cases where the air conditioner is oversized, it may not achieve a low humidity. Running a dehumidifier in your air conditioned home will increase your energy use, both for the dehumidifier itself and because the air conditioner will require more energy to cool your house. A preferable alternative is a dehumidifying heat pipe, which can be added as a retrofit to most existing systems.

Types of Central Air Conditioners

A central air conditioner is either a split-system unit or a packaged unit.

In a split-system central air conditioner, an outdoor metal cabinet contains the condenser and compressor, and an indoor cabinet contains the evaporator. In many split-system air conditioners, this indoor cabinet also contains a furnace or the indoor part of a heat pump. The air conditioner's evaporator coil is installed in the cabinet or main supply duct of this furnace or heat pump. If your home already has a furnace but no air conditioner, a split-system is the most economical central air conditioner to install.

In a packaged central air conditioner, the evaporator, condenser, and compressor are all located in one cabinet, which usually is placed on a roof or on a concrete slab next to the house's foundation. This type of air conditioner also is used in small commercial buildings. Air supply and return ducts come from indoors through the home's exterior wall or roof to connect with the packaged air conditioner, which is usually located outdoors. Packaged air conditioners often include electric heating coils or a natural gas furnace. This combination of air conditioner and central heater eliminates the need for a separate furnace indoors.

Choosing or Upgrading Your Central Air Conditioner

Central air conditioners are more efficient than room air conditioners. In addition, they are out of the way, quiet, and convenient to operate. To save energy and money, you should try to buy an energy-efficient air conditioner and reduce your central air conditioner's energy use. In an average air-conditioned home, air conditioning consumes more than 2000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, causing power plants to emit about 3500 pounds of carbon dioxide and 31 pounds of sulfur dioxide.

If you are considering adding central air conditioning to your home, the deciding factor may be the need for ductwork. See the section on limitations when replacing existing systems for more information.

If you have an older central air conditioner, you might choose to replace the outdoor compressor with a modern, high-efficiency unit. If you do so, consult a local heating and cooling contractor to assure that the new compressor is properly matched to the indoor unit. However, considering recent changes in refrigerants and air conditioning designs, it might be wiser to replace the entire system.

Today's best air conditioners use 30%–50% less energy to produce the same amount of cooling as air conditioners made in the mid 1970s. Even if your air conditioner is only 10 years old, you may save 20%–40% of your cooling energy costs by replacing it with a newer, more efficient model.

Proper sizing and installation are key elements in determining air conditioner efficiency. Too large a unit will not adequately remove humidity. Too small a unit will not be able to attain a comfortable temperature on the hottest days. Improper unit location, lack of insulation, and improper duct installation can greatly diminish efficiency.

When buying an air conditioner, look for a model with a high efficiency. Central air conditioners are rated according to their seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER). SEER indicates the relative amount of energy needed to provide a specific cooling output. Many older systems have SEER ratings of 6 or less. The minimum SEER allowed today is 13. Look for the ENERGY STAR® label for central air conditioners with SEER ratings of 13 or greater, but consider using air conditioning equipment with higher SEER ratings for greater savings.

New residential central air conditioner standards went into effect on January 23, 2006. Air conditioners manufactured after January 26, 2006 must achieve a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) of 13 or higher. SEER 13 is 30% more efficient than the previous minimum SEER of 10. The standard applies only to appliances manufactured after January 23, 2006. Equipment with a rating less than SEER 13 manufactured before this date may still be sold and installed.

The average homeowner will remain unaffected by this standard change for some time to come. The standards do not require you to change your existing central air conditioning units, and replacement parts and services should still be available for your home's systems. The "lifespan" of a central air conditioner is about 15 to 20 years. Manufacturers typically continue to support existing equipment by making replacement parts available and honoring maintenance contracts after the new standard goes into effect.

Other Features to Look For When Buying an Air Conditioner:

• A thermal expansion valve and a high-temperature rating (EER) greater than 11.6, for high-efficiency operation when the weather is at its hottest
• A variable speed air handler for new ventilation systems
• A unit that operates quietly
• A fan-only switch, so you can use the unit for nighttime ventilation to substantially reduce air-conditioning costs
• A filter check light to remind you to check the filter after a predetermined number of operating hours
• An automatic-delay fan switch to turn off the fan a few minutes after the compressor turns off.

Installation and Location of Air Conditioners

If your air conditioner is installed correctly, or if major installation problems are found and fixed, it will perform efficiently for years with only minor routine maintenance. However, many air conditioners are not installed correctly. As an unfortunate result, modern energy-efficient air conditioners can perform almost as poorly as older inefficient models.

Be sure that your contractor performs the following procedures when installing a new central air conditioning system:

• Allows adequate indoor space for the installation, maintenance, and repair of the new system, and installs an access door in the furnace or duct to provide a way to clean the evaporator coil
• Uses a duct-sizing methodology such as the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) Manual D
• Ensures there are enough supply registers to deliver cool air and enough return air registers to carry warm house air back to the air conditioner
• Installs duct work within the conditioned space, not in the attic, wherever possible
• Seals all ducts with duct mastic and heavily insulates attic ducts
• Locates the condensing unit where its noise will not keep you or your neighbors awake at night, if possible
• Locates the condensing unit where no nearby objects will block the flow of air to it
• Verifies that the newly installed air conditioner has the exact refrigerant charge and air flow rate specified by the manufacturer
• Locates the thermostat away from heat sources, such as windows or supply registers.

If you are replacing an older or failed split system, be sure that the evaporator coil is replaced with a new one that exactly matches the condenser coil in the new condensing unit. (The air conditioner's efficiency will likely not improve if the existing evaporator coil is left in place; in fact, the old coil could cause the new compressor to fail prematurely.)

For more information on air conditioners please visit Sandium.Com

Article Courtesy of Energy Savers

Air Conditioners & Heat Pumps Installation -- Sandium

Home Energy Assessment

A home energy assessment, also known as a home energy audit, is the first step to assess how much energy your home consumes and to evaluate what measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient. An assessment will show you problems that may, when corrected, save you significant amounts of money over time.

During the assessment, you can pinpoint where your house is losing energy. Energy assessments also determine the efficiency of your home's heating and cooling systems. An assessment may also show you ways to conserve hot water and electricity. You can perform a simple energy assessment yourself, or have a professional energy auditor carry out a more thorough assessment.

A professional auditor uses a variety of techniques and equipment to determine the energy efficiency of a structure. Thorough assessments often use equipment such as blower doors, which measure the extent of leaks in the building envelope, and infrared cameras, which reveal hard-to-detect areas of air infiltration and missing insulation.

If you live in one of our service areas and would like a professional energy audit please visit Sandium.Com

Major Source of Airborne Bacteria: You.

Air Quality News from IQAir, the world leader in air purifiers.

Bacteria in your air. The source: You.

New research suggests that one of the leading sources of air pollution in your home is probably … you. In fact, your presence in a room can add millions of bacteria to the air every hour, according to a new study conducted by Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley. The research was conducted in a classroom setting while the room was both occupied and unoccupied. The researchers concluded that most, but not all, of the bacteria and other contaminants in the air were already in the room and were stirred up when humans entered the environment. “Mostly people are re-suspending what’s been deposited before,” one of the team told Yale News. Most of the stirred-up airborne microbial stewcame from the floor, he said.

That conclusion suggests that your indoor carpet actually functions as an air purifier, at least so long as nobody in the room stirs thing up (by, say, walking or moving). As ineffective as that might seem, it’s similar to how ionizing air purifiers actually work by charging particles that then stick to surfaces in your home. Sooner of later those particles (which your ionizer caused to cling to the wall or carpet) relaunch into the air. Then, they wind up sticking to your lungs.

In the Yale study, the principal investigator noted that carpeted rooms in particular retain high levels of microorganisms from the air. If you suffer from asthma, you may already know this. Carpeting can be a haven for pet dander, pollen and other allergens. A high-quality HEPA vacuum can help, as can frequent steam cleaning of carpets. But vacuuming carpets, even with a HEPA vacuum cleaner, can also disturb particles and cause them to become airborne, the American Lung Association points out. So do you have to get rid of the carpets in your home?  “Replacing carpet with hard flooring may be a good idea,” concludes Mayo clinic asthma and allergy expert Dr. James Li (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/asthma-triggers/AN01948), Of course, as Li and others note, the hard flooring you install may itself be a source of another indoor air quality hazard: volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

The researchers in the Yale/UC Berkeley study also found that about 20 percent of all of the bacteria and fungi launched into air by humans is of human origin, as opposed to coming from plants or other sources. The average human emission: about 37 million bacteria per hour.

This online publication is brought to you by IQAir North America, Inc., based in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. IQAir North America is a member of the Swiss-based IQAir Group that develops, manufactures and markets innovative air purifiers and air quality products for indoor environments around the globe. IQAir is the exclusive educational partner of the American Lung Association for the air purifier industry.

If you live in any of our service areas and would like to learn more about IQ Air Air Purifiers please visit Sandium.Com

Testimonials from our Customers

1/28/2012


We needed out duct work worked on and our heater service. We knew that a 20+ old furnace might need to be replaced. Not saying we were excited about this prospect but Sandium helped ease the pain of a new system. I found them through yelp and PG+E. From the moment I spoke to Tyler, I knew he was a cool guy. We scheduled an appointment and he was upfront and honest about all the alternatives. The best way to go was through a rebate program.
The crew that worked on the project was nice and courteous. Chava was the manager and he was great.  A real nice guy and a guy that was looking out for us at every turn. 
The only bummer thing was a rebate that was offered on our unit did not go through. It had expired before we could take advantage of it.


Rox R

January 7, 2012

I had my first introduction to Sandium yesterday.   Nik from Sandium came out to my house to give me a quote request.   I have dealt with dozens of trades people in the past twenty years of living in the bay area and must say that Nik came across as a REAL professional who knows his trade cold.   Given he is one of the co-owners I am not surprised to see the man five star ratings others have posted for Sandium.  They certainly passed the first step I look for a company I want to deal with - do they know their stuff and are are they current, are they courteous, and are they willing to take the time to understand your needs and priorities.

Bay Area, Savvy Consumer

5/12/2012

Sandium installed an air sourced heat pump for us.  A part was defective (from the factory) so we didn't have heat for two days, but I would use them again in a heart beat!  They worked long hours to fix the problem, communicated with us about everything, were very clean and professional.  I've recommended them to friends and they were equally pleased with the work.

B.F

6/5/2011

I highly recommend Sandium for A/C work.

When shopping for A/C installation two years ago for my new home, I talked to three different A/C specialists. Sandium stood head and shoulders above the other service providers I spoke to. Nik was the lead pre-sales consultant. He was incredibly professional, timely, excellent at answering all of my questions. He did a thorough on-site inspection before and helped make an excellent recommendation on the specific unit to install in my house. We wanted to make sure we had a unit that would run efficiently and quietly, but we also have a very small patio area in which to place the fan/condenser outside the house. He explained that unit would cost a bit more, but we'd probably be happy with it. And he's right. When our neighbor's A/C is running at the same time, it's louder than ours when we're standing right next to it.

The labor costs were just a bit more expensive than two other service providers I also shopped, but the service, thoroughness and professionalism were well worth it. I was confident that Sandium would do great work, and they did.

One thing I really appreciated with Nik's insistence that the builder of our house provide us with the duct leakage test results before doing the A/C installation. He didn't want to charge us to do it if it wasn't needed, but he said it would save us a lot of money if we were sure the ducts were well sealed before we went forward with the installation. He explained that most builders in new home developments only sample test a few homes but variances can be large from home to home. The builder eventually provided us home-specific the records to show that we were within normal leakage allowances.

On the day of installation, the technician showed up on time, explained everything he was doing, did thorough testing, and was very respectful. He wore shoe covers whenever he needed to come in the house. Everything went smoothly with the installation. During testing, it was discovered that a fuse would need to be upgraded to 30 amps to handle the load of our AC unit. They didn't have one in the truck, but came back the very next day and replaced it, tested it thoroughly, and without any additional charge.

Sandium also saved me money a few months after the A/C was installed when we decided to have paver stones installed in our patio. The paver stone vendor had said that we'd need to have the A/C unit removed and reinstalled for them to do the work. I called Sandium to ask them to do the work, and they said, "No, let me talk to the contractor you're working with. We shouldn't have to do that." They spoke to the paver stone contractor and, sure enough, the paver guys agreed that they could work around the unit and still do a good job. And they did. Sandium saved us $500-600 of labor with that phone call. I'm not sure that another A/C company would have said no to the opportunity for a $500-600 job.

I can't recommend these guys enough.

Mark M

Healthy Home Audits

We spend so much time in our homes, yet until there is a problem few of us take the time to evaluate just how healthy their home is.  It is a sad, but unfortunate truth, that most people only start to address health issues in their homes when they feel unwell, or when they go to sell the home and they are required to make safety upgrades as part of the real estate transaction. Why wait to fix up your home for the next person when you could enjoy the benefits of living in a healthy home today.

Your doctor can help you deal with your allergy and respiratory problems, but a healthy home inspection can help you uncover unhealthy conditions that may be making you feel unwell. Your hardwood floors are beautiful, but just below, is a ventilated crawlspace full of dirt, dust, mold, and droppings. Due to the way our homes are constructed, there are plenty of plumbing and electrical openings into the crawlspace that provide a perfect pathway for contaminants to enter your home.

An estimated 40% of the air in your home starts in your home’s crawlspace. So the key to keeping the air in your home as healthy as possible is to seal penetrations between the home and crawlspace, and to keep the crawlspace as clean as possible. 

A healthy home audit takes a scientific approach to evaluate what is in the air in your home.  We have equipment to sample the air in your home to identify problems such as airborne mold spore concentrations. We test and can monitor humidity and ventilation levels are evaluated. Pollutant sources and pathways that allow airborne pollutants to invade your home.  We use diagnostic monitoring equipment to evaluate swings in temperature and humidity, which uncontrolled can cause indoor mold and dust mite issues.  Sensitive meters are used to identify spikes in airborne particulate and chemical concentrations.  Safety tests are conducted to determine your exposure to deadly carbon monoxide or inadequate ventilation

For a Healthy Home Inspection in the South Bay Area of CA please visit Sandium.Com

Environmental HVAC Retrofitting Services

Hopefully we get smarter as we get older.  This is also true of our heating, ventilation, and air conditioning industry.  Over time our industry has learned how to design and install systems that are safer and more energy efficient.  50 years ago, energy costs were low and we had little understanding of the long-term effect of our environmental footprint.

We take a whole-house approach to make home perform better.  Some call this a “green” approach, but we have seen homes that are called green, but are anything but.  To us, a home is not green unless it performs well.  A home that performs well will

• provides healthy filtered air to occupants. We used some of the best filtration equipment in the world to keep your lungs happy!  We have staff trained in air quality testing and consulting that can identify and solve indoor air quality problems related to indoor contamination from mold, allergens, dust mite, and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs)
• uses equipment that is “right-sized” – not over sized.  A well designed heating and cooling system is a system that works behind the scenes to keep you healthy and comfortable. If you notice every time your equipment turns on and off – then something was not designed properly.
• is comfortable – meaning that the equipment is not noisy and deliver just the right amount of heating and cooling,
• is energy efficient, meaning that we use energystar equipment and programmable thermostats that installed as part of  whole-house system

For more information please visit Sandium.Com

Geothermal Heat Pumps

Geothermal heat pumps (sometimes referred to as GeoExchange, earth-coupled, ground-source, or water-source heat pumps) have been in use since the late 1940s. Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) use the constant temperature of the earth as the exchange medium instead of the outside air temperature. This allows the system to reach fairly high efficiencies (300%-600%) on the coldest of winter nights, compared to 175%-250% for air-source heat pumps on cool days.

While many parts of the country experience seasonal temperature extremes—from scorching heat in the summer to sub-zero cold in the winter—a few feet below the earth's surface the ground remains at a relatively constant temperature. Depending on latitude, ground temperatures range from 45°F (7°C) to 75°F (21°C). Like a cave, this ground temperature is warmer than the air above it during the winter and cooler than the air in the summer. The GHP takes advantage of this by exchanging heat with the earth through a ground heat exchanger.

As with any heat pump, geothermal and water-source heat pumps are able to heat, cool, and, if so equipped, supply the house with hot water. Some models of geothermal systems are available with two-speed compressors and variable fans for more comfort and energy savings. Relative to air-source heat pumps, they are quieter, last longer, need little maintenance, and do not depend on the temperature of the outside air.

A dual-source heat pump combines an air-source heat pump with a geothermal heat pump. These appliances combine the best of both systems. Dual-source heat pumps have higher efficiency ratings than air-source units, but are not as efficient as geothermal units. The main advantage of dual-source systems is that they cost much less to install than a single geothermal unit, and work almost as well.

Even though the installation price of a geothermal system can be several times that of an air-source system of the same heating and cooling capacity, the additional costs are returned to you in energy savings in 5–10 years. System life is estimated at 25 years for the inside components and 50+ years for the ground loop. There are approximately 50,000 geothermal heat pumps installed in the United States each year.

To learn more about geothermal systems please visit Sandium.Com

Original source of article Energy Savers