Common Mistakes and Frequently Asked Questions
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filled with things you can do to save energy in and around your
house, how to achieve better indoor air
quality, and what the
latest technologies are saying.
Everyone
wants to save money in as many ways as they can,
but
we often make mistakes that are common to us all.
Some common mistakes people make include:
- Letting the Air Conditioner salesperson
sell them a unit that's much bigger than they
need.
- Not getting the ducts checked
for problems when installing a new heating
and cooling system.
- Thinking they only need to insulate
the attic, floors over a basement or crawlspace,
walls and windows also matter.
- Not using ceiling
and portable fans to improve comfort in the cooling
season.
These fans use very little electricity
and should be used to circulate air in the house.
This helps
to make the house feel cooler, the thermostat
setting for your air conditioner can be
raised to 85°F, and still maintain the same
comfort as the lower setting.
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No Cold Air Blowing?:
My central air conditioning blows cool but not cold
air and seems to be always running. I have heard that
dirty coils in the condenser could cause this. Is this
something I can check and clean myself and, If so how
would I go about it?
There are a couple of things that can cause the
symptoms you describe.
- You're right, your condenser
may be dirty.
- There may be inadequate airflow around the
condenser.
- There might be a leak, and your unit is
out of refrigerant.
- Your duct system might be leaking.
Things to do:
- Have unit serviced annually by qualified
heat/cool contractor.
- Check your condenser. Go outside
to the condensing unit; make sure that
plants are
trimmed at least
two feet away from the top and sides
of the unit. Make sure
there are no leaves, dryer lint,
and lawn trimmings etc., stuck on or around the
unit. Turn off the
electricity to the air conditioner
anytime you are going to use water directly on
it. Take a garden hose with a high-pressure
nozzle (we're not talking fire hose
pressure however) and spray the condenser coils
from the inside,
forcing debris to the outside. Repeat
the
process from the outside,
forcing any remaining debris inside.
You are trying to knock out any dust, dirt,
leaves, etc.,
that
may have accumulated between the
heat exchange fins. If
any of the fins have been bent so
that airflow is impeded, carefully take
a thin blunt object
like a wooden popsicle
stick and straighten the fins. You
might want to do this once or twice a year,
to keep everything
working
optimally.
- Check your ducts. First, do a
pressure test. While the air conditioner is
operating, go to
each register
and make sure that air is coming
out. If there is no airflow from a register,
or
noticeably less, there
is
probably a major hole or disconnection
along that duct passageway. Second,
do a visual
check
of
your ducts if possible. Most
houses have leaky ducts, even new
houses, so it is likely you'll
find leaks in yours. Typically, leaks occur
at bends, joints,
and at register connections.
Ducts can be disconnected
by a simple bump when storing the luggage
away in your
attic.
A disconnected duct
wastes energy by heating or cooling
your attic or
crawlspace instead of your home.
In addition, pollutants and dust
can be sucked into your house
through a disconnected return duct. If you
find a
disconnected duct,
reconnect it with sheet metal
screws and mastic for metal
ducts or zip-ties and butyl-backed
tape (not duct tape,
which degrades rapidly) for flexible
ducts. If you wish, you
can hire contractors to go over
your entire duct system, sealing it for
leaks, or you
can do it
yourself. This
will help lower your heating
and cooling costs.
- If neither of these things helps
with the cool but not cold air
coming from you
unit, call
an
air conditioner contractor. He
or she will be able to determine if
your
air conditioner has the proper
refrigerant charge. Sometimes air conditioners
are undercharged when
first installed,
sometimes there is a leak, allowing
refrigerant to escape. A pressure
test of the coils
will determine which is
the problem. You might want the
contractor
to clean the interior (evaporator)
coils at the
same time.
Dust on these coils can reduce airflow,
reducing efficiency.
http://hes.lbl.gov/hes/answerdesk.html
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One room never
cool? Some parts of my house are never comfortable, no
matter what I do. The rest of the house is fine,
but one room is always too hot or too cold. Why is
that and what can I do to fix it?
Your problem is probably caused by bad air ducts
and/or poor insulation and windows in that area.
Air ducts can be functioning poorly due to bad
design, inadequate insulation, or air leaks.
These problems
reduce the amount of conditioned air reaching a
room. Leaking and disconnected ducts waste
the energy intended
for heating or cooling by losing energy to your
attic, basement or crawlspace, and contribute
to indoor
air pollution by increasing dust in the house or
by drawing exhaust fumes from gas appliances back
into the house.
Ducts can become disconnected or develop leaks
in many different ways. One is accidental
bumping, which
happens when someone moves around the ductwork.
In addition, over time duct tape can degrade
and ducts,
especially those under the flooring of houses,
can simply fall apart. Disconnected ducts
are not only
a problem in old housing-the ducts in new houses
are often accidentally disconnected during construction.
Have your ductwork inspected and make sure any
connections are airtight, and held together
with zip ties, or
sheet metal screws and mastic to create a good
seal.
Also, if the uncomfortable room is at the
end of a long duct run with lots of turns
and connections,
it may not get adequate airflow. A qualified
heating and cooling contractor should be
able to check
out your duct system and make sure it is functioning
properly. If you've checked out the ducts and
determined they are not the problem, then
the problem can
probably
be solved by insulating the ceiling, walls,
or floor, or by replacing the windows with
energy-efficient
models.
http://hes.lbl.gov/hes/answerdesk.html
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Why are my bills
so high?
There are a number of factors that cause differences
in energy bills, so comparing your bill to someone
else's is like comparing apples to oranges. The ages
of major appliances, especially refrigerators and
air conditioners, can make a dramatic difference
in your bill. In addition, if your house leaks air
like a sieve while your neighbor's house was just
weatherized and insulated, you will have much higher
heating and cooling bills. Other factors that can
result in significant differences in bills are the
number and kinds of lighting fixtures, thermostat
settings for heating and cooling, the number of loads
of laundry, old refrigerators out in the garage,
and hobbies which result in electricity use.
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Do programmable
T-Stats save?
Will installing a programmable thermostat reduce
my heating and cooling consumption?
Yes, programmable thermostats can reduce the energy
used for air conditioning or heating by 5 to 30%.
Programmable thermostats, while not always digital,
save money by turning the air conditioner to a higher
setting (or heater to a lower setting) when no one
is present in the house, or in the evenings when
it is cooler. You can achieve the same savings without
the programmable thermostat, but you would have to
remember to change your thermostat every day when
you leave the house, and turn it down every night
when you go to bed. In addition, if you are using
the thermostat to regulate your heater, you would
wake to a cold house. The programmable thermostat
does all of the remembering for you once it is set.
A sample of a heating schedule you might program
into a thermostat is:
Wake up 6:00 am - 9:00 am 68°F
Leave 9:00 am - 5:30 pm 60°F
Evenings 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm 68°F
Sleep 11:00 pm - 6:00 am 60°F
This way your house is always comfortable and you
can save money on heating. You can make a similar
schedule for air conditioning.
Wake up 6:00 am - 9:00 am 75°F
Leave 9:00 am - 5:30 pm 80°F
Evenings 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm 75°F
Sleep 11:00 pm - 6:00 am 78°F or off
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