Four Common Questions About HVAC

By Sharee Landers

As a Comfort Advisor for Western Heating and Air Conditioning, my job is to help homeowners identify and evaluate the best system and solutions for their home comfort. Every day I get asked many of the same questions. Here are four common questions about HVAC homeowners ask.

How do I get rid of the hot and cold spots in my home? (For example: The upstairs is roasting, while downstairs is an icicle! OR… The east side of my house is so hot, but the west side is cold?)

This is a great question! Here are the first things you can do to try and solve the problem yourself.

Check your air vents for blockages. A rug or a piece of furniture can be covering up your vents, causing a blockage of airflow.
Check your air filter for dirt. If your filter is clogged by dirt & dust, your entire HVAC system is forced to work twice as hard for air to pass through it.
Put up shades or blinds. If certain parts of your home are being hit by direct sunlight, those spots could be a little too warm for comfort.
Change your thermostat location. Your thermostat regulates the temperature in your home, and if it’s exposed to a heat source like direct sunlight, it could be forcing your unit to work overtime.
Check your doors and windows for air leaks. Check for any possible spots where air could seep in from the outside. The main culprits are usually cracks & crevices around windows and doors. You will want to seal off as many of these leaks as possible.

Call us if these 5 things don’t fix the problem

If these things don’t fix your issues, it may be time to give us a call. Often when the home is first built, the contractor will size the furnace and air conditioner for the size of it, but when they go to install the ductwork, they don’t put in the correct ducting. The great news is that there are solutions!

My job as a Comfort Advisor is to come up with the best solution for you. The first thing I will do when I come into your home is perform a load calculation and duct analysis. This will help me figure out which size of heating and air conditioning system is right for your home. With that into consideration, we also need to measure your ducting system.

We can replace the furnace and air conditioner with the correct size. Often, we can add one or more air returns to your system, which allows the system to breathe better. Adding more returns isn’t as scary as it sounds, and it can usually be done easily without any significant construction.

How do I eliminate the dust in my home and get better filtration?

Did you know there are some great filters we can install to your heating and air conditioning system? We can put in a larger filter that is anywhere from 4 inches to 24 inches in width. This creates more room to collect all of the dust particles without restricting airflow. These filters last anywhere from 6 to 12 months! I suggest that homeowners get rid of that 1″ filter, which must be replaced every month because they get so clogged with dust and dirt and restrict the airflow.

“I have been looking at my gas bill and see that I am using a lot more fuel than my neighbor. How do I figure out how efficient my furnace and air conditioner are?”

Furnace efficiency can range anywhere from 60% to 98%. Government standards at the present time is 80% efficient, but there are many older homes that still only have a 60% efficient furnace.

Air conditioning systems are rated in SEER ratings, which stands for Seasonal \Energy Efficiency Rating. The government standard is 13 SEER, but if the air conditioner is over ten years old, there is a possibility it’s a lot less. Usually, we can evaluate this by just looking at the equipment. However, we can dive deeper into the system and have our trained professionals use specialized equipment to measure how efficient the gas is that is burning in the furnace, as well as how many amps we are pulling on or air conditioner. This deep dive will tell us how efficient your equipment is running.

“What is the average life of a furnace and air conditioner?”

The average life of a furnace is 15 to 18 years and for an air conditioner, it is 10 to 13 years. But, if your furnace has been having to work extra hard because it is not the right size for your home, that could shorten the life of it considerably.

If you have any additional questions for our Home Comfort Advisors, please call to -schedule a complimentary visit ($89 value) today. Give us a call at (801) 224-8899 or visit us online at www.WesternHeatingAir.com. Our team of dedicated Comfort Advisors love to educate homeowners and help them make the best decisions for their home!