Monthly Archives: September 2014

Fall HVAC System Maintenance Checklist: Here’s How It Should Look

furnace maintenance As the warmth of summer wanes and fall approaches, it’s time to get your home ready for the cooler weather that lies ahead. You should clear out the gutters, check the condition of the roof, re-caulk the windows, and clean and put away yard and garden equipment. Scheduling fall HVAC system maintenance is essential too, so you can enjoy a warm, cozy home throughout the winter months.

What to Expect From a Fall HVAC Maintenance Appointment

Twice-yearly tune-ups are critical to keep your HVAC system running at optimal efficiency, ensure your comfort, and extend the equipment’s service life. Here are some of the tasks you can expect to have covered during a professional fall HVAC checkup:

Verifying the thermostat’s functionality and accuracy. If you don’t already have one, your HVAC technician may recommend installing a programmable thermostat to enhance your energy savings.
Checking and tightening electrical connections, and testing the motor’s voltage and current. Loose or faulty electrical connections and voltage and current issues can make the system unreliable and more likely to fail, and they pose a serious safety risk.
Testing the start-up cycle and safety controls. This ensures that the system starts up, runs and shuts down as expected, and that the equipment operates safely.
Lubricating all moving parts. The friction that results from a lack of lubrication increases energy consumption and the risk of overheating and a fire or failure.
Inspecting the vent system. If the chimney or exhaust vent is damaged or blocked, deadly carbon monoxide (CO) can back-draft into the home’s air supply.
Checking the furnace fuel lines/connections, burners and heat exchanger. A cracked/corroded heat exchanger, dirty burners, and fuel-line leaks not only reduce the system’s energy efficiency, they compromise safety.
Changing the air filter. In between professional tune-ups, check the filter monthly, and replace or clean it as needed to keep the system operating efficiently, and to protect your comfort equipment.

For all the details about fall HVAC system maintenance, contact us today at Keith Air Conditioning, Inc. We’ve been dedicated to the home comfort of Mobile and Baldwin County residents since 1964.

Seal, Insulate and Save in Your Baldwin County Home

insulation If you’ve noticed your furnace and A/C can’t keep your home comfortable in Mobile’s sometimes difficult weather, upgrading your equipment isn’t your only option. With a free weekend and some low-cost material, you can seal, insulate and save on heating and air conditioning while also making your home more comfortable.

The exterior of your home, formed in part by the walls and roof, is known as the building envelope. Upgrading your home’s envelope with better air sealing and insulation can cut your heating and cooling costs by as much as 20 percent.

Air Sealing Keeps Conditioned Air Where it Belongs

Many home envelopes are plagued with gaps and cracks that let conditioned air escape while allowing unfiltered, unconditioned outdoor air to seep in. A crack of just 1/16th inch around an average-size window lets as much air out as if you’d left that window open several inches. Stopping these leaks has multiple benefits:

Lower energy bills – Keeping more of your conditioned air inside reduces your heating and cooling systems’ demand for energy.

Better indoor air quality – Sealing air leaks stops dust, pollen, mold spores and other air contaminants, as well as humid air in summer from getting into your home.

Fewer drafts – Air sealing will stop those chilly drafts that whirl around your home in winter.

Wasteful air leaks are most likely to form around:

Windows and doors
Baseboards
Electrical outlets
Penetrations for plumbing and gas lines
Penetrations for wiring
Appliance vent penetrations
Furnace flues
Ventilation fans
Cracks in your siding, bricks or other exterior

Your attic is particularly vulnerable to costly air leakage. Leaks there occur primarily around the attic hatch, recessed lights and dropped soffits, and plumbing vents stacks. Your basement or crawl space should also be inspected for leaks.

To seal the leaks and save on your energy bills, you’ll need two different sealing materials.

Caulk – Caulk seals leaks around window and door frames, appliance vents, and other non-moving parts. Choose your caulk based on the material you plan to seal. For instance, acrylic caulk works well for many interior uses, but polyurethane is preferable for exterior siding. Use expanding spray foam for larger gaps.

Weatherstripping – This material blocks leaks around movable parts such as window sashes and the tops and sides of exterior doors. Different types are available for different applications. You might use V-strip (tension seal) for the tops and sides of your doors and foam tape for the insides of the frames.

Insulation Maintains Your Home’s Comfort

Once you seal air leaks, you may want to further insulate your home to save even more energy. Optimizing attic insulation should be your first priority because the insulation here strongly affects your home’s temperature.

In winter, attic insulation prevents warmth from your heated rooms from entering your attic. That keeps your rooms warmer, reducing the furnace’s demand for energy. It also reduces the risk of damaging condensation forming in your attic. In summer, insulation holds back the heat that builds up in your attic, easing the load on your air conditioner.

At a minimum, the insulation in your attic should cover the floor joists. If you already have 3 to 4 inches, add another layer of R25 to R38 insulation, the level U.S. Department of Energy officials recommend for Southern Alabama. That’s between 8 1/2 to 12 inches of fiberglass batt insulation, which is relatively easy to install by yourself.

Alternatively, consider insulating with loose-fill (blown-in) fiberglass or cellulose. Although you’ll need a blower machine to lay this insulation, it fills small gaps better than batts and therefore insulates more efficiently.

Protect Your Basement or Crawl Space

Sufficient insulation in the basement not only helps save on your energy bills, but also minimizes the risk of moisture damage. Avoid using batts, which can trap moisture. Instead, install rigid foam boards along the basement walls. If you’re planning to finish the basement for use as an extra room, consult a professional about your best insulation options.

If you have a crawl space, seal it without ventilation and line it with 6-mm polyethylene sheeting, then install rigid foam insulation against the foundation walls. Leave a band uncovered for termite inspection.

Before you begin your sealing and insulation upgrades, consider consulting a heating and cooling professional about an energy audit, which will show you where your home is losing energy.

For help deciding where to seal and insulate so you can save on heating and cooling, contact us at Keith Air Conditioning, Inc. wherever you are in Baldwin County.

Holding on to Your Older AC? Go Ahead, but Make It Work Better

AC Heat Pump closeup Even as fall approaches, it’s still warm and humid here in Mobile, Alabama. A high quality, functioning A/C will make this time of year more bearable. The average life expectancy of an air conditioner is between 10 and 12 years, but you can add more years onto your older A/C, by following the right maintenance procedures and changing some of your habits.

Relieve some pressure. Using floor or ceiling fans in occupied rooms allows you to raise the thermostat by three or four degrees, thanks to the cooling effect produced by the wind-chill factor. This occurs when the air movement produced by the fan speeds up the rate of evaporation of perspiration on the surface of the skin. For every degree you can raise your thermostat, you will save between 3 and 5 percent on cooling costs.
Keep it clean. Regular filter changes are vital to the function and integrity of your A/C. A dirty filter hampers air flow, causing the system to work harder and placing excessive wear and tear on parts. Dirt and debris that can no longer be trapped by the filter can make their way into your ductwork, effectively reducing the quality of your indoor air.
Call a professional. The best way to extend the life of your older A/C is through annual preventive maintenance, where your contractor will inspect, clean, lubricate and tune up your cooling system. This helps to increase efficiency and prevent costly mid-season repairs.
Smarter, not harder. Reduce excessive A/C use with the following tips:
- Set your programmable thermostat several degrees higher for times you are away from home, and down to your desired set point an hour before you’re due to return.
- Keep doors and windows closed during A/C operation.
- Only use the A/C when natural ventilation is inadequate.
- Use exhaust fans when cooking, doing laundry or showering, to keep humidity levels down.

For more tips on getting the most from your older A/C, call the experts at Keith Air Conditioning, Inc., proudly serving residents of Mobile and the surrounding area.