Heating & Cooling Articles

Although winter and summer are the seasons when you spend the most money on heating and cooling, you should still watch your energy bills during the rest of the year. Without proper monitoring, bills can easily spiral out of control. If you’re looking to save some money on energy bills in your Portland, Texas, home this fall, follow these simple tips.

Change Your Air Filter

It seems counterintuitive to spend money when you’re looking to cut your energy bills, but purchasing a new air filter is an inexpensive way to improve HVAC efficiency. Air filters are responsible for keeping allergens and contaminants out of your home. However, when these filters become clogged, it causes your HVAC system to work harder to produce the same results. That’s why changing your filter is so important. Not only does it improve your indoor air quality, but it also reduces the workload on your HVAC system. This translates to lower energy bills and fewer maintenance calls throughout fall and the rest of the year.

Get a Furnace or Heat Pump Tuneup

Another small expenditure that translates to big savings is a tuneup for your furnace or heat pump. Your furnace has not been in use for several months. Problems may arise as a result of this period of dormancy, causing your furnace to suffer inefficiencies that can even be dangerous. That’s why it’s important to get a tuneup. Not only will your furnace function at its highest level of efficiency, but our technicians will also provide valuable tips for getting the most from your system.

If you have a heat pump, tuneups are vital because these devices have twice the workload of conventional HVAC systems. Not only do they heat, but they also cool the home. Without proper checkups, the heat pump can lose its efficient edge, giving you higher energy bills in the process.

Grab the Caulking Gun

As temperatures drop during fall, you may notice drafts coming from doors and windows. Because you notice these drafts, it’s easier to identify the source. Once you’ve pinpointed just where the draft is coming from, it’s time to grab a caulking gun and seal any leaks or cracks in the trim. Caulk comes in several colors, so it’s easy to match to the color of the wood, paint, or vinyl. If you can’t find a matching color, paint over the caulk for the desired effect.

When you seal these cracks, it’s an important step in preserving your home’s comfort level and saving money at the same time. It prevents warm air from leaving the home and cool air from entering.

Add Some Insulation to Your Attic

Although most air escapes through doors and windows, a substantial amount leaves the home through the attic. That’s why it’s important to have adequate insulation. Most homes come with at least some attic insulation. Your HVAC technician can check to determine if you have the right amount of insulation, the right type, and that it is in good condition. If you need more, consider adding rolls of fiberglass insulation or even loose-fill cellulose. Just remember that having some insulation is better than having none at all, so find something that works for your budget.

Set Your Thermostat

If you have an old thermostat, it probably only has a heating or cooling setting. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, it’s extraordinarily inefficient. You can’t adjust settings on the fly, and you can’t set a program to run throughout the week. If this describes your current thermostat situation, it’s probably time to spring for a smart thermostat.

When you purchase a smart thermostat, you have a device that learns your particular habits and adjusts your home’s temperature accordingly. In addition, modern thermostats have WiFi capabilities that let you change the temperature from anywhere in the world. All this adds up to great savings and a home that’s always the perfect temperature.

This fall, don’t spend extra money on energy bills when you can avoid it. If you need someone to help you along the way or provide a tuneup, give Bodine-Scott a call at 888-481-8511. With our top-notch service team, you’ll never be left out in the cold.

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Your home’s humidity level is just as important as the indoor temperature and actually impacts it. Humidity affects comfort, overall health, and even the air quality. Whether there is too much or too little humidity, health and home can be affected, so balance is key. Consider how installing the right equipment in your Corpus Christi home will help you to balance that tricky humidity level.

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Among the various mechanical and plumbing systems that can fail in your in Portland, Texas home, the toilet is probably the easiest to troubleshoot. Many common toilet issues are easy to diagnose and fix, but if you can’t figure out the problem, a professional plumber is just a quick phone call away.

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When you see condensation on home windows, that usually signals a problem with excess humidity indoors, rather than reflecting any inherent flaw in the windows themselves. For one thing, windows are the most obvious place to spot moisture condensing on surfaces in a home. However, it’s likely happening on other surfaces, too.

What Causes Condensation on Home Windows?

Condensation on windows isn’t just a wintertime phenomenon, however; it can appear in any season if the temperature variation is high enough between outside and inside. Also, in a home with high humidity, which is generally worse in the summer than other times of the year, any surface in the home may feel damp and clammy, not just windows.

During the winter — the season when condensation is most likely to occur — condensation on home windows is directly related to the basic scientific fact that when air is warmer, it can hold more moisture. In most homes, warmer air during the heating season is closer to the center of a room and not near windows, exterior doors and walls. That warmer interior air can hold an ample amount of moisture, and when it comes close to a cold surface such as a window, it will cool off and release that moisture on the window glass and other nearby surfaces. Thus, you get condensation on home windows. If the weather outside is particularly cold, that moisture might appear as frost on the interior of the window.

Summertime window condensation typically occurs with recently installed replacement or energy-efficient windows that don’t allow much heat transfer between inside and outside. Rather than being something to worry about, this sort of condensation is just a sign that the windows are doing their job by effectively separating the indoors from the outdoors, and resisting thermal energy transfer.

If you look closely at a window that’s exhibiting condensation in the summer, you’ll quickly realize that the condensation is forming on the outside of the window, not the inside, as happens in the winter. This outside moisture doesn’t pose any hazard to household fixtures and building materials, as is the case when condensation forms inside the windows. And as it gets warmer outside, the condensation on the outside of the window should disappear.

Lower the Humidity in Your Home

In the winter, the best way to prevent condensation on home windows is to reduce moisture inside. If the interior air is dry enough, it won’t hold enough water vapor to form condensation on windows. In fact, the absence of condensation should provide assurance that your home’s indoor relative humidity isn’t too high. On the other hand, negative consequences are associated with inside air that’s too dry, which is common in homes during the heating season. Chapped lips, dry and flaky skin, respiratory issues and mild electrical shocks are all by-products of dry air. Building materials and furniture can warp and crack in dry air, too. Plus, dry air feels cooler than humid air, an effect you’re not exactly looking for during the heating season.

A humidistat on your humidity control device, whether it’s a humidifier or a dehumidifier, will permit you to set the relative humidity exactly where you want it. Don’t set it so high that condensation forms on windows, and not so low that the air becomes dry and uncomfortable.

A whole-house dehumidification system will help lower relatively humidity in any season, and it will directly address the issue that’s allowing condensation to form on the inside of windows. Or if your window condensation issues are limited to one room or area, a portable dehumidifier should do the trick.

A humidifier, meanwhile, will bring the humidity up to comfortable levels if set at the correct level, but not so high that the moisture condenses on windows. Also, get in the habit of using exhaust fans in rooms that tend to get damp, such as bathrooms, the laundry room and the kitchen. You’ll also want to make sure the dryer is vented to the outside; if it’s not, it can add a substantial amount of moisture to the inside air.

Learn more about Bodine-Scott Air Conditioning Co.’s indoor air quality solutions that prevent condensation on the windows in your home, or contact us today at 888-481-8511.

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