Air Duct Efficiency

Air ducts lose or gain heat whenever your hvac equipment is running. If the temperature inside your duct is different from the air outside, then a heat loss or gain will occur. This loss or gain is something that needs to be considered when designing ductwork in a home or office. This aspect of heat transmission will depend on some or all of the following factors:

•  Temperature of the air in the duct
• Air velocity in the duct
• Ambient temperature
• Air duct insulation

If the ducts are used to convey heat, excessive heat loss from the air ducts will reduce the efficiency of the heating system. This will result in a total loss of heating effect if the heat loss occurs in the ductwork passing through an unheated area but it can be considerably reduced with proper insulation.  This heat loss can also occur in heated spaces but run the risk of poor air distribution.  These same conditions exist when the ducts carry cool air.  When air passes through spaces subject to the cooling effect of air conditioning insulating the ducts will effectively reduce the amount of heat gain.

Air velocity will also influence the amount of heat gain in the ductwork. High air velocities are recommended when the ducts are carrying cool air because their effect is to reduce the amount of heat gain pickup in the ducts; however they need to be maintained consistent with the acoustic requirements of the installation.

Air Duct Leaks
Air leakage through ducts seams and holes will result in the loss of a portion of the air flowing through the duct and a proportionate reduction in the heating or cooling effectiveness of the system. Depending on the seriousness of the problem, the ductwork can lose up to 1/3 of the air supply in this manner. It is usually a matter of poor workmanship and can be corrected by sealing the seam cracks and holes by calking or soldering.  You can also contact an energy contractor in your area to help you seal your air ducts.

The Importance of a Properly Sized Furnace

Let us say your trusty old furnace reaches the finish of their existence. You need to buy a

replacement, which means you call your heating and cooling company plus they hurry to make certain you do not freeze throughout the following cold snap. They're going and have a look at the furnace and discover its capacity. They return and let you know that you've a furnace ranked for 60,000 BTU each hour after which speaks with you about a few of the options.

You can switch the old one with one which has got the same efficiency, 80 AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, basically the percent efficiency within the whole heating season). They demonstrate the cost of the high quality furnace that is 95 AFUE. It is just $400 many they convince you that since you are going to achieve the furnace for an additional 15 or two decades, you'll rapidly have that money in savings in your gas bill.

Which means you let them know to proceed and install the 95% furnace. Your old one, remember, was ranked at 60Thousand BTU/hour of input capacity. They appear within their product catalog and discover the high quality model is available in a 46,000 BTU/hr model or perhaps a 69,000 BTU/hr model. There isn't a 60,000 BTU/hr model, plus they do not want you to definitely freeze, so that they install the 69,000 BTU/hr model.

Err. Visit a problem here? Many Air conditioning sales agents and technicians think when it comes to input convenience of furnaces. For them, the 69k model is a touch larger than that old 60k model they are changing, but little bigger. Really it's worse than that.

HVAC company professionals say the appropriate capacity from the furnace is not the speed of BTU input. It's how rapidly individuals BTUs get into your house, the output capacity. Let us take a look at what went down to individual amounts whenever you changed that old furnace. You began with 60,000 BTU/hr at 80% efficiency, so that your old furnace provided 60,000 x .8 = 48,000 BTU/hr. The brand new furnace comes with an output capacity of 69,000 x .95 = 65,550 BTU/hr. In summary the amounts:

Troubleshooting your Furnace

Common Problems with Furnaces

There are several common problems home owners can have with their furnace.  The number one being from using old dirty furnace filters too long.  90% of everyday issues dealing with a furnace results from a dirty furnace filter. People also experience problems with their thermostat.  Several areas to check on your thermostat, the batteries run out, sometimes they are not as accurate as we'd like so you have to turn the temperature higher or a wire may have come disconnected. Another common problem is having snow block your exhaust pipes on your roof.  A furnace needs plenty of air to circulate (intake and exhaust) to run properly. You also may have tripped a breaker and the fuse needs to be reset. Check your panel to make sure your breakers are all on.  The last and most dangerous common problem with a furnace is a gas leak. If you smell gas make sure to turn your shutoff valve immediately to your furnace and call a local hvac company to take a look at your gas pipes and your furnace.The last most common problems home owners have with their furnace is a pilot light out. 

Understanding Furnace Parts

Here is a great video to help you identify various parts of a gas furnace.  When you are trying to repair or maintain your own furnace, you need to understand where are all the necessary parts and what they do on your furnace equipment.

This video was put together by SuperCool - for more videos by them, click here.

How to Save Money on Your Winter Energy Bills

Everybody really wants to cut household costs, and your high heating bill is a giant cost you cannot manage to ignore. Listed here are a couple of techniques that can result in some lower expenses plus some financial savings which will make your heating bill a lot more satisfying to spread out.

1. Set your thermostat lower

Throughout the wintertime and Fall, it may be especially tempting to create the thermostat high to be able to combat the cold outdoors. However, to slash your heating bills, placed on an additional sweater and hang your thermostat to some lower temperature. A couple of levels may result in many financial savings.

Tip: Resist the need to create your thermostat above 68°F, try not to keep the thermostat in a constant 68°F.

2. Don't assume turning off rooms saves energy

Turning off rooms that are not getting used much is a very common practice; however it is not an assurance of one's savings. Actually, closing doorways and air vents can really decrease efficiency inside a forced air system by tossing off its balance and altering the way in which air is shipped, based on Energy Star.

The elevated pressure may also push air from leaks within the tubes-as well as your home probably has leaks. Energy Star estimations that in typical houses, about 20% from the air that moves with the duct product is lost because of leaks.

If you would like an exam of whether closing off rooms might work for your house, get in touch with an Air conditioning professional. He'll take a look at factors just like your system and house design, thermostat location and climate.

A larger guarantee of savings would be to make certain tubes is really as tightly sealed as you possibly can. Pay special focus on areas around air vents and registers. Leaks and disconnected tubes are typical here.

3. Change your attic insulation

Too frequently, warmth can rise and avoid the home. Make certain the loft is correctly insulated which all gaps are filled.

To be able to be sure that the attic is keeping warmth in the home, you may want to consult an HVAC company expert. To understand more about proper loft insulation, begin to see the Department of Energy's (DOE) page around the subject.

Tip: Enter your Zip code in to the DOE's insulation calculator for personalized recommendations.

4. Think about a wood-burning stove

Some houses slash their heating bill by setting up a power-efficient wood-burning stove. Granted, you will find various kinds of ovens, and a few that burns exactly the same fuel like a furnace. However, these ovens may consume less energy than the usual whole-house home heating and could be a great way to spend less for many houses.

It might be tempting to simply make use of a traditional fire place, but traditional fire places can really pull lots of heated air from the room or more the chimney. This might be an unexpected with home owners, particularly when they're sitting alongside a cozy fire.

5. Seal or replace your home windows

Too frequently, warmth will avoid the home through home windows that aren't correctly sealed or are not shipped for trapping warmth.

You may want to consult an expert, but aesthetically inspect all home windows and doorways to be able to verify that heated air isn't getting away through cracks and gaps. The DOE has more specific strategies for finding air leaks.

Proper caulking and weather-stripping is really a key thing about this process, but changing home windows may eventually become needed.

6. Choose a more effective furnace

While it's really a fairly major expense, a part of saving cash within the long-term can include the alternative of major home appliances.

Purchasing a brand new furnace could be a large cost, but an inefficient unit might be wasting much more of your hard earned money every year.

Improving to some more efficient furnace is particularly suggested in case your unit is much more than fifteen years old. Search for one using the Energy Star label, which signifies it's met Environmental protection agency efficiency recommendations.

Before retrofitting or changing a furnace, consider getting it examined with a professional or begin using these recommendations to know your present unit.

DIY: Fixing Your Furnace on Your Own

When your furnace stops working and you need a quick fix, there are some ,things you can do on your own without having to call the best HVAC company Denver has. In this article I'll give you a few simple tips on what you can do in case your furnace stops working.

Clean your filter.
If your furnace suddenly shuts down, there are a few simple things you can check to see what the problem might be. In extreme situations a dirty furnace filter can shut down your furnace because it isn't breathing properly.

Check the furnace door.
The second item to check is the furnace door. If the furnace door isn't properly attached the furnace will shut down as a safety feature.

Check the fuel supply.
The third item to check is if the furnace is getting the fuel it needs. Check to see that the gas valve is in the on position rather than the off.

Make sure the breaker is on.
If your comfortable checking the breaker box, or electrical panel that is the fourth item you should check. Find the breaker that is for your furnace and make sure that the furnace breaker is in the on position.

Check the power supply.
The fifth item you should check is the furnace power supply. Look for a furnace switch near the furnace. If the switch is in the off position make sure to switch it on.

Make sure the thermostat is properly set.
Finally you need to check the thermostat. Make sure that it is set to the proper setting for the season- heat for Winter, cool for Summer. You can also check the batteries in the thermostat. The batteries may be low and you can re-charge them or replace them to get the thermostat working again.

If all of these items haven't helped to fix your furnace and get it heating your home again, call a local HVAC professional to come out and repair the heating system.

Spring Furnace Maintenance Tips

Posted by: HVAC company Denver

Helpful Ideas to Keep your Furnace in Good Shape after a Long Winter:
Springtime furnace maintenance is absolutely all about ensuring the furnace is within good shape for following fall/winter. In addition, it ensures that when it is time for you to turn on your ac in the summertime, the body is preparing to proceed. Your HVAC system is among your most significant items in your home. These upkeep ideas will prevent you from getting future heating repairs in Denver - and even worse, having to obtain a new air conditioner!
 A majority of US households run their particular furnaces through March ior even April. Which is about 6-7 months of heater make use of, on average. Those who have Air conditioning methods that leave both warmth in the wintertime and funky atmosphere within summer time work their techniques practically year-round.
It doesn't matter what kind of system you've at home, the ceaseless make use of means wear and tear on elements. Managing a furnace or perhaps HVAC method is the same as running a car: the greater you utilize this, the particular more quickly it's going to need replacing. This is why the body requirements normal maintenance, just like your car does.
One's body should be "tuned up" at two essential factors each year: pre-fall/winter (prior to deciding to require to use the heat) as well as springtime (once you changeover by using warmth to switching off the furnace and taking advantage of your air conditioning). Here's what you need to be emphasizing in the spring:

3 Types of Residential Water Heaters

Today there are three main types of water heaters used in residential heating and cooling systems; quick-recovery, slow-recovery and heat pump water heaters.

Quick Recovery Heaters:

This class of heater, as the name implies, has the ability to produce hot water at a more rapid rate than the slow-recovery type of heaters. It is frequently employed where repeated heavy requirement for hot water makes it essential to have a sufficient amount of water available on demand.

Thermostats used are of the throttling or snap-action type. Primarily the throttling thermostat is the one in which the amount of gas valve opening is directly proportional to the temperature changes of water in the tank. In the snap-action thermostat, the change from a completely open to a completely closed position of the valve, or vice versa, is accomplished by a snap action produced by a clicker diaphragm motivated by the temperature in the tank.

Slow-Recover Heaters:

The gas-fired slow recovery water heater is designed to keep a supply of how water in the storage tank and by means of a constantly burning gas flame, deliver hot water continuously to this tank.

Thermostats employed can be of the graduating or snap-action type. With the graduating thermostat, the burner operate between a low and high flame. The low position of the flame serving as a pilot light to keep the heater lighted and serving as a source of standby heat.

The slow-recovery automatic water heater is very economical since it can never burn more than a certain amount of gas, depending on the regulation offered by the thermostat. Also, the small amount of heating surface keeps the standby loss at a minimum, making this type of heater very advantageous where economy is the primary concern.

Heat Pump Water Heaters

A heat pump water heater consists of a small electrically operated compressor, the heat pump and domestic water supply controls, and a water storage tank. It uses the heat of the air in the room and energy used to operate its compressor to heat the water in its storage tank. Unlike conventional gas operated or electrical resistance water heaters, the heat pump water heater does not create heat. It transfers heat from one point to another. It is essentially a small heat pump that uses the room air as the heat source and the water in the storage tank as the heat sink. Because it is a heat pump, it can also cool the air and dehumidify it.

These three types of water heaters can be installed by any Denver hvac company. They are very common types of residential water heaters and have their own benefits.

(This article is from James Brumbaugh’s book “HVAC Fundamentals (Volume 3): Air conditioning, Heat Pumps and Distribution Systems”)