Happy Easter

This occasion is just ripe for a Religious discussion but suffice it to say that we live in America where we can worship in our own way to whatever we believe our God to be... ( in Most cases, Government excluded)
We must remember that our forefathers founded this country on the basis of a broad overview of Christianity,  not as a way to promote Christianity but to include the idea or to acknowledge that there is a GOD or " Higher Power" and we should be cognizant of this fact.
They were Christians, That was their basis of reference.  We should not eliminate the idea or acknowledgement of Religion or GOD but stop "only the promotion of one specific religion".

As my Mother used to say as I was growing up, "It takes all kinds to make a world"... She shared her simple view that there are a multitude of different people and we all may do different things to achieve what we need to get peace or comfort or tranquility in all of our lives.
The forefathers were very wise; let us NOT  take the concept of GOD out of the equation at the insistence of one or a few, over the belief's of a great many.
No Specific Religion of the STATE... but an unquestionable  Acknowledgement of GOD

HAPPY EASTER, God Bless America

Winter Proved the point...Summer is coming, Don't leave an ENERGY MESS in your air ducts

An Ounce of Prevention or a Pound of Cure 

 Do you have the Winter Ice Storm “High power bill hangover” ? 

Wait till summer hits again for 5 solid months…

Many of us had the experience of the heat pump freezing up during the recent ice storm and through the long cold winter we had this year in Pensacola; then we tried to heat the house with our emergency back-up heat strips.   If you have central air only,  that’s the way the heat runs all the time.   Now we need to deal with the consequences. ("the dreaded power bill")

It’s easy to blame it on the cold weather but a tight duct system would have kept the furnace from running as much as it did.  

 Yes, it was cold but the more air we can direct into the house & keep from leaking into the attic or crawl space the lower our power bill will be.

 I heard a Gulf Power rep say they set a record for power usage on the local grid during our recent cold snaps.  Imagine if you could somehow save that energy all Summer long?   

The same effect happens in our warm humid climate during the air conditioning season but it lasts a lot longer than just a couple days. It’s all about Gaps, Cracks, & Holes.  Most of the duct systems we Inspect & clean have some sort of leakage that could be tightened up or corrected. 

Here’s our recommendation:

1) Get  a duct  leakage test  If you don’t know how much it leaking, then you’re guessing about the fix;  with a leak test of before & after you’ll know how good the investment is for future comfort  and energy savings.

2) Repair the duct leaks.  It’s best to do this in the cooler weather so the hot job doesn’t kill a work crew (i.e. less labor) and you’ll get a better price asking a company to work in your attic now rather than in June or in July when you get that monster power bill from the summer duct leakage.     

 3) INSULATE your attic. Be sure you have the other work done in the attic before you blow in any insulation; that needs to be the last step.

For More Health, Home Comfort, & Energy Tips go to www.gulfcoastaircare.com     or 

Call us at (850) 934-2768 …and if you need help or expert advice, please ask!

Air Ducts in Attic? Well, there are some Concerns.

Where is the worst possible place for a duct system?   An Attic…                

Can we make it a little better?     Yes … read on!

  Ok, so 90% of us have our systems in the attic, I do; but I’ve made my situation a lot better. Unfortunately, attic ducts’ goes with the local territory for “slab on grade” construction.  Basements & crawl spaces are rare or limited in this climate. This is just a fact of living in the Pensacola / Coastal Florida area; so what do we do?  Here’s our recommendation

1) Reduce the Temp in the attic.   DO NOT USE AN ATTIC FAN; a fan will just suck some of the conditioned air from the space in your home thru the Gaps Cracks & Holes* in the ceiling & walls. (there’s that Theme* again…) Any time you can reduce the transfer of air from COOL to HOT and DRY to WET you are way ahead;  Plus, that air exchange by an attic fan will leave your attic more humid…Another BIG NO NO that you want to avoid!!   

The better way is to reflect the heat “thermally” with a radiant barrier; this can drop the temperature 10,15 even 20 degrees in the attic during the peak heat load of the summer.  We even offer gaskets for the switchplate covers & outlets that will help reduce the leakage This is a great project for the DIY homeowner…There are even kits to make it easy.   A more expensive way is the foam “sealed attic” approach; then your duct system is in an area that is considered to be “climate controlled”  BE AWARE, this can be very tricky upgrade in a retrofit situation, but easy to do in new construction.  The foam contractor needs to pay EXTREME attention to detail on a project like this.

2) Get a duct leak test & Repair the duct leakage. If you don’t know how much your system is leaking then you’re guessing about the fix!  With a test of before & after you’ll know

how much improvement you can expect for future comfort  and energy savings. It’s best to do this in the cooler weather so this hot job doesn’t kill a work crew (less labor) and you’ll get a better price asking a company to work in your attic now rather than in May, June or  in July  when you get that monster power bill from the summer duct leakage.                                           

3) Lastly, INSULATE your attic. Be sure you have the other work done in the attic before you blow in any insulation; that needs to be the last step.

Think of this as the old oil filter commercial on TV “You can pay me now or pay me later”     

For More Health, Home Comfort, & Energy Tips go to www.gulfcoastaircare.com      or

Call us at (850) 934-2768 …and if you need help or expert advice, please ask!  We can Help!