An Ounce of Prevention or a Pound of Cure
Do you have the Winter Ice Storm “High power bill hangover” ?
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!
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