Summer A/C Secrets for Hot Humid Climates

Ok we've reached that point on the calendar where we all are paying attention to our thermostat & our power bill. 
At least here on the Gulf Coast...
The secrets are as follows:

#1)
Do not run your A/C system with the "fan" in the "Fan ON" or "ON" position
Use the "FAN AUTO" or "AUTO" position unless you want mold growing in your ducts and in your home.  The fan in "AUTO" (setting on the thermostat) will allow the blower fan to cycle on and off with the A/C  as it runs normally thru the day; if you leave the fan in the "on"  position it will run continuously & never let the water drain off the coil.  Thus pushing the re-evaporated water into the ducts & down through the system where it will be wet enough to sustain mold growth.

This leads us to secret number 2:


 #2) If your system is sized correctly for the home & heat load, if will probably run all afternoon on the hottest days of the year... you see, design temperature is the very highest temperature your climate will see for short periods of time.   The rest of the A/C run time is usually below that design temperature so the heat load is not high enough to require a big unit that can handle all temps in all cases.  The unit need s to work a little bit on the hot days to keep up. This is proper design by size. ( for BTU's)
This  seems counter-intuitive to some people because all they think about is their power bill but if your A/C unit can cool the building down in just a few minutes, on the hottest days...IT IS OVER SIZED...!
Remember , BIGGER IS NOT BETTER when it comes to Air Conditioning
THE LEADS INTO OUR LAST SECRET
#3)
Longer run times in our hot & humid climate will allow the A/C unit to pull more moisture from the indoor "conditioned" space... In other words, if your unit runs 4-6 minutes and shuts off because it meets the temperature requirement on the thermostat, then you're not getting all the De-humidification you could from your system... let it run... you'll be cooler & have less humidity in the indoor space... now this should only happen when there is a heat-load on the house like afternoon sun or higher temps during the day, if it runs all the time on cooler days  or like, when it rains & cools things off... THAT is another problem.

Think Duct leakage or Duct Sizing. Time & time again we see spiffy new A/C equipment hooked up to a ratty 'ol duct system, you know 30 year old duct & 30 day old equipment... not a good fit and definitely not the result you want from your "home comfort system"...

The last thing is NOOO secret...
Get your duct leakage checked!  If you have all the ducts leaking if won't matter how you run the system your are Air Conditioning your attic or crawl space

For more information contact Gulf Coast Air Care 

New Guideline from the Dept of Energy ...BAH

“The Department of Energy is now saying WHAT?”

We have to put in a minimum 14 SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) Equipment ? (The higher the SEER number, the more efficient the equipment, in regard to energy cost or usage, similar to a MPG rating on a car) 

 

What does this mean for the average consumer? 

 • Better energy efficiency
• Better comfort & healthier Indoor environments
• Less wear & tear on our equipment
• Less energy consumed overall by the home “comfort system”

 Well, not so fast DOE... There are some pretty serious unintended consequences for all these changes. What if the duct system is not sized correctly? (very common)... What if the duct system is leaking air? (often they are, after many years of service)

 I see the good intentions but I want to make sure the consumer has true comfort & health in their indoor climate; raising the bar on energy efficiency is only part of the deal. If there were a focus on duct leakage, plus airflow & air balance in each room....it wouldn’t matter what SEER rating they require.

 In the retro-fit market (Existing Construction) there are many previous “sins” of days gone by... under sized supply-air duct, return air openings that are too small, and often times, over sized equipment leading to systems that are ill-suited to provide comfort to the occupants.

So before you go off Willy–Nilly and consider buying a new High SEER unit, let’s do a little diagnostic test & see what other demons lie in the system waiting to burn through your energy dollars every month.

The key is looking at the entire house as a system, ‘All things considered’ if you will.

 In our experience, we find other issues that are common problems, which when corrected, will save way more money than increasing to High SEER equipment. And a lot less expense.

 Lets look at one common example: a house built in the 1970’s or 80’s, 1500-1800 sq.ft (square feet), originally a 2.5 Ton system for the cooling load. Over the years, the system has been changed 2 times, both times, nobody looked at the duct system, both times the SEER rating increased with new equipment (as a result of newer, more efficient equipment available in the market) & the size was also increased to 3 tons because “the system just didn’t cool the house very well”. The duct has degraded in the attic all these years & the required insulation value of the duct materials is now R-6 (1.5 inch duct-board as opposed to old 1” R-4) that was originally installed; plus the whole system is filthy dirty. 14 SEER equipment makes these issues worse unless you fix the problem You will be “money ahead” if you correct the existing problems before you go on and increase the Energy efficiency rating of the equipment. The whole picture needs to be taken into account. Don’t go changing equipment, “up-sizing” capacity & increasing SEER rating without first looking at all the parameters that effect comfort & healthy indoor environments.

THE DIAGNOSIS
The smartest thing you can do is get a blower door test & check the following:
• House leakage “gaps cracks & holes” (find air leaking from outside to in)
• Duct & HVAC performance (how much capacity & air flow do you actually have)
• Duct leakage (how much conditioned air leakage is there in the duct system)

THE FIX
 • Repair the leaky duct work.
• Seal “gaps cracks & holes” in the building envelope.
• Balance the airflow in the entire HVAC system.
• Correctly Size the equipment to the true Heating & Cooling ‘load’ of the house.

This idea is so much more practical than a policy that try’s to make a “one size fits all” rule... Higher SEER ratings are good, however, not all homes are built the same; Not all systems are designed & installed the same... With a little testing & information we can really make a huge impact on Energy savings’ for the individual homeowners and for the consumption of energy on the whole country.

 Call today to get your Diagnostic Test scheduled so you can quit throwing wasted energy dollars into your attic duct system every month and you’ll have a comfortable, healthy, energy efficient home. Our number at Gulf Coast Air Care is (850) 934-2768 or call us from anywhere Toll free (866) 934-2768