You’re Ready For Fall, But Your Air Conditioning Knows It’s Still Summer
Share News:
The kids went back to school this week, and that used to mean it was fall. But it’s mid-August, and yet we’re all buying fall clothes and fall decorations. Halloween has hit the stores, and my co-worker has her pumpkin spice candle out. (Believe what you want, but pumpkin spice is of the devil, and I will die on this hill). Meanwhile, the heat index is 107 degrees, and I’ve officially lost a layer of skin to my leather car seats.
Point being, no matter how much we want it to be fall, it’s still summer, and it’s going to be summer for quite some time yet here in Texas. That being said, how is your air conditioning doing? After a much-needed refrigerant refill, mine is doing just fine, thank you very much. Now that we’re heading into the home stretch, you may be experiencing some issues, like certain rooms that don’t get cool, or the temperature that won’t go down no matter how low you set the thermostat. Let’s hear what the Inspectors have to say about some late summer air conditioning issues.
Air Conditioning Tips For Summer
Tip #1
This first tip is a great one for those folks who always have to have the latest and greatest new gadget. An inspector’s first warning: don’t assume the highest-rated filter is automatically best for your system. The hospital-grade filter could be too much for your house and actually choke your system’s airflow. It’d be like putting a 6.4 L Hemi in your minivan.
Tip #2
Here’s one for those who always “push” on the “pull” doors. The oblivious ones who can’t tell that “this side up” has meaning and purpose. Look for the arrows, y’all. They will show you the way.
Tip #3
When they tell you to change your filter every 30-90 days, summer is when you need to pay attention to the low end of that range. ENERGY STAR recommends checking filters monthly during heavy-use months and replacing them when dirty. When your equipment is working as hard as it has been lately, that’s when your Inspector means 30 days.
Disconnected Duct = Hot Attic
In this video, Inspector Brian discovers a bathroom vent that has become disconnected from the duct that should take all that hot, moist air to the outside. Instead, that moisture is escaping into the attic instead.
The Texas summer means attics are overheated already, sometimes reaching temperatures as high as 150 degrees. A hot attic makes your HVAC system have to work even harder to keep your house cool, making energy bills higher and your house warmer. Repair issues like this one just contribute to the problem.
Connect Tab A to Slot B
Sometimes mistakes are made during installation, especially in new construction homes. A simple exercise of following the ductwork to make sure everything is where it should be led Inspector Adrian to the source of the homeowner’s problem: the register wasn’t blowing cold air because the ductwork was connected to the fresh air intake. Oops! This is an easy fix for an HVAC professional. If you have a hot room, disconnected, blocked, or tangled ductwork may be the problem.
Last summer, I came up with “Hotangry” to describe my August heat misanthropy, but it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. I’m going with “swangry” this year — sweaty and angry. If the heat is getting you down because your house is hot, you may need a home energy assessment. Have an inspector out to let you know how your house is losing energy to keep the cool inside and get those energy bills down.
