Stop Uneven Heating and Cooling with Home Energy Audit

Are you among those who are irritated because of inadequate cooling in their house? Does your house have cooling that is uneven, even if the thermostat has been set right to give just enough cooling to keep you comfortable? Do you keep opening and closing the vents or adjusting your thermostat to maintain the right amount of cooling within your house? If yes, then this uneven cooling is due to uneven airflow in the house. 

Hot and cold spots in various parts of the house are annoying and depict inefficient cooling systems. Uneven airflow, which causes uneven cooling inside the house, can cause harm to your HVAC systems. It not only increases your energy costs, but also reduces the working life of your systems. 

Factors That Cause Uneven Cooling 

There are numerous factors that can cause uneven cooling. Some common ones are: 

1. Ductwork: If the flow of air in certain parts of the house is imbalanced, you will experience uneven cooling. This airflow imbalance also could be due to ducts of improper size, and/or leaks and blockages in the ducts.

Remedy: If the ducts are not properly sized, you will need to replace them with ones of the correct size. Blockages and leaks, if identified, need to be removed to restore proper airflow. All these problems can be promptly fixed by the HVAC technician. He will find the underlying causes for the imbalance and do the needful. 

2. Speed motors: Uneven cooling or heating could occur due to the speed motor in the air conditioner. Check to see if your speed motor is a variable speed motor. 

Remedy: If your system does not have a variable speed motor, replace the existing motor with one. This type of motor provides even heating and cooling. It also allows for better control of airflow throughout the house. The motor moves the air slowly through the system, helping the air filtration and moisture control systems work more effectively and efficiently. 

3. Size of the air conditioner: The more you experience discomfort with uneven cooling, the system too is trying to compensate for the cooling by working more. This extra effort by the system is likely to increase the energy bills and reduce the life of you system. Improper size of the system can be a major cause for uneven cooling. Incorrect load calculation at the time of installation or significant change in the heating or cooling needs since installation could be the cause of uneven cooling. A system of lesser capacity than what are required provides inadequate and uneven cooling. 

Remedy: Check if the system you are using for cooling your indoors is one of the right and required size, and replace if necessary. 

Home Energy Audit

Do you know that there is professional service that could save you all the hassles of heating and cooling systems? This service is especially beneficial for houses that have uneven heating and cooling of indoors. 

This service is known as the ‘home energy audit’ or a ‘professional energy audit.’

A home energy audit presents a comprehensive picture of the state of the heating and cooling system that is fitted in your home. This audit is conducted by a professional HVAC technician. Many professionals offer such an assessment free of cost. 

A reputed energy auditor can assess your home systems and identify the areas that cause the uneven heating or cooling problems. He may also perform some tests, like the blower test. The blower door test will determine the air infiltration rate of your house. If your energy bills are high, such an auditor will be able to identify the cause for the problem and correct it as well. 

It is highly recommended that houses that have uneven heating and cooling should opt for an energy audit, especially after your area has had a harsh winter. This is the time when issues related to the ducts, thermostat settings, worn-out indoor weather seals and water leaks are most prevalent.

Houses of yesteryears-How did people keep warm

Can you ever imagine living without your air conditioner in summer? The first thing that flashes through your mind is, "It's so hot. How can I live without an air conditioner?" How about the winter without a heating system in place?

People did live without air conditioning systems as close as about a hundred years ago. They lived in houses that had no HVAC systems or the technology that we have, and take for granted, today. There was no electricity to help them keep warm or cool and yet they lived comfortably and remained healthy too. Their houses were warm in winter and cool in summer. 

Structure

One important thing about the houses of yesteryears is their structure. The way these houses were built speaks a lot about the ways to live comfortably in winter. The first thing is that these houses had been very thick walls that helped to retain indoor warmth from seeping out. Similarly, the walls also helped to keep the cold air from entering into the house. 

Sometimes, homes had double walls to keep the indoors warm. It was not uncommon to see people building a concrete wall on the outside and have a wooden one inside. This double wall served as an excellent insulator. 

Bricks

The bricks used in house built a century ago, were large and thick. This made the walls thick, and prevented indoor air from moving out. Typically, bricks take a long time to heat and also a long time to cool. Thus, in winter, when the indoors are kept warm, the bricks once warmed, do not lose their warmth quickly. This works both ways. 

Natural resources 

The absence of electricity was not a problem for the people of the yester years. They used natural resources to keep warm in winter. Almost every house had a large fireplace in each room and the lighting a fire would be a daily ritual at dusk. Each fire place would have sufficient logs to last the entire night. Flames from these logs would provide warmth in the room. This warmth would be absorbed with the walls, which would either be made of thick bricks or stone. 

Both stone and bricks have strong energy retention properties that helps keep the indoors warmer and for longer periods of time too.

Paint 

 

People who lived in places that were cold, painted their homes with dark colors. Dark colors absorb heat quicker and more efficiently that light colors. As that radiation from the sun warms that outdoors, the dark color paint absorbs that the heat and retains it as these colors do not reflect sunlight as light colors do. 

Glass

In the yesteryears, people used a lot of glass in the construction of houses. They would usually place large amounts of glass on or around the south side of the house. This means that the glass will be in the sunlight most time of the day. The rays of the sun would penetrate into the house and warm the indoors. Radiation from the sun gets converted to heat energy that warms the entire room. The heat slowly moves further indoors and warms the entire house. The result is warmth and increased indoor temperature.

These houses usually used thick and dark curtains to prevent heat loss. 

Heat retention methods 

Sometimes, windows can also help in reducing heat transfer from the indoors. Some house would have cement fillings in the gap between the window frames. This would result in decreased air flow and thus heat retention. 

History says that Romans had an advanced way of heating their homes. They used underfloor heating which they called hypercaust. This hypercaust would get its heat from wood fire.