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thermostat

A woman needs to know her home’s HVAC System

pzmija air conditioning, air exchanger, BBQ, Cooling, fireplace, furnaces, geothermal, heating, hot water heater, HRV, HVAC, JJ McLellan , , , , , , , , , , ,

I am writing this post entirely from a woman’s perspective.

And all about heating. Can you feeeel the excitement!

Being the daughter and wife of a technician, I have learned a lot over the years and even more so when I had my own children. I can remember in our first house coming home after work and it was freezing! FREEZING. Of course my hubby wasn’t home from work yet and I called on my dad, who merely said to me just turn the thermostat off and back on. Well wasn’t I surprised when that worked! I had heat!

It wasn’t until we had children that I really began to care about the indoor quality of our home. Not long after our son was born, we found out our family was expanding again and we began looking for a bigger home, within my criteria was natural gas – this is something that in our first home I, (and our budget) became very comfortable with. I love cooking with natural gas both inside and on the bbq. During the home inspection of our 2nd home, they made sure they tested the furnace – which thankfully they did as the heat exchanger failed (a great reason why during a home inspection you should also always have a furnace inspection or insist on the seller having one). What this meant was we were able to adjust our price on the home to cover the installation of a new energy efficient furnace – which in all honesty I did prefer.

One home we did look at which had a nice lot and large garage for the husband, had electric baseboard heat. Although we could change this out, many homeowners do not realize the large cost of doing this retrofit – of course it can be done and your home will be much better in the long run with an energy efficient hvac system for heating, cooling and ventilation, your home will also have improved air flow and circulation, which is a downfall of electric baseboards.

I grew very accustomed to the personal benefits of gas (natural gas in our case, propane also has the same benefits) of having an unlimited supply to our bbq, gas dryer, gas water heater, gas stove and a new energy efficient gas furnace. All very affordable as well.

As a young mother having this option of gas in our home was a true convenience for me, if we used our basement we had a gas fireplace which would provide instant heat when needed, with cooking on the bbq I did not have to worry about running out of fuel, especially when planning dinner for our family with a husband working late – this was huge!

Dad even said it perfectly to us one day, if there is a problem within the home whether its plumbing or heating if you ask the woman of the home she will always be able to describe it perfectly –  in most cases women are home more than men.

Why do women need to be educated in what an HVAC system is – simple –  this is the system that literally runs your household. When you need heat or cooling and push a button or slide the temperature, you want heat or cold air. You want and need to know that your family is comfortable and healthy.

Especially important during the buying process, when you begin to do your research. You want to ensure you have a quality product by a reputable manufacturer, bought from a knowledgeable supplier and installed by a qualified contractor who will be around if you do have issues.

Do you want to save money? – of course everyone does especially with the rising costs of hydro. Do you have children? – you will want the system to be quiet and healthy – yet still efficient.  Water conservation? That is a must now a days, be sure you take the time to do the research! When you are planning out your new home or your renovation – be a part of this discussion.

I wont ever claim I know more than my father or husband when it comes to HVAC (that would be silly 😉 ), however I know what little things matter to me, as a mother.

When we began our search for our 3rd home with property, my number one on my list was natural gas – although there were other homes we looked at and one we even had an offer in on that didn’t have gas – but could have gas installed. The next criteria was the HVAC System in the home, this would have to be inspected to ensure the efficiency. One of my other points was an HRV – which if it was already installed would be a bonus, if not it was a must install after we moved in.

One of the biggest compromises for me in this home that we did purchase was it did not have a gas stove in the kitchen, nor could we install one without a major renovation. After much deliberation we purchased a new energy efficient electric convection wall oven. This was a major compromise for me, however we have a gas cook top and purchased a large broil king gas BBQ which we use much more than our stove. We did however have to have a gas line run for the BBQ. One of the benefits that I love in this home is the home having an HRV system and the gas fireplace downstairs.

My only dilemma remaining is when our Water Furnace Geo Thermal System decides its had enough… For many homes geo-thermal is a great option – if you do not have gas service available at your home. As much as our Geo-thermal rep cringed when I told him I wasn’t sure what we would replace it with – we’ll have to consider all information on energy savings and product cost…

What have I learned about the HVAC System…

  • Bigger is not better at all! If the furnace is too big (not sized correctly to your home) it will not work properly and be very loud.
  • Energy Efficient equipment makes a huge difference in energy bills
  • Newer energy efficient equipment is so much quieter
  • Turning the thermostat off and on again can reset your heating system
  • Duct work design is very important in a home
  • I love the convenience of gas in my home
  • Keeping the temperature at a consistent level in your home is more efficient
  • It is very important to keep hot and cold air grills clean – especially with pets!
  • It is very important to not block your hot and cold air grills
  • I love the instant heat of a gas fireplace (ok not hvac but still heating)
  • It is important to get your ducts cleaned out every few years
  • Planning – very important to know how many gas appliances you plan to have installed now or in the future – the size of the gas line is important for this!
  • In-floor heating – this along with a gas fireplace is an excellent option for a basement!

Up next month… plumbing! Your home’s plumbing is just as important as your own body’s plumbing! 😉

Thinking of Decorating?

pzmija Cooling, heating, thermostat , , , , , , , 0 Comment

When you are thinking of re-decorating your home please keep in mind the location of your thermostat and all of your heat and cool registers.

Why is this important?

The other night I was watching a decorating show on a popular channel (that happens to be one of my favourite channels), the decorator wanted to hide the “nasty” thermostat… what she was hiding it with was a 1-2″ deep frame (depth was under neath) and this would infact then completely cover (and prevent ANY air flow from getting to) the thermostat. The frame was much like a shadow box, but with the depth to the back to cover the thermostat.

Why does this matter?

The way a thermostat works is it has a sensor in it, this sensor senses when the temperature in the room drops below the tempterature set on your thermostat, thus calling for heat. When the thermostat is completely covered like this there will be NO air flow, the customer will then keep raising the temperature to get more heat into their home OR will call a service tech to find out why their home is not reaching the temperature the stat is set to… a waste of money in this case.

Some of the benefits of our most commonly used thermostat, the Lennox Comfortsense 7000 are:

  • Large, clear display with soft blue backlight shows the current and set temperature, day/date/time, indoor relative humidity and outdoor  temperature (if optional outdoor sensor is used).

  • Dehumidification measurement and control
  • Humiditrol EDA Capability
  • Dew point adjustment control
  • Smooth Setback Recovery starts system early to achieve setpoint at start of program period.
  • Compressor short−cycle protection (5 minutes).

  • Real−time clock keeps time during power failures and automatically adjusts for daylight savings time and leap year.

  • Maintenance reminders let user know when to service or replace filters, humidifier pads, ultraviolet lamps, plus two user or installer defined custom reminders.

  • Programmable fan offers increased performance when combined with whole home indoor air quality products.

  • Outdoor temperature display (with optional outdoor sensor) shows current outdoor temperature.

As you can see from some of these features of this particular thermostat it is essential for there to be air flow for proper operation, not only proper operation of the thermost but of the heating and cooling equipment that the thermostat is controlling.

Heat & Cool Registers…

Why is it important to ensure there is adequate air flow around these registers?

No matter what the age of your heating and cooling system, without proper air flow and circulation to and from the system, this can not only cause issues within your home but also in the system.

The duct work in your home is designed for air flow to each room with hot and cold registers for proper air flow. The heat comes out of the hot air return register and then the cold air return register takes the air back through the system again.

Your heating and cooling system is chosen and the duct work designed on your whole home size (square footage), which includes the air flow to and from each of the rooms. So if you have a piece of furniture in front of your cold air return your furnace cannot get adequate air to run the cycle, which could over time cause the system to over heat or break down prematurely. Having the registers blocked can also cause the A/C to lockout on high pressure.

This also can cause dust and dirt build up within the rooms of your home behind the furnace and if ever suddenly sucked through your vents and duct work can cause unneccesary build up in your ducts and within the furnace filter. By not having proper air flow within your home this can contribute to mold and mildew problems as well, which will then affect breathing.

By ensuring your registers are clear from furniture you can prolong the life of your heating and cooling system, as it will be operating properly and efficiently, and also improve the air quality in your home, as dust particles will be caught in the furnace filter rather than built up around your home. Especially if you are thinking of or just did upgrade to an Energy Efficient HVAC System – you want to ensure proper air circulation to reep the savings rewards!