There’s endless advice about how to best take care of your HVAC system, or how to save money on your energy bills.  How many of these things are true? How many are the equivalent of urban myths? Here’s the real truth on those bits of “common knowledge” from the folks here at Comfort Now by Bob McAllister Heating and Cooling who work with HVAC systems every day.

• What’s the story with air filters?

Not everybody’s air filters clog up at the same rate. However, over time, air filters get dirty, clog up and won’t allow air to pass through easily, causing your system to work harder, less efficiently, AND pass additional dust and allergens throughout your home, affecting air quality! This can lead to expensive repairs, so keeping your air filters clean and changing them on a regular schedule is important.  

That said, keep in mind if you have work done in your home, especially anything involving dust or sanding, like getting floors refinished or drywall repairs- you will DEFINITELY want to do a filter change after the work is done. The fine particles from this sort of dust will clog your filter more easily and you should do an extra filter change when you have this work completed.

Do check your air filter frequently.  Your system’s long term health depends on good filtration, as does the health of your family. Check with your local HVAC professional and they’ll let you know how often your system should get a filter change. (And no- no one in the HVAC business gets kickbacks from the filter companies- it’s not a scam to get you to change your filter regularly.)

• Does cranking the heat up or turning it all the way down heat or cool your home faster?  NO.

A thermostat is just the regulator that tells your furnace or ac system when to turn on or off, in order to maintain a temperature. It will not work harder or faster if you raise or lower the temperature dramatically, just like you can’t cross the street any faster just because you push the button 22 times in a row.

• But what about turning the system on or off when I leave?

You do save money when your system isn’t running. However, you need to remember your system can take some time to get a room to the right temperature, and then can use less energy keeping it there. Additionally, air conditioning helps keep the indoor humidity down, preventing mold and mildew from setting up shop, and some heat is important to make sure your pipes don’t freeze in the dead of winter. Turning on or off your system completely is likely counterproductive, especially while you’re away on vacation. Likewise for business owners- turning the AC off when leaving a building for a length of time may be appropriate, however turning it off in extreme hot weather in the evening and starting back up again the next morning may be taxing to a system.

The best advice to to invest in a programmable or even a remote- monitoring thermostat.

This way, you can often set heating/cooling minimums and maximums to keep the home in a comfortable range, allowing the system to heat or cool as it needs to. Some thermostats can even be set to auto away, so it adjusts the temperature when you leave for work, and it can turn it to a more comfortable temperature just as you get home, reducing the work needed to make larger adjustments in overall comfort- think going from a house at 80 degrees to 70- it can take some time to get there! Instead, by having a smart thermostat, your system can let the internal temperature of your house rise, during the day while you’re at work, and then gradually bring the temperature down for a pre-set high to comfortable before you get home. This will reduce your energy bills overall, but also avoid the extremes that cause damage to things like pipes, wreak havoc with wood furniture and more.

• I heard that closing vents in underused rooms saves money. Not really. Closing the vents in places like your guestroom or unused offices might actually throw the balance of the system and result in air leaks by causing undue pressure to build up in a central heating and air system.

• I heard it wasn’t necessary to clean my outside unit. No- you do need to maintain the outside unit!

The outdoor unit and condenser fan move air through the coils, and pollen, leaves, dirt, grass clippings and more can really gunk up the works. This decreases your A/C efficiency and spikes your electric bills, but fortunately, cleaning the outdoor unit is an easy DIY job.

Take a hose and spray down your unit, from the inside on the top and spraying out, so you blow out all the dirt and things that have built up.

This may be even more important down by the shore, where salt air can cause faster corrosion of internal parts, so regular cleaning should help extend the life of your unit. The other alternative is to install a system specifically designed for shore communities, which include extra protection and coatings for sensitive fins and coils.

• What about fans?

Fans help distribute air through a space, keeping a room from developing a “thermocline” with hot air on top and cool air on the bottom.  

When the breeze from a ceiling fan blows across your skin, it speeds up the evaporation rate of perspiration, making you feel cooler while the temperature of the room remains the same. Thanks to this wind chill effect, you can raise the temperature of your HVAC by several degrees while maintaining comfort levels. Since it only works on people and not rooms, turn off the fan as you leave to save more money on energy.  

The most important thing is to make sure your fan is going in the right direction.

Most fans have a switch on the side or on the remote control that allows you to change the direction of the fan blades according to season.

• Summer – Blade rotation should be counterclockwise, or forward on some remote controls. This forces the air downward to create the wind chill effect.
• Winter – Blade rotation should be set to clockwise, or reverse. In this setting, fan blades draw cool air from the floor up toward the ceiling, where it mixes with warmer air that’s risen. It’s then gently distributed along the sides of the room, relieving some of the burden on your heating system.
•  Do I really need that twice a year maintenance appointment or agreement?

Professional maintenance is one of the best things you can give your HVAC system, and it pays you back in the short term as well as the long term. You can boost your HVAC system’s efficiency by having it regularly serviced, meaning it will work less hard and last longer. On top of it, many companies offer service agreements where they will service your system on a regular basis, but also give you discounts on emergency service and parts, which can save you lots of money, especially on older units. Great maintenance will help your unit last longer, but also having a great relationship with a local service company means you’ll get priority service and discounts unavailable to others.

The bottom line with most of these tropes comes down to understanding how the system works, the steps you can take to keep it running efficiently and reduce repair costs, and how to save a little money on energy costs in the process. If you do need help with your HVAc system, give us a call here at Comfort Now- we’ll always give you the straight story and best advice, just like if you were family.