Wives tales have been around for centuries. You know, if you cross your eyes they will stay that way or probably the most common, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Well, there are thousands of them and I hear a lot of them about our heating and air conditioning systems. Today, I would like to dispel a few of these.
Setting back your thermostat wastes fuel. The fact is that setting back your thermostat about 5 degrees twice a day will actually save you around 5% on your heating or cooling bills.
Bigger is better when it comes to furnaces. False. An oversized furnace actually wastes around 10% when compared to a properly sized furnace. When buying a new system, an accurate load calculation should be performed on your home.
Bigger is better when it comes to air conditioning. False again. Over sizing an air conditioner prevents it from properly de-humidifying your home because it does not run long enough. 25% of an air conditioners job goes to removing moisture from your home. There again an accurate load calc. needs to be completed.
Some rooms of my home are uncomfortable so I must have too small of a furnace or air conditioner. If you experience this, the most likely cause is improper ductwork or maybe poor insulation, not the size of the equipment.
1” pleated filters are good for my home. Actually, these type of filters are detrimental to the airflow of your system. Sure they filter better but they also restrict airflow to the point that your comfort suffers and may even damage your equipment. Use the factory supplied filter or have an optional high efficiency filter installed.
90% furnaces are too complex and will break down more often than an 80% furnace. Most manufacturers use exactly the same controls in their 80 and 90% furnaces. We experience no increase in service between the two.
My system is only a few years old so I don’t need to have it checked. Get it checked. Todays systems need to be cleaned and adjusted or you will not enjoy the efficiencies they are designed with. Remember too, time flies. What you may think is a couple of years might actually be eight or ten.
I’ve run out of room but have just scratched the surface. To be continued….