Moisture Problems ID'd by Whole House Testing

It feels nice to see the sun again. The rain has finally stopped and temperatures are expected to be in the 70’s for a while. Over the next several months there will be little need for cooling by your home’s HVAC system. The good news is that you will save money by reducing your energy usage. The bad news is that interior moisture levels inside of your home will begin to shoot up due to the lack of dehumidification from your air conditioner. In Alabama, one of the most important functions of your air conditioner is to remove moisture (dehumidify). Most people are comfortable at 30% to 60% relative humidity. Right now, our outside relative humidity in Decatur is around 70%. During this time of the year, interior relative humidity levels are very close to the exterior levels. Many times, interior levels are actually higher than exterior levels. This is bad because dust mites thrive at humidity levels over 50%. This is especially bad if you are like me and you are extremely allergic to dust mites.

There are many ways to combat dust mites. Allergy shots have helped me tremendously. I have zero carpet in my home because carpet is a breeding ground for dust mites. I also have a central vacuum system that removes all the particles to the exterior of my home. I have a fresh air intake on my HVAC system that brings in fresh air from the exterior when air is being removed by clothes dryers or exhaust fans. Remember that HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. I have heard it said that a home without ventilation is a “HAC” house that leaves you coughing. Most of my jokes aren’t funny but neither are air quality control problems inside your home. Moisture in the form of water vapor must be properly exhausted from the home. It should not be vented into the attic or crawlspace where it has the potential to cause serious problems. I have yet to inspect or test a home that has not had at least one bathroom fan disconnected and not working properly.

Controlling the humidity inside of your home is the simplest way to control dust mites. There are remote humidistats that are able to tell you the temperature and humidity inside and outside, as well as in your crawlspace. During times such as the spring or fall when you are not heating or cooling your home, it is important to provide supplemental moisture removal in order to help control dust mites. In many instances, small roll-around dehumidifiers provide adequate moisture removal and they can be purchased at Lowe’s, Home Depot, or online. However, in many homes constructed on crawlspaces, larger dehumidifiers are needed. In addition, French drains and sump pumps may be needed. Closed crawlspace construction is a great help in reducing interior moisture levels and moisture related problems that contribute to respiratory issues.

Finally, whole-house testing using a blower door identifies leakage areas where dust, pollen, mold, mildew, radon, and insulation are allowed to leak into the home. By identifying these areas, we are able to seal them and stop these nuisance particles from getting into your home. With a duct blaster, we are able to identify and seal duct leakage areas as well. By using the infrared camera, we are able to find improperly or insufficiently insulated areas that allow for condensation and moisture problems. If you are interested in a whole house solution to reduce energy costs or more importantly to make your home more healthy, safe, and comfortable, please contact us. For detailed information please check out our website.

Energy Audits are Similar to a Colonoscopy

A couple of friends have asked me recently if I actually write these emails or plagiarize them from other sources. I do write them myself. I don’t know if that is a good thing or not but energy efficiency and related topics excite me. I read several articles this weekend that got me thinking about today’s topic. The first article was in Fortune magazine. It talked about how casket sales are down during this recession because fewer people are dying. It seems that during tough economic times people are forced to make smarter decisions regarding their lifestyles. The #1 factor in rising healthcare costs is bad lifestyle decisions. Smoking, obesity, and inactivity are the three main contributors to chronic illness. In an effort to cut health care costs, I am interested in how Congress will motivate the American public to make healthier choices. Hopefully, I will be able to use that same information to motivate some of you to invest in my services.

The second article I read gave a brief summary of a recent consumer survey. It was found that most consumers would rather spend money on their kitchen, master bath, or hardwood floors than on energy efficiency, indoor air quality, comfort, etc. The few people that actually do what I do for a living jokingly refer to energy audits as the “colonoscopy” of the building industry. Everyone knows they need it but few ever have the procedure done.

Energy audits are relatively inexpensive. They range from several hundred dollars to rarely over $500 in the largest of homes. The information an energy audit provides is invaluable. If you are thinking of adding insulation to your home, you should first have an audit performed. Adding attic insulation without proper air sealing is most often a complete waste of money. Thinking of adding floor insulation? Call us for better ideas on how to handle your crawlspace. Does your fireplace need servicing? Call us to make sure you have no combustion issues!

20 Things You Need To Know About Your HVAC System and Indoor Air Quality

20 Things You Need To Know About Your HVAC System and Indoor Air Quality
1. Expensive, pleated air filters have the potential to cause more problems than they solve. Unless your unit was specifically designed to use high efficiency filters (more than likely it wasn’t), you should use the cheapest filter available. Filters have one job and that is to keep your HVAC equipment clean. High efficiency filters cause increases in the static pressure of your system and typically they cause your fan to run harder to move the required air. As a result, you spend more money on filters, you have higher utility bills, you move less air, and air filtration is not any better. Make sure you change your HVAC system filters regularly.

2. Air filters have the primary function of keeping your HVAC machinery clean, specifically the coil. Typically, you have an indoor and an outdoor coil. It is important that you keep both clean. In many cases, the interior coil in your air handler is neglected. Service contracts are a good idea in order to have your coils cleaned periodically. If you do purchase a service contract, make sure the installer shows you the interior coil before and after the cleaning. Basically, your HVAC coils serve the same function as your car radiator.
3. Air conditioners should be sized to run continuously or almost continuously on the hottest days of the year. Your air conditioner is a dehumidifier and it removes moisture once the coils are cold. Units that you can hear “crank up” and run for short periods with big blasts of cold air are oversized. These oversized units actually use more energy than a properly sized unit that runs continuously. The oversized units do not dehumidify because of the short run times. The coils never get cold enough to remove much moisture. Much of the moisture on the coils evaporates back into the building making it feel cold and clammy. Spending money on extra tonnage instead of proper design and installation is a common occurrence that must be overcome.
4. Your fan should always be on automatic. It should never be in the “on” position. The “on” position causes more energy use. When the air conditioner stops, a fan in “on” position deposits the moisture accumulated on the coils back into the house. Finally, if the ducts are leaky which most are, the “ON” position causes negative pressures within the home that help to pull in contaminants such as mold, radon, insulation, dust, etc. from the outside.

5. Bedrooms should have return pathways for the air that is supplied. This can be accomplished by a return grille or jumper duct. Undercutting doors is never enough. Closing off bedrooms or grilles almost always causes pressure problems in other parts of the system or house and it should not be done.

6. Learn how to use your thermostat. Most of today’s programmable thermostats provide many money saving functions. But, not if you do not understand how to use it.
7. If you heat your home with an electric heat pump, do not turn it down in an effort to save money when you leave the home. When you return home, if you turn the unit up for more than 2 degrees, the strip heaters will “kick in” and they cost a lot of money to run. This is a big problem that is often seen in office buildings. The temperature is set back when the last person leaves at night and then the heat is “cranked up” in the morning causing higher energy costs than if the heat pump was allowed to run the entire time.
8. Freon should not be added to your system more than once every 5 years. If you add Freon more often than that, there is a good chance you have a leak. Be wary of the technician that comes to your home and just adds Freon. Have your technician explain to you how to read the gauges and what they are adding exactly.

9. Most homes I have inspected for moisture problems have had at least one exhaust fan disconnected or improperly installed. Make sure all of your exhaust fans are properly vented to the exterior of your home. Never vent bathroom, kitchen, or clothes dryer exhaust to the attic or crawlspace. It is a good idea to install timers on your bathroom fans to make sure that moisture is exhausted after you leave the room.

10. Your HVAC system should have a dedicated fresh air supply. When air is exhausted from your home, it must be replenished. Without a fresh air supply, air is pulled in through holes in your crawlspace and attic bringing with it radon, insulation, moisture, mold, pesticides, etc.
11. When purchasing a new unit, the SEER rating of the unit means nothing without proper design and installation of the unit and the duct work. Higher SEER rated units do not dehumidify as well as it is imperative that they are sized correctly.
12. Condensate lines must be properly installed and drained away from the foundation.
13. Duct work should be properly installed. Ductwork should be installed with dampers and the house should be balanced properly and the unit commissioned. Ducts should be tested for leakage the same as plumbing is tested.
14. If you have a woodburning fireplace and you can smell it when you turn on your heat, there is a good chance you have serious duct leakage and pressure problems. Carbon monoxide poisoning caused by backdrafting of fireplaces and appliances is a major safety issue that must be checked and corrected.

15. Always have a humidistat, smoke alarms, and Carbon Monoxide detectors installed in your home.
16. Ceiling fans only affect your comfort when you are under them. They do nothing the rest of the time except consume energy.

17. Return ducts should never be installed in closets regardless of whether or not the door has louvers. This restricts airflow and causes pressure problems.

18. Air handlers and ducts should be installed inside the conditioned space. What is the logic of installing an air handler and ducts in a 130 degree attic? A 30 degree attic?

19. Expensive and attractive wood grilles in hardwood floors severely restrict airflow.
20. Vent-free/house-vented fireplaces should never be operated. Candles, especially the ones in jars, should never be burned.

Please check out our website at www.synergyairflowandventilation.com . If you have questions or are interested in any of our services please contact me.