How Air Leaks in Your Home are Costing You Money & How to Fix Those Leaks

Whether it’s the frosty winters or the sizzling summers, nobody likes an air leak!

They rob you of hundreds of dollars every year by wasting your home energy and keep you uncomfortable at the same time.

It becomes pertinent to improve the thermal performance of your home in the winters and to insulate your home from air leakage in the summers to live comfortably and to save your greens from going down the energy drain!

So How Do Air Leaks Cost Money?

According to an energy consumption survey, you can save upto 20% on your heating and cooling electric bills by preventing and stopping air infiltration.

Besides keeping you and your family cold in the winters by letting the cool air slip in and making you swelter in the scorching summers by letting the cool air conditioner air move out, air leaks also damage frames and walls.

The moisture which sneaks in makes way for mold to breed in the walls and in your home’s framing members. Replacing rotten frames is a VERY expensive task

So, cutting down on energy leaks is not only cost-effective but also makes for a pleasant, safer and more durable home.

Here are a few ways how you can prevent and fix the air leaks in your house:

1. Air Leak Prevention & Seal Tip #1 – Identify the drafty spots.

Find air leaks by checking wall openings outside and cracks inside. On a windy day, feel for a draft in hidden wall corners and crevices. Even a small hole can have a huge impact on your home by constantly robbing you of energy and risking damage to your furniture and structure.

Bonus Tip – Hold a lit incense stick or a candle in-front of electrical outlets, attic hatches, plumbing fixtures, corner walls, window sills and other places where an air leak maybe sneakily taking place.

Also, make sure that you thoroughly check out the basement and the attic as many times air penetration from those places seeps into the rest of the house.

2. Air Leak Prevention & Seal Tip #2 – Caulking and sealing all airy openings.

Applying caulk on windows stops chilly air from coming in winters and prevents your AC from having to over-work when all the cool air seeps out in the summer months.

Get a weatherization kit and once the cracks and holes are identified, begin caulking and sealing all the air infiltration spots.

Seal out the plumbing, electrical wiring, behind the cabinets spacing for stopping and preventing air leakage.

3. Air Leak Prevention & Seal Tip #3 – Search for dirty spots.

Check out for stains or dirty spots on the carpets and the ceiling paint as that is a sure sign of air leaks in the ceiling joints, the wall or floor joists and the interior walls.

Caulk EACH opening.

Bonus Tip – Do check out recessed lighting, wholehouse fans and ceiling fixtures while you’re at it, as these are some of the most common and hidden causes of air leaks in most homes.

4. Air Leak Prevention & Seal Tip #4 – Insulating all wiring.

Installing foam gaskets behind electrical wiring, sockets, light switches and other necessary spots for proper air insulation is mandatory.

5. Air Leak Prevention & Seal Tip #5 – Check your dryer vent.

To prevent a fire from taking place, check your dryer vent and make sure it not blocked and has no openings that are allowing air to flow in or out.

6. 2. Air Leak Prevention & Seal Tip #6 – Foaming for larger gaps.

Use low-expansion spray foam and squirt it into medium sized gaps or larger openings. The foaming spray can be easily used for plugging holes upto 3 inches wide.

Follow our energy-conserving strategies prevent air leakage from robbing you of comfort and dollars.

If you’re unsure of some of the steps or don’t want the DIY home air-leak-proofing job, then call a professional auditor to inspect your home for ALL hidden openings. And get help from a professional retrofitter for sealing and closing all gaps.

How to Choose the Right Size AC Unit for My Home

How to Choose the Right Size AC How to Choose the Right Size AC

There are many different sizes of AC units regardless of whether you purchase the window AC units or the central units. This is why you need to find the right size of unit for your home for the AC to work efficiently. This is done by measuring the area that is going to be cooled to help determine the size of air conditioner that is right for your home.

This is generally calculated by multiplying the length by the width of the room or the area that will be cooled. You will then multiply the total by 25 BTU. This will enable sufficient cooling regardless of the conditions of the weather in your area.

For practical purposes, let us assume that the room to be cooled is 10 feet by 15 feet. You will have to multiply 10 by 10 and this will give you 150 square feet. You then multiply the 150 square feet by 25 BTU per square feet and you will arrive at the minimum BTU air conditioner that you ought to purchase.

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This would mean then, that 150 x 25 would give you 3750 BTU cooling capacity that is required. Sometimes people wonder if a smaller or a larger air conditioner will work better. Should you purchase a smaller air conditioner, the unit will work but it will try to keep up and this will result in a huge cost in your electricity bill. Another thing is that the air conditioner will be unable to effectively cool the room.

A larger air conditioner will also not be as effective as required. Most people are of the feeling that bigger is better but this is not the case. While the air conditioner will cool faster, it will hinder the initial reason why the air conditioner should be running. The air conditioner is not only supposed to cool the air but should also remove humidity or rather moisture from the room.

The air might be cooler but the air conditioner will run long enough and this will mean that moisture will not be removed from the atmosphere properly. While you will feel the cooling effect, you will still have the feeling of the hot and sticky moisture and this will be quite uncomfortable.

Measuring the area that needs to be cooled off will help you because once you calculate the BTU; you will get the air conditioning unit right. You should visit your local appliances unit when you need to get the right heating and cooling apparatus.

Stay Cool and Comfortable this Summer; Minus all the Stress

Putting any thought into your air conditioning system during the colder months of the year is a lot like thinking about school while on summer vacation – not too many people do it. While you know your unit’s there, it’s one of those out of sight, out of mind type of things. Not until that blazing hot afternoon appears do you think to crank up the cool only to find the unit isn’t working nearly as well as you remembered. If you’ve found yourself struggling to keep your family comfortable on these warm summer days but don’t have a lot of time to make a change then it’s time to start making some phone calls. There are also other ways to stay comfortable, which we will discuss below.

Not Everyone is a Do-It-Yourselfer

As much as many of us would like to be able to, either we don’t have the time or simply don’t have the knowledge to take care of certain aspects of our homes. Instead of trying to Google a solution and possibly make an even larger mess, your best bet may be calling a professional. It is recommended that you have your system inspected once a year anyway so you’ll be killing two birds with one stone and have the satisfaction of knowing the job was done right. Something as simple as a clogged vent could be what’s causing your system to struggle to keep your home at its optimal temperature.

Is It Time for a New Unit?

Everything in life has a life expectancy and depending on the quality and age of your current air conditioner and how well you have kept it maintained, this life can vary drastically. With so many companies offering 24/7 emergency assistance and financing you can become the superhero of your household without breaking your budget (or losing your mind).

Don’t Worry: There are Other Options

While many homeowners cannot imagine going without the assistance of air conditioning (about 87% of households in the United States have at least one unit installed), there are other ways to keep your family away from the heat. Maybe you are tired of how costly it is to cool your home or simply want to give a more eco-friendly solution a shot.

We cannot stress enough the benefits of proper insulation. Many people assume insulation is to keep a home warm but it also helps to keep the heat out. That coupled with fans placed in just the right locations is going to greatly decrease the temperature inside your residence. During the cooler times of the day, have your windows open to allow the natural air inside. Once the weather begins to heat up, close blinds or curtains (especially in areas of your home where no one is present) to keep the sun from heating the place up even more. Rooms that aren’t in use should be closed off from the rest of the house so they don’t interfere with your efforts. You may want to even invest in door sweeps to maintain desired temperatures.

Why hire HVAC contractors?

All of us have HVACs installed in our homes. It is one of our many needs. We just cannot live without one. Since, it has become an indispensible part of our lives; it is sheer common sense to pay attention to its repair and maintenance from time to time. This is really important or else you would be spending lots of money on getting it repaired when it breaks down completely.

There are quite a few people who feel they can service and repair their air conditioners on their own. There are a number of DIY kits in the market that further encourage people to give it a shot on their own. But do you think it is advisable to do that? Well, honestly, it is not. It is always better to rely on a professional rather than trying to fix things on your own.

Here are a few reasons that clearly highlight the need for hiring a professional for fixing an air conditioner:

1. A professional is perfect at his job. He has the required skill set and experience in delivering service most efficiently.

2. He has the required tools to fix issues in the most appropriate way.

How to find HVAC contractor?

Are you having trouble with your air conditioner? IS your HVAC not working properly? If yes, you ought to consider calling a professional HVAC repair and service professional immediately. You must not delay as it is going to cost you a lot when the HVAC shuts down completely.

There are a number of ways through which you can get in touch with an HVAC contractor but it is imperative for you to make sure you are choosing a reliable one. There are many imposters in the market that may trick you with their sweet promises.

Here is a step by step guiding for finding an HVAC contractor:

1. Family and friends: This is the safest way of finding a reliable HVAC contractor. Someone in our family or friends must have utilized the services of an HVAC contractor and it is best to rely on their advice while choosing one. They are sure to recommend an honest and reliable HVAC contractor.

2. Internet space: This is the second best method for finding an HVAC contractor. You may search on the internet and shortlist a few companies. It is advisable to check the credentials, the services offered, and consumer reviews before hiring an HVAC contractor through internet.

Homestead AC Repair Options

Those who want to take a look at some of their Homestead AC repair options will need to make a point of going online and seeing what the internet can offer them with regards to information on some of the local businesses that offer these services. If your AC unit has just broken down, it will be important to make sure that you take the time to find the right business to help you out with getting exactly what you need for an overall amount that is far.

It is highly recommended that you take enough time to get estimates from at least a few different AC repair businesses in the Homestead area, just so you will be able to see how much each one of them will charge you for the work that needs to be done. Make certain that the business you hire to do this work put down the overall cost of the job in writing before starting, just so you can be sure that you won’t have to pay any more than that. Those who take their time and see what their AC repair options are like usually get the services they need at the lowest possible cost.

Air Conditioner Repair in Miami

In Miami there will be plenty of different options to explore when it comes to businesses that can repair your air conditioner, so you will need to make an effort to find the very best one for the job. If your air conditioner is experiencing some problems or doesn’t work at all, you will need to start looking at some of these local businesses as soon as possible. You will be able to save yourself some time and frustration by looking at your AC repair options online, because it can be a very efficient way to go about finding the right people to do this work for you.

You should make an effort to choose an air conditioning repair business that can provide you with references from some of their customers, just so you can feel a little bit more comfortable with choosing them to repair your air conditioning unit. Another good thing to do is to look for reviews of specific businesses that you are interested in before choosing one in particular; these reviews can be quite insightful when you are trying to choose the right people for this kind of job. In the end you will need to make sure that you get the repair services you need at a reasonable overall price.

Buying Air Conditioning Parts in Miami

If your air conditioning unit is broken and in need of repair, you will need to make sure that you find the right parts for it. There are going to be a lot of different businesses to choose from when you are looking to get certain parts, so make sure you review as many of them as possible. You will be able to save quite a bit of money on the AC parts you need by shopping for them online, so you will want to consider that before making a final purchase of any kind.

In the Miami area alone there are going to be quite a few businesses that can offer you what you need when it comes to these parts, but you will not want to buy from just any of them. Whether you need a relatively small and inexpensive part for your air conditioning unit, or something a bit more important, it will be necessary to buy from the best place possible. This means taking the time to go online and see what your options are like before you purchase anything in particular. In the end doing this research should help you to save quite a bit of money.

AC Repair in North Miami

When it comes to finding the best AC repair in North Miami, it will be extremely important for you to take the time to see which business in particular will be able to provide you with the very best services. As long as you take the time to do your research when it comes to these businesses in the area, you should be able to find exactly what you need. Just make sure that the business you choose for AC repair services is well-respected in the community and keep meet every single one of your needs.

In order to find the best repair services for your AC unit in North Miami, it will be important for you to go online and see what you will have to choose from. There are going to be lots of different companies that can do this sort of work for you, but you will not want to settle for just any of them. Instead you will need to get estimates from a few different AC repair businesses, so you will be able to compare the deals that are available with each of them in your area. By taking some time to do this research, you will be able to find exactly what you need at the right price.