Boehmer Heating & Cooling Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Bethel Park’

Save with Insulation

Friday, July 8th, 2011

When you are looking for ways to save money around the house, it can be difficult to know where to begin. However, if you start examining things closely, you can actually find many small ways to cut here and there to save a few dollars. Of course, the savings you will generate by making these moves need to be worth the expense of making them, and it some cases that equation does not work out to your advantage.

For instance, when you are trying to save money on your heating or air conditioning bills, is it really worth it to get a top of the line system installed? Do you really need a 97% AFUE furnace? Sure your monthly heating bills will be lower, but it costs so much to install that it might not be worth it. For some people, the right choice will be to opt for the highest efficiency system, but that is far from a universal truth.

However, there is one investment along these lines that will be worth it no matter what your particular situation is. And that is making sure that your house has proper and effective insulation installed everywhere necessary. Certainly, most houses have insulation of some kind. But do you really know that your insulation is effective and that it is in the right place?

With the new technologies and types of insulation available, you should not have to pay too much to have someone come in to check your insulation and improve upon it. And you very likely will not believe the difference it can make in the way your house feels.

Proper insulation will keep heat in and cold out in the winter and the opposite in the summer. You will quite simply be more comfortable all year round. Plus, you will see a pretty dramatic drop in your home heating and cooling bills because your HVAC systems will not have to work as hard to keep your home comfortable.

This will also translate into less wear and tear on the system over all, making it possible for you to extend the useful life of your HVAC system as well. The savings that can be generated by having proper insulation put in will well outweigh the cost of that insulation in just about every case.

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How Do I Reduce Dust in My Home?

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

Dust is everywhere. There is no way to stop it from occurring, so instead we turn to cleaning and filtration to keep the amount of dust circulating through the air to a minimum. Luckily, there are quite a few things you can do, even without installing new equipment, to reduce your dust levels.

Duct Cleaning

First on the list is regular duct cleaning. You dust your furniture and your floors, so why not clean out your ductwork? Properly cleaned ductwork is very important because of just how much stuff can build up in there over time. Imagine regular air flow in an enclosed space that never gets cleaned. How much dust and debris do you think could build up over the course of a year? Hint: it’s enough to keep a steady flow of dust in your indoor air.

Professional duct cleaning is important and should be done once every year or two depending on how often you use your home comfort system. However, you should also clean in and around the vents and ducts in your home where you can reach. This can be done weekly and will help immensely to reduce dust.

Filtration

Most air filters equipped with high quality HEPA filters work extremely well to remove dust from the air. Because HEPA filters can capture particles as small as 0.3 microns, they won’t just remove dust, but pollen, pet dander and even mold. Mold especially is a problem that occurs in far greater frequency in homes without filtration.

Simple air filtration is an affordable solution to a lot of different contaminants, so it’s a good fit for any home. However, there are more powerful systems as well that will reduce both dust and pathogens like bacteria – these purifiers use ionization to draw particles from the air electronically.

Humidity

Humidity imbalance can cause dust problems as well. Low humidity leads to more dead skin and dust in the house, while high humidity causes the development of dust mites. Properly regulating your humidity to slightly less than 50% will create a perfect environment in which less dust is created and circulated in your home.

The best way to reduce dust is to take a three pronged approach to indoor air quality. Cleanliness is always first on the list, but after that don’t neglect the value of filtration and proper humidity control. When used properly, these three things will ensure dust never bothers you again.

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What Is LEED Certified?

Friday, May 20th, 2011

If you’ve been looking into purchasing a home or having any type of major construction done, you may have run across the term LEED Certified. Of course, contractors boast of so many certifications these days that it can be tough to tell which you should pay attention to and which you shouldn’t. But the LEED certification is definitely one that’s worth taking into account when you’re choosing a contractor and planning out your project.

The Benefits of LEED Certification

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The standards and guidelines for obtaining LEED certification were put together by the U.S. Green Building Counsel in order to improve construction practices and help buyers find property that meets higher standards in a variety of environmentally significant categories.

For instance, a LEED certified home boasts better water and energy efficiency than the average home that is not LEED certified. It also was put together using techniques designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve indoor air quality, making it both the healthy choice for you as the consumer and the environmentally responsible one.

When you purchase a LEED certified home, you’re not just helping the environment either. You’re also helping yourself in a variety of ways. That’s because a home that meets LEED certification standards for energy and water efficiency will help you generate smaller energy and water bills each month. That translates to huge saving over time, so even if you pay a bit more initially for your home, you’ll get that money back many times over as time passes.

LEED certification isn’t just something you should pay attention to when you’re buying a new home. Any construction project you undertake for your existing home can also benefit from these guidelines and standards. For that reason, it’s worth seeking out a contractor who can provide services in line with LEED standards. These types of improvements and techniques need to be incorporated in your home improvement project from the initial planning stage, and a contractor familiar with LEED standards will have no trouble doing just that.

You can also have confidence in the contractor you pick if they carry LEED credentials because they’re not easy to get. Anyone who is LEED certified has put a lot of time and energy into obtaining those credentials and is likely just the type of contractor you’d like taking care of your next home improvement project.

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Different Types of Room Air Conditioners

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

If you are like most people, you probably picture the air conditioner hanging out of the window when you think of room air conditioners. However, while these are by far the most popular type of room air conditioners, they are not the only option. When you are shopping for a room air conditioner, it is a good idea to explore all of your options before you make a purchase.

The traditional window mounted air conditioners have plenty of advantages, and that has helped to keep them at the top of the room air conditioner market for a long time. These types of units can be installed in windows of multiple sizes and you can just about always get them in yourself. These units are available in a wide variety of sizes too, so you will be able to match the unit to the size of the space you need to cool.

No matter what type of air conditioner you get, it is very important to make sure it is the right size for the task you have laid out for it. Bigger is not always better and you do not want an air conditioner that is too powerful for the space any more than you want one that is too small. Also, be sure to check the energy efficiency rating of the air conditioner you are considering before making your purchase. That can save you a lot of money over time as well.

Another type of room air conditioner to take a look at is a wall mounted unit. Many of the window mounted units can actually be used in this way as well, but the installation involves actually making a hole in the outer wall of your home so you will most likely need some professional help to get it in place.

Just like window mounted units, wall mounted air conditioners come in all sizes and with all different energy efficiency ratings. Always take care to check out the specifics of the model before you buy it to make sure it is the right choice for your home.

Portable air conditioners are a third option in the room air conditioner category. They typically have wheels so that they can be easily moved from one room to another and they have an exhaust hose that must be hooked up to a window to ensure adequate ventilation. These types of room air conditioners are usually more expensive than wall or window mounted units, but it is definitely convenient to be able to move them from one place to another.

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