Tips to Avoid Heat Loss and Heat Gain Year Round
Back to BlogWhen it comes to keeping your home or business in Macon, GA, comfortable in every season, the building’s design, construction and level of insulation plays just as significant a role as the weather outside. In the winter, leaks allow the air that you’ve paid to heat to escape outdoors. During the summer, the hot sun makes it harder to keep the structure comfortably cool. When your heating and cooling systems have to run longer to counteract heat gain or heat loss, your energy costs can go through the roof. The following energy-saving tips can help you enjoy the highest level of indoor comfort and the lowest energy bills year round.
What Is Heat Loss?
Any leak or gap in your building’s envelope provides an escape route for heated air. Air filtration increases the heating load for your home or business, which forces your heater to run for longer periods of time in order to reach and maintain the ideal temperature. The result isn’t just higher monthly heating bills. Continuous operation places undue wear on the parts and components of your heating system, which leads to a shorter service and more frequent repairs. Limiting heat loss during the winter is just as important as regular preventative maintenance service.
How to Prevent Heat Loss
Because heat rises, the first place to address heat loss is in the attic and roof. Ensuring that your attic has the proper amount of insulation can reduce your heating expenses by as much as 30 percent. If you feel that your attic is already well-insulated, examine the existing insulation for dirt. Dirty insulation indicates that air is passing through hidden cracks or leaks in the attic floor. Make sure that bypasses around any plumbing pipes, electrical fixtures and ductwork are properly sealed as well.
Leaks around conduits that penetrate the structure’s exterior walls also allows warm air to escape. The most common sources of air infiltration include cracks, leaks and gaps around the following features and fixtures:
- Drafty windows and doors
- Gas service entrances
- Outdoor water faucets
- Electrical outlets
- Dryer vents
- Window air conditioning units
- Cable and phone lines
- Mail chutes
Summertime Strategies
If you’re asking yourself “What is heat gain?” the answer is simple: it’s what makes your home or business feel uncomfortably hot during a summer heat wave. Sunlight is absorbed by building materials in the form of solar radiation. The effects of solar heat gain are intensified when sunlight hits transparent materials like window glass. Planting deciduous trees to provide shade during the summer and using window treatments to block out the sunlight can help keep heat gain at bay. Managing heat gain and heat loss is particularly important when installing new HVAC systems. A few simple improvements can allow you to purchase a smaller system.
Call Conditioned Air for More Energy-Saving Tips
Think your HVAC system might be the cause of your high energy bills? Need more help determining what upgrades your home might need? Call Conditioned Air in Macon, Georgia today!
About Conditioned Air
Founded in 1938, Conditioned Air, Inc. has been providing energy-saving solutions to home and business owners in Middle Georgia for more than 70 years. For more tips on how to optimize your HVAC system, contact one of our skilled professionals today.