ACI Northwest Blog: Archive for November, 2012

Home Energy Tip: Small Heating Upgrades

Monday, November 26th, 2012

If you are looking for some small, easy steps can to maximize your heating system’s efficiency, call the Hayden, ID home energy experts at ACI Northwest. We can help you by providing a few tips and guidelines about energy savings. Here are a few tips to get you started.

The Environmental Protection Agency states that close to 50%of home energy waste can be erased just by making small upgrades and reducing certain energy usage. A first step can be taken by purchasing Energy Star appliances. Purchasing Energy Star heating products along with adding insulation to your house are major steps, but there are smaller steps that are just as effective at improving your heating system’s performance.

Candle Test for Air Leaks

An easy way for homeowners to do their own energy efficiency check is to perform a candle test to locate drafts. Simply light a candle and position it near doors and windows. If you see the flame flickering that indicates those openings have a draft. Fixing those problem areas and reducing drafts will help warm the house more efficiently.

Programmable Thermostat

An easy, yet effective way to improve your heating system is to install a programmable thermostat in your home. Depending on the model you purchase, this is an upgrade that won’t cost you a lot of money. You do want to make sure that the model you buy is compatible with your heating system.  Certain types of programmable thermostats are manufactured to function with multiple-stage heat pumps; others are designed to work only with single stage furnaces. If you aren’t certain which programmable thermostat suits for your home, call a professional to help you decide what is best for you. Also consider installing ceiling fans and reversing their direction in the winter to help distribute the warm air.

Further steps

Another cost effective way to maximize your heating system’s output is to get an energy audit.  An energy audit can reveal places that energy is being wasted, which can then be improved. With the government and private industry working together to encourage homeowners to buy green, energy heating sources, newer, simpler heating products and incentives to upgrade may be available, as well.  Your local utility company can assist you to find out what incentives are in place to help you lessen your bill, with small, easy changes or upgrades.

Any upgrade to your heating system, large or small, the Hayden, ID heating specialists at ACI Northwest Inc. can help you with the improvements. Contact ACI Northwest Inc. today!

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Heating Tip: Why an Oversized Furnace Will Not Perform Better

Monday, November 19th, 2012

Are you considering a new furnace for your Spokane area home? Call ACI Northwest Inc. to help you select the right size and install it for you. Many contractors will try to sell you an oversized furnace and tell you that it will heat your home better; however, the opposite will occur for many reasons. Not only will you not get better performance, but you could also damage the system or make it less efficient, which means you won’t get the most out of your new investment.

Here are some reasons why an oversized furnace will not perform better than one that is the appropriate size for your home and heating needs.

First, a furnace that produces more BTUs than what you need to heat your home will use up more energy to heat a space that is too small for the output. Secondly, if your ductwork isn’t large enough to deliver the heat with the right amount of airflow, it can set off the limit switch. Constantly tripping the limit switch will needlessly shut down the furnace, and can shorten the life of the system. Lastly, you may need to replace the heat exchanger sooner than is necessary, and this is not a minor cost in the grand scheme of furnace repair or replacement needs.

If you aren’t sure what size furnace you need, call a heating contractor you can trust to help determine how many BTUs you need to properly heat your home. This will depend on the size of your home, where it is located, how much sunlight you get in the winter, and many other factors, including the condition of your ductwork and other components.

The heating experts at ACI Northwest can help you choose the correct size furnace for your heating needs and your particular home. We have many years of experience in this business, and we want to help all of our customers get the best solutions to all their heating needs. Call us any time if you have questions about furnace size and output.

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Efficiently Heating Your Home

Monday, November 12th, 2012

If you live in Hayden, your heater may get quite the workout over the year, that means that a dependable home heating system is important. Even if you do not use your heater regularly it is important that you take all the steps you can to heat your home efficiently. It will improve your comfort, reduce heating bills, and is better for the environment. Here are some tips from ACI Northwest on how you can heat your home more efficiently.

To begin with, you should have your heater professionally inspected and maintained before each heating season begins. This is the only way to ensure that your heater is in the condition it needs to be in in order to heat your home efficiently and effectively. Don’t wait for a chilly night to realize that you heater is not up to the task of keeping you warm. Running a damaged or otherwise compromised heater puts your comfort and the integrity of that heater at risk.

You know those ceiling fans that you have running in your home all summer long? Don’t shut them off when the cool weather arrives. Ceiling fans actually have two setting on them, and switching your fans over to the winter setting can help you heat your home more efficiently. Keep the blades spinning clockwise in the cold months to push warm air that has risen to the ceiling back down to the ground. This also helps promote even, comfortable heating throughout your home.

Be sure that you understand how to use your thermostat properly, and then be sure to use it! It is not true that the most efficient way to heat your home is by leaving the thermostat in one place. Using the programmable settings on your thermostat allows you to shape its operation to your particular lifestyle and boosts energy efficiency.

If you follow these simple tips you can start heating your Hayden home in a more affordable, efficient way. Call ACI Northwest to get started today. We have the products and services you need to comfortable all year round.

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Tip: Do You Need Custom Ductwork?

Monday, November 5th, 2012

The installation of a new home comfort system, such as a central heating and air conditioning system should not be a stressful experience. Unfortunately, as we all know, things don’t always go according to plan. Some homes may seem like a great candidate for a central heating and cooling system, but as the system is being designed someone realizes that there are spots where standard ductwork simply cannot fit. Don’t let this get you down, though. When you work with the custom ductwork experts at ACI Northwest you’ll find the ductwork solutions you need provided by professional ductwork service providers in the Coeur d’Alene area.

Ductwork generally comes in rectangular and circular shaped pieces. This is not always going to work for every home, though, and in that case you will need to enlist the help of a professional to design and fabricate some custom ductwork for your heating and air conditioning installation project. It is very important that this custom ductwork is provided by a qualified professional. Just because a piece of ductwork is made for you does not mean that it is a quality piece of work.

If you allow an unqualified service provider design your heating and air conditioning ductwork system you may experience any of a number of different issues. Poor ductwork design can lead to inefficient heating and air conditioning performance, resulting in utility bills that are higher than necessary. Your heating and air conditioning system will have to work harder than it should to push the air through the poorly designed or fabricated ductwork system and using more energy than it otherwise would.

While increase operational costs may seem bad enough, this harder work that your system is being forced to do can actually degrade the system over time, making it less and less efficient until it finally is damaged or breaks down altogether. Well designed and fabricated custom ductwork can help you avoid this and other problems.

If you already have existing ductwork in your home keep an eye out for indicators that your ductwork is not working efficiently and effectively. Unusually high heating and air conditioning bills are one warning sign to look out for. Uneven heating and the development of hot or cold spots throughout your home is another. You may want to go around your home and compare the output of different registers. If any seem to be underperforming it is possible that you need some custom ductwork to fix the problem.

For more information about custom ductwork, call the experts at ACI Northwest. We can help you improve the performance of the comfort systems in your Coeur d’Alene home. Let us know what we can do for you.

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