Shoes that don’t fit make your feet uncomfortable. An air conditioner that isn’t the right size for you home can also be uncomfortable – among other things. Any cooling and heating equipment should be sized for the home.

Since all homes are different, reputable heating and A/C contractors perform a load calculation to determine equipment size that matches the home. The standard method is to use Manual J to match home cooling and heating equipment to the specific house.

Manual J
Manual J is a manual, or a calculating process, developed by engineers to properly determine heating and cooling needs for a home. Although it’s standardized, a set of specifications makes it adaptable to any home. A large list of information goes into a heating or cooling load calculation. Once determined, the Manual J formula offers three basic pieces of information:

• Heating load – This tells the contractor how much heat your home requires on the nearly-coldest day in the middle of winter. This determines heating needs.
• Sensible cooling load – This determines how much cooling is required on the nearly-hottest day of the year when the home is heating up from the sun. This is combined with the next calculation to determine cooling needs.
• Latent cooling load – This Manual J calculation determines how much humidity should be removed in peak summer heat and moisture conditions.

Between the three, your home’s proper air conditioner size is determined.

Why sizing is important
Air conditioners that are too large don’t run long enough to condense indoor humidity or properly filter your indoor air. The result can be cool, clammy air and reduced indoor air quality. Home humidity should never be higher than 50 percent. Moisture higher than that can cause mold growth and discomfort; it also reduces efficiency and wastes energy. Airflow is also restricted and circulation reduced with the wrong size equipment.

When you have new equipment installed in your Southern California or Nevada home, make sure your contractor does a proper load calculation. If you have questions or believe your air conditioner is improperly sized, contact us at AC Pro. We’re always happy to answer your questions and concerns to help you maximize your home comfort for minimum costs.

Our goal is to help inform our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about air conditioners and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Now is the time to get ready for spring cleaning. As you’re making your list of jobs, don’t overlook duct cleaning. Duct cleaning is not appropriate for every home, but it could make a difference in your indoor air quality, particularly if your ducts have been neglected for a long time — perhaps while your home was sitting empty — or if your ductwork has been infested with mold or pests.

Here are three good reasons to consider putting duct cleaning on your spring to-do list:

• To remove mold. If you have noticed any visible mold on the inside hard surfaces of your ducts, you should have the ducts cleaned to avoid further spread of spores in your home. If you’re unsure about whether a substance is mold, you can take a sample of it (on clear, sticky household tape) to a microbiology lab, and they can test it for you.
• To remove other contaminants. If your ducts are so contaminated with dust or debris that you can see it wafting from your registers when you turn on your HVAC system, consider having your ducts cleaned.
• To help combat allergies and asthma. Some airborne substances don’t bother the majority of the population but can make life miserable for those with asthma and allergies. Pet dander, dust and debris, and refuse from rodents and insects can become airborne when you turn on your HVAC system, triggering respiratory problems for allergy and asthma sufferers. HEPA filtration equipment used during duct cleaning ensures that allergens in the ducts don’t become airborne in other parts of the house.

If you are thinking about having your home’s ductwork cleaned, it’s important to work with an experienced, professional heating and cooling contractor. Done improperly, duct cleaning can actually release more contaminants into the air than if you’d done nothing.

For expert advice about cleaning and maintaining your air ducts and other issues related to home comfort, contact a contractor in the AC Pro network. Serving Southern California and Nevada, they’ll be happy to help you make a home-comfort plan.

Our goal is to help inform our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Many of us like to believe that the air that we breathe is clear and pristine, devoid of contaminants that can make us ill. But think about the last time someone sneezed — and made you sneeze, too. We are more susceptible to contaminated air than we think. Electronic air cleaners work in many homes to remove airborne contaminants, leaving our indoor environments cleaner.

In addition to dust, many electronic air cleaners can remove other small, breathable particles, such as dirt, pollen and allergens.

Most air purification systems use either mechanical or electronic air filters, which can be installed in a central HVAC system. Mechanical filters work when  particles become trapped in the fibers of the filter or are drawn to the filter by an electrostatic charge. Electronic air cleaners rely on “electrostatic attraction,” which traps charged particles. Although electronic air cleaners remove small particles, they do not remove all gases and odors.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cautions that more studies need to be done to draw a conclusive link between air cleaners and better health. But many people who suffer from asthma and upper respiratory problems view them as a proactive step toward reducing their symptoms. If you’re looking for an electronic cleaner, you should:

• Choose a system that removes a high amount of particles from the air, is correctly sized and is made by a reputable manufacturer.
• Choose a system that is designed to remove the contaminants that you’d most like to target.
• Consider the relative costs of various devices.
• Do a test run to ensure the cleaner you’re considering is simple to operate.
• Secure a comprehensive warranty.

Reach out to a contractor in the AC Pro network for help in choosing your electronic air cleaner. We’ll connect you with a certified and knowledgeable home-comfort expert who can help you find the best air-cleaning device or system for your household. Our contractors serve homeowners throughout Southern Nevada and Southern California.

Our goal is to help inform our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Are you suffering from surprisingly high utility bills? Your home’s ductwork might be to blame.

Leaky ducts shed as much as 20 percent of the air that travels through them, which forces your cooling or heating equipment to work harder than it should have to to keep your home comfortable.

A comprehensive duct sealing could help, though. Among benefits of a leak-free system of ducts, you will:

• Pay lower utility bills. The conditioned air arrives at its intended destination, and your A/C or furnace catches a break. In some cases, professional duct sealing pays for itself quickly in energy savings.
• Feel more comfortable. It can be difficult to keep some rooms comfortable during hot Southern California or Nevada summers. Leaky ducts don’t help. After duct sealing, more cool air travels to even the farthest rooms in your home.
• Enjoy cleaner air. Chemicals, insulation particles and dust in your attic or garage can enter your HVAC system through gaps and cracks in your ductwork to be delivered throughout your home. For some people, this can provoke allergies or asthma attacks. Sealing these leaks helps you enjoy cleaner air.
• Promote safety. Gas-fueled appliances in your home usually exhaust carbon monoxide or other byproducts of combustion fumes to the outdoors through a ventilation system. However, leaky ducts can draw these gases back into your home, putting your family’s safety at risk.
• Do your environmental duty. With duct sealing done, you reduce the amount of energy your household consumes — which helps reduce the emissions put into the atmosphere each year and other environmental damage caused by power production.

To learn more about saving energy in your home — or any other heating and cooling issues — don’t hesitate to contact a contractor in the AC Pro network today. Our network extends from Southern California to Nevada.

Our goal is to help inform our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

AC PRO services the Southwestern United States including Southern California and Nevada.  Visit our website to see our special offers to get started today!

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Just as your body loses heat and needs a layer of protection on a cool evening, so does your home’s ductwork. In fact, between 10 percent and 30 percent of the energy used to warm or cool your home’s air is lost if your ducts are inadequately insulated.

The result? Higher utility bills and multiple trips to the thermostat as you try to regulate your home’s temperature. The solution? Duct insulation, which prevents the transfer of heat out of or into the air in your ductwork, keeping that conditioned air cool or warm, depending on the season. Here is a homeowners guide to duct insulation:

• For best results, be sure to seal air leaks before adding insulation. Use duct sealant (also known as duct mastic) or metal tape to seal ducts that run through areas that get especially hot in the summer and cold in the winter, such as those in your attic, crawl spaces, basement and garage.
• Next, choose insulation, which is graded by its “R-value.” The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating power. For example, in inland California and western Nevada, the U.S. Department of Energy recommends insulation totaling R-4 to R-8 for ducts in unconditioned attics and R-2 to R-8 insulation for unconditioned basements and crawl spaces. If you’re in doubt, err on the side of adding more insulation rather than less.
• Wear protective clothing, a dust mask and protective eyewear to install insulation.
• Measure the circumference of the ductwork and cut the insulation in easy-to-handle pieces — at least 4 feet and probably no longer than 8 feet long. Then wrap the insulation around the duct, leaving a 4-inch overlap to make a seam up and down the duct.
• Secure the seams with foil tape, leaving no gaps or holes. Continue this wrapping procedure until the entire length of the duct is covered.

If this sounds like a job you need assistance with — and many homeowners do — contact a certified contractor in the AC Pro network. Serving Southern California and Nevada, we’re always happy to help.

Our goal is to help inform our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Hearing spooky sounds at night — and they’re coming from inside your house? Ticking, banging and clatter from inside your walls might indicate problems with the design or installation of your ductwork. Ducts deliver the conditioned air from your HVAC equipment to your living spaces and then back again; duct noise probably means it’s time to call your contractor.

The ticks, bangs and clatter likely result from the expansion and contraction of your ducts, which are made of metal, and any associated pipes or drain lines, probably made of plastic. Ducts and pipes naturally expand when they’re conveying heated air or liquid. The problem begins when installers fail to account for this expansion during construction. The expanding tubes rub up noisily against wood framing in your house. Other duct noises may result from poorly connected sections of ductwork that may rattle as air passes through them.

Your HVAC contractor will do his best to isolate the source of the noise. Unfortunately, this may involve removing some of the drywall or plaster in front of the problem area. But then the contractor will be able to see the exact problem and make adjustments to eliminate the noise. This could mean making cuts in the wooden structure of your home to enlarge the space through which the duct or pipe travels.

Keep in mind that a professional should do the job. Do not start cutting away at joists or studs. Even an ill-executed notch in a framing member can imperil the integrity of your home.

Sometimes, though, the problem requires no cutting at all, but rather an inspection and repair of your ductwork’s accessible stretches. Repairing and sealing up loose connections in some sections of poorly maintained ductwork could significantly reduce the bangs in the night at your house — not to mention reduce your utility bills by plugging the source of conditioned-air leaks.

If duct noises are keeping you up at night, contact a certified heating and cooling professional who can identify and repair the problem. Contact a contractor in the AC Pro network today to get started. Serving the Southern California and Nevada areas, we’re always happy to help.

Our goal is to help inform our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Ousting dust from your home may seem like a battle you can’t win. You might carefully wipe down your belongings and vacuum your rugs and drapes, only to find the next day that those pesky particles are back — and they’ve brought friends. However, there are some strategies you might not have considered to combat dust in your home, which goes a long way toward improving your family’s indoor air quality.

Among housekeeping tasks, reducing the presence of dust is an important one. Tiny dust particles can damage your heating and cooling equipment or reduce its performace — not to mention aggravate allergies or other respiratory problems. Here are five ways to help keep your home as dust-free as possible, protecting your HVAC system and your indoor air quality:

• Clean or change your HVAC equipment’s air filters regularly, at least once every three months and more often during high-use periods. Air filters that are dirty from months of use can’t continue to trap dust and other airborne contaminants — or keep them out of your expensive equipment.
• Repair leaky ductwork. Gaps and cracks in your ducts can allow dust to sneak in to be distributed along with your warm or cool air throughout your home. Also, consider getting your ducts cleaned.
• Vacuum regularly. Dust buildup on carpets and furniture will inevitably take to the air.
• When you’re dusting, don’t neglect your electronics. Televisions and computer monitors attract dust, so they require more frequent dusting than other household belongings.
• Invest in an air purifier to go the extra mile. The potential sources of airborne contaminants are many, especially if you have pets. An air purifier can help round up dust as well as cigarette smoke and pet dander — both major contributors to poor indoor air quality.

Contractors in the AC Pro network are proud to serve homeowners throughout Southern California and Nevada. Contact us today to find a home-comfort specialist who can help you get your ducts into shape or find other dust-busting strategies for improving your indoor air quality.

Our goal is to help inform our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Starting off a new year is a great time to put up a carbon monoxide (CO) detector if your home lacks one. But before you do, give some thought to where you will install the detector.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that you mount CO detectors in the hallway near the bedrooms in your home, where the alarm will wake family members if they are asleep. Just like smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors are usually best installed on the ceiling instead of on a wall, where it’s less likely that people will come into contact with them and accidentally dislodge them.

Still, the recommended installation locations may vary by manufacturer, so be sure to read the detector’s manual before beginning the installation process.

If you’re installing one detector, give some thought to enhancing your home’s safety by installing several more. Specifically, position one CO detector on every floor of your home, in the basement and near or over an attached garage. This is the advice of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, which has lobbied homeowners about the virtues of carbon monoxide detectors since the 1990s. The association says that CO detectors should be located within 10 feet of each bedroom door so they can jar you awake if you are sleeping.

For obvious reasons, the detectors should not be installed directly above or beside fuel-burning appliances. Nor should they be placed within 15 feet of cooking or heating appliances (which can emit low levels of CO) or near very humid areas, such as bathrooms, the association says.

If you have questions about carbon monoxide detectors, call on the experts at AC Pro. We’re always happy to help.

Our goal is to help inform our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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The air in our homes can get pretty dry in wintertime. When the cold weather hits and relative humidity gets to be uncomfortably low, many residents are bothered by the ill effects of dry air. Those effects can be uncomfortable and can cause damage. Low humidity may cause:

• Dry itchy skin, cracked lips, sore throat and dry sinuses
• Allergy flare-ups, sneezing, dry coughs and more
• Damage to possessions made of wood, such as guitars or other musical instruments
• Cracked wood floors, wall or ceiling moldings, shrinking and splitting of doors, window frames and even parts of the wooden structure of your home

If you’d like to avoid or eliminate these problems and improve your home’s indoor air quality, it’s time to consider a whole-house humidifier to maintain ideal relative humidity. A central humidifier incorporated into your home comfort system can automatically add moisture to the air as needed.

Ideal relative humidity

Relative humidity measures how much moisture is currently in the air as a percentage of the maximum amount that exists in saturated air. The warmer the air, the more moisture it can hold. Ideal humidity levels must take into account all these factors:

• Outdoor temperature fluctuations
• Variable indoor humidity: Some surfaces like walls or windows, which are usually colder than the indoor air and have higher humidity, may develop condensation leading to musty odors and mold growth.
• Human beings generally feel comfortable at a 45 to 55 percent humidity level.
• Home furnishings and woodwork stay in best condition at a slightly lower level.
• In well-insulated homes, humidity from cooking and showering may be enough to maintain proper humidity levels part of the time.

To balance the above concerns, set the humidistat (which controls the moisture level much like the thermostat controls temperature) according to the chart on the humidifier, based on outdoor temperature. Advanced units monitor outside temperature and adjust indoor humidity automatically.

Contact the AC Pros with your questions about humidity. We’ll connect you with a certified local contractor. Visit our website to learn more or just give us a call. Serving Southern California and Nevada, we’re always happy to help.

Our goal is to help inform our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Ductwork circulates warmed or cooled air from your heating or air conditioning equipment to the rooms in your home, and then back again.

Leaks in the ductwork can lead to increased heating and cooling costs and may aggravate or cause health and safety problems for occupants of your home. Duct sealing is a cost-effective way to improve energy efficiency and safety.

Among the benefits of sealing your ductwork:

• It will help resolve problems with some rooms remaining too hot or too cold. When conditioned air escapes where it’s not supposed to — such as in your basement or attic — your living spaces suffer uneven heating or cooling. Sealing keeps the air moving to the right places.
• Sealing ductwork leaks can keep your ducts clean. Holes in a duct system can allow dust, chemicals and insulation particles to enter the ductwork to be distributed throughout your home. This can worsen health problems, such as allergies and asthma.
• Fixing leaks will increase the efficiency of your HVAC system and reduce your utility bills. Leaks force your system to work harder, using more energy to maintain your desired temperature. According to Energy Star, a leaking duct system can increase heating and cooling costs by up to 20 percent.
• Sealing ductwork leaks can make your home safer. Many household appliances give off gases such as carbon monoxide during normal operation. In a system with properly functioning ductwork, the harmful gases are expelled outdoors. If there are leaks in your ducts, gases can “backdraft” into the interior of the home, creating a safety risk.

For questions or to find a qualified ductwork repair technician in California or Las Vegas, contact a certified contractor in the AC Pro network.

Our goal is to help inform our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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