Preventing Heat Loss: Top Tips for New Jersey Homeowners
New Jersey residents face cold winters, and heat loss can make dealing with the cold months more expensive. With a little attention to your home’s HVAC system, though, you can quickly address many sources of heat loss. Take the following steps to minimize your house’s heat loss.
Check the Ductwork
If your home’s HVAC has ductwork, a common configuration in this part of the country, it could be the main reason your house loses heat. You want to inspect ductwork at least once every five years or so. The big things to look for are cleanliness, leaks, corrosion and overall design issues. If the ducts are clogged, they can cause much of your home’s heat to go to waste because the warm air doesn’t get where it’s supposed to go. Likewise, leaks and points of corrosion in the ductwork can cause air to bleed out into the walls, floors and basement of your home. Also, a poorly designed duct system could use more heat than is necessary. For example, there could be ducts no longer in use that are shut off but that might benefit from removal. Likewise, just simplifying and shortening runs of ductwork can economize heating.
Inspect the Heating System
All heating systems will have performance issues as they age, and these issues frequently lead to heat loss. Inspecting, repairing and maintaining the main heating unit makes a big difference. A lot of heat loss comes down to heating systems not running efficiently. In some cases, the solution is as simple as making sure that you’re using the right kind of filter and changing it regularly. Likewise, our technicians can clean and lubricate HVAC components to ensure that they operate at high efficiency for as long as possible.
A simple tune-up can also frequently help. Systems slowly drift out of spec for lots of reasons, and tweaking the settings is oftentimes a good way to reduce heat loss.
A system inspection helps you stay ahead of possibly needing to replace the heating unit as well. At some point, the cost of running an aging and increasingly inefficient system will outrun the cost of just replacing it. You want to know when that day comes so you can avoid heat loss and save money.
Consider a High-Efficiency Heating System
Especially if your home’s heating system is nearing the end of its expected service life, you may want to explore high-efficiency upgrades. Newer systems like heat pumps and hybrid setups can significantly reduce heat loss. High-efficiency furnaces are common, too. Many newer units with heat-recovery systems recirculate more of the air in your house rather than exhausting it.
If it has been a couple of decades since your home’s HVAC went in, you can almost presume that a modern solution will outperform it. Even today’s standard-quality systems tend to outperform models from two or three decades ago.
Add a Smart Thermostat
Even if you have a sense that heat loss is happening, nailing down its actual cost can be tough. Adding a smart thermostat to your HVAC can help you see the exact numbers. A smart thermostat can track HVAC run cycles and times, letting you know how much system efficiency affects your energy bills.
Better smart thermostats can track vital information for understanding system use. People often overlook heat loss because they dismiss the problem with the assumption that the winter is notably cold. A top-tier smart thermostat can log temperature and humidity for every day on an hourly basis. It can then provide you with a report. You can then determine whether your home’s heating system was fighting cold weather or needlessly losing heat.
Consider Heating Zones
Some spaces in your house encourage heat loss. There might be a room on the windward side of the house, for example. Especially if the room isn’t in regular use, you might want to zone it off. Modern zoned systems use smart technologies wired to components like fans, dampers and vents to control which rooms get more heat. Reducing heat in a low-use zone like a guest bedroom or workshop can minimize heat loss.
JAMCO Heating & Air Conditioning has proudly helped the people of South New Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania heat their homes since 1986. We employ NATE-certified technicians to handle repairs, installations, maintenance and upgrades of heating systems and ductwork. Financing is available to qualified customers, and our company also offers regular specials.
If you have questions about heat loss, contact JAMCO Heating & Air Conditioning today to hear about solutions.
