How to Maintain the Ideal HVAC Temperature
Does your home always seem too hot or too cold in certain areas, no matter what time of year it is? Many people believe that’s just a reality of life, but the truth is, it doesn’t have to be that way. There are plenty of steps you can take to help maintain the HVAC temperature you prefer throughout your home. Achieving this HVAC temperature will not only help you find the right balance between hot and cold throughout your home, it will also allow you to save big on energy costs and do your part in creating an eco-friendly environment.
Maintain Proper Cover
Proper enclosure is an absolute must, and without taking this step, all other steps become far less meaningful. You must make completely certain that every room in your home has the right cover in its walls, even the attic and/or basement if the home has them.
The type of cover you’ll need in each room obviously depends on the layout of the room and the temperature control mechanisms that are necessary, not to mention your own budgetary limitations. It’s worth remembering, however, that unless you really know what you are doing in regard to HVAC temperature, this is a job that is best left to being handled by professionals.
Make Sure the Vents Are Functioning Correctly
Vents are essential to getting hot and cold air into the various rooms of your home, so it’s crucial you ensure nothing is obstructing those vents. You also want to keep those vents as clean as possible, because it allows them to function at their best and keeps those in the home from getting sick due to dirty or tainted air. It should be relatively easy to scrub the vents and keep the top part clean so that air can flow through freely, but if that does not work, it may indicate serious issues with the vent, like a major blockage of some kind. If such a case occurs, your best course of action is to call in professionals who are better equipped to handle something of that nature.
Take Care of Your Windows
The quality of windows has improved greatly over the last decade or so, but if your windows are too large or not sealed properly, they can have an adverse effect on the inside temperature of the house. Barring windows with special allowances for solar heat gain, it’s highly likely your windows add to the heat of the home in the summer, and the glass panes in the windows almost certainly mean more cold air in the winter.
So what can you do to help mitigate these issues? Believe it or not, something as simple as awnings or external shades to help block out the sun can do a lot to lessen the degree of these problems. Not to mention installing blinds, curtains, or interior shades, which generally do a very good job of reducing both heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter.
Change Your Filters Regularly
A lot of homeowners don’t pay attention to this, but it’s very important, much the way getting frequent oil changes in your car is often key to that car being able to last for a long period of time. Most mechanics will tell a car owner to get an oil change every three months, and the procedure is somewhat similar for the filters in a home, as you should generally replace your filter every one to three months, depending on the quality of the filter.
Much like a car that’s used more often than the average car should have its oil changed more frequently, you may need to replace your filters more often than you otherwise would when they are in heavy use during the hottest and coldest months of the year. Either way, you should keep a constant eye on your filters because waiting too long to change them can definitely lead to temperatures that are significantly hotter or colder than you like, depending on the season and your personal preferences.
Do What You Can to Help Make Things as Easy as Possible for Your HVAC Unit
People have a tendency to overwork their HVAC units, and sometimes, instead of playing around with them too much, it can be a good idea to try simpler methods. In the summertime, if you’re looking to get an extra degree or two of cool air, an electric fan or two—especially ones that are mounted to the ceiling—can help get the job done for you. And as an added positive, these fans are low-energy devices, so they’ll help you feel cooler without causing a lot of environmental impact or doing much to hurt your wallet.
On top of this, do your best to make smart use of your appliances so that they don’t add much heat or cold to the rooms in your home. For example, if it’s summertime and the sun is strong, consider leaving your clothes to dry outside rather than using your dryer and adding heat inside the home. If you have a barbecue, make use of it in the summer instead of adding heat from a hot indoor oven, and if you are going to use your oven, try to cook early in the day before temperatures get exceedingly hot or at night after the sun goes down and the temperature cools back down again. You may even want to serve cold dishes for dinner from time to time so as to avoid indoor oven use entirely on some especially hot summer days.