4 Benefits of Installing a Whole-Home Dehumidifier

When it comes to keeping your home comfortable and cool, the level of humidity is just as important as the temperature. A relative humidity level of 35 to 50 percent is usually ideal for the best comfort. If the humidity in your home is too high, a dehumidifier can provide a solution. A dehumidifier removes excess moisture from the air. Here are several benefits of installing a whole-home dehumidifier. 

Indoor Air Quality

Household allergens such as mold, mildew, and dust mites thrive in a damp, humid environment. A dehumidifier decreases the moisture that promotes the growth of mold and allergens. Your indoor air quality will improve, and your household will breathe a lot easier. Not only can an ideal humidity level reduce allergy symptoms, it can also slow down the spread of germs.

Increased Home Comfort

Humid air interrupts your body's natural cooling process. The humidity feels like it sticks to your skin, making you hot and uncomfortable.  With a dehumidifier, the air is kept at an ideal level of relative humidity. You'll feel a lot cooler and more comfortable, even when your air conditioner is not running.  

Energy Savings

When there is a lot of moisture in the air, your cooling system needs to work harder to maintain a comfortable temperature. A dehumidifier will help maintain the best level of humidity in your home, allowing your air conditioner to use less energy.   

Protection from Water Damage

Excessive moisture in your home can cause a buildup of condensation. This can damage your home's walls, ceilings, and furniture. You may need a dehumidifier if you notice peeling wallpaper or bubbling paint on your walls, warping furniture, or musty odors. A dehumidifier will remove the excess moisture and can help protect the house from water damage.

Contact us here at Kent Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. for more assistance with your cooling system.

The Shady Side of Energy Savings

There’s a simple principle at work here. If you want less heat in your house, don’t let in so much sunshine. Blocking the sun’s entry points – through your windows, in particular – is one way to keep cooler while saving energy. And the statistics back up the logic.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, window awnings can reduce solar heat gain in the summer by up to 65% on south-facing windows and by 77% on west-facing windows. South or west, that’s a pretty sizeable reduction. Interior blinds on sunny windows help too. As a matter of fact, highly reflective blinds reduce heat gain by around 45% when completely closed and lowered.
Then there are draperies. Their ability to prevent heat gain depends on fabric, color, etc., but as a general rule, you can know that studies show medium-colored draperies with white-plastic backings can reduce heat gains by 33%.
Now, we’re obviously not interior decorators at Kent Heating and Air Conditioning, so you may be wondering what all of this has to do with our area of specialty, your heating and air conditioning system. It’s a simple connection: a number of areas in your home affect your energy use, and we can show you some easy ways to save.
If you’d like to learn about some simple steps to improve your cooling comfort while holding down energy costs, take a look at our report, Common Sense Ways to Stay Cooler This Summer.

Is Your Home Trying to Tell You Something?

Sometimes you can hear little noises that tell you your home has a concern to address. You know, something like the drip, drip, drip of a faucet that says "fix me." Or the sound of wind that's coming through a crack that should be patched.

Spring is a good time to walk through your home just to "look and listen" to the maintenance issues that cropped up over the winter months. That way you’ll know what needs tending to.

Along those same lines, be sure to add your home comfort system to your maintenance list. Routine maintenance is one of the most practical ways you can preserve the life of your system and preserve your pocketbook at the same time. Maintained systems run more efficiently, which saves you money.

What else should your maintenance tour include? For ideas, take a look at our free report, "Give Your Home a Spring Checkup," available on our Facebook Page for a limited time!

5 Things You Can Do to Get Ready for Winter

By the time the cold winds start to blow, it is too late to worry about whether or not your home is ready for the cold winter ahead. What’s done is done, and what’s not done – well, it could cost you hundreds of dollars in home repair.  Luckily there’s no time like the present to make sure you’re prepared before your hindsight kicks in…

1. Have your heating system cleaned and tuned.  A pre-season tune-up is a good investment – it reduces the chances of breakdowns in the middle of winter, improves safety, and pays for itself through more energy efficient operation.
2. Test your system for hazardous carbon monoxide, which can be produced by a dirty or malfunctioning furnace or water heater. We can also install a low level carbon monoxide alarm. 
3. Have your duct system tested for air leaks. According to recent research by the U.S. Department of Energy, the typical duct system loses 25 to 40 percent of the energy put out by the central furnace, heater or air conditioner. 
4. Get your home’s air checked to find out if the air you breathe is unhealthy. Your indoor air can be much more polluted than what is outside, and with all the time spent indoors during the winter, you’ll want to ensure your family’s health, safety and comfort. 
5. Consider replacing your old furnace or heat pump. Just like a car, heating equipment doesn’t last forever. If your system is more than 12 years-old, and you are planning to stay in your home more than a few years, it is wise to consider replacing it before it fails permanently. A new system is safer, more dependable, and can pay for itself through energy savings as it is up to twice as energy efficient.

Click here for a special discount on an Energy Squeezer Tune-Up! (Good through February 15, 2012)

Winter Heating Bills Go Sky-high This Year

While some of the situation is out of our hands – the price of crude oil, for instance – there are many things we can do to keep a rein on our winter heating bills.

Your heating system is the one element that should get the closest look before the cold, costly winter sets in. Now is a great time to have a service tech give your system a thorough evaluation to make sure it’s running properly.

Additionally, the federal government’s ENERGY STAR program makes several recommendations about how you can heat your home smartly this winter, including:

• Replace the air filter in your furnace regularly. Dirty filters reduce air flow, which makes getting the warm air to the registers a lot tougher.
• Install a programmable thermostat. Why heat the home while you’re away? Setting back the temperature in your household when you’re asleep or at work is another opportunity for energy savings – as much as $100 each year on energy costs.
• Seal up your home. Sealing holes, cracks and openings and then adding insulation is one of the most cost-effective means of improving comfort and reducing energy use. Cracks in windows and doors can be plugged through weather-stripping and caulking.

This article on our Facebook Page explains more and offers a great deal that we're offering through January 20, 2012! Take a look!

If It's Such a Great Idea, Why Isn't Everyone Doing It?

The Washington Post recently reported on Pew climate research that showed the breakdown on where we use energy in our home:

• Heating/Cooling – 42%
• Water Heating – 14%
• Lighting – 11%
• Electronics and Computers – 10%
• Refrigeration – 7%
• Cooking – 5%
• Other – 8%
• Statistical Adjustment – 3%

Notice who’s at the head of the list? No question about it, your heating and cooling system sucks up the biggest portion of your energy dollars. That’s why we always recommend one very important way to help you conserve these dollar dollars: regular service and maintenance.

Regular maintenance also helps you stay comfortable in your home and extends the life of equipment that accounts for such a sizeable investment.

Maintaining your equipment can usually prevent breakdowns. The reason a lot of companies keep this a secret is that the average repair is about triple the cost of a tune-up and to replace a system is up to 50 times the cost. A regularly maintained system is actually inexpensive insurance , especially when you factor in the energy savings.

We’ve got a video that explains a lot more. Please take a look.