Extreme Weather Patterns and Your Home Comfort

Have you ever noticed that sometimes life feels like you’re going from one extreme to another? Like, low, high. Cold, hot. We’ve certainly seen those extremes in weather this year – and will be seeing even more. You’d think that serious cold would be followed by a milder summertime. But that’s not what the weather people see happening. Instead, after a really cold winter pretty much across the country, we’re moving right into another extreme: a really hot summer.

So those really low temperatures are headed really high, and those uncomfortably cold days are about to become uncomfortably hot.

But here’s the good news. This fact of weather life does not mean that you have to be uncomfortable, especially in your own home. In fact, there’s an important step you can take right now to ensure that your home comfort stays steady whatever ups and downs the thermometer shows. This info tells you lots more. Please take a look.

‘Tis the Season for a Chill

No doubt about it, there is a certain chill in the air that is destined to stay. In many ways, I truly love this time of year. It’s the time for hearty soups, thick coats and crackling fires. It’s a nice change (for a while, anyway) from the long hot days of summer.

Each season we move through reminds me to appreciate all the ones we have. I think I would get bored if I were cold all the time or even hot all the time. So, it’s nice to experience the changes. Changing things up a bit does require more work for us though. There are leaves to pick up, chimneys to sweep and furnaces to tune up before we can truly enjoy winter for what it is.

If you need help getting your home comfort system ready for the winter chill, give Kent Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. a call at Porter County: (219) 464-9181 / Lake County: (219) 736-0300 or contact us here. We are always ready to help our customers enjoy their time indoors during this particularly brisk season.

Calling Mr. Clean...

Is your home clean? I don’t mean obsessively clean, just people-live-here-clean.

By now, most of us have got the basics down of keeping our home tidy, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, etc., but did you know your home comfort system also needs a good cleaning? I bet that is one thing that gets overlooked.

It is not something that jumps to the front of one’s mind when you are going through a mental list of what needs to be done. Too often, we neglect our home comfort system. We expect it to work with maximum efficiency the second we turn it on without ever stopping to think about what has spent months building up while it sat there unused.

For information on why and how to have your home comfort system cleaned, read “The Dirty Secret...”.

The Cost of Efficiency

We are fortunate to live in a time where everything is becoming more efficient. While that is a wonderful thing, it does not come without a price tag. Even light bulbs are more efficient. Yes, high efficiency light bulbs will last 10 times longer than your regular light bulbs, but they are not inexpensive. In regards to the high efficiency light bulb, it will cost you more money upfront to purchase it, but it does save you money both in energy costs and in the frequency with which it has to be replaced. So while more expensive, it does work out in your favor. This can be something that is hard to understand. We are much more prone to want a good deal upfront, or to pay the least amount of money for something out of pocket, than to focus on what it saves us on our utility bills. The same is true for our home comfort systems. A new high-efficiency unit will save you a lot of money on energy costs, but the upfront cost can be intimidating. Read “I’d Like to Pay You $425 Cash Trade-In for Your Old Energy-Wasting Furnace” to learn how you can save money upfront (the way we like to save money) by replacing your unit and getting the benefit of saving money on your energy costs as well.

Did You Know...

About half of the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling. That means your home comfort system can have a big effect on your utility bills. So taking care of it can save you a lot of money on your energy bills and also improve your home comfort.

A good way to keep your system running smoothly and efficiently through each season is to get a tune-up. I know what you’re thinking; that’s what you do for a car. But your home cooling system, like a car, requires maintenance to run well. Just like a tune-up for your car can increase your gas mileage, a tune-up for your cooling system can increase efficiency and comfort.

If you are interested in learning more about how to get your system tuned up and ready for the weather change, read “Smart Home Value.” You can get your home comfort system where it needs to be and start seeing instant savings.

The Down and Dirty of Your Home Comfort System

As with most things, the better care you take of your heating and air conditioning unit, the better it will perform and the longer it will last. If you neglect your system, then it could be underperforming, and this can really show on your energy bill.

There are simple things you can do to help take care of your system like changing your air filters. This keeps dust and dirt from getting into the system and clogging it up. However, through your system’s months and years of service, it still can collect dust. This dirt buildup reduces airflow through your system which makes it have to run longer to heat or cool your house. If your system is outside, it can also pick up debris from items like your dryer vents, leaves and lawn mower dust.

It’s important to get your system cleaned and tuned up at least once a year to keep it running safely and efficiently. Read this report about "The Cost of Neglecting Your Home Comfort System" to see more about the hidden costs of putting off maintenance for your home comfort system.

Discovering Cracks in Your Energy Efficiency

The common expression “One thing leads to another” certainly holds true in your household energy use. A cracked door here, an open window there – while your air conditioning system is churning out cool air – will lead you from energy efficiency to extra energy usage. And that leads to higher energy bills.

Any number of vulnerabilities in the airtightness of your home can cause your home comfort system to work overtime – needlessly sending your energy bills upward. In your mind’s eye, you can almost picture your nicely cooled air escaping through these various openings.

But now with a special test, you don’t have to settle for your imagination or guesswork. You can get a very clear picture of what’s happening with your energy use throughout your whole house.

We’ve got some information about how trained technicians employ high-tech equipment to pinpoint trouble spots, and you can find out more in this report, How to Look at Your Energy Use from All Angles. Please check it out.

The To Do List

At my house, the to-do list seems never-ending. No sooner do I complete one task than another one appears. I know this is just life and it will always be this way, but there are days when I sure wish there was someone else to handle all the things that need to be taken care of, maybe something like a “House Manager.” I am sure there are people in this world that have them, but I am not one of them.

Fortunately, we do live in a country where just one phone call will generally have someone on their way to fix whatever problems you are having. Thank goodness for that. I cannot imagine having to be an expert in all fields and manage my to-do list on a daily basis. It would just be too much.

If your home comfort system is giving you trouble, let us help you mark one thing off your to-do list. Just call or email and let us hear from you.