Heating Services – The right way and the wrong way
The main systems in the bay area are forced air ducted and radiant systems with the majority being forced air. The main issues, and their solutions, that we find in these existing systems are explained below.
What is an inefficient Heating System comprised of?:
An inefficient Heating System is one with:
- High duct leakage (normally around 30%)
- Poor duct insulation
- Improperly sized ducts (inefficient and very uncomfortable!)
- Oversized heating equipment (Oversized equipment heats the house up too fast and the system cycles on and off too often)
- Inefficient equipment (75% or 80% is the bottom average with 96% up for newly installed systems)
- Improperly installed ducts and equipment
Why is my Heating System uncomfortable?:
- Hot and cold rooms (mainly due to oversized equipment and an unbalanced improperly sized duct system)
- Whole house discomfort (Oversized equipment heats the house up too fast and the system cycles on and off too often)
- Too much airflow or not enough (air is blasting out of certain supply registers directly on me and not at all in others)
Oversized Inefficient Furnace
Can my Heating System be supplying bad indoor air quality?
Yes, and here are the things that commonly lead to poor air quality in a system:
- Duct leakage (return air duct leakage pulls air in from it’s location (normally the attic or crawlspace) and delivers in to the house
- Poor filtration (duct system not designed for high filtration filters)
- Pressure issues (the system is unbalanced and causes air to be pulled in from the attic and crawlspace
- Building leakage from the crawlspace and the attic
A Forced Air Central Heating System Should Be:
Comfortable
- Even temperature throughout the home – within 2-3 degrees from floor to ceiling and room to room)
- You shouldn’t be hit directly with any air. The air should be distributed in such a way that is indirect and properly mixes.
Efficient
- With a properly sized efficient system and engineered, sealed and insulated ducts your heating bills will be greatly reduced.
Healthy
- With almost a 0% duct leakage you don’t get the bad air coming into your system
- High filtration filters can be installed on a properly sized system
Quiet
- Your heating system should be virtually silent. You shouldn’t hear your system running or hear the air coming out or into your duct grilles.
Our Heating Services – What we do different:
Combined Hydronic Air Handler Heating System
a) Our heating services (and cooling) specialize in solving HVAC problems like the ones listed above and installing new equipment and duct systems that can all be engineered and optimized together.
b) The majority of existing heating equipment is oversized for the needs of a newly sealed and insulated home. Oversized equipment increases energy usage due to constant on and off cycling. Constant cycling also leads to hot and cold spots in the house.
c) All new heating service equipment we install is sized to fit each house using ACCA Manual J load calculations. This uses a homes dimensions, insulation levels everywhere, building components, air infiltration rates and window performance/orientation to determine the proper equipment size. The systems are designed to provide the right amount of air to create a comfortable, even temperature throughout your home while keeping energy costs to a minimum.
We specialize in combined hydronic air handlers, sealed combustion furnaces and a variety of electric heat pumps. We have been installing these systems with great success in the bay area since 1997.
Get in contact:
Read our Testimonials from happy homeowners!
Photos of the variety of Home Performance Services we provide on a weekly basis:
More Services Below
- Energy Audit / Home Performance Analysis:
- Heating
- Cooling
- Duct Systems
- Air Sealing
- Insulation
- Water Heating
- Crawlspace Sealing
- Green Building
- Indoor Air Quality
- Ventilation
- Pool Pumps
