With temperatures in the State of Washington rising into the 90s in the summer and falling below freezing in the winter, you need a reliable heating system to keep your loved ones comfortable during seasonal temperature swings. Unfortunately, these temperature fluctuations take their toll on your system.

During the summer, heat exchangers have to work overtime and transfer thermal energy through the evaporator coils. In the hot season, they circulate the refrigerant through the same coils to lower the temperature. Whenever the key units break down or start to wear out, they’ll hurt the entire system.

Here are the signs your home heating and cooling unit requires an upgrade.

1. The System Takes Time to Respond to Settings

An efficient heating system should respond immediately to the default settings. If the system doesn’t respond as quickly as it should, it’s an indication that something may be wrong with the heating system, the ducts or the thermostat.

One way to test this is to turn the temperature way up on a hot day or way down on a cold day. If the ducts continue to heat a hot room or cool a cold room, even when you make the necessary adjustments, it could mean that your thermostat has failed.

Programmable and smart thermostats are a great upgrade to standard manual thermostats. Smart thermostats can adhere to your temperature preferences and adjust automatically to an array of energy-saving modes. With such thermostats, you can keep your home at a specific temperature for different times of the day and night. They can even use a geographic fence to turn on when you’re headed toward home with plenty of time to get your home to the right temperature for when you arrive.

2. Uneven Temperatures

Due to thermal convection, as hot air rises, the cold breezes will linger on the ground floor of a multistory building. If some rooms are colder or warmer than others, you may need to adjust the airflow to balance out the temperatures. Insufficient airflow can cause discomfort in freezing basements or kitchens that are extremely hot.

The key to improving the airflow is to check the vents in each room and turn on ceiling fans if you have them. Be sure to reverse them in the winter and the summer, depending on which way you want the hot air to go. If the problems persist after checking the vents, you may need a professional to clean and inspect the ducts. Ducts with holes can’t efficiently heat a whole home and will cost you both comfort and utility bills.

3. You Experience Problems With Moisture

Though the northwest doesn’t typically have a high level of humidity, your home can still have issues with moisture. In the northwest, this can often lead to mold growth in areas that aren’t regularly heated to above 59 degrees Fahrenheit. Poor equipment operation, leaky ductwork, and leaky windows can lead to too much moisture in the summer and air that’s too dry in the winter.

The heat pump helps to regulate the humidity by getting rid of the condensation in the evaporator coil. In extreme cases, the condensation can create ice dams, restricted airflow, and mold growth. You can install a humidifier to make every room comfortable and avoid such problems.

4. Too Many Repairs

When the key parts of your heating system start to break down, the equipment is starting to age gracefully. Every time you undertake a repair, you should take note of the expenses. If you’re spending too much on these repairs, maybe it’s time to consider an upgrade.

5. A Rise in Energy Bills

Rising energy costs indicate a drop in your system’s efficiency. Defective heating systems that are more than 10 years old have a low efficiency of around 50% to 70%. Since a new system can be over 90% efficient, an upgrade often makes more financial sense.

We Can Help

At Island Heating & Air Conditioning, we provide reliable system upgrades and equipment financing options that will work to your advantage. We provide heating and cooling repair, maintenance, upgrades and installations to Oak Harbor, WA, and the surrounding areas from Anacortes through the Skagit Valley and throughout Whidbey Island.

Are you experiencing recurrent problems with your heating system? Contact us today so we address the problems and enable it to function as it should.

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November 20, 2020 3:27 pm