Author: Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Your Autumn To-Do List: Check Ductwork and Vents for 7 Common Problems

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Your ductwork and your vents are just as important as the rest of your HVAC system, and they should be checked every year as part of your autumn to-do list. A number of common problems can make your heating and cooling equipment less efficient, and can cause extensive wear over time.

When putting together your autumn to-do list:

  1. Make sure all ductwork was sealed or vented properly when construction of the home took place.
  2. Ducts should be inspected for leaks that hamper air flow. Check for even the smallest cracks that aren’t immediately visible.
  3. Seal leaks with professional grade material. The number one mistake people make is sealing cracks with duct tape. It dries out very quickly and doesn’t close the leak off for very long.
  4. Clean your ducts every so often to remove particles that could overload the components inside your HVAC system. Indoor air quality is also important, as an excess of irritating particles can cause allergies, asthma and respiratory illness.
  5. Inspect for mold inside the ducts, vents and furnace. When moisture reaches a high point of 60 percent, mold spores can thrive, and over time this can cause your heating and cooling equipment to become less efficient.
  6. Do not block air intake registers from being able to have air flow through them easily.
  7. Do not allow delivery vents to be blocked off by cardboard or other materials.

Contact Acosta Heating and Cooling for more information on checking your ductwork and vents for common issues. We are happy to serve the North Carolina area, and to help you enjoy your home all year long without issues.

The AFUE Rating: What It Means and Why It Matters When You’re Replacing Your Furnace

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

If you’re in the market for a replacement furnace, then AFUE ratings are something you won’t want to take lightly. AFUE stands for “annual fuel utilization efficiency”, and it’s a measure of how well a furnace converts energy into heat. As an example, if a furnace has a rating of 85 percent, that means it’s able to convert 85 percent of the energy it uses into heat, while the remaining 15 percent essentially goes to waste. AFUE is currently the most reliable measure of fuel efficiency for heating systems, and it gives you an easy method of comparing different potential replacements.

Because furnaces with higher AFUE ratings are more fuel-efficient, they’re able to save you money.  To illustrate how much you’ll save, if you were to upgrade from a 70 percent AFUE furnace, to a 90 percent AFUE furnace with sealed combustion, you’d immediately begin saving that 20 percent difference on your heating bills.

Granted, brand new furnaces are expensive, but their fuel efficiency allows them to pay for themselves over time. These high-efficiency appliances can sport AFUE ratings up to 98 percent due to their sealed combustion method and the use of condensing flue gases. As recently as 10 years ago, you’d be hard pressed to find a furnace rated higher than 80 percent. So, even if you’re replacing a fairly new heating system, there’s a good chance you have the potential to make a big upgrade in energy-efficiency.

With this new knowledge of efficiency ratings in mind, you can make an environment-friendly choice, as well as save yourself money in the long run when upgrading your furnace. For your HVAC needs in the Charlotte area, consider the good people at Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical.

Choosing Your MERV Filter: Do You Know What Those Numbers Mean?

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Your air filters play a huge role in the indoor air quality of your home, so it’s important to know how to pick the ideal filter for your system. Knowing how to compare various filters is the first step towards achieving the quality of air that you want for you and your family.

The easiest way to compare filters is by their MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value). This is a measurement of how effectively a filter can capture particles from the air that passes through it. Comparing the MERV of various filters will give you an easy way to figure out which filters are the most efficient.

A controlled test is performed on a brand of filter to determine its MERV. A pre-determined amount of particles of various sizes are sent through a filter and based on the difference of particles before and after filtering through, the MERV is established.

The lowest rated filters (1-4) are found frequently in new residential spaces. They are not designed to improve your air quality and only capture the largest particles. They are meant mainly to filter out the type of particles that could damage the heating equipment.

Filters rated between 5 and 12 are best for most homeowners, with 9-12 being the absolute best for controlling the amount of pollutants in your air. It is vital to replace them when necessary (1-3 months minimum) so that they continue to operate efficiently. If filters are neglected for too long, the captured debris will form a thick screen that actually makes your heating equipment work harder just to pass air through. This strain on your system also results in increased energy costs.

High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are rated between 17 and 20 but are not commonly found in residential spaces because of the extensive ductwork modification that is frequently required to install them. They are more commonly found in hospitals and other places that rely on super clean environments.

For more information on MERV and how it impacts you and your family, contact Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical today. We serve the Charlotte area.

UV Lights: Hospital Technology That’s Now Available for Your Home

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

When putting together a clean-air strategy for your home, why use anything less than the absolute best in air purification? If you are serious about having the best indoor air quality for you and your family, you need to include ultraviolet (UV) lights in your plan.

UV lights are extremely effective germicidal tools that can be implemented in your air system to reduce the levels of harmful microorganisms. UV light emits a low level of radiation that kills things like fungi, viruses and bacteria. UV lamps are available in various strengths that will determine how effective they are at eliminating these contaminants.

UV light has even been shown by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to be effective at stopping the spread of infamously contagious diseases such as tuberculosis. They recommend that hospitals install UV lamps into their air systems to prevent staff and other patients from spreading germs. Fortunately, UV lamps are priced so that any homeowner can have them installed in their own air system.

It is important to note the true job of UV lights, so that you don’t expect unrealistic results. They only target living particles, not non-living things like dust or pollen. But when UV lamps are used together along with high-efficiency air filters, you will be sure that you are generating the highest indoor air quality possible.

For more information on UV lights and the benefits they deliver, contact Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical.  We have proudly served the Charlotte Metro area since 1972.

Elements of Expert Ductwork Design

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

It is important to not underestimate the importance of your ductwork design when installing a new HVAC system. It will have a huge impact on how comfortable you are in your home each day, as well how energy efficient your home is. Your HVAC system is only as strong as the weakest link and if you neglect the ductwork, you compromise your system’s performance and efficiency.

The first step in determining how your ducts should be laid out begins with figuring out what size air system is ideal for your home. A properly sized unit will provide optimal comfort while also keeping energy costs minimized. A professional HVAC technician can perform heating and cooling energy loads to determine how much energy is needed to provide adequate comfort to your home.

The actual ducts need to be sized as well. If they are too big, your HVAC system won’t efficiently circulate the air and your air will never be properly dehumidified, leaving a sticky, clammy feeling in the air.  If they are too small, not enough conditioned air will be distributed throughout your home, and it will put added stress on your HVAC system to try and move the air.

Once these steps are out of the way, your HVAC technician will begin to draft possible duct layout configurations. This also includes figuring out where the return and supply ducts will be placed throughout your home so that a natural airflow is established. Constructional features that may constrict where ducts can be placed also need to be taken into consideration.

The installation itself is, of course, the most important part. You should partner with a reliable HVAC technician to make sure they properly seal all of the ducts when installing them. This will ensure that they aren’t leaking valuable conditioned air into unnecessary spaces like the attic and crawlspace. Because most of the ducts get concealed in the walls or floors after installation, it is important that the job be done right the first time.

For more advice and help with designing the ideal ductwork design for your home, contact Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical.  We proudly serve the Charlotte area.

How a Zoning System Keeps Everyone Happy and Your Whole Home Comfy

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Zoning systems are a great way to keep everyone in your house comfortable and happy with no arguments about what the temperature is set at. That’s because with zoning, different people choose what different parts of the house get set to.

In your average home’s forced-air system, the ideal temperature is set and controlled by a single thermostat. The advantage that zoning delivers is the use of multiple thermostats with each one controlling a different part of your house. Someone in one zone can change the temperature of the zone they are in without disturbing someone in another part of the house. This means that there is no need for arguments over what the one thermostat should be set to.

This makes for a more efficient method of keeping your home comfortable that can result in saving you money by reducing the amount of energy you use each month. This is because with areas of your home that are less frequently occupied, you can set them to an energy-efficient setting so they don’t receive as much air. This helps you avoid having to pay to keep an empty area comfortable, while also lowering the amount of wear and tear your HVAC system has to go through each day.

Zoning systems are ideal because the idea of trying to maintain one steady temperature through an entire house is unrealistic. There’s already the problem that not everyone will agree on what that temperature should be, but there are other faults in that plan as well. Commonly found constructional features like large glass windows allow heat to transfer in and out and will often create warm or cool patches throughout your house. Zoning eliminates having to worry about these problems.

If you have been trying to create better comfort conditions for everyone in your home, zoning systems may be the solution you are looking for.  Contact Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical today to learn more about the benefits of zoning systems, and how our HVAC professionals can perform the simple installation. We have proudly served the Charlotte Metro area since 1972.

Going to a Heat-Pump System? Weigh the HSPF Ratings

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Since the climate in Charlotte, North Carolina requires only moderate heating and cooling, a heat pump is an energy-efficient way to keep your home temperature the way you want it. However, not all heat pumps are created equal. You can figure out which heat-pump system is your best choice by weighing the HSPF ratings.

Why are HSPF ratings so important?

HSPF ratings tell you how efficient a heat pump is. A more efficient heat pump will result in less energy use and increased energy savings over the life of the system compared to a less efficient one.

What does HSPF stand for?

HSPF is short for Heating Seasonal Performance Factor.

What do HSPF ratings measure?

HSPF ratings measure the heating efficiency of a heat pump system by dividing the amount of heating required during a heating season with the amount of the total electrical energy used. Ratings are based on the following factors:

  • The efficiency of the heat pump system’s compressor
  • The efficiency of the electric-resistance elements of the heat pump system
  • The number of BTUs (British thermal units) of heat that the heat pump system moves for every watt-hour of electrical energy used

What is considered a good HSPF rating?

The higher the HSPF rating, the more efficient a heat pump is. Generally, you should look for heat pumps with a HSPF rating of between 8 and 10. Heat-pumps with a rating of at least 7.7 HSPF are awarded the Energy Star label by the U.S. EPA. However, for a heat pump to have the Energy Star label, it must also have a SEER rating of 12 or greater. SEER, short for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, measures the cooling efficiency of a heat pump.

How do I find the HSPF rating of a heat pump system?

All heat pump systems sold in the U.S. have an EnergyGuide Label. Check a product’s label to find its HSPF rating as well as its cooling efficiency performance rating.

Contact Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical for more information about heat pump systems and HSPF ratings. Ask us about our products and services and how we can help you with all of your heating and cooling needs.

Prepping Your Home for Cooler Weather

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

As the summer winds down, residents in the Charlotte Metro area are beginning to prepare their homes for cooler weather. Having a winterized home is essential to ensure that your abode will stay warm without breaking the bank, and certain preventive measures concerning your HVAC equipment are required to keep your system running smoothly and efficiently.

To get your home buttoned up for the impending fall and winter, there are quite a few things you can do yourself, and a professional can help with the rest. Here are a few simple, yet effective ways to get your dwelling ready.

  • Remove window air conditioning units to prevent drafts from seeping through the opening.
  • Check the weather stripping around windows and caulked areas, and add additional sealant as needed.
  • Prevent pipes from freezing by adding insulation or wrapping them.
  • To circulate warmer air throughout the home, reverse the direction of ceiling fans.
  • Lower the temperature setting when no one is at home. Consider having a programmable thermostat installed for convenience.

Some of the preparations for cold weather are best left up to a professional NATE-certified technician, and these more in depth tasks include:

  • Taking care of a full system maintenance checkup on the furnace  or heat pump and any other heating related devices such as a whole house humidifier
  • Investigating the home’s air ducts for proper sealing and placement
  • Checking the insulation levels to ensure adequacy.

Keep in mind, furnace filters will need to be replaced or cleaned monthly for optimal results during the cold weather months.

Contact us at Acosta Heating and Cooling to find out more about our preventative maintenance money saving program, which will keep all of your HVAC equipment in optimal condition for every season.

Is This the Year to Replace Your Heating System? Do the Math and Decide

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

Wondering whether it is time to replace your home’s heating system? Before you decide, you should probably do the math to see if a high-efficiency system would be the right choice for your home.

The energy efficiency of furnaces and boilers is most often measured in terms of AFUE, or Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. AFUE tells you what percent of the fuel’s energy gets turned into usable heat energy, as opposed to being lost through the exhaust or due to other inefficiencies. Though some new models have AFUE numbers as high as 98 percent, your current system is probably much less efficient; some older models have ratings as low as 60 percent.

You can translate AFUE into dollars and cents for your North Carolina home to see how much a high-efficiency system would save you each year. If you know your total heating bill for the past year, and the AFUE of your existing furnace or boiler, you can find out how much of the fuel was utilized by multiplying the two numbers. For example, if your heating bills were $1,500, and the AFUE is 75 percent, then $1,500 x 0.75 = $1,125.

So, of you had 100 percent efficiency and zero waste, your total fuel bill would only be $1,125. No system is 100 percent efficient, but some get close. If you are considering a 98 percent AFUE system, you can account for the 2 percent waste by dividing $1,125 by 0.98. That gives you $1,147.96 as your new bill, because $1,147.96 x 0.98 also equals $1,125 of heat output. Compared to what you are paying now, that is a savings of over $350 each and every year.

To learn more about high-efficiency heating options and other ways to reduce energy consumption in your Charlotte-area home, contact the experts at Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical.

Hiring an HVAC Contractor? Make Sure He’s NATE-Certified

Posted on | by Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical

When searching for someone to install or service a heating and cooling system, it makes good sense to narrow the field to NATE-certified technicians. Certification means you’ll get an experienced professional who has passed a series of tests designed and approved by industry leaders to measure the knowledge and skills required to provide reliable, fast and efficient service.

NATE, the only industry-recognized certifying organization, requires technicians to pass both a core skills test and an exam in a specialty, such as air conditioning, air handling and heating. Certification is provided in three categories:

  • Installation technician –Technicians with this certification demonstrate proficiency in core installation skills plus one specialty. The technician has expertise in site preparation, system assembly, system cycling through all operating functions and reading electrical, temperature and pressure to ensure operation within specifications.
  • Service technician — In addition to mastering the installation skills, service technicians have passed the core service test plus an exam in one service sector. These technicians demonstrate skills in reading and interpreting all system functions, and performing diagnostic procedures to identify and correct problems.
  • Senior technician – Already certified in two specialties, the senior technician demonstrates in-depth knowledge in skills such as load calculation, air distribution, overall system performance, proper selection of equipment, air quality and planned maintenance.

NATE also certifies companies under its Consumer Contractor Connection (C-3) program. C-3 certification is available at two levels:

  • C-3 Contractors – This means that at least half of the company’s technicians are certified.
  • C-3 Quality Circle Contractors – This certification means that at least 80 percent of the technicians are certified, including at least one in each service or installation area that the company offers.

Companies applying for C-3 designation provide lists of their certified employees, who are then cross-referenced against the organization’s technician database to verify their certification and that they have designated the company in question as their employer.

For the quality service and peace of mind that comes from hiring the industry’s most skilled technicians, look for NATE certification and be sure to ask your contractor to send a certified technician. For more information on the certification program and its benefits for you, contact the factory-trained and NATE-certified experts at Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical.