If you are looking to reduce your utility bill and efficiently cool your home this upcoming summer, ceiling fans are an inexpensive way to add that comfort to your home throughout the season and even in the winter. When you operate ceiling fans properly you can cool off or warm your home and save money at the same time by reducing the use of your air conditioning unit.

Ceiling Fan Direction in Summer – Forward/Counter Clockwise

On very hot summer days you can beat the heat with a breeze from a ceiling fan. A ceiling fan’s direction in the summer should be rotating counter clockwise or “forward” to which produces a Wind Chill effect when it creates downward airflow. Your thermostat won’t actually change but the room will feel like it’s several degrees cooler because of the wind chill factor.

When you are using a ceiling fan you can then generally raise the thermostat setting, which results in reduced air conditioning energy consumption of 40% or more while still keeping your room cool.

Ceiling Fan Direction in Winter – Reverse/Clockwise

Ceiling fans are generally thought of when it comes to warm weather. However, many people don’t realize that ceiling fans can also help warm up a room in cooler months. The ceiling fan direction in winter should rotate clockwise or “reverse”. Warm air rises and gets trapped near the ceiling so when the ceiling fan direction is in “reverse mode” it circulates the warm air from the ceiling to the floor which helps take the coolness out of the air.

Without a ceiling Fan the warm air would continue to be trapped near the ceiling and the floor level would continue to stay cold. Keep in mind that with reverse mode it only works if the fan is on low. If you have the fan on higher speed you might create a wind chill effect since it is already cold. Check your fan because some ceiling fans now come with a wall or remote control that has a forward/reverse option so you can change the direction with a push of a button. I hope you find this post helpful!

It’s Spring everyone!! and I bet with the high prices of gas you would like to find any way you can to save money. Here is a good checklist of energy saving tips you can use to keep more money in your pocket this spring.

Air Conditioning Savings

• Increase your air conditioner temperature by one degree. Believe it or not, it could mean significant savings over the long run. Your air conditioner uses three to five per cent more energy for each degree that your air conditioner is set below 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24C). So, set your thermostat to 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25C) to provide the most comfort at the least cost.
• Opening windows costs nothing, but it can save a lot of energy and money. Consider keeping your windows open in the evening and overnight to allow cooler air into your home, and don’t forget to turn off your air conditioner. Close the windows during the day to keep the cool air in and the warm air out.
• If you’re going to be away from your home for a long time, say, on vacation or a long weekend, turn the temperature up. Or better yet, turn the air conditioning unit off.
• Install a programmable thermostat if you don’t have one already and set the times and temperatures to match your schedule. Also, consider installing an automatic setback thermostat that turns off your air conditioner at night.
• Bigger isn’t always better. Buy the proper-sized equipment to meet your family’s needs. An oversized air conditioner unit will waste energy.
• Before buying an air conditioning unit or system, find out its energy-efficiency ratio (EER). Calculate the EER by dividing the unit’s cooling capacity (BTUs/hour) by its energy requirement (watts). An EER of 10 or more is very good, and 6 or 7 is fair. Remember to buy the smallest capacity unit or system that will meet your needs.
• Spring cleaning involves making sure all the fans in your home are working properly and are dust-free. Wash or replace filters every month, clogged filters mean your air conditioner works harder.
• Have a look at your foundation walls. If you have an unfinished basement or crawlspace, check for air leaks by looking for spider webs. If there’s a web, there’s a draft. A large amount of heat is also lost from an un-insulated basement.
• Ceiling fans use less electricity than air conditioners or furnaces. For example, a ceiling fan costs about five cents an hour to operate, which is much less than an air conditioner.
• Buy a ceiling fan
• Without blocking airflow, plant trees or shrubs around your air conditioning unit. A shaded unit uses up to 10 per cent less electricity than it would in the sun.

Windows and Insulation

• In preparing for the summer, consider investing in some insulated, thermal-backed drapes for your windows.
• Consider upgrading the windows in your home. Select high efficiency windows with low-e coatings, argon gas fill and insulated spacers.

With this unseasonably warm spring, I’ve already gotten several calls from clients asking if it is safe to turn on their air conditioners – not the question that I expected during the middle of March! So when can you turn on your air conditioning? A standard system that has the proper refrigerant charge and correct airflow (from good ductwork and a proper fan speed setting on the indoor furnace or air handler) can be turned on at outdoor temperatures at or above 65 degrees. Running a standard air conditioner below 65 degrees and/or with insufficient ductwork or refrigerant charge can significantly reduce the life of the equipment so the best recommendation is to have a trained professional come to your home and perform preseason maintenance to prevent expensive problems in the future and make sure your a/c is running at its max efficiency. Lower electric bills and a cleaner planet, go ahead and hug your polar bear.

If your home or business gets hot even when it’s cooler than 65 outside (multi-unit buildings, lots of east facing windows, or commercial properties), a “low ambient kit” can be installed onto your air conditioner to enable it to operate reliably below 65 degrees. This kit must be installed by a professional and is often specific to each make and model of air conditioner. If your air conditioner is a package outdoor unit (like a rooftop unit) you may be able to get almost free air conditioning with an economizer which will draw in cool outdoor air without running your compressor. The only thing that will be using electricity is the fan motor which uses much less than the compressor. Another great way to lower electric bills and carbon footprint, where’s that polar bear?

A whole house humidifier is the best type of humidifier for your home. They are much more effective and easier to maintain than individual portable humidifiers. The standing water in portable humidifiers can also lead to mold/bacteria growth if not cleaned or operated properly. But what type of whole-house humidifier is best? The answer depends on how much humidity your home needs.

The three most common types of whole house humidifiers are evaporative pad humidifiers, steam humidifiers, and spray/atomizing humidifiers. A pad humidifier operates by blowing warm air over an evaporative pad that has water trickling down it. The warm air evaporates and absorbs the moisture into the air. Steam humidifiers use electric probes to boil water and inject the steam into the air stream. Spray or atomizing humidifiers have a fine nozzle which sprays a mist into the air stream.

A spray humidifier is the least expensive but also the least common. These humidifiers must have very clean water to prevent minerals from plugging or partially plugging the nozzle. A partially plugged nozzle can change alter the mist into a stream of water that doesn’t evaporate and can cause leaks and water damage. For this reason they typically require annual nozzle replacements and often require an inline water filter that also should be replaced annually.

The most common humidifier is the pad type humidifier. When installed on a properly sized (and preferably two stage) furnace, they are capable of humidifying most homes. They are fairly easy to install, service, and maintain (simply change the humidifier pad at the beginning or end of each heating season). They come in two types, power and bypass. A power humidifier mounts to the side of the supply ductwork and has a built-in fan to draw air across the pad and blow the humidified air back into the ductwork. A bypass humidifier has a bypass duct that utilizes the furnaces own fan to recirculate some of the warm supply air across the humidifier pad and back into the return ductwork. Since bypass humidifiers do not have a built-in fan, they have less things that can break but do require the manual bypass damper to be opened in the winter and then closed in the summer. In some cases bypass humidifiers can exacerbate existing undersized ductwork problems, so make sure your installer is well trained and checks that your ductwork is properly sized so that your furnace can get the proper airflow.

Steam humidifiers are the most effective, but are more costly to install and operate. If you have high end wood furniture, flooring, have a large home, or need precise humidity control, steam humidifiers are the best option. They require a dedicated electrical service and need annual maintenance. Some simply require annual cylinder replacements while others need heavy duty cleaning to scrape away build-up of mineral deposits that inhibit effectiveness.

All three humidifiers should be operated via a humidistat which can be adjusted to the desired humidity setting and will automatically turn the humidifier on and off as required.

If you are curious about which type of humidifier is best for your home, feel free to call us!

Many people ask me what the proper humidity level in their home should be. While the humidity level each home can handle varies based on the home’s insulation level, window quality, and outdoor temperature, the ideal humidity range is 30-55% relative humidity. Achieving proper humidity levels is very important for your health and keeping your home in good condition.

Humidity levels that are too low are uncomfortable (dry, itchy skin), can be unhealthy to asthma and allergy suffers, will warp and crack wood and furniture, and can result in higher heating bills. Low humidity levels make you feel colder so you compensate by setting your thermostat higher and increasing your heating bill – it’s not the heat it’s the humidity! It can also increase moisturizer and lotion bills!

On the flip side, humidity levels that are too high can promote mold, bacteria, virus, and dust mite growth, can also be bad for asthma and allergy suffers and will also damage wood. During the winter, high humidity levels will also lead to condensation on windows which can lead to mold growth or water damage.

In the summer your air conditioning system will dehumidify your home, often pulling gallons of water out of your air every hour! Sometimes a stand-alone dehumidifier may be necessary, especially in musty basements. In the winter, your home will need a humidifier to add humidity to that dry winter air. Your humidifier is most commonly hooked up to the “humidistat” which is a dial or digital display on your wall or return ductwork which will allow you to control the humidity. A whole-house humidifier that is tied to your ductwork will be the healthiest and most effective humidifier. Watch out for stand-alone humidifiers that have standing water which could promote bacteria growth.

When setting the humidity in the winter, I always recommend to set the humidistat to the highest humidity level the home can support (up to 55%). Remember, higher humidity levels are healthier and lower utility bills because they are more comfortable. However, as it gets colder outdoors, the windows and window frames of your home will also get colder and you may get moisture condensation and even frosting. This is a sign that your home can’t support that level of humidity and you will need to lower the setting on your humidistat. Replacing windows or window frames with better insulated windows might also be something to consider down the road.

Stay tuned for the next posting which will discuss the different types of humidifiers and which one is best for your home.

Check out our Shavitz Stat Squad – just click the thermostat at the top of this page next to our logo. We had a little fun with it and hope you like it. If you have any clever drawings of your own unique thermostat character, send them to [email protected] It may end up on the site!

Dust comes from many sources including dead skin regularly shed from people and pets (yuck!), fibers from carpet, bedding, clothing and upholstery, and from the outside. Now unless you want to get rid of all your carpeting, get all leather furniture, toss the curtains, and make Fido sleep outside your best bet at reducing dust is to address the dust which comes from outside which, studies show, makes up about 60% of the dust in your home!

How does so much dust get inside? One source is dirt tracked in from shoes, kids, and pets. Another source is unsealed return ductwork running through attics, crawlspaces, or in between walls. The ductwork is actually sucking that dirty air and then blowing it directly into your house!

Another pathway for the dust to get into your house isn’t so obvious. It may be hard to believe, but your house breathes air in and out all day long. Air is constantly escaping the living space of your house through holes and gaps in things like electrical outlets, light switches, can lights, windows etc. A lot of this is warm air that rises up and finds its way into the attic. When all this air leaves your house it creates a slight vacuum which sucks air back into the house through other cracks, holes, and gaps. Have you ever felt cold air coming through an electrical outlet? (My wife pointed this out to me just the other day! Ironically it was about a day after she asked me where all the dust comes from. Guess where this blog idea came from!) When this air gets sucked into the house, it often travels through dirty areas such as crawl spaces or the dust laden spaces in between your walls. Time for the duster!

So how do we get rid of all this dust? There are two main ways – Filtration and Prevention. Filtration removes airborne dust once it gets in the house, so get a good air filter – just make sure it’s not one that restricts airflow or you’ll have a whole different set of problems. Prevention means don’t let the dust get in the house in the first place. There are easy steps such as taking shoes off as soon as you come into the house and wiping off your pets feet when they come in from the outdoors. Sealing all of your ductwork will prevent dust from getting in as well as saving you energy and allowing your home to heat and cool easier. Other steps include sealing all of those air leaks in the “envelope” of your home. To help you find them call an energy auditor such as Green Dream Group or Priority Energy.

We’ve been lucky not to have too severe of a winter so far! Don’t push your luck with your family’s safety though – make sure you have functioning carbon monoxide detectors that are less than 3 years old and make sure they have fresh batteries.

Click here for a news article on the dangers of Carbon Monoxide poisoning.

The age old Filter Dilemma – How often should it be changed and what’s the best type of filter?

Most filter manufacturers recommend that filters should be cleaned or replaced once a month (some special filters may vary in length of time between replacing), however the best recommendation is to start with changing your filters once per month and inspect them.  If they are pretty clean then try going two months and so on until you find the filter frequency that is best for your home.  Make sure to always replace your filter with the same size as the original to filter ALL of the airflow and don’t let air go over the top of or behind an improperly sized filter – it will cause big problems down the road.

The best type of filter for your home is a big misconception.  Higher priced filters don’t necessarily mean better.  The expensive pleated (accordion looking) filters at the big box stores may do a halfway decent job at filtering your air, but they also restrict your airflow by a lot.  This causes your system to work much harder and can measurably reduce the amount of airflow (and comfort) your system can deliver.  This will also increase your utility bills and reduce the expected life of your equipment.  The filter’s job is to extend the life of your furnace by keeping it clean, and an expensive (but restrictive) filter can actually do the opposite.  The best filter for the efficiency, comfort, and long term reliability of your system is a low resistance fiberglass filter!  If you want to improve your air quality do so with high performance filters that also have low resistance to airflow!