Fifteen Minutes of Fame
Bel-O had a unique opportunity this past weekend: to be a guest on KTRS 550 radio during the “Inside Out” show with John Shea and Jim McMillan. Our own residential heating and cooling expert, Jerry Harrington, appeared on the show to field questions listeners had about all things air conditioning. You can listen to the podcast below. If you’re at work and can’t listen but still would like to know the answers to the questions asked of him, they’re written out for you. The podcast is definitely worth a listen: it’s highly entertaining.
I have 60-65% humidity in my home, what should I do about that?
You’re going to get humidity through seepage in the walls or any type of openings, hot showers, and cooking. We have dehumidifier systems that we’ve installed a lot of recently and that’s what will help you decrease the humidity between 10-18%.
If you go from an 8 SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) to a 13 SEER, how much more efficient are you and how much money are you saving?
People think about saving money in the winter time and not in the summer time. You can save the most money with your air conditioner. Look at the comfort features and technology on newer systems, they can communicate with you. They will remove more humidity and make you feel more comfortable in your home.
Everyday it seems like I go down to my basement and there’s a puddle of water coming from my air conditioner. What causes this?
Get a good service company to look at it, to make sure it’s functioning properly and there isn’t a buildup of sediment. Clean the A coil first and see if that helps.
I heard using just the furnace fan was good to do because it helps clean the air… Does it use more energy to do this or run a box fan?
A box fan does one room, the furnace fan will do the entire house. It’s more beneficial to use the furnace fan because it’ll purify the air and you can typically raise the thermostat by one degree by running the fan. If you run your furnace fan 24/7 it’ll raise your bill by about $10, but it’s so much more beneficial it’s worth it.
Why should you have your AC or furnace cleaned and maintained regularly?
The peace of mind your system will make it through that season. Most of the major problems are caused because of lack of maintenance. Between 50-70% of daily calls that we run and can be somewhat avoided by routine maintenance and cleaning. If your filter is plugged you’re restricting air flow so you can wake up one day and it won’t be blowing. The A coil can freeze up, too.
If your AC is on and you have it at 70, can you turn it to 71-72 without it stopping or wait for it to stop running before switching it? Also, same thing with heating.
If your house seems a little warm to you, you can definitely turn it down while it’s still running. It’ll be able to adjust as long as it’s functioning properly.
Are setback thermostats worthwhile? What are they?
The setback feature of a thermostat allows you to program the temperature up or down for different times depending on your lifestyle. For every degree you can move it, you can save 2-3% in efficiency just by setting that up. If you like it at 72, set it to 75-78 degrees approximately to save a lot of energy.
That same day we had an appearance at the Gateway Grizzlies baseball game and boy were we popular! The Beloman hardly had a chance to rest while there because so many people (kids and adults alike) wanted photos and to speak with us. The one time he did rest…he fell going up the stairs to give high fives to the many adoring fans and decided to rest for a moment before getting up. It was certainly a sight to see!
Bel-O definitely had a very busy Saturday! If you have any questions yourself, give us a call at 618-BELOMAN or ask us on Facebook.
