A zoning system lowers your utility bills by improving the efficiency of your air conditioner and furnace. And it does so without sacrificing your comfort; in fact, a zoning system is designed to make your home more comfortable.

How zoning works
Zoning systems use dampers within your forced-air system to direct air from the furnace or A/C only to the specific areas of the house that need it. Some areas of the house require more or less heating or cooling depending on their use and the amount of sunlight received.

For instance, a kitchen will likely require less heating and more air conditioning than other rooms, because most kitchen appliances (even refrigerators, ironically) produce excess heat. A zoning system adjusts for such differences and gives you the power to set each part of the house to the temperature you prefer.

Zoning and efficiency
Zoning systems save energy and money in several ways:

• They eliminate the wasteful overheating or overcooling of rooms. As soon as a zone reaches its target temperature, the system shuts off air to that area and focuses its efforts only on the rooms that need it.
• They allow you to focus only on the zones that are needed. For instance, if no one’s going to be in the upstairs bedrooms until nightfall, the zoning system can reduce heating or cooling in that zone during the daylight hours.
• They allow your HVAC system to run at a slower speed. If it’s not providing air to the entire house, it can operate at a quieter, more efficient level.
• They extend the life of your HVAC system. Since it’s doing less overall work and isn’t taxed by running at full blast, your heating and cooling equipment will last longer and require fewer repairs.

Of course, some homes are better candidates for a zoning system than others. To find out if zoning would make sense for your Hampton Roads home, contact us at Russell’s Heating & Cooling.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about zoning systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Fortunately, you have a powerful ally: your heating and cooling system. The circulating fan in the system moves the entire air volume of your home through the ductwork five to seven times every day. Whole-house air cleaners installed in the ductwork repeatedly filter the air as it circulates among all the living spaces in the house.

Here are some of the options for improving air quality on a whole-house scale:

• Electrostatic cleaners mounted in the return duct utilize an electrical field that charges particulates in the airflow. The particles are then captured by grounded filter media made of microfibers. Most units also incorporate an activated carbon filter to remove odors and fumes. These filters operate without creating harmful ozone.
• Mechanical filters installed in ductwork include high-efficiency pleated cotton and polyester filters with MERV (minimum efficiency reporting value) ratings as high as 16. These units remove over 90 percent of airborne particulates down to 0.3 microns. Many whole-house mechanical filters also include other technology such as germicidal ultraviolet (UV) lamps to neutralize microorganisms that may be captured but not destroyed by the filter media.
• HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filters bring medical-grade filtration to home indoor air quality. HEPA filters are common in operating rooms and clinics for their capacity to remove 99 percent of particulates down to 0.1 microns. This includes microorganisms like bacteria, fungi and most viruses. Since HEPA filters restrict system airflow excessively, residential whole-house units are generally installed in bypass loops that incorporate a blower to draw air out of the main duct and through the HEPA filter array, then loop it back into the duct without compromising system airflow.

Since 1977,  Russell’s Heating & Cooling has served the Hampton Roads area of southeast Virginia with quality HVAC sales and service. Ask us for more details about improving your interior environment with whole-house air cleaners.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about whole-house air cleaners and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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If you want to have some forewarning that it might be time to look for a water heater replacement, look for the following signs:

• Your hot water is tinted or rust-colored when it’s first turned on.
• You run out of hot water in situations you previously didn’t.
• The hot water isn’t as hot as it used to be.
• There’s moisture around the base of your water heater. This could be due to a small leak, however, larger amounts of water almost certainly mean it needs replaced.
• Your hot water heater is old. Gas water heaters typically last 8 to 12 years, while electric water heaters tend to last 10 to 15 years. Heavy use or hard water will shorten those time frames.

Replacement options
There are a wide range of replacement options. The cheapest option is to replace your old one with one of a similar variety. However, if you had an electric storage water heater, it may not be too expensive to replace it with an electric tankless water heater. Tankless water heaters heat the water as you use it, so they’re sometimes referred to as demand water heaters. They’re more efficient than storage water heaters because they don’t use energy until hot water is needed. They can be especially efficient for households that don’t use a lot of hot water.

Regardless of the type, you should shop around for one with a high energy-efficiency rating to realize savings down the road on future energy bills. You should also take this time to make sure your water heater is appropriately sized.

For more guidance on water heater replacement or other home comfort issues, contact Russell’s Heating & Cooling. We’ve been providing the Hampton Roads area with reliable, high-quality HVAC service since 1977.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about water heater replacement and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Follow these seven easy tips to clean up your indoor air quality this spring.

1. Make it a habit to remove your shoes at the door. The bottoms of your shoes pick up a large number of allergens outdoors, which are then distributed through your home.
2. Add UV lights to your HVAC system to kill biological contaminants such as bacteria, mold, pollen and viruses.
3. Reduce your household chemical use. Air fresheners and household cleaners contain a number of chemicals that can cause or aggravate existing respiratory illnesses. Dust with a microfiber cloth and clean with nontoxic cleaners. Freshen your air with essential oils.
4. Reduce the clutter in your home. Clutter attracts dust and makes it more difficult to keep your home clean.
5. Check the air filter in your HVAC system monthly and replace it when it’s dirty. A clean air filter is a good way to improve your overall indoor air quality and keep your HVAC system operating efficiently.
6. Wash your bedding every week in hot water. Your bed may be home to as many as 10 million dust mites, whose droppings and cast skins are potent allergens. While your bedding washes, vacuum your mattress thoroughly.
7. Vacuum at least once a week. Turn the fan on your thermostat to on while you vacuum and keep it on for 15 minutes afterward to trap particles sent airborne by the vacuum’s exhaust and agitators. Make sure you vacuum drapes and upholstery, as well as beneath furniture and in hard-to-reach corners.

For more expert advice about improving your indoor air quality, please feel free to contact us at Russell’s Heating & Cooling. We’ve proudly served the Hampton Roads area since 1977.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about indoor air quality and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Follow these five simple tips to maximize the amount of energy and money you save.

1. Your energy-saving temperatures are warmer than your comfort level in the summertime and colder than your comfort level in the wintertime. Make sure you set these temperatures for at least eight hours at a time during the day or night.
2. All thermostats allow you to temporarily override your programmed settings in order to make your home cooler or warmer than the programmed temperature for that time of day. Usually this override setting will stay until the next programmed adjustment. Limiting the number of times you use this override feature will help you save energy.
3. Usually a programmable thermostat has two types of hold settings: hold/permanent/vacation and hold/temporary. The hold/permanent/vacation setting should be used for programming the thermostat when you’ll be away or on vacation. Keep this temperature setting at a few degrees above or below the comfort level depending on the time of year will lower your system’s energy usage while you’te away.
4. Avoid cranking up your thermostat to higher temperatures in the winter or cooler temperatures in the summer in an attempt to warm up or cool down the house faster. Most thermostats start heating or cooling at set times in order to reach the desired temperature at some point afterward.
5. If your home has multiple comfort zones, make sure to install a programmable thermostat for each zone to maximize the energy efficiency, convenience and comfort for your home.

For more information on whether a programmable thermostat is right for your home, contact our experts at Russell’s Heating & Cooling. We’ve been serving the Hamptons Roads areas since 1977.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about Programmable Thermostats and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Relative humidity and condensation

Relative humidity expresses the actual amount of moisture in the air as a percentage of the maximum moisture air at that temperature can hold. If air has 100 percent relative humidity, it can’t hold any more water, and condensation will begin forming on surfaces. Because colder air can’t hold as much water as warm air, it’s possible for condensation to form on surfaces that are cooler than the air, even if relative humidity is less than 100 percent.

The ideal relative humidity for your home varies from 30 to 60 percent. Basement relative humidity should not exceed 50 percent.

Water damage and mold

Some materials in the interior of your home may be not be designed to come into contact with moisture and can suffer direct damage from sufficient amounts of condensation. Others may be prone to rot, but the biggest problem is usually mold. These spores are always present in the air and will start growing if they come into contact with a moist surface. In addition to damaging materials, mold growth in your home can cause air quality problems by polluting it with irritants, allergens and potential toxins.

Moisture control

In order to keep relative humidity in your home down, use exhaust fans to remove moisture added from cooking or showering. Even with proper exhaust fan use, your home may require a dehumidifier due to our humid climate.

If you have any questions about dehumidification or mold in your home, contact Russell’s Heating & Cooling. We have more than 40 years of service in the Hampton Roads area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about High Humidity  and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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A professional contractor will perform the following tasks during a routine heat pump maintenance call:

• Check that the refrigerant system is free of leaks and contains the appropriate amount of refrigerant.
• Examine electrical connections for good connectivity and clean or tighten any dirty or loose connections.
• Ensure moving parts are lubricated and that belts aren’t worn out.
• Make sure the electric controls operate sequentially and can’t call for heating and cooling simultaneously.
• Check and seal leaky ductwork.
• Check that the thermostat is accurate and functioning

Your contractor will also perform the more routine maintenance tasks you should continue to occasionally perform throughout the year.

• Ensure your heat pump has a clean air filter once a month. Dirty filters reduce airflow, which leads to inefficiencies and potential breakage of components.
• Occasionally check coils and fans for dirt as well. These will also reduce airflow when dirty. Make sure you turn off fans before cleaning.
• Ensure optimal airflow through the coils in the outdoor unit by clearing any plant growth or other obstructions nearby. Clean the coils if dirty.
• Check that vent registers are clean, unobstructed and undamaged.

Additionally, following some simple rules when operating your heat pump will maximize its efficiency. First, try to minimize the use of the heat pump’s backup heating elements. They are very inefficient compared to the normal operation of the heat pump. Also, unless you have a variable speed fan, the fan is best left set to turn on and off automatically. Continuous operation of a standard fan is detrimental to performance.

If you’d like further information about annual heat pump maintenance, contact the experts at Russell’s Heating & Cooling. Operating since 1977, we proudly serve commercial and residential clients in southeast Virginia.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about Heat Pump Maintenance and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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In addition to the situation described above, there are three other situations in which a professional duct cleaning would be universally recommended:

• Your ducts have visible mold growth. This includes any duct surfaces or other components of your HVAC system. Mold can reduce your indoor air quality because it releases allergens, irritants and occasional toxins.
• Your ducts are or have been infested with vermin or pests. The detritus from these can also cause air quality problems.
• The amount of dust or debris in your registers is clogging your ducts and reducing airflow. Reduced airflow is hard on the other components of your system and causes them to operate inefficiently or wear out prematurely.

Many portions of your ductwork won’t be visible to you, so you may not know if any of these are occurring. You might suspect them if any residents continue to have problems related to poor indoor air quality despite taking steps to control indoor air pollution sources and improve ventilation.

Beyond these situations, there’s a lack of objective evidence on the benefits of duct cleaning, and opinions are varied. Ducts do indeed accumulate dust and dirt over time, so some people may choose to have them periodically cleaned solely for this reason. A bonus of cleaning your home’s ductwork is that you’ll find out it they’re in need of sealing, which can improve your home’s energy efficiency.

If you choose to pursue a duct cleaning, be cautious when choosing a duct cleaner. If done incorrectly, it can damage HVAC components or worsen air quality.

If you have further questions about duct cleaning, contact Russell’s Heating & Cooling. We’ve been providing expert service to the Hampton Roads area since 1977.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about Professional Duct Cleaning and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Here are some important tasks you can accomplish yourself this spring:

• Check and clean your air conditioner’s evaporator coils. Dirty coils aren’t as effective at removing heat from your home.
• Do the same to the condenser coils in the external unit. Additionally, make sure the unit is clear of vegetation and debris on all sides to ensure it receives optimal airflow.
• Replace or clean your HVAC system’s air filter regularly. Dirty air filters reduce airflow and strain your A/C system’s components.

While these tasks make a significant impact, there are further maintenance steps a professional can take to avoid summer breakdowns and inefficiencies. Your heating system can also benefit from annual maintenance in the autumn, so it can be convenient and economical to subscribe to a maintenance plan. This can help secure you a spot during your contractor’s busy summer schedule should a problem arise, as well as provide these A/C maintenance services:

• Ensure a properly filled and leak-free refrigerant system.
• Inspect and tighten electrical connections.
• Lubricate and inspect moving parts for wear.
• Ensure there’s appropriate airflow through the evaporator coil.
• Clean system components.
• Test the thermostat for accurate operation.
• Ensure the control operations work in the correct sequence and don’t allow the heating and cooling systems to be operated simultaneously.
• Test and seal any leakage found in the ductwork.

If you have any further questions about A/C maintenance or maintenance plans, contact us at Russell’s Heating & Cooling. We have more than 35 years of service in and around the Hampton Roads area, as well as the knowledge to help you keep your heating and cooling system running dependably.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about A/C Maintenance and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Flu and other viruses spread through coughs and sneezes. In low humidity, the protective droplets that surround them evaporate quickly and leave the virus airborne longer, increasing your chances of becoming ill. Additionally, dry air dries out your nasal passages and reduces the production of mucus, which traps viruses and prevents them from causing infection. To make matters worse, tiny cracks develop in the nasal passages and provide easy access for viruses to enter your system.

A whole-house humidifier will keep your home’s humidity level in the optimum 30 to 50 percent range to help protect you from illness. The humidifier is installed in your furnace and hooked up to a water source. Water flows down a hole-filled plate through which warm air flows, becoming humidified before being sent into your home through your ducts. Unlike portable humidifiers, whole-house units don’t require constant filling and cleaning. They feature a humidistat that allows you to set the humidity level that’s right for you.

Maintaining your whole-house humidifier is important to keeping it operating efficiently. Each month when you check your furnace filter, take a quick look at your humidifier to check for leaks, drips and mineral buildup. Schedule annual maintenance on your whole-house humidifier at the beginning of the heating season. A qualified HVAC professional will clean or replace essential components, check the drain line and tighten the connections.

For more expert advice about maintaining ideal home humidity with a whole-house humidifier, please feel free to contact us at Russell’s Heating & Cooling. We’ve proudly served the Hampton Roads area since 1977.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about Whole-House Humidifiers and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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