Latest / Shafer Heating and Cooling Service Repair Podcast / 🎙️ Why Is My Energy Bill So High?

Transcript

🎙️ Why Is My Energy Bill So High? · Shafer Heating and Cooling Service Repair Podcast

• 0:01
  Nathan Shafer, thank you so much for joining me here today on Check A Pro
• 0:05
  Radio. It's so great to have you here as our HVAC expert on the show.
• 0:10
  Hey, great to be here. Appreciate it. Yeah, so questions come in about energy
• 0:16
  bills, and we keep hearing about that.
• 0:18
  That's one of the pain points for many of our listeners and viewers.
• 0:23
  You know, the cost to operate their home in the summertime, especially this
• 0:28
  summer, they can be high.
• 0:30
  And of course, in the wintertime to heat the house, it can be high.
• 0:34
  So I guess it goes up, maybe a little break, then up and break and then back again.
• 0:40
  Why are they so high? What's happening to the heating and the air conditioning systems?
• 0:46
  Yeah, great question. And it could be multiple different things, really.
• 0:50
  But I think most commonly, you know, when I'll simplify, right,
• 0:54
  let's go with the most common things and the simplest things maybe to control and keep in mine first.
• 0:58
  And that's going to be just overall condition of the system.
• 1:02
  And that comes down to how well are we maintaining that system?
• 1:05
  So things like our air filters clean, especially during peak times,
• 1:10
  like right now, you know, as we're recording the show, it's in July and it's extremely hot.
• 1:15
  Systems are taxed out. So they're going to need every bit of help they can get
• 1:19
  to get through the day with that clean filter.
• 1:21
  The system is able to breathe and operate properly. But then it comes down to
• 1:24
  also too, just the overall cleanliness of the coils and of the blower wheel.
• 1:27
  Um, it comes down to how well is, is the duct system sealed?
• 1:31
  Um, you know, a lot of duct systems across the United States are very, very leaky.
• 1:35
  And if we're leaking all that air that we're trying to, you know,
• 1:39
  create and put into the home, if it's going into the attics or the crawl spaces,
• 1:43
  um, that can be a huge loss.
• 1:45
  So not only hurt your comfort, but also to cause the system to run more and
• 1:49
  therefore we're affecting the utility bill.
• 1:51
  So, um, and then just, of course, overall, um, performance of the system,
• 1:55
  are things adjusted correctly?
• 1:57
  Do we have the proper refrigerant levels? Do we have, you know,
• 1:59
  is everything set and dialed in correctly? So, uh, several different ways or
• 2:03
  things that it could be, I guess.
• 2:04
  Um, uh, but maintenance is going to probably be, maintenance and air leakage
• 2:08
  are going to be probably the two most common things, um, or simplest things I should say.
• 2:14
  Air filters we keep hearing about those
• 2:17
  need to be changed out on a regular basis they need to be clean i've lived in
• 2:23
  extreme places in north america i've i've lived in really cold places where
• 2:29
  we needed a lot of heat and i've lived in really hot places where we needed
• 2:32
  more air conditioning and i never really thought about this so i'm going to
• 2:36
  ask you the expert because,
• 2:39
  where you guys are, Schaefer, in Ohio, it's hot and it's cold.
• 2:48
  Air filters, do they get more gunked up in the summertime or the wintertime, or does it not matter?
• 2:56
  I wouldn't say they get necessarily more gunked up one way or the other.
• 3:01
  Typically, most houses, I mean, there are some conditions that could tie into
• 3:04
  that. Obviously, in the summertime, humidity levels are higher.
• 3:07
  And so, if we're not maintaining humidity in the house, as you can imagine,
• 3:10
  things and particulates are going to cling together, you know,
• 3:13
  maybe faster and easier, and they're going to ball up on that filter faster.
• 3:17
  However, for the most part, most people find that it's usually an average set
• 3:22
  amount of run time, you know, that they're changing that filter as far as trying to monitor anyways.
• 3:28
  I guess probably to get technical or scientific, there are times it probably
• 3:32
  would because of humidity levels in the home being more humid or less.
• 3:36
  But all in all, as far as to be concerned about it, you're going to be pretty
• 3:40
  consistent and it's going to be based off of that run time. So anywhere from
• 3:44
  one month to six months is most common, depending on the type of filter that you're using.
• 3:49
  I'm glad you brought up humidity because there's a big difference.
• 3:52
  What's great about our air conditioning systems is it pulls the humidity out,
• 3:56
  but it's nothing like the heating system.
• 3:58
  That burns it out. So we find in our area that in the wintertime,
• 4:05
  when we have the heat going on a regular basis, it really does get dry.
• 4:09
  So therefore, the air is drier. So I'd imagine that drier air going through
• 4:12
  the filter is different than that moist air in the summertime.
• 4:16
  Yeah, absolutely. And that's why, you know, a lot of people too, this time of year,
• 4:20
  even if the AC is sized properly, depending on how airtight the home is and
• 4:25
  or infiltrations and duct work and different things,
• 4:27
  we can still have high humidity issues in the home, which then ties into the
• 4:32
  comfort and ties into the efficiencies and ties into the overall health of the
• 4:35
  home as well as the family.
• 4:37
  So a lot of times, a lot of clients will still have whole home high capacity
• 4:41
  dehumidifiers in place to help run alongside that AC.
• 4:45
  So maybe they're maintaining temperature, but it just still feels sticky, you know.
• 4:49
  Doors and things are still swelling and not closing, just all kinds of little
• 4:52
  things that you start to notice.
• 4:54
  And that just comes down to relative humidity. So it comes down to making sure
• 4:57
  our system is properly sized, it's clean, it's operating properly.
• 5:00
  We're keeping, you know, operating costs we want to be at. But then also too,
• 5:03
  there's other ways that we can take and help and, uh, increase the overall efficiency
• 5:07
  as well as the comfort and, uh, you know, dehumidifiers is just another one of those options.
• 5:12
  Nathan, I'm not an HVAC expert like you, but I know enough to get myself in trouble.
• 5:17
  I would imagine if someone who's listening to and are watching us right now
• 5:23
  has an issue with their air conditioning system not pulling the humidity out,
• 5:28
  it's probably a mismatch somewhere.
• 5:32
  I firmly believe that a properly sized and maintained air conditioning system
• 5:38
  should bring comfortable humidity levels. So it might be cycling off too soon.
• 5:44
  So cools, but it's not cycling long enough to pull the humidity out.
• 5:49
  I have a humidistat in my home that I use.
• 5:53
  And if it's over 50, and I'm like, I'm tough.
• 5:56
  If it's over 50%, I want to know what's going on. And 50% isn't bad.
• 6:00
  That's probably a pretty good number.
• 6:02
  I'm looking for in my home, 47, no more than 55, even though it's probably somewhat
• 6:07
  acceptable. What are your thoughts on that?
• 6:10
  Yeah, 100%. I mean, the overall relative humidity reading in the house makes
• 6:15
  all the difference in the way that it feels, as well as we mentioned a moment ago, health too.
• 6:19
  So if you start looking at charts as far as what can grow, whether it be spiders
• 6:24
  and bugs and microbial growth and all these different things in the home,
• 6:27
  if you can keep it in a range like you were just mentioning,
• 6:30
  there's things above and below the 50%.
• 6:32
  But as a rule of thumb, an average, yeah, below that 50, ideally,
• 6:35
  year round, that 40 50 is going to be the most common, most comfortable,
• 6:39
  and the most healthiest.
• 6:41
  That is idea. When you start finding issues when it's not at that,
• 6:45
  oftentimes one of those things contributing to that, yes, is missized or mismatched equipment.
• 6:51
  And so, for example, if the AC, some people say, hey, bigger is better.
• 6:55
  And if they go with a bigger one, well, that's not always the best case,
• 6:59
  right? Because if it's bigger, now it's short cycling.
• 7:01
  And it's just kicking on and off, kicking on and off, kicking on and off,
• 7:04
  which drives utilities up, doesn't pull humidity out.
• 7:06
  And so, yeah, humidity is huge when we talk about comfort and overall health
• 7:13
  and quality of the air inside the home.
• 7:15
  Absolutely. On those really hot and humid days that we have,
• 7:20
  the air conditioning system is more than a cooling system.
• 7:24
  It is a dehumidifier for the whole house if you have a whole house system.
• 7:27
  And I think it's important.
• 7:30
  Thank you so much, Nathan, as always, for joining me today here on the program
• 7:34
  answering these questions for our listeners. My pleasure, Jim. Good to see you.