Saturday, December 5, 2015

How Arizona Homes Can Benefit From Having An Energy Audit Performed - Ranch Style Home

The Arizona home profile chosen today is the all American, ranch style home. Whether APS or SRP customers, Arizona homeowners can find these long, low roofline homes in almost every city from northern Phoenix, south Scottsdale, Sun City, Mesa, Chandler and Glendale. Ranch style homes are usually 30 years or older when energy codes didn't exist and attic insulation and energy efficiency was an unheard of word. Here are the most common things we have found after doing more than 1,000 energy audits on this type of Arizona home.


Arizona ranch style homes have low rooflines with little attic ventilation. This is one type of Arizona home where adding a rigid vent at the peak of the roof slope is probably a good idea. This passive ventilation helps circulate the air out of the attic, without actively sucking your conditioned air from inside the house like a solar attic fan or electric powered attic fan does. I like rigid vents because it may be difficult to add the bird-hole vents along the perimeter of the house and it is not possible to add another gable vent. Because the attics of Arizona ranch homes get so hot in the summer, it is essential to add at least R-38 insulation to the attic to slow the transfer of attic heat down into the house. R-19 or even R-11 may have been code when the house was originally built so adding more insulation should be a no-brainer. Another way to help cool the attic temperatures is installing a radiant barrier along the roof slope. Radiant barriers reflect the heat back out of the attic and help keep the ductwork cooler in the summer. You can read more about radiant barriers on our previous blog.

Attic connections into the house are also a common energy deficiency found in Arizona ranch homes. When you walk to the bedrooms does your ceiling lower because of the metal ductwork running above the hallway? If you put a thermal camera on those interior walls during the hot Arizona summer you'll find that the walls a bright orange and red color compared to the other walls of the house. Why?? It's because those walls are directly connected to the attic from missing top plates. You could actually stick a 8 foot ruler down the entire length of the hallway wall from the attic. Those areas need to separated and sealed from the attic.

The ductwork in a Arizona ranch home is going to be very leaky and may not be sized properly. This can cause bad airflow, hot rooms, constant AC problems and high energy bills. When these homes were built the metal ductwork was held only with tape so even a slight bump in the ductwork can separate the round rigid lines. APS and SRP estimate as much as 30% of your conditioned air is lost through leaks in the ductwork. Add to that a poor design and it's no wonder why some rooms are hotter and colder than others. Sealing the ductwork up can have huge benefits to the comfort of the home and the energy bills.


Do you have a swamp cooler? Do you love using it?

Some Arizona ranch style homes still have an evap cooler attached to the roof, and many Arizona homeowners love using their evap cooler 2 months out of the year. What these homeowner's don't know is that their evap cooler is costing them more to keep and use during the hot summer months when the AC is on full blast and what they save during those two months of more temperate weather. During those two months yes, you are saving more money by not using the AC. However, during the 2 months of the dead heat, when 100 degrees looks like a break from the heat, you are loosing more money from leaky ductwork. Check out our video on swamp coolers here.

What about spray foam in the block walls?

I was speaking with the program manager for the Arizona energy audit program about what he thought of spray foaming the block walls of a home and what he said surprised me. He told me that his own home is a ranch style house with block walls and after he insulated the attic, sealed and re-did the ductwork, and air sealed the attic from the house the only things he has done to his walls was put a trellis with cat's claw vine along his sun struck block wall and his energy bills are not more than $220 on a 2,100 sq ft home.

I verified this with our energy models and while spray foaming your sun struck walls does save money on your energy bills, our models show you get 90% of the savings you would from spray foam wall insulation by simply shading the wall. I have become a proponent of spending $400 on a landscaping trellis than $3,000 on spray foaming one wall.

Arizona ranch homes have a number of distinguishing exterior features, including a long, low roofline with have large windows in the living room. However they also have some pretty distinguishing energy efficiency features that directly causes high energy bills, comfort complaints and poor air quality. Having an APS or SRP approved energy auditor to inspect the home's performance can be the greatest gift you can give yourself that keeps on giving for years to come.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Why Changing Your Filter Is Important and What Type of Filter is the Best

When it comes to keeping your HVAC system maintained, nothing is more important or easier than making sure your filters get changed out every month or two.  Dirty, neglected filters have real affects on your AC system that end up costing you more in repairs and early replacement down the road than if they were changed regularly. 

When the air filter gets dirty it becomes restrictive to airflow passing through it, so your unit needs to work harder to "breath in." This puts stress on the small components like the capacitor and can cause them to run on a higher amperage, costing you more to run. Restrictive airflow can also cause your outside condenser coils to freeze over, creating a ice block over the coils and cause your HVAC unit to blow warm air in the summer. Dirty filters also allow more dust and crap past the filter and to build up on the indoor evaporator coil.  This lowers the efficiency of the heating and cooling system, costing you more money and not making you as comfortable as a properly operating unit would.

There are several types of air filters for your heat pump or furnace. Unfortunately, the kind most homeowners use is the most damaging to the AC system. However, as long as they are changed regularly, about every 2-3 months, you are still ahead of the curve. These filters are promoted as allergen reducing filters and have a 1" pleat or rib. The little known downside to them is that with only 1" of surface area, the heat pump or furnace will really have to work hard to suck air past the filter.  Have you ever tried to breath through only one straw? That's what is happening to your AC system every time it's turning on with the 1" pleated filters. 

We recommend using the cheap throw away filters because of the low airflow restriction. Your heat pump or furnace has to work a lot less to breath in and get the full capacity of air past the cooling coils. The only downside is that the cheap throw away filters do not catch as many airborne particles as the 1" pleated filter. If you are looking for the ideal filter that does both, capture airborne particles and doesn't put the heat pump or furnace under a lot of stress, look for the 4" HEPA filter. 

So what filters are the best? We love the 4" HEPA filters because it filters the dust and allergens better than either of the other filters plus it allows maximum airflow to pass through it, not stressing the AC system. The HEPA filters are becoming more commonly found at your local Home Depot or Lowes and they only need to be changed every 3 months. The only downside is that they are more expensive than the 1" pleated filters, but not that much more. 

To watch a video overview of the different types of filters watch the YouTube video link below:

Saturday, October 24, 2015

When Does Your Ductwork Need To Be Replaced?

Ductwork comes in all shapes and sizes, galvanized metal ductwork allows the most air capacity to be delivered to your rooms per foot because it has the least friction resistance. 

Flex ductwork is easy to install but it's a treacherous road should your contractor have taken it. There are many pitfalls were simply unbeknown to many HVAC contractors on the implications of their work. Here is a short list of pitfalls Green ID's energy auditors typically find in an attic.

1. Improper size
"I'm supposed to put a 18" duct but I only have a 14", I'll just make it fit!" I feel that's a common thought HVAC contractors have when doing these horrible installs. Not only does undersized ductwork chock off your airflow, robbing your home of its full air capacity, but it makes your unit work harder and drives up your energy bills.

2. Too many wye splits.
Every wye split adds 10 feet in length to your duct runs, so after the 4th wye split don't  be surprised that the airflow is weak when your heating and cooling system needs to add an extra 40 feet of run to its load.

3. Leaks.
Arizona home performance standards require that every flex connection be sealed with mastic for a 50 year plus lifespan. If your ductwork is not properly sealed, every time the HVAC unit kicks on you are throwing money out the window by heating and cooling the attic. In homes older than 20 years duct tape may have been used as a "sealer." Duct tape may be a universal fixer of all things except when it comes to your ductwork. It doesn't take long for duct tape in the attic to become loose and its adhesive deteriorated. 

4. Evap cooler (swamp cooler).
If your home ever had a swamp cooler, the swamp cooler ductwork may still be connected to the main ductwork of the house.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Home energy saving tips with a water heater timer


Lower your energy bills with a water heater timer. APS utility rates double during peak hours in the summer. SRP energy rates almost double during peak summer hours. This water heater timer shown by energy auditor David Byrnes of Green ID can turn off during peak hours, saving valuable kWhs. In Phoenix, it's impossible to get cold water during the summer anyways so why waste energy with your water heater. Save money and live happy with Green ID.

How To Perform A Variable Speed Pool Pump Calibration & Save Money On Your Energy Bills

As energy auditors and home performance contractors we often find variable speed pool pumps that have never had a proper calibration. Although we do install Hayward and Pentair variable speed pumps because of the great energy savings realized, a post-install calibration can be performed DIY. Here are some easy steps to follow to save money on your energy bills and get the most out of your variable speed pool pump.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

What is a hard start kit and does it help my air conditioner?

You may have heard your AC technician talk about installing a hard start kit on your HVAC unit and dismissed it as an unnecessary add on. Are hard start kits a scam?  The truth is that hard start kits actually help your heating and cooling unit, unlike some HVAC products. The problem is that most AC technicians aren't educated enough or understand how they work.

Hard start kits work to protect the heart of your heating and cooling unit, the compressor. The compressor is like the heart of your AC system, pumping out refrigerant at a high enough pressure for it to work its magic and keep us comfortable.  Every time the compressor starts, it has to move a large amount of refrigerant through the system.  The defect with all lower efficiency AC units is when they turn on the compressor has to work extra hard to start.  Imagine riding a bike up a hill, once you are moving, to keep moving isn't too hard but starting from a dead stop takes a lot more effort. That's what's happening every time our air conditioners turn on, they are starting from a dead stop and it wears down the compressors.  The hard start kit gives the compressor a friendly push from behind on every start so it doesn't have to work as much, and saves the compressor over time.  It allows the compressor to start faster and takes less energy to operate.

Replacing a compressor isn't cheap and can be the most expensive replacement short of replacing your entire system. By taking care of it during its life, you will extend the life of your heating and cooling system and lower your energy bills along the way. A hard start kit with a good run capacitor can reduce the inrush of energy usage by as much as 50%!  Keeping the heart of your heating and cooling unit protected also protects the other components as well which leads to less maintenance down the road.  The more an AC technician understands about your system the more efficiently it can potentially operate.