How To Manage The Heating Load Of Your Los Angeles-Area Home

As the weather begins to get cooler here in the Pasadena area, it’s important that you know how to correctly manage your home’s heating load. By doing so, you will ensure that you system works properly all winter long.

The following is a list of steps that will help you prevent excessive heat loss in your home:

• Seal-off any air leaks. Air leaks in your home will force your heating system to work harder to replace the lost air. To seal leaks, use caulking, weather stripping or insulating foam. However, having a professional seal your air ducts will prove to be the most beneficial.
• Utilize insulation effectively. Cooler areas of your home, such as your attic and crawl space, need to be properly insulated. If they aren’t, they will cool your whole home down. When shopping for new insulation, look for material with a high R-value, which displays its thermal resistance. The higher the R-Value, the better you will be able to manage your home’s heating load.
• Install a programmable thermostat and zoning system. A programmable thermostat will allow you to set a time schedule for your system to operate on. This will reduce your heating load because your system won’t be left on all the time. Also, zoning systems will allow you to set specific temperatures for the various sections of your home. This helps manage your home’s heating load by letting you redirect warm air to the areas of your home that get used the most often, instead of wasting it in areas that are used less.
• Have an expert conduct an energy evaluation. A professionally administered energy evaluation will let you know exactly where your home’s heat losses are coming from. With this information, you will be able to attack your home’s weak spots and reduce the workload on your heating system.

The professionals at Air-Tro Inc. have been servicing Southern California since 1969. Contact us today for further assistance on how we can help you with all of your home comfort needs.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about how to manage the heating load of your Los Angeles area home and other HVAC topics, visit our website.

Air-Tro Inc. services the greater Los Angeles area as well as the metro areas of Riverside and San Bernardino County.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.