Sources Of Heat Loss In A Home And Ways To Fix Them

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During the cold winter months, you may feel like your furnace is not keeping up enough; however, the issues might not be with the furnace itself. There are times when replacing the furnace is the right way to handle the heat loss, but there are other times when there are steps you can take to create a more energy-efficient home.

When Should You Replace Your Furnace?

According to Energy Star, you should start considering replacing your furnace if it is around 15 years old. While this is not the only factor to consider, it is a big one because older furnaces are not nearly as efficient as newer ones. If you are struggling with this decision based strictly on the age of your furnace, here are some other thoughts to consider:

• Are your energy bills increasing every year? While it is normal for energy companies to increase rates, your bills should not be drastically increasing year after year. If they are, it is probably due to an inefficient furnace or heat loss of some kind in your home.
• Are you spending a lot of money on repairs? If you have to continuously call an HVAC company to make repairs on your system, you might want to consider furnace replacement. Most new furnaces will not need repairs for several years.
• Do you notice uneven heating? If your furnace cannot keep up or if your air ducts are dirty, you may have problems keeping a consistent temperature in all the rooms in your home.

You could hire an HVAC company to come and inspect your furnace before you make the decision to replace it, and you may also want to take the time to look into other factors that may also be causing heat loss in your house.

What Other Issues Might Be Affecting The Heat Loss In Your Home?

Even if you have the best and most efficient furnace around, your house can still feel cold and uncomfortable. This occurs through heat loss, which happens most often from these three parts of your home:

• Windows and doors – Old windows and doors tend to leak a lot in many homes. You may be able to stop some of the leaks through window and door maintenance. This can include caulking the windows and doors, or placing insulation film over them. If the windows are really old and leaky, you may have to replace them in order to control the amount of heat loss they are causing.
• Attic insulation – Hot air rises, which is why attic insulation is so important. If your attic doesn't have enough insulation, the heat your furnace produces will escape through your ceilings and into the attic. Adding more insulation in the attic space is a great way to solve this problem, and this is something that is relatively easy to do.
• Wall insulation – If the walls in your home are not insulated well, you will have a bigger problem. It is not easy to add more insulation to walls, yet it may be necessary if the walls are leaking too much heat.

Before you decide to replace your furnace, you may want to ask the HVAC company if they can perform an energy audit of your house. This will often reveal where the problems are, and it may offer suggestions as to how you can make your house more energy-efficient.

If you discover that your furnace is the biggest problem you have, hire an HVAC company like HomeSmart From Xcel Energy to perform a furnace replacement. If there are other issues contributing to this problem, you may also want to address those at this time too.

25 February 2015