As spring heats up in Greater San Antonio, homeowners are wise to take some time to get their homes’ HVAC systems ready for summer. Here are some ways to ensure energy savings and protect your home and cooling equipment during the hot days ahead:

• Check the condition of your air conditioning system’s filter. Start the cooling season with a fresh, clean filter. Clean filters help to ensure optimal airflow through your system as well as energy efficiency and indoor air quality.
• Set up a reminder to change the filter. When you use your air conditioner 24/7, check the filter once a month. If you’re not sure how long it takes your filter to become full, set up a calendar reminder to check the filter four weeks after you install a new one. Take it out and hold it up to the light: If it’s dirty, brown or full of lint-like dust, you know it’s time to change it.
• Schedule a maintenance visit. A cooling technician should conduct a comprehensive inspection of the system to ensure that it can operate a peak performance.
• Check your home’s ductwork. Generally as part of an HVAC tune-up, your cooling technician will also check the condition of your ducts and seal them to close up any leaks. Doing so will ensure that you receive more of the cooled air that your A/C generates.
• Prepare the outdoor A/C unit. Remove the outdoor cover before you fire up the system, and check the area immediately surrounding the unit, removing any leaves or debris that could affect airflow.

In addition, consider upgrading your attic insulation. Texas’ hot climate means that a lot of heat is more likely to build up in your attic, greatly affecting A/C performance. Ensure that your attic’s insulation rates an R-value of 38 or higher to prevent the movement of outside heat into the space, further impacting the temperature of your living spaces.

Don’t let San Antonio’s stifling heat take you by surprise. Get your home ready for summer to maximize your energy savings. For help, contact the experts at Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning.

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

Energy efficiency image via Shutterstock

Upgrading the insulation in your home can lead to significant savings. When your home’s exterior shell has proper levels of insulation to prevent the transfer of heat, you’ll keep heat out during the summer and keep heat in during the winter.

Whether you are adding insulation to a newly constructed home or retrofitting your existing home, use the list of insulation types below to guide your selection.

For a retrofit, you’ll need to have an expert evaluate your existing insulation levels throughout your home, including the attic, all ceilings, exterior walls, basement and floor. If insulation has degraded or worn out over time, you can choose from four basic insulation types:

• Batts or rolls (also called blankets). Suitable for use between wall studs or between floor joists, batts come in a variety of R-values, a measurement that indicates insulation’s effectiveness. This type of insulation can be rolled or laid out in a larger space.
• Loose fill. This insulation type is generally blown into a location using specialized equipment. It’s a good choice for filling hard-to-reach spaces, such as attics, and it will easily adhere and fill crevices.
• Rigid foam. While this insulation is more costly, it has a high R-value and performs well. It is relatively thin, but its fibers are quite dense, offering maximum protection against heat transfer.
• Foam in place. Also a blown-in type of insulation, foam-in-place insulation can be easily blown into existing walls, and it also helps to minimize air leaks.

The U.S. Department of Energy recommends specific R-values for insulation installed in various parts of a San Antonio area home. In your:

• Attic, strive for insulation totaling R-30 to R-49, with some experts recommending at least R-38 for these spaces.
• Exterior walls, go for R-13 to R-15.
• Floors, strive for R-13.
• Cathedral ceilings, go for R-22 to R-38.

Improving the insulation throughout your home will help manage utility bills and improve your home comfort. Contact the experts at Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning today for help. We’ve proudly served Greater San Antonio since the mid-1970s.

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

Insulation image via Shutterstock

Want to see better results every time you open your energy bill? A comprehensive approach to improving home performance and increasing energy savings gets the best results.

Use the following steps to ensure that you leave no stone unturned when evaluating how your home uses energy — and that you use targeted actions that will improve it. For whole-house energy savings:

• Equipment size matters. Every piece of air-conditioning equipment has a specific capacity to cool. If that capacity doesn’t meet your home’s cooling requirements, or “cooling load,” you’ll notice that it will directly impact your overall comfort. Equipment that’s too big or too small will not be able to adequately heat or cool your home, and A/C equipment in particular will not be able to manage humidity levels.
• Know your efficiency. Even if your current equipment isn’t that old, you could still benefit significantly from upgrading. Today, high-efficiency cooling equipment can reach efficiencies far beyond what systems manufactured just 10 years ago can. In fact, the highest-efficiency A/Cs can now reach Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) 23.
• Ductwork impacts your systems. If your ductwork leaks or has loosely connected joints, you’re likely losing valuable conditioned air as it travels through the ducts. Have the system evaluated and upgraded by a professional.
• Keep conditioned air inside. With proper insulation levels, you can be assured that the conditioned air that your cooling and heating systems produce remains inside, because insulation acts as a heat barrier, restricting its movement in all seasons.
• Check the attic. Leaks in the attic allow air to infiltrate the space. In the summer, they will cause your attic’s temperature to soar, further impacting how cool your home feels. Sealing leaks is a fairly simple do-it-yourself job, but it’s important to also evaluate ventilation. A professional HVAC contractor can help you install a solar-powered attic fan, which will remove heat in the attic while saving energy.

Get expert help to assess your home’s performance, and increase your potential for energy savings. Contact your local HVAC professionals at Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning today. We’ve proudly served the Greater San Antonio area since the mid-1970s.

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

Energy efficiency image via Shutterstock

Your attic is one of the most effective locations for implementing energy-efficiency measures. Boost attic insulation to keep conditioned air inside your home, which in turn boosts your home comfort.

Why the attic needs attention

Because hot air rises naturally, as you heat your home in the winter that heat is at risk of rising into your attic. If the insulation in your attic floor doesn’t prevent heat loss, your furnace will have to work overtime to produce enough warmth to maintain home comfort. Additionally, if the attic walls and ceiling are not well insulated, you’ll lose heat through the attic to the outside.

In the summer, insulation also impacts comfort. It’s at this time that insulation works in the reverse. Because insulation acts as a heat barrier, it helps keep cool air in and hot air out in the summer. With less-than-ideal attic insulation, the blazing summer heat can access your attic, driving it to extremely high temperatures. And that can seep into your home’s living spaces, causing your air-conditioning system to consume more energy.

What you can do about attic insulation

The best course of action when you want to upgrade insulation is to have an expert conduct an assessment. An expert technician should evaluate:

• The condition of your existing insulation. If it’s moldy or shows evidence of wear and tear, it should be replaced.
• The levels and efficiency of your insulation. For most San Antonio homes, an R-value of R-38 is required for attic spaces, and there should be up to 12 inches in insulation thickness to get the job done.
• Air leaks. Since they also contribute to an inefficient attic, the technician should seal up any exposed areas.

Need to give your attic’s insulation an overhaul? The experts at Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning are ready to help. We’ve been assisting San Antonio area homeowners since the mid-1970s in all areas of home comfort and energy efficiency.

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

Attic insulation image via Shutterstock

Proper insulation is one of the most fundamental ways San Antonio homeowners can prevent energy loss. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, 46 million US homes as young as 5 to 10 years are inadequately insulated. If yours is one of them, you could be losing energy right through your attic as cooled, conditioned air escapes and heat is absorbed. Jon Wayne has some information to help prepare you for the dog days of summer!

• How long does insulation last? That depends. Older insulating materials weren’t manufactured with the durability of modern materials, which can actually outlast the homes they are installed in. Blown fiberglass insulating material can last indefinitely.
• Does it matter if insulation is rolled or blown in? Rolled and blown-in each have benefits. Rolled (or batt) material can be more applicable if you’re ever going to finish your attic, or use it for storage. Blown cellulose will reach more nooks and crannies, providing more complete coverage. It won’t be used as bedding by rodentsand  it can be made from recycled materials.
• Should I remove old materials before installing new ones? Removing the old material is something to consider. Rodents can rip rolled batting to shreds or soak it with urine and droppings, and leaky roofs can cause water damage. Not only does this affect insulating material’s efficiency, it’s also unhealthy. Jon Wayne offers a service where the existing attic insulation is removed and the attic floor is then sealed with expanding foam – then re-insulated.
• How much insulation do I need? That depends on a number of factors, but in general San Antonio homes need about 10 to 12 inches of insulating material with a rating of at least R38.
• Can you explain the R rating system? Of course! The “R” rating measures thermal resistance. The higher the R value, the more it reduces heat flow. When choosing insulating material, you should always buy based on the R value, not the thickness.

If you think you could save energy and money by adding insulation to your home, call Jon Wayne. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and find the right solution for your home!

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about saving money with insulation and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning services  San Antonio and the surrounding communities of Seguin, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Boerne, and Comal County. To get started, check out our website or see our current promotions.

Texas heat is brutal to air conditioning systems. One of the best ways to help your system both work less and save you money is by upgrading your attic insulation. Over the years, we have found that many San Antonio homes have insufficient insulation in the attic. Heat penetration through your ceiling can be responsible for a good percentage of your cooling bill.

Attic heat can reach up to 180 degrees on extremely hot days. It is difficult for air conditioners to work effectively or at their best efficiency when the barrier between your attic and living space is inadequate.
An optimum amount of attic insulation should be 10 to 12 inches of blown in fiberglass. An inch or two less than that amount can add up to a lot of wasted energy dollars. Adequate insulation helps maintain the comfort level in your home after the AC (or furnace) shuts off. And once the adequate amount of blown in fiberglass insulation is in place, it is there forever.

Many homeowners assume that the proper amount of attic insulation is present in their attic space. Even some of the more modern homes have insulation levels that fall short of the recommended R-38 level.

A call to Jon Wayne Heating and Air will bring one of our NATE Certified specialists to your home to evaluate your attic and determine if you need to upgrade to the level you should be. Blowing in attic insulation is low-cost way to greatly reduce energy consumption, lower your bills and allow your air conditioning system to work less by keeping the cool air in and the attic heat out.

Go to our learning center and find other information on how to keep attic heat sealed out of your living space. Stay cooler by making sure you have the right layer of protective insulation.

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

Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning services  San Antonio and the surrounding communities of Seguin, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Boerne, and Comal County. To get started, check out our website or see our current promotions.

Anyone who lives in the San Antonio area knows that summers can be extremely hot and uncomfortable even inside your home, if your attic isn’t insulated properly.  While you may not realize it, outside air can seep in to your home through the attic.  Not only does hot or cold air make the indoor air more uncomfortable, it causes your heat/air system to work overtime, costing you money.  

One thing many homeowners fail to think about when it comes to the insulation in their attic is whether or not it is in good condition.  Rodents, moth infestation and mildew can wreak havoc; rodents like nothing better than to nest in this type of material.

Adding insulation or replacing what you now have can make a difference in the comfort level, and make your home more energy efficient.  It is recommended that the product you choose have a minimum rating of R-38.

While there are several options available to you, some are more commonly used than others.  Fiberglass, cellulose, cotton, foam and mineral wool are some of the types of insulation you will find available today.  Two of the most commonly used are:

• Fiberglass, which is one of the most inexpensive options is made of spun glass, and can be installed fairly easily.  You may find this in loose fill, or batting that can be cut and installed. Whether loose fill blown in or batts, fiberglass insulation maintains its R-value over time better than other types of loose fill and does not promote mold growth.
• Blown cellulose insulation typically has a similar R-value as fiberglass.  This type is also made from recycled materials.

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

Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning services San Antonio and the surrounding areas of Boerne, Bulverde, New Braunfels, Seguin and Comal County.  We invite you to visit our site and learn about our current promotions.

If you have lived in the San Antonio area for very long, you know how hot our summers can get. What you may not be aware of is how much more comfortable your house can be during those summer heat waves if you have adequate insulation. While many people think of home insulation as being critical for keeping out the winter cold, they often overlook the importance of insulation in keeping out summer heat.

The best time to get an insulation evaluation is right now, before the heat returns. Our specialists here at Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning will inspect your home insulation and recommend ways to improve your home’s energy efficiency with relatively small investments. Our expert technicians can install insulation and make other improvements to make your house more comfortable during hot San Antonio summers.

Adding home insulation is among the best investments you can make in your home. If you have effective weatherstripping around your doors and windows and have sealed other air leaks in your home, then upgrading your insulation will pay you back in lowered energy bills in just a few years.

Having adequate home insulation in your walls, basement and attic will reduce the loss of heat from your home in winter and air conditioned cool air in summer. Adding insulation to walls can be complicated and expensive, but adding to your attic insulation is usually simple and relatively inexpensive. You can also lower your energy bills by insulating your heating and air conditioning ducts wherever they run through uninsulated parts of your house, such as crawl spaces or garages.

The U.S. Department of Energy recommends that homes in our area have attics insulated to an R-value (a measure of resistance to heat flow through a material) of 30 to 60. Fiberglass batts rolled out on your attic floor, or loose-fill insulation blown into your attic to the required depth for your desired R-value, are the most economical types of insulation for attic installation. An adequately insulated attic will keep your house cooler in summer and save you money at the same time.

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

Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning services  San Antonio and the surrounding communities of Seguin, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Boerne, and Comal County. To get started, check out our website or see our current promotions.

Here in Texas, the icy winters can get down right frigid. With winter days often getting down below freezing, one needs to do everything they can to protect themselves and stay warm.

Your home’s heating and cooling system is an important part of keeping your home comfortable, but it is only one part of the total system. Insulation, caulking and sealing, double pane windows, and even trees can play a part in maintaining your home at a comfortable temperature throughout the year.
Of all the passive factors in maintaining a warm home this winter, attic insulation plays the biggest part. As the temperatures drop, the cold air will invade your attic. Without good attic insulation, that cold air will seep into your home. Your heating system might still be able to overcome this excess cold, but it will require the system to work harder; increasing energy costs and reducing overall system life.

If you have not checked your attic insulation, or had it checked by a professional, it’s probably time to do so. With time, all insulations “pack down” reducing their insulation value. Water and rodent damage can also reduce the efficiency of your attic insulation. Additionally, if your attic was insulated with roll type insulation, there is no insulation at all at ceiling joists.

Here in Texas, attic insulation should have a minimum rating of R-38. That’s the equivalent of 10 to 12 inches of blown cellulose fiber or fiberglass batting. Of the two, blown cellulose fiber is the easier and more inexpensive alternative. Additionally, blown cellulose attic insulation has the benefit of more easily filling those small areas that so often become “leaks” in the insulation of our homes.

Give us a call and allow a Jon Wayne Comfort Advisor the opportunity to provide you with a free evaluation of your attic’s insulation.

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

Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning services  San Antonio and the surrounding communities of Seguin, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Boerne, and Comal County. To get started, check out our website or see our current promotions.

Insulation is an important factor in home comfort.  If your home isn’t as comfortable as it should be, your insulation could be partially responsible.   If you are having issues such as rooms that aren’t comfortable– cold in winter or too hot in summer, for instance– you should consider looking into your insulation.

What role does insulation play in your home?  Primarily, insulation provides resistance to heat flow.  In other words, it keeps heat from moving in and out of the home.  The more heat flow resistance your insulation provides, the more comfortable you feel (and the lower your heating and cooling costs).

Heat flows naturally from a warmer to a cooler space.  In the winter, this heat flow moves directly from all heated living spaces to unheated attics, garages, basements, and even to the outdoors.  Heat flow can also move indirectly through interior ceilings, walls, and floors—wherever there’s a difference in temperature.  During the cooling season, heat flows from the outdoors to the cooler interior of a house.

To maintain comfort, the heat lost in the winter must be replaced by your heating system and the heat gained in the summer must be removed by your cooling system.  Properly insulating your home will decrease this heat flow by providing an effective resistance to the flow of heat.  This resistance naturally helps keep your heating and cooling system from having to work too hard, and burn more fuel, to keep your indoor air at the proper temperature.

R-Values
Insulation’s resistance to heat flow is measured or rated in terms of its thermal resistance or R-value.  An R-value indicates the insulation’s resistance to heat flow.  A higher R-value means greater insulating effectiveness.

The R-value depends on the type of insulation, and includes its material, thickness, and density.  When calculating the R-value of a multilayered installation, add the R-values of the individual layers.  Installing more insulation in your home increases the R-value and thus the resistance to heat flow.

The effectiveness of insulation’s resistance to heat flow also depends on how and where the insulation is installed.  For example, insulation that is compressed (an improper installation) will not provide its full rated R-value.  Also, the overall R-value of a wall or ceiling will be somewhat different from the R-value of the insulation itself because some heat flows around the insulation through the studs and joists.  Therefore, it’s important to properly install your insulation to achieve the maximum R-value.

The amount of insulation or R-value you’ll need depends on climate, type of heating and cooling system, and the section of the house you plan to insulate.  Ask us about the importance of insulation in your home.  We can evaluate your existing insulation and determine if you need to make any improvements for better home comfort.

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

Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning services  San Antonio and the surrounding communities of Seguin, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Boerne, and Comal County. To get started, check out our website or see our current promotions.