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As the bitter cold of winter fades into more comfortable temperatures, your furnace can finally get a break from all those weeks of working to keep you toasty warm. Your air conditioner doesn’t need to work overtime to keep you cool either, resulting in a less stressed HVAC system overall. In spite of this, your HVAC system may still struggle to keep you comfortable at this time of year. During spring and fall (shoulder seasons), your HVAC system functions differently.
Here are four things you need to know about how shoulder seasons affect your home’s HVAC.
Both Heating and Cooling
During these transitional times, you’ll find yourself dealing with both heating and cooling, sometimes on the same day. You need to ensure that your cooling system is ready to go before you actually need it. While your furnace will turn off when the temperature rises, your air conditioner may or may not come on (and vice versa). Your thermostat and control system must be able to do the switch automatically or you could run into trouble with a house that’s not the right temperature.
Furnace Part Load
Furnaces are sized for the maximum heating that’s needed during the depths of those nasty winter cold snaps. During shoulder seasons the demand is lower (as you would expect). Typically this means that your furnace cycles on and off but some are designed to operate at part load using either a multi-stage or modulating design. Multi-stage and modulation allows for greater overall efficiency and prevents issues related to components cycling on and off. If your furnace is near its end of life, consider replacing it with one that will operate better at these part loads.
Free (and Cheaper) Cooling
If seasonal allergies aren’t an issue, you can open windows instead of running your air conditioner. This, of course, saves energy while maximizing the fresh air flowing through your home. If an open window equals horrible congestion and misery from allergies, you don’t have to worry too much about running your AC. Rest assured that your air conditioner is still using less energy on these mild days.
Ventilation Still Matters
Even if you’re able to open windows (and especially if you’re not), having enough ventilation is important to your health and overall well-being. Your need for fresh air never stops so make sure your ventilation system is in working order regardless of the time of year.
If you need help preparing for those hot and cold days or upgrading your system to allow for those part load conditions, give us a call.
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