Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

4 ways to cut your heating bill by $690 a year

Even well-built, newer homes have enough gaps to add up to a 14-square inch hole. But plug these money holes and you can save as much as $690 off your heating bill. Here’s how

Drafty doors

A thin eighth-of-an-inch gap under a 36-inch wide door is akin to a 2.4-inch hole in your wall. Save money by sealing up drafty doors.

 

Replace attic insulation

To keep heat bills down there should be at least 12 inches of evenly distributed insulation throughout your attic.

 

Fill the cracks

To stop air leakage, and high heating bills, use caulk to fill the gaps.

 

Out with the old-school thermostat

For every degree you turn your thermostat down in winter, you save between 3% and 5% on your heating bill.Use a programmable thermostat to make these savings automatic.

If you have any questions please email me at kevin@harbinair.com. I hope everyone has a great Winter season.

Serving North MS, West Tennessee, and North Alabama sense 1989.

Sources: Efficiency Nova Scotia, Washington Post, Energy Saver

HVAC Provides Home Protection

When people think of HVAC, many focus on the comfort of cool air and overlook the valuable protection that heating and ventilation can offer. HVAC cooling systems do their part to ensure your protection by stabilizing the air conditions within your home. Valuable possessions that can become damaged by poor indoor climate are protected by your HVAC system.

By installing a high quality heating and cooling system, you can ensure that the condition of your home is prioritized. With an Harbin HVAC system, you will be adding your own level of insurance because your possessions will be protected from the horrors of a poor climate. You can pair a HVAC system with a whole house humidifier or any other indoor air quality product to further protect your property including your electronics, upholstery, wood, art, and instruments. 

Electronics - Over time, moisture levels can cause damage to electronics. High humidity can cause moisture to collect in the electronic components which will lead to corrosion. Even low moisture levels can cause problems because static electricity can build up and lead to short circuits. High temperatures can also damage plasma TVs and computers by overheating them. 

Custom Upholstery - Custom upholstery needs to be treated with care. Without proper ventilation, your expensive furniture can be damaged. Also, when extreme temperatures, the material your upholstery is made out of will be damaged. Leather and wood both struggle in warm temperatures. If your HVAC problems aren’t fixed, your upholstery can develop cracks leather spots.

Wood - If you have any wooden furniture, moisture can build up and rot the wood from within. As wood gains and loses moisture over a period of months and years, it goes through a process of contraction and expansion until eventually the damage is beyond repair. Not only will cracks and splits appear, there could also be warping and bowing within the wood. Of course, this becomes a nightmare if you have wooden floorboards because they will start to gap. 

As well as floorboards, this can ruin furniture, cabinets, wooden beams, doors, decking, building materials, and more. What’s even worse, the long-term upshot of this can be mold which will spread quickly and destroy the core structure of a home if left untreated or even unnoticed. 

Art - When you have an HVAC system installed, you will also protect canvases and other pieces of art from fluctuating humidity levels. Additionally, linen, parchment, paper, and others will be affected. When the air is particularly dry, these materials will start to crack and even shrink. When there is excess moisture, the materials will go damp and could grow mold. When you keep artwork, it should be kept in a stable environment.

Instruments - Finally, humidity changes will also have an impact on the tune of a piano and the wood of a guitar. If dry, even woodwind instruments can crack and grow mold. 

As you can see, HVAC systems can be essential for any home and you should look to make the first step today if you want to keep your valuable possessions protected!

 

If you have any questions about the protection a HVAC system provides please email me at kevin@harbinair.com. I hope everyone has a great Winter season.

Serving North MS, West Tennessee, and North Alabama sense 1989.

Gas Fired furnaces/CO2

As we get into the fall season It is recommended to have your gas furnace maintained and inspected. Hundreds of people die each year from Carbon Monoxide poison (CO2) . I have seen many cracked heat exchangers. Over time there forms an amount of rust and eventually there are holes that penetrate through the heating chambers. Some heating systems can work properly with no issues for quiet sometime; while others the safety controls will shut the system off. 

 

Installing a really good carbon monoxide detector could save your life. 

 

These are just a few symptoms that is caused from CO2 poisoning.

  • Headaches
  • Nauseous
  • Chills
  • Flu like symptoms

 

We meet people all the time in the heating season that says there HVAC professional saved there life. They were having severe headaches. They would leave their home and feel fine. Once they returned home there headache would reappear.

 

If you have any questions about CO2 safety email me at kevin@harbinair.com. I hope everyone has a great Winter season.

 

Serving North MS, West Tennessee, and North Alabama sense 1989.

High Humidity

Here in the Deep South North Mississippi, West Tennessee, and North Alabama. We deal with moisture in crawlspaces. We find many homes that leave there foundation vents open year round. As a result high humidity finds the way inside the crawl space. 

When your heating and air duct or equipment is installed inside the crawl space. The temperature of the air is being delivered thru the duct work is around 45 to 55 degrees. When that mix’s with the warm 100% plus humid air then condensation is the end result. Some homes have drainage issues and or rain water run off goes under the foundation walls and the moisture starts to mix with warm humid air. Either way it results in mildew growing in the crawl space. Which will result to heavy mold if nothing is done to stop the issue. 

To correct the issue you have to do 3 very important things:

Install a Moisture Barrier

Installing a plastic moisture barrier (minimum of 6 Mill thickness) will lay on the ground. First you need to clean any debris from crawl space. Then lay the material down on the surface. Roll the plastic up the wall a good 12”. Also cut around each foundation piers. Roll the plastic up 12” as well. Then foam the plastic to the walls and piers to keep moisture from seeping up moisture barrier.

Install a WHOLE House Dehumidifier

We used to tell our customers to go to your favorite big box store. And purchase a 65 pint dehumidifier. They are like window units they brake a lot. So now we rely on a Honeywell DR65. This is a whole house machine that goes in the crawl space and suspends from the floor joist. We duct the system to each end of the crawl space to warm and dry up the moist areas. We install an independent drain line either in the sewer line or outside away from the foundation.

Sealing Your Duct Work

Once that you have done step 1 and 2 then you are ready to seal your duct work. There are 2 rules of thinking around this. You can seal the duct work by removing the duct wrap insulation and painting the seams with a liquid mastic. And then install new Duct wrap insulation around each duct. Some customers decide to replace the entire duct system and seal it completely while installing the new duct work.

 

For more information you can reach me at kevin@harbinair.com

Germicidal U.V. Light Technology can cure your Sickness

We have had a national record with flu virus cases this season. Most homes have been built tighter. They have house wrap on the decking of the house, better Insullation in the walls and attic. These are great ways to make the home energy efficient.  It also makes the home more dusty, and cannot escapethe germs out of the home.  

The Department of Energy (DOE) reports that most families stay in their home 60 percent more than ever before. More kids are staying inside to play video games and other inside activities.

Install a Germicidal Ultra violet light in your duct system will kill the mold, mildew, unseen bacterial,and many more flue germs, and viruses floating in the air.  The Germicidal Ultraviolet lights are simple to install, and work immediately killing the germs in your home. Some people never have sinus issues again, and someare greatly reduced.

Call your professional comfort advisor to get more information on this amazing experience.

Harbin Heating and Air prides ourself in educating our customers around the HVAC, and Weatherization of there home.

Harbin Heating and Air serves north Miss, West Tennessee, and North Alabama. Corinth ms, Tupelo ms, savanah Tn ,Jackson Tn,
Florence Al. And anywhere in between.

Visit our website for more information. www.harbinair.com

5 Ways To Control Summer Allergies from The Harbin Heating and Air Conditioning

Efforts to control summer allergies begin at home. That’s because the inside of your own residence is where you’re most likely to get the most concentrated dose of airborne allergens. Some are outdoor microorganisms like mold spores and bacteria that infiltrate by the millions every time an exterior door is opened. Other allergens, such as dust, dust mites and pet dander, originate inside your home. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that your home may be 100 times more polluted with allergy-triggering airborne contaminants than the outdoors.

To effectively control summer allergies, remove outdoor allergens that find their way inside, and limit the sources of indoor allergens. Here are some ways to accomplish both:

Dust is composed mostly of human skin flakes, fibers from clothing, carpeting and drapes and tiny dirt particles. Keep dust out of the air by removing it with regular vacuuming, mopping and dust-wiping.
Kill dust mites by washing sheets, spreads and blankets once a week in water hotter than 130 degrees. Consider adding allergy-proof mattress covers to control dust mites, too.
Change your air conditioning filter regularly. A fresh filter cleanses the air of particulates. A dirty filter not only underperforms, but also becomes a breeding ground for living microorganisms that are trapped inside the filter media.
Consider installing a whole-house dehumidifier to treat all the air in your home. Maintaining interior humidity below 50 percent prevents the multiplication of microorganisms such as mold spores and dust mites. It also makes your air conditioner work more effectively.
Ask your HVAC contractor about a whole-house air purification system. Unlike portable room air cleaners, these units mount directly inside your ducts or air handler and remove over 99 percent of airborne particulates. Because your home’s entire air volume circulates through the ducts many times daily, a whole-house solution ensures total air filtration.
Since 1988, Harbin Heating and Air Conditioning Inc.  has provided Corinth Ms, Savannah Tn, Iuka Ms, Selmer Tn, Cherokee Al, and in between residents with cool comfort and healthy indoor air quality. Call us for more ways to control summer allergies with advanced air-purification technology.

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, visit our website at www.harbinair.com.