4 HVAC Myths That Need to Be Busted

In any given HVAC system, there are a lot of moving parts, and it’s important to have a solid understanding of the tech. When you’re led by misinformation, it can cause you to invest money in solutions that aren’t needed, or parts that aren’t optimal. While most homeowners don’t need to be certified experts in HVAC maintenance, it helps to have a basic understanding of heating and air conditioning — both the truths and the falsehoods.

Unfortunately, there are all kinds of myths floating around about HVAC systems. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of those fictions and dispel them so you can have a better understanding of your air conditioning and furnace!

MYTH: Bigger Is Better

Finding the right-sized HVAC system for your home can be a tricky science, and contrary to what some people might say, bigger is not always better. Indeed, there’s a common idea that the more enormous your system is, the better it will be. But this isn’t exactly accurate — larger systems tend to cycle on and off much more often, which can negatively affect the humidity levels in your home.

Of course, you also want to stay away from HVAC systems that are too small. These have a hard time reaching every area of your home, and are likely to exert themselves more, eating up your energy bill.

The trick is to work with HVAC technicians to diagnose the correct size for your air conditioner and furnace. It’s estimated that roughly 50% of HVAC systems aren’t ideally sized for their home — make sure you’re not part of that statistic!

MYTH: Your Air Filter Needs to Be Changed Once a Year

There are some myths that come from industry professionals, and some that come from misinformed people — this is the latter. You’ll never find a single HVAC expert who would tell you that you should only change your air filter once a year, but you might hear it from a lot of people who don’t know any better.

The truth is, your air filter should be regularly replaced throughout the year. We recommend doing it at least once a quarter, but once a month is even better. The reasons for this are simple — the quality of your filter is directly correlated with the quality of air in your home, along with your HVAC’s efficiency. A dirty filter pushes your system harder — costing you more money — and the air it lets in is more polluted.

Luckily, replacing your air filter is cheap and easy. If you’re not sure how to do it, ask one of our team members at Jenin Supply!

 

MYTH: Fans Are a Cheaper Alternative to Cooling Your Home

This myth is sort of partially true, from a certain point of view. That is, it is cheaper to run a fan if you’re only looking to cool down one room instead of your entire home. That being said, fans don’t actually cool rooms at all, and that’s the fiction that this myth perpetuates.

Fans don’t cool the air, they recirculate it. This can create a cooling sensation which does, in fact, help people to feel less hot, but the moment the fan turns off, you can bet the room temperature will be exactly where it was before. So, while it’s good to run a fan if you just want some temporary relief from the heat, it’s not really a superior choice to air conditioning unless you only want to target one room for a short period of time.

This is also why it’s useless to run fans while you’re not home; because the air is merely recirculated instead of cooled, you’re not actually affecting the temperature in any meaningful way. This means you’re just wasting power. If you wanted to do that, you may well run the AC instead so you’ll have a nice, cool home to return to.

MYTH: Your HVAC Can Go Several Years Without Maintenance

A lot of people will say that the need to regularly maintain your HVAC system is overblown. They’ll say that their unit has run for six years with no problems. They’ll say that professionals just want to overcharge you. But in the end of the day, you can only benefit from regular HVAC upkeep. It’s much like a car — many cars can run for years without checkups, but they could be losing an equal amount of years in longevity in the process — problems tend to bake unseen below the hood, and eventually they’ll come back to bite you.

It’s the same way with heaters and air conditioners. That’s why, at Jenin Supply, we offer a huge selection of HVAC parts and air conditioner components. If you have a problem with your unit, we can help provide you the components you need. Have you decided it’s time to do some maintenance? Stop by our HVAC supply store in Bridgeview today!