Home Comfort for All Seasons in the PNW
After the winter thrashing we got this year in Portland and Vancouver, there is no doubt many homeowners are daydreaming of the warmth that the spring and summer will bring to the Pacific Northwest. With average temperatures nearly doubling from January to July, it should come as no surprise that you’ve got to stay on top of your game if you are to keep your home comfortable all year long without spending all of your hard earned cash on your heating and cooling bills.
At Revival Energy Group, we focus our daily efforts on helping homeowners here in the Pacific Northwest keep their homes at the perfect temperatures, no matter the weather or season. And though air conditioners and furnaces are an easy scapegoat for home comfort issues, we know that in reality, it is much more than that. Your home contains a series of systems that are all connected, and changes in one part of your home can have a significant effect on each of the other systems.
Your Whole Home Is Connected
If your home was feeling a little chilly during one of the winter storms last month, you may have gone straight to the thermostat to turn up the heat. But what if the heat coming from your furnace was losing 10% of its energy through leaks in your ductwork? Then, after that warm air enters your living space, another 10% of that remaining heat is lost through deteriorated insulation and other air leaks that exist in the structure of your home? In this common scenario, your furnace is working just fine, but the other areas of your home are causing you to take that second trip to the thermostat.
These are the reasons we recommend our air sealing services and insulation upgrades before you spend the money to swap out your HVAC equipment!
Understanding Your Home’s Air Leaks
Air leaks can develop over time as your home settles. They can also be leftover from poor initial craftsmanship when your home was built. These air leaks may be impossible to see with the naked eye, but they can have a severe effect on your home comfort. Air leaks can cause excessive drafts throughout your home, inconsistent temperatures, and can allow contaminated outdoor air to infiltrate your home which will decrease your indoor air quality. Finding these small leaks is done using a blower door test which will provide the total amount of leakage in the home. After that, infrared camera technology is used to locate the areas where heat is either escaping or infiltrating (depending on the season). These holes are then sealed up using professionally installed spray foam.
How To Address Outdated Insulation
Many homeowners assume their insulation is a “set it and forget it” piece of their home comfort. But insulation can deteriorate over time during home maintenance projects, due to water damage, pest infestations and more. On top of that, the National Association of Insulation Manufacturers estimated that as of the year 2015, 90% of homes were underinsulated.
Revival offers installation of professional grade insulation materials like cellulose and fiberglass insulation, as well as spray foam insulation.
What to do About Leaky Ducts
Sealing and insulating the ductwork associated with your heating and cooling system is the next step in making your whole home more comfortable and energy efficient. Imagine the cold air from your conditioner leaking out into your uninhabited attic in the summertime — what a waste of money! Revival will locate the holes and gaps that have formed in your ducts from poor design or deterioration over time and seal them up for good. It may even be necessary to wrap your ductwork with insulation to prevent your conditioned air from escaping through the material that makes up your ductwork.
Supplementing your Heating and Cooling Equipment
If you are still experiencing uncomfortable temperatures after you are sure your home is properly insulated and you have a tight air seal, we recommend making sure your heating and cooling equipment is operating at peak performance. If you have not had a professional HVAC technician provide any maintenance to your system in a while, it may be time for a tune up! Then, if you still have home comfort issues, or there is one area of your home that just can’t be reached by your existing system, you can supplement your home comfort with the energy efficient heating and cooling power of a ductless heat pump — otherwise known as a mini split. Not sure what a ductless heat pump is? You can read all about them here.
Trust your whole home comfort with the whole home specialists! Revival Energy Group will make sure your PNW home is comfortable no matter the season. Call us at
Vancouver: 360-836-5366 Portland, OR: 503-893-8243
or contact us today.