Why Is My House Still Hot with the Air Conditioner On?
May 28, 2020
As summer sets in, Elk Grove and Rocklin homeowners are turning to their thermostats and their air conditioners for cooling. Just because your cooling system is running doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be as comfortable as you’d like in your home.
What’s going if the air is on but your house is still hot? Today, let’s take a look at a few common causes of home discomfort, and what you can do to fix issues related to home performance and HVAC in the Sacramento area.
1. Poor Home Insulation
The insulation in Sacramento homes plays an essential role in home comfort all year round, slowing conductive heat transfer between the building materials in your home. How effective your insulation is can depend on the age of your insulation or whether it’s been properly installed.
If your attic insulation or the blown in insulation in your walls has settled or is old, its current R-value could be much lower than when it was first installed, and much of the cool air from your HVAC could be escaping outside or the heat from outside coming in.
The solution to inadequate insulation is reaching out to an insulation contractor in the Sacramento area who can handle all aspects of an insulation retrofit project, from attic insulation removal to new cellulose or spray foam insulation installation.
2. Inadequate Air Sealing
While insulation is a big part of your home performance, it’s only half of the battle. The other essential component is air sealing.
While insulation addresses conductive heat, weatherization and air sealing help prevent air movement between your living space and the outdoors. While they might not be obvious to the naked eye, you could have hundreds of small cracks and gaps in your home allowing air to move in and out of your home, carrying valuable heat with it.
Insulation and air sealing should be part of any home’s weatherization program, and there are some incentives to help offset the upfront costs of retrofitting your home, including the PG&E insulation rebates.
3. Broken or Incorrectly Sized HVAC System
There are many issues with a home cooling system (or even your heating in the winter) where your system could still be turning on and running, but you aren’t getting the comfort you need.
The first could be that your system is in need of cooling repair, maintenance, or a HVAC tune-up. Small issues can have a large effect on the overall efficiency of your HVAC system, leading to increased utility bills and reduced home comfort.
The other issue is that your air conditioner could be incorrectly sized. If your cooling system is oversized for your home, short cycling—when your system turns on and off again over and over—often leads to inconsistent temperatures throughout your home, not to mention increased wear and tear on your equipment and more HVAC repair calls.
Schedule a Home Audit with Brower for Cooling Relief
We’ve identified a few possible causes of the discomfort one could experience in a home, but how do you know what specifically is to blame in your house? Do you know a home audit is a perfect way to get started on home improvements? Whether you choose our free clipboard audit or a more in-depth full energy audit, our team can help you identify the exact problem areas in your home and recommend solutions that will make a difference in your comfort.
If you’re looking for HVAC near you and wondering, “How much is it to repair an air conditioner?” or “What does attic insulation cost?” reach out to the home performance and expert insulation installation Sacramento trusts, at Brower Mechanical. As an HVAC, solar company, air sealing, and insulation company in the greater Sacramento area for more than 40 years, we have the whole home answers to your cooling and heating problems.
