Ask me anything about HVAC heating air conditioning air quality control

janaka wrote: ↑

Jun 8th, 2011 11:30 pm

On all the time in the AC season - makes your AC work less as well as increases dehumidification.

Edit: new fans ARE designed to be run all the time to promote balanced temperatures.

If you have a furnace with a DC motor then its hardly a cost at all. If you have an older furnace where the cost is higher then you have another reason to replace it don't you...

can you back that up? I'm only asking coz our home is a year old so we have a new furnace. Can you give some websites that say its better to keep the fan on 24/7 vs auto and there is no real different in cost? I will tell you that before we got the AC we always had the furnace fan on or it would get to hot, but the guy that installed our AC unit said always keep it on auto. It true our upstairs gets very hot compared to downstairs which is prefect.

I have read that turning of the vents on the ground floor will push more airflow up to the second floor and that floor wont cool down so quickly that it turns of the AC, is this true?

PS sorry for the improper sentence structure, to lazy to correct it :P

chimaican wrote: ↑

Jun 8th, 2011 10:19 pm

This is an age-old question, leave the furnace fan set to 'auto' or 'on' for AC? I prefer the setting to be on 'auto' for energy savings, but my upstairs gets so hot because the thermostat is on the main floor. I know leaving the fan set to 'on' will help circulate the air, but it's at the cost of higher energy bills and running the fan 24/7 and potentially reducing the life of the motor.

Any advice?

I know there is always the option of buying a professional series thermostat that has a fan setting of 'circ' as in circulating the air, but the thermostat costs $200. I don't get why this isn't a setting on lower-mid range thermostats!! It's simple programming!! The fan is not meant to run 24/7, and the auto doesn't circulate the air, balancing the temperature of all the rooms. What gives?

It’s a personal preference, but during the A/C season, at the end of a cooling cycle the fan should turn off for about 5 minutes, and then restart. The off cycle will allow water condensed on the coil to drain off, so the blower won’t recycle humid air in to the house. Some tstat have this feature.

Hey guys, we're thinking of getting a new a/c since we don't have one in the house. I read a lot from this thread but I'm not sure where to start off. I guess getting quotes would be the first step eh. From all the TV that I have seen, I only seen a few ads from Carriers and Direct Energy. How are their system quality? I'm thinking of giving them a call first. Does anyone have good experiences from their products or would recommend me other company? Thanks!

EdLeafs wrote: ↑

Jun 9th, 2011 2:34 am

Hey guys, we're thinking of getting a new a/c since we don't have one in the house. I read a lot from this thread but I'm not sure where to start off. I guess getting quotes would be the first step eh. From all the TV that I have seen, I only seen a few ads from Carriers and Direct Energy. How are their system quality? I'm thinking of giving them a call first. Does anyone have good experiences from their products or would recommend me other company? Thanks!

Do some searching on this site for Direct Energy. You'll likley find your answer.

Carrier is decent stuff but for the money I find overpriced. Look to the fall for a complete revamp of all their furnaces too.

chimaican wrote: ↑

Jun 8th, 2011 10:19 pm

This is an age-old question, leave the furnace fan set to 'auto' or 'on' for AC? I prefer the setting to be on 'auto' for energy savings, but my upstairs gets so hot because the thermostat is on the main floor. I know leaving the fan set to 'on' will help circulate the air, but it's at the cost of higher energy bills and running the fan 24/7 and potentially reducing the life of the motor.

Any advice?

I know there is always the option of buying a professional series thermostat that has a fan setting of 'circ' as in circulating the air, but the thermostat costs $200. I don't get why this isn't a setting on lower-mid range thermostats!! It's simple programming!! The fan is not meant to run 24/7, and the auto doesn't circulate the air, balancing the temperature of all the rooms. What gives?

Whats the age old question is what amount of money do people put on actual COMFORT? We have these products nad others like them for various reasons. If it affects lifestyle and comfort this should be a key factor in answering your own question. You can't take your money with you ya know!

jebise wrote: ↑

Jun 8th, 2011 11:54 pm

can you back that up? I'm only asking coz our home is a year old so we have a new furnace. Can you give some websites that say its better to keep the fan on 24/7 vs auto and there is no real different in cost? I will tell you that before we got the AC we always had the furnace fan on or it would get to hot, but the guy that installed our AC unit said always keep it on auto. It true our upstairs gets very hot compared to downstairs which is prefect.

I have read that turning of the vents on the ground floor will push more airflow up to the second floor and that floor wont cool down so quickly that it turns of the AC, is this true?

PS sorry for the improper sentence structure, to lazy to correct it :P

about 6 yrs of experience in HVAC backs that statement up. Along with that I can say my hydro bill only went up $25/month last summer which included running my 3ton AC (set to 22* last summer) and my DC fan all day everyday as soon as my heat was switched to cooling. $.80/day for AC and non-stop furnace fan usage. If thats not marginal I don't know what is, if you think that's expensive, well then you need to live in a cooler climate.

I didn't say any new furnace will cost little to run I said one with a DC motor. Most new builds are cheap POS' and the builder will still put in single stage AC furnaces.

With regards to a website that says 24/7 vs auto search this one and you'll see it over and over and over usually posts right around June every year... The no real difference in cost is as above - newer furances with DC motors.

The guy who installed your ac is, in my opinion, wrong. That said everyone uses AC/furnaces/etc differently and have different ideas on what "comfortable" is and as Mike said above everyone has a difference monetary value to comfort.
Personally with the heat we've had if its not 23.5*C or less I'm hot. As such I'm willing to pay whatever cost needed to stay comfortable (as well as my family). That said I also have high efficiency Lennox equipment which costs peanuts to run, a wise investment in comfort/efficiency.

You last statement is true, closing off the basement and most (all?) the main level ducts will promote AC to the upper level and let it slowly fall back down to the other areas. This along with changing the furnace filter are usually the first thing recommended to be done when an AC isn't running to peak effectiveness.

janaka wrote: ↑

Jun 9th, 2011 10:30 am

about 6 yrs of experience in HVAC backs that statement up. Along with that I can say my hydro bill only went up $25/month last summer which included running my 3ton AC (set to 22* last summer) and my DC fan all day everyday as soon as my heat was switched to cooling. $.80/day for AC and non-stop furnace fan usage. If thats not marginal I don't know what is, if you think that's expensive, well then you need to live in a cooler climate.

I didn't say any new furnace will cost little to run I said one with a DC motor. Most new builds are cheap POS' and the builder will still put in single stage AC furnaces.

With regards to a website that says 24/7 vs auto search this one and you'll see it over and over and over usually posts right around June every year... The no real difference in cost is as above - newer furances with DC motors.

The guy who installed your ac is, in my opinion, wrong. That said everyone uses AC/furnaces/etc differently and have different ideas on what "comfortable" is and as Mike said above everyone has a difference monetary value to comfort.
Personally with the heat we've had if its not 23.5*C or less I'm hot. As such I'm willing to pay whatever cost needed to stay comfortable (as well as my family). That said I also have high efficiency Lennox equipment which costs peanuts to run, a wise investment in comfort/efficiency.

You last statement is true, closing off the basement and most (all?) the main level ducts will promote AC to the upper level and let it slowly fall back down to the other areas. This along with changing the furnace filter are usually the first thing recommended to be done when an AC isn't running to peak effectiveness.

Thanks this really helps, we ran the furnace fan all of last summer when we didn't have the AC, and all of winter since the old tstat had no other options to control the fan. My only worry is, if i keep the fan running 24/7 then it will wear out faster. Is this true or i'm thinking to much into this? We have a american standard furnace, is there a simple way to check if we have a DC motor?

I agree we don't worry about the $$, we want to stay comfortable. The $$ is not worth it if your family suffers, but if its damaging the equipment that one can make small changes.

jebise wrote: ↑

Jun 9th, 2011 11:12 pm

Thanks this really helps, we ran the furnace fan all of last summer when we didn't have the AC, and all of winter since the old tstat had no other options to control the fan. My only worry is, if i keep the fan running 24/7 then it will wear out faster. Is this true or i'm thinking to much into this? We have a american standard furnace, is there a simple way to check if we have a DC motor?

I agree we don't worry about the $$, we want to stay comfortable. The $$ is not worth it if your family suffers, but if its damaging the equipment that one can make small changes.

Common sense is that the more you use something the faster it will wear out, but it should not be a deciding factor to run the fan or not. Find the model number of your furnace and post it here or Google it.

shoppingkart wrote: ↑

Jun 9th, 2011 11:42 pm

Common sense is that the more you use something the faster it will wear out, but it should not be a deciding factor to run the fan or not. Find the model number of your furnace and post it here or Google it.

Wait... you're telling me I should NOT drive my BMW as much as I do casue it's gonna wear out faster? I'll get a bus pass. I want it to last!

nighthawk26 wrote: ↑

Jun 10th, 2011 9:34 am

Wait... you're telling me I should NOT drive my BMW as much as I do casue it's gonna wear out faster? I'll get a bus pass. I want it to last!

shoppingkart wrote: ↑

Jun 9th, 2011 11:42 pm

Common sense is that the more you use something the faster it will wear out, but it should not be a deciding factor to run the fan or not. Find the model number of your furnace and post it here or Google it.

Common sense would also say something engineered to be used a certain way will last as intended. These DC motors have been out for a while and from what I had seen they are a VERY low failure rate.

nighthawk26 wrote: ↑

Jun 10th, 2011 9:34 am

Wait... you're telling me I should NOT drive my BMW as much as I do casue it's gonna wear out faster? I'll get a bus pass. I want it to last!

I’m not telling you how much to drive, but if you would ride your magic carpet more often your BMW definitely would last longer.

janaka wrote: ↑

Jun 10th, 2011 10:27 am

Common sense would also say something engineered to be used a certain way will last as intended. These DC motors have been out for a while and from what I had seen they are a VERY low failure rate.

Yes, they have a low failure rate, but I think the fact still remains that if you run your fan 12months a year and I run mine 4months a year your fan would wear out sooner? Also I mentioned in my post, that this fact should NOT be a deciding factor to run the fan 24/7 or not.

shoppingkart wrote: ↑

Jun 10th, 2011 12:13 pm

Yes, they have a low failure rate, but I think the fact still remains that if you run your fan 12months a year and I run mine 4months a year your fan would wear out sooner? Also I mentioned in my post, that this fact should NOT be a deciding factor to run the fan 24/7 or not.

Don't worry, your original post was clear enough Shoppingkart. Nighthawk just wants to entertain us with jokes.

aliikram wrote: ↑

Jun 10th, 2011 12:28 pm

Don't worry, your original post was clear enough Shoppingkart. Nighthawk just wants to entertain us with jokes.

With thinly veiled elements of sarcasm to help ease my own irritations if not others!