One of the best ways to manage ongoing HVAC costs in Cincinnati is to have a professional energy audit. Licensed HVAC contractors can pinpoint the areas of your home that contribute to high cooling and heating costs. The two culprits that contribute to high costs are air infiltration and inadequate insulation.

The centerpiece of an energy audit is the blower door, a device that fits in an exterior door frame and has a large fan. Once the auditors have readied your home by closing all the windows, closing fireplace dampers, covering the fire box and turning off the heating system, they'll turn the fan on. The blower door contains air pressure gauges that tell the contractor how fast the air pressure drops in your home. The fan exhausts to the outdoors and in an airtight home, the pressure drops quickly.

If your home has a lot of air infiltration, the pressure takes longer to drop since the fan pulls more air in to compensate for falling air pressure. The auditing team will use smoke pencils or thermographic devices to identify the sources of the leaks. Once you know the extent of the leakage and where they are, you can use caulk and weatherstripping to seal them.

A contractor who uses thermographic tools can identify where your home has inadequate insulation, another factor that influences how much your HVAC system in Cincinnati has to run. Thermographic devices show temperature differences using color. Warmer areas show as yellow to red, while cooler areas show up as blue or green. 

An HVAC contractor who performs the energy audit can also inspect the heating and cooling system's ductwork for air leakage rates and inadequate insulation. Insulated ductwork retains the thermal properties of the conditioned air and will cut heating and cooling costs. Leaking ducts can drive up conditioning costs substantially, as well as downgrading indoor air quality. 

If your HVAC system in Cincinnati seems to run more than it should, contact JonLe Heating & Cooling for professional assistance. We've provided homeowners with top-notch services for more than 50 years. 

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