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If your New York home was built before 1985 and you have high bills or comfort issues, the air duct system is a likely source of the problems. Insulation & HVAC upgrades are only part of the solution. As much as half the conditioned air you purchase every month could be ending up in the attic, basement, or crawlspace.

If your home has metal ducts, our team can seal them and significantly reduce the air loss. When older New York homes were first built, energy efficiency was not on the list of priorities. We see this problem every day and, without fail, major comfort issues are always related to ductwork leakage, poorly installed insulation or the mechanical system.

If you have metal ducts in original condition – they leak air. The only question is how much. During our assessment of your home, we carefully examine the ducts by pulling back the insulation wrap in various locations and using a smoke puffer with a visual assessment to determine how bad your ducts are performing. Most of the time you can clearly see the leak points once the wrap has been removed. As part of our audit report, you will receive photos showing the damage. In homes with old metal rigid ducts, the leakage is typically over 40-50%.

Duct leakage is due to several factors: The primary cause of duct leakage is that the connections were never sealed when the ducts were first installed. (Remember, back when energy was cheap, plentiful, and nobody really cared about their utility bill) There is often damage or separation when the house settles over the years (often crushed or separated pipes from 3rd parties doing work in the attic).

Also, the ducts are usually only insulated with R-3 insulation which results in a significant amount of heat gain/loss as the air travels through the ducts in your attic or basement/crawlspace. When we foam seal old ducts, the insulation is upgraded to an R12.

Potter Heating and A/C is and trained to consider many factors before making a recommendation. Factors like the size of the house, climate, the number and type of windows installed, insulation, and even the number of people living in the house. Many times the existing system is too small or too big or worst yet another non-certified HVAC company has sold you the wrong product for your home.

The U.S. government requires an efficiency rating of all air conditioning and heating equipment. The rating reflects the percentage of energy used efficiently, with a high rating indicating high-efficiency. The next two topics address this issue in greater detail.

There are special names for the efficiency ratings of various types of equipment. Air conditioning equipment is rated by the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating, or SEER. The higher the SEER rating, the more efficient the unit.

There are special names for the efficiency ratings of various types of equipment. Gas furnaces are rated according to their Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, or AFUE. The higher the AFUE rating, the more efficient the unit.

Yes. However, we recommend that plants be no closer than 18 inches to the unit. This allows for plenty of room for air circulation in and out of the unit. Without this room for air circulation, the unit could overheat, resulting in a premature need for service.