How your home’s foundation Affects Heating and Cooling Cost

Home owners are always sensitive to energy cost whenever they are carrying out HVAC installation. They always consider the option that will work well while reducing heating and cooling cost to the barest minimal.

When we hear energy efficiency, the next thing that comes to our mind is how to use our electronic devices optimally to reduce the energy consumption.

This could include our HVAC system, thereby compelling us to look for that unit that consumes less energy while functioning efficiently.

However, most homeowners fail to understand the role their home structure play in energy cost. The foundation of a building can determine the heating and cooling cost of that building. This is why modern architects make use of advance building techniques like thermal envelopes, air sealing and better insulation to help homeowners reduce energy cost.

Older buildings have uninsulated foundation; this can cause damage to it easily. When it is damaged, it will not only affect the structural integrity, but also create air leakage which will increase your heating and cooling cost on the long run.

Areas Where Damage Foundations Increase Energy Cost

The damage foundation of your buildings can affect the comfort of your home as well as maintenance cost including energy. Generally, you may be having air sealing challenges which will definitely increase HVAC cost. Some of the ways it can affect the heating and cooling cost of your home are;

• Sloping Floor: Sloping floor in homes is most times as a result of damage foundation, especially in homes with stone or brick foundations. They are not always issue of concern except when they create gaps between door jamb and the floor. When it is in this condition, there is always a tendency of air conditioned air seeping through. Sometimes when immediate action is not taken, it can make air to seep through the door and window. This will definitely increase your energy cost over time.
• Unbalanced HVAC system: The balance of the HVAC system in your home can easily be affected by a damaged foundation. As a matter of fact, it can make the ducts to be separated from one another. If this is not rectified immediately, it will affect the overall performance of the heating and cooling system of the home.  On the long run, the comfort throughout the home will not be achieved.

These are the areas where damage foundation can affect the overall performance of your units. This will definitely increase the energy cost of the system over time.

Way forward

Once you start noticing that the performance of your HVAC system is reducing drastically, try to take proactive measures to rectifying the problem. The first step is to invite an expert to carry out a full inspection of your homes’ foundation. After which a possible solution will be taken to rectify the air seepage.

It is also recommended to get your building based insulated. When your homes’ base is properly insulated, it will save energy more and the performance of your HVAC units will be outstanding.