Older homes have an undeniable aesthetic appeal. They also present homeowners who live in them with a set of special HVAC-related challenges that those with newer homes may not need to face. Here are five HVAC problems that owners of older homes will need to prepare for in Tacoma, WA:
Poor Indoor Air Quality
If you’ve just bought an older home that’s been empty for many years, you’ll almost certainly find a vast quantity of dust lying all over its interior. Needless to say, that dust will make the air in the home oppressively dirty.
Also, older homes often lack the sophisticated ventilation systems that are part of newer structures. It’s also overwhelmingly likely that homes built many decades ago don’t have the special kinds of doors and windows that indoor comfort specialists have designed to exclude airborne pollutants from the outdoors. In short, if you plan to live in an older home, you can expect that the indoor air quality will be fairly low and you will have to make some considerable investments before you can raise conditions to an adequate level.
Old HVAC System
If a home is old, its HVAC system is probably old as well. Many classic homes may contain HVAC systems that have already aged far beyond their typical 15- or 20-year service lives. In such a case, the HVAC system that you’ll find waiting for you will either work poorly or fail to function at all.
If you wish to entertain any hope of staying comfortable, you’ll almost certainly need to replace the old HVAC system in your home with a new one. While this may carry an immediate expense, it’ll be to your benefit in the long run. Newer HVAC systems are usually far more energy-efficient than their older counterparts. After enough time, lower energy bills will allow you to recoup the cost of installation.
Leaky Ducts
HVAC machinery in’t the only thing in an old home that will be prone to the ravages of time. The ductwork that the old system had used to distribute treated air will almost certainly have degraded as well. You can expect the old HVAC ductwork to have gaps between its units and a large amount of holes that will allow treated air to escape.
Failing to fix or replace the old ductwork, your HVAC system’s efficiency will decline. Merely buying a new HVAC system will not remedy this problem.
There are three broad ways for you to deal with old ductwork. You can attempt to either seal or clean the existing ducts, replace them entirely or circumvent the need for them by purchasing a ductless HVAC system.
Ancient Thermostats
If you buy an antique home, you may find that it still has manual thermostats. It’s best to replace these devices with smart thermostats as soon as possible.
Since manual thermostats don’t have the kinds of precise sensors and tools that smart ones have, they will take inaccurate temperature readings and will almost certainly force your HVAC system to waste a significant amount of energy. Manual thermostats also lack the ability to gather information about your habits and use it to craft more appropriate indoor climate regimes for you. Over the years, the waste resulting from going without these features will add up.
Lack of Zoning
Older homes may have only one thermostat. In addition to the problems we’ve already mentioned, this will result in a one-size-fits-all climate policy for your home.
However, if you buy multiple smart thermostats and an HVAC system with zoning capabilities, you can divide your home into different climate zones. You will then be able to tailor each zone to the preferences of whoever spends the most time there.
Though you may encounter some difficulties upon buying an older home, you be in good hands with our team. Call Mountain Heating & Cooling today to enjoy the best HVAC services around Tacoma, WA. We specialize in helping customers optimize their indoor climate control for comfort and efficiency in their older homes.
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