Your recent videos have inspired me to get serious about educating myself about HVAC so I can add it to my services. Those profit $$ warm the cockles of my heart!
Leaving my fan on all day is so nice. Keeps things from getting stale. It also helps with dust in the house, but you gotta change those filters from filterbuy a little more often because of the 100 percent duty cycle!
Circulating fan is great, except in the summer. You don't want it moving air over the coil full of condensation after the AC is done running because it will take that humidity back into the house so now you have even temperature throughout but also humid air which will feel uncomfortable. The rest of the year it's a great idea to circulate the air. Some people might not like it in the winter as the non heated air coming out of the vents may feel cold to them. I definitely like the circulate option on my thermostat, especially with a variable speed blower because that low speed is so quiet.
I also found that using a high quality foil tape on all the main trunk lines that are accessible really improved AC to the rooms. I have a flat roof, painting it with super white Acrymax elastomeric coating (got rid of old fashioned black rolled roofing) my upstairs bedrooms are at least 10 degrees cooler too.
My 2nd floor was a lot warmer in the summer like you said. An hvac guy told me about running the fan more so I recently programmed my thermostat to have the fan run all night and it made a huge difference. Wish I had found out about that sooner. Works great
After enjoying a multi-zone Furnace for 8 years, I don't know if I could live in a single zone home again. I have the 3 smart thermostats dialed in to match our usage patterns pretty closely so the parts of the house we're using are always the right temperature without running the HVAC system more than needed.
Everything you mentioned is important and doable for all DIYers. The duct must be sized correctly to properly pressurize each supply and distribute evenly. If the charge is not correct, it the compressor, or either fan is dropping out or the drain is backing up to open the float switch, cooling will be erratic at best! But what if the compressor is working say at 70% because the internals cannot hold compression or TXV is restricted well then you will need me! $600 for a run cap or start cap relay combo is theft!
This video is cool! (pun intended!) Thank you Handyman! Keeping our homes cool in Summer and warm in Winter is simple physics with regards to air movement, as well as common sense with regards to care and maintenance of the equipment.
I started watching your videos a few years ago when I still lived in Nashville, just before Covid and during. I had just started in your line of work after being full time musician since 89. We even chatted some during a live stream. You’ve given me a lot of good info, handyman. I moved and hadn’t watched your channel in a while but recently started watching again. Good to see you again & thanks.
9:30 its better to run cieling fans on low speed as opposed to the fan in your hvac system. Here in Fl, running the blower adds humidity into your living space when the condensing unit isnt running.
Can you explain a little more how running the central HVAC fan will draw more humidity into the house. My thought is that the fan is just recirculating the existing air in the house. Is the air moving causing more air leakage somehow?
@matttanglewood2522 duct work only has R6 insulation wrapped around it. Therefore, it does in fact absorb humidity and also heat from the attic space and in the wall cavities. If the condensing unit isnt cooling the duct work or dehumidifying, then duct work (without leaks) will indeed add heat and humidity to a conditioned space.
@@matttanglewood2522 It depends on, among other things, if you have proper returns in all the rooms. Say the bedrooms have no returns and the doors are closed then the air-handler will cause negative pressure in one part of the house and draw air (including moisture) in through cracks, windows and doors. Lack of returns can also over pressurize a room and force conditioned air out the same deficiencies in the envelope.
Also, if the attic space doesnt have a supplemental ventilation system (electric thermostatic fan or roof turbine) to facilitate heat exchange in the attic, the excessive temperature in the attic will radiate through the ductwork and cause condensation with the cold air flowing through when the A/C is running. That leads to 2 problems here in the south, increased humidity indoors and the potential for mold growth and the stale musty smell constantly present within the duct system affective household air quality @@matttanglewood2522
I’m in one of those flipped homes where the flippers decided to leave the main return trunk in the basement wide open at the end, but disconnect all of the returns in the house. I have the ducting for returns but nothing is connected to the main return trunk. Pretty stupid! Fixing it is on my list.
Im a 68 degree guy. Hey i have growth in my unit in the attic, the hvac guy trying to sell me a uv light for $1000.00 any ideas what light they use to kill the growth? 1k for a uv light is insane.
Down south in Mobile, AL if you leave you fan on all the time you will pull in wet air and your inside air will be very humid. Someone in our office did this and we were getting so humid we started to have mold. I found the fan in the on position on the thermostat and set it back to auto. They had set it to on for many days. Within a few hours we stated to pull the humidity down. So if you live in the south (with high humidity) be mindful of how long you run your fan.
If you're system is creating a vacuum on the conditioned space leading to humidity being pulled in, then there is something wrong with the system's design and/or build quality. Often, the supply ductwork is outside of the conditioned envelope and poorly sealed. The conditioned air escaping through these leaks means negative pressure developes in the conditioned space, effectively working like an exhaust fan, pulling in outside air in through every gap and crack possible. Look into properly sealing (and insulating) the ductwork. Running the fan continuously should not be a problem, and if it is, it is not the source of the problem.
It's not just a problem in the south. When the AC is done running the evaporative coil is wet and drips onto the condensate drain. But if you have your fan on and air is passing that wet coil, it now takes that humidity with it into the air going back to the house. So the AC lowers humidity when it runs but then the fan puts a lot of it back into the air. Circulating air is great but not during the summer.
My house stays very humid when I run the fan all the time. And feels hotter. We have a basement with a return in basement as well as upstairs. Once I stopped running the fan all the time the upstairs cooled down. Although the basement stays 10 degrees colder than upstairs when I don't run fan all the time
Honeywell T6 thermostat has a fan circulation mode pre set without having to mess with programming. But programming is an option if that’s what you are interested in also. During the initial setup/installation you have to select programmable or non programmable. Fan circulation mode will bring the fan on and off in cycles just to circulate air throughout the house without the heat or ac running. And will still bring the fan on automatically if the thermostat calls for heat or AC 👍🏻
Handyman, we deal with the super hot summers in TX, do you have an opinion on radiant barriers? I'm seeing where it can cool the attic space (where the ducts run) and makes the HAVC unit work less. Just not sure if it's real or gimmicky.
Hey handyman, yesterday I fished them returns in the bedrooms, that I didn’t have before. I don’t know if remember me asking about adding some returns to the rooms because I only had two in my hallway and none in my 3 bedrooms. Thank you for the advice, it feels like it cools faster. Now i just got to wait till it hits over 90 again to really test it out
25 year HVAC professional, A capacitor on a service call is 125, on a scheduled cleaning 65. So to say they all charge a minimum of 600 is a complete lie. In fact I cant think of one local company that charges even half that.
@@TheHandyman1the flipper that sold me my house used flex duct work and didn't suspend it and has all kinds of excess laid out between the main run from the trunk to the terminal end so there's a lot of wasted dead space restricting flow and affecting the cooling of some of the areas of the house. Important to check those duct runs!!!
Please do the video on adjusting the fan speed! I have a unit located in a closet in the living room. It’s sooooo loud! Could I adjust the fan speed down, or would that cause problems with the AC performance?
If you slow it down to much It can cause your evaporative coil to ice up. The difference in temp going in your cold air return and coming out of your vents should be around 18 degrees. If the difference is below 15 degrees you might be able to slow the fan speed down. The slower the fan speed the colder the air coming out of the vents will be.
Also, the slower the fan speed will allow for better dehumidification. Depending on the age of your system, there will be a set of dip switches to set the fan speed(s) and some other options like start/stop ramping profiles and circulation speed. You will need the installer's (not the owner's) manuals to decode the dip switches. Newer models will have a a seven segment display and a series of menus to go through, again requiring the manual. Some (even Goodman) have apps and bluetooth controls. Likely, if your systwm is obnoxiously loud, the highly skilled licenced and certified HVAC installers never even looked at the settings and just slapped the thing in place, plugged in and wrote and invoice, leaving it at the high end of it's range as they normally come. Handy is right about the temperature drop, but if you dont have something that will read the temperatures accurately, you can reduce the fan speed to something that seems reasonable sound-wise that still delivers reasonable air to your registers (enough to feel with hair on your arm from 2ft away or so) and keep an eye on the coil particularly on a humidy day: if ice builds up, turn the fan up one notch, if not, you're good to go!
Sounds like you probably just need more return on your system. Too much static pressure suffocating the unit. And lowering the fan speed will ultimately cause more problems. Fan speeds are typically based on tonnage of AHU vs tonnage of CU, and adjusting those speeds are meant to accommodate for a smaller or bigger CU than Air Handler.
@@Straight_White_Fatherly_Figure The unit is in a closet that’s directly above the one and only return. It’s basically a 2.5’x3’x4’ box. Only a large grill is in the way of air going into it, so that shouldn’t be the issue. Maybe the fan does have to push harder to actually push air out of all the registers scattered throughout the house, but I can feel the air come out of the registers from pretty far away, so hopefully the previous commenter is correct that the installers just set/left it at max and went to install the next one.
First
Well played
"First"
But isn't that the same thing that your mother said to you?
Cheating
🤣
Finally got one huh?
Your recent videos have inspired me to get serious about educating myself about HVAC so I can add it to my services. Those profit $$ warm the cockles of my heart!
Leaving my fan on all day is so nice. Keeps things from getting stale. It also helps with dust in the house, but you gotta change those filters from filterbuy a little more often because of the 100 percent duty cycle!
I bought a capacitor and contactor locally and changed them out myself for...70 dollars? I don't even recall exactly how much.
Circulating fan is great, except in the summer. You don't want it moving air over the coil full of condensation after the AC is done running because it will take that humidity back into the house so now you have even temperature throughout but also humid air which will feel uncomfortable. The rest of the year it's a great idea to circulate the air. Some people might not like it in the winter as the non heated air coming out of the vents may feel cold to them. I definitely like the circulate option on my thermostat, especially with a variable speed blower because that low speed is so quiet.
I also found that using a high quality foil tape on all the main trunk lines that are accessible really improved AC to the rooms. I have a flat roof, painting it with super white Acrymax elastomeric coating (got rid of old fashioned black rolled roofing) my upstairs bedrooms are at least 10 degrees cooler too.
My 2nd floor was a lot warmer in the summer like you said. An hvac guy told me about running the fan more so I recently programmed my thermostat to have the fan run all night and it made a huge difference. Wish I had found out about that sooner. Works great
Obummer is hijacking the first 30 sec of your video asking for $5 🤣🤣
Capacitors, what a money maker 😆🤦♂️ stay cool Handy 🥶💕👍
PS- love ur BIG head 👏👍
After enjoying a multi-zone Furnace for 8 years, I don't know if I could live in a single zone home again. I have the 3 smart thermostats dialed in to match our usage patterns pretty closely so the parts of the house we're using are always the right temperature without running the HVAC system more than needed.
Everything you mentioned is important and doable for all DIYers. The duct must be sized correctly to properly pressurize each supply and distribute evenly. If the charge is not correct, it the compressor, or either fan is dropping out or the drain is backing up to open the float switch, cooling will be erratic at best! But what if the compressor is working say at 70% because the internals cannot hold compression or TXV is restricted well then you will need me! $600 for a run cap or start cap relay combo is theft!
This video is cool! (pun intended!) Thank you Handyman! Keeping our homes cool in Summer and warm in Winter is simple physics with regards to air movement, as well as common sense with regards to care and maintenance of the equipment.
I started watching your videos a few years ago when I still lived in Nashville, just before Covid and during. I had just started in your line of work after being full time musician since 89. We even chatted some during a live stream. You’ve given me a lot of good info, handyman. I moved and hadn’t watched your channel in a while but recently started watching again. Good to see you again & thanks.
9:30 its better to run cieling fans on low speed as opposed to the fan in your hvac system. Here in Fl, running the blower adds humidity into your living space when the condensing unit isnt running.
Can you explain a little more how running the central HVAC fan will draw more humidity into the house. My thought is that the fan is just recirculating the existing air in the house. Is the air moving causing more air leakage somehow?
@matttanglewood2522 duct work only has R6 insulation wrapped around it. Therefore, it does in fact absorb humidity and also heat from the attic space and in the wall cavities. If the condensing unit isnt cooling the duct work or dehumidifying, then duct work (without leaks) will indeed add heat and humidity to a conditioned space.
@@matttanglewood2522
It depends on, among other things, if you have proper returns in all the rooms. Say the bedrooms have no returns and the doors are closed then the air-handler will cause negative pressure in one part of the house and draw air (including moisture) in through cracks, windows and doors. Lack of returns can also over pressurize a room and force conditioned air out the same deficiencies in the envelope.
Also, if the attic space doesnt have a supplemental ventilation system (electric thermostatic fan or roof turbine) to facilitate heat exchange in the attic, the excessive temperature in the attic will radiate through the ductwork and cause condensation with the cold air flowing through when the A/C is running. That leads to 2 problems here in the south, increased humidity indoors and the potential for mold growth and the stale musty smell constantly present within the duct system affective household air quality @@matttanglewood2522
I’m in one of those flipped homes where the flippers decided to leave the main return trunk in the basement wide open at the end, but disconnect all of the returns in the house. I have the ducting for returns but nothing is connected to the main return trunk. Pretty stupid! Fixing it is on my list.
Im a 68 degree guy. Hey i have growth in my unit in the attic, the hvac guy trying to sell me a uv light for $1000.00 any ideas what light they use to kill the growth? 1k for a uv light is insane.
Down south in Mobile, AL if you leave you fan on all the time you will pull in wet air and your inside air will be very humid. Someone in our office did this and we were getting so humid we started to have mold. I found the fan in the on position on the thermostat and set it back to auto. They had set it to on for many days. Within a few hours we stated to pull the humidity down. So if you live in the south (with high humidity) be mindful of how long you run your fan.
If you're system is creating a vacuum on the conditioned space leading to humidity being pulled in, then there is something wrong with the system's design and/or build quality.
Often, the supply ductwork is outside of the conditioned envelope and poorly sealed. The conditioned air escaping through these leaks means negative pressure developes in the conditioned space, effectively working like an exhaust fan, pulling in outside air in through every gap and crack possible.
Look into properly sealing (and insulating) the ductwork.
Running the fan continuously should not be a problem, and if it is, it is not the source of the problem.
Is that with windows open? Where does it pull humidity in from?🤔
Jonny I have the same question. Its a closed system. And The AC still runs when the thermostat calls for cooling.
It's not just a problem in the south. When the AC is done running the evaporative coil is wet and drips onto the condensate drain. But if you have your fan on and air is passing that wet coil, it now takes that humidity with it into the air going back to the house. So the AC lowers humidity when it runs but then the fan puts a lot of it back into the air. Circulating air is great but not during the summer.
My house stays very humid when I run the fan all the time. And feels hotter. We have a basement with a return in basement as well as upstairs. Once I stopped running the fan all the time the upstairs cooled down. Although the basement stays 10 degrees colder than upstairs when I don't run fan all the time
68 at night. 74 day
Now thats easy livin
My a/c quit last week. Capacitor. $10.99 🆒
Big heads yea baby!
For me, I would rather have a little head every so often 😉
Honeywell T6 thermostat has a fan circulation mode pre set without having to mess with programming.
But programming is an option if that’s what you are interested in also. During the initial setup/installation you have to select programmable or non programmable.
Fan circulation mode will bring the fan on and off in cycles just to circulate air throughout the house without the heat or ac running. And will still bring the fan on automatically if the thermostat calls for heat or AC
👍🏻
1st July yesterday, middle of summer, had to put the heating on in the morning for a short burst😢 🏴
video yang mantap saya suka
Handyman, we deal with the super hot summers in TX, do you have an opinion on radiant barriers? I'm seeing where it can cool the attic space (where the ducts run) and makes the HAVC unit work less. Just not sure if it's real or gimmicky.
They work. I had them installed when my house was built here in North Texas. Not a gimmick, there's science backing up their use.
Hey handyman, yesterday I fished them returns in the bedrooms, that I didn’t have before. I don’t know if remember me asking about adding some returns to the rooms because I only had two in my hallway and none in my 3 bedrooms. Thank you for the advice, it feels like it cools faster. Now i just got to wait till it hits over 90 again to really test it out
Nice work!
🇺🇸🤘 Heck Yeah Handy Dandy 🤘🇺🇸
What is that gray pelican case / portable AC?
Diesel heater.
25 year HVAC professional, A capacitor on a service call is 125, on a scheduled cleaning 65. So to say they all charge a minimum of 600 is a complete lie. In fact I cant think of one local company that charges even half that.
You should raise your prices. Retire early.
@@TheHandyman1 No i dont need to stick it to the customers like you
I got charged 260 just two days ago to replace mine
4 90s - 4 45s = 2 90s
You are correct. I made a mistake. The room has massive amounts of air flow now.
@@TheHandyman1the flipper that sold me my house used flex duct work and didn't suspend it and has all kinds of excess laid out between the main run from the trunk to the terminal end so there's a lot of wasted dead space restricting flow and affecting the cooling of some of the areas of the house. Important to check those duct runs!!!
Please do the video on adjusting the fan speed! I have a unit located in a closet in the living room. It’s sooooo loud! Could I adjust the fan speed down, or would that cause problems with the AC performance?
If you slow it down to much It can cause your evaporative coil to ice up. The difference in temp going in your cold air return and coming out of your vents should be around 18 degrees. If the difference is below 15 degrees you might be able to slow the fan speed down. The slower the fan speed the colder the air coming out of the vents will be.
@@TheHandyman1 Ok, thanks for the information!
Also, the slower the fan speed will allow for better dehumidification.
Depending on the age of your system, there will be a set of dip switches to set the fan speed(s) and some other options like start/stop ramping profiles and circulation speed. You will need the installer's (not the owner's) manuals to decode the dip switches. Newer models will have a a seven segment display and a series of menus to go through, again requiring the manual. Some (even Goodman) have apps and bluetooth controls.
Likely, if your systwm is obnoxiously loud, the highly skilled licenced and certified HVAC installers never even looked at the settings and just slapped the thing in place, plugged in and wrote and invoice, leaving it at the high end of it's range as they normally come.
Handy is right about the temperature drop, but if you dont have something that will read the temperatures accurately, you can reduce the fan speed to something that seems reasonable sound-wise that still delivers reasonable air to your registers (enough to feel with hair on your arm from 2ft away or so) and keep an eye on the coil particularly on a humidy day: if ice builds up, turn the fan up one notch, if not, you're good to go!
Sounds like you probably just need more return on your system. Too much static pressure suffocating the unit. And lowering the fan speed will ultimately cause more problems. Fan speeds are typically based on tonnage of AHU vs tonnage of CU, and adjusting those speeds are meant to accommodate for a smaller or bigger CU than Air Handler.
@@Straight_White_Fatherly_Figure The unit is in a closet that’s directly above the one and only return. It’s basically a 2.5’x3’x4’ box. Only a large grill is in the way of air going into it, so that shouldn’t be the issue. Maybe the fan does have to push harder to actually push air out of all the registers scattered throughout the house, but I can feel the air come out of the registers from pretty far away, so hopefully the previous commenter is correct that the installers just set/left it at max and went to install the next one.