Frequently Asked Questions
Q: WHY SHOULD I SCHEDULE AN ENERGY AUDIT?
To increase the comfort of your home
To increase the durability of your home
To ensure that energy improvement recommendations are portrayed with reasonable and consistent projections of energy savings
To increase the energy efficiency of your home
To reduce waste and pollution, protecting the environment
Q: WHAT IS HOME PERFORMANCE STUDY?
Hage Energy is all about making existing homes more comfortable, safer, healthier, more durable, and more energy efficient. Our energy consultants use proven building science to examine the whole home and how different systems within it interact. These systems include the building envelope (shell), heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, and the occupants themselves.
Q: WHAT SERVICES MIGHT BE INCLUDED IN A HOME PERFORMANCE PROJECT?
Our experts will conduct several home safety tests, including an energy audit, air leakage tests, carbon monoxide tests, combustion appliance back-draft testing, and other safety tests.
Q: CAN AN INVESTMENT IN HOME PERFORMANCE HELP MAKE MY HOUSE MORE COMFORTABLE?
Yes, because a home performance project will assess many different energy systems in your home to determine what problems are causing you to waste energy. Living more efficiently can help you live more comfortably.
Q: CAN A HOME PERFORMANCE PROJECT HELP ME LOWER MY ENERGY BILLS?
Yes, a home performance project can reduce annual utility bills by as much as 20 percent (U.S. EPA, U.S. DOE, Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® Brochure, EPA 430-F-09-001, January 2009).
Q: WHAT ARE LED LIGHTS?
LED stands for light-emitting diodes, which produce visible light when an electrical current passes through them.
Q: HOW IS LED LIGHTING DIFFERENT THAN OTHER LIGHT SOURCES, SUCH AS INCANDESCENT AND CFL?
LED lighting is considered much more efficient than incandescent or compact fluorescent lighting. The way LED lighting produces light is a little different from other light sources. LED uses light emitting diodes to produce light. LEDs are illuminated by an electrical current passing through semiconductor material. LEDs emit light in a specific direction, which is different from how incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs emit light.
Q: WHY SHOULD I PURCHASE A NEW HEATING OR AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM?
At Hage Energy, we realize that purchasing a heating or air conditioning system is no small matter. However, if your existing system is old, in need of repair, or simply inefficient, purchasing a new unit, one which can be as much as 60 percent more efficient than a system purchased just 10 years ago, can offer long-term benefits.
Rather than continuing to pay for ongoing maintenance and costly monthly bills, invest in a new system today that will save you money for years to come.
Q: WHY SHOULD I SCHEDULE AN ENERGY AUDIT?
Q: HOW DO I DETERMINE THE SIZE, OR CAPACITY, OF MY HVAC SYSTEM?
We will consider factors such as the size of your home, the number of residents in your home, the number of windows in your home, and the number of heat-producing fixtures in your home. Our specialists will factor all of this in to determine the appropriate heating or cooling unit for your home.
Q: WHAT GOES INTO INSTALLING A NEW SYSTEM?
A new ductwork system will have to be installed to handle the flow of air in and out of your new HVAC unit. Ductwork is the most important installation to make, since it determines the amount of air coming in and out of the system.
Q: HOW LONG WILL MY SYSTEM LAST?
Your air conditioner can last for more than a decade if you stick to regular maintenance and service.
Q: WHERE CAN I LOCATE MY AIR HANDLER OR FURNACE SYSTEM?
Depending on the design of your home, you can find your furnace system in several different locations. These systems are typically found in basements, while others may be in closets, attics, outside the home, or even on your roof.
Q: WHAT IS A HEAT PUMP?
A heat pump moves hot or cold air from one space to another. This includes moving hot air from inside to outside or exterior heat to the inside of your home.
Q: WHAT CAN I DO BEFORE CALLING SOMEONE TO SERVICE MY SYSTEM?
You can try disconnecting and reconnecting your indoor and outdoor switches to see if that fixes the problem. You can also simply check that your circuit breakers are in the ON position and that your filters are clean. Another check you can try is to open supply and return vents to look for obstructions and check the settings on your thermostat. Depending on what you want, you can also make sure your system switch is on the appropriate COOL or HEAT setting.
Q: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I REPLACE MY OLD SYSTEM?
We start the replacement process by inspecting your home. This inspection includes a detailed look at your ductwork, insulation, refrigerant, wiring, slabs, piping, and more.
Q: DO I NEED TO CHANGE MY INDOOR COIL?
It is generally a good idea to replace the indoor coil if you are also replacing your air conditioner or heat pump. There is a correlation between the efficiency of your heating or cooling system and the performance of the indoor coil, and changing out the current indoor coil for a new one may be critical to optimizing the performance, the efficiency, and the savings potential of your new system.
Q: WHAT IS AFUE?
AFUE is the abbreviation for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency ratio. AFUE is used to rate furnace efficiencies by dividing the ratio of heat output by heat input. This measurement describes how well fuel, gas, or oil is consumed to produce heat by a furnace. As the AFUE rate increases, the efficiency of your furnace also increases, lowering your fuel costs. Furnaces manufactured in the United States are required to have at least an 80 percent AFUE.
Q: WHAT IS HSPF?
HSPF is the abbreviation for the Heating Seasonal Performance Factor, which is a rating of the efficiency level of the heating operation of a heat pump. The higher the HSPF, the more efficient the heating performance of a heat pump. New units in the United States have HSPF ratings from 7.0 to 9.4.
