The HVAC system in your Bountiful, UT, home plays a big part in its comfort. If your home is like most, it likely features a forced-air central HVAC system. It’s the most common type of residential climate control system in the United States. It offers adequate comfort, decent energy efficiency, and relatively low up-front costs. However, this type of system is far from perfect. It has a few big drawbacks that can impact your home’s comfort and your energy costs. Fortunately, there’s a way to reduce or eliminate many of those drawbacks. By using a variable-speed air handler, you can substantially improve your HVAC system’s performance. To elaborate, here are the drawbacks to conventional forced-air HVAC and how variable-speed air handlers solve them.
The Inherent Problems With Central Forced-Air HVAC
Traditional central forced-air HVAC systems use the economy of scale to provide high efficiency and comfort. The logic behind this is simple. It’s cheaper to run a few large fans and one compressor than it is to run multiple room-sized HVACs. Centralizing your HVAC does come with some tradeoffs, though. One is that a standard HVAC system has only a single thermostat and operates at a single speed. As a result, you’re all but guaranteed to experience uneven temperatures inside your home.
When a standard HVAC turns on, you will likely feel hotter or colder than you’d like the whole time it runs. Then, when it switches off, the opposite happens. Worse still, central HVAC systems cycle on and off several times per hour to maintain the desired temperature. Between those cycles, the actual temperature can vary by as much as 2 degrees above or below your set temperature.
Plus, turning your HVAC fans and compressor on draws a tremendous amount of electricity. This is why your HVAC contains capacitors, which provide the jolt those motors need at startup. So, constant cycling and single-speed operation harm your comfort and your bottom line.
What Is a Variable Speed Air Handler?
A variable-speed air handler contains an electrically commutated blower motor. That’s a technical term to describe a motor that can speed up or slow down based on the voltage applied. Having an HVAC with a variable-speed air handler fundamentally changes the way your HVAC operates. Instead of cycling off and on in response to your thermostat, it maintains your desired temperature by altering its speed.
The Advantages of Variable-Speed Air Handlers
An HVAC with a variable-speed air handler comes with a variety of advantages over a standard HVAC system. Here are the most notable advantages among them.
Consistent Heating and Cooling
A variable-speed air handler allows your HVAC to deliver consistent heating or cooling at all times. It does this by supplying the exact amount of conditioned air you need at any given moment. For example, if you lower your thermostat by several degrees, the blower motor will operate at full speed. But when the actual temperature reaches your set point, the motor will slow to maintain that temperature. Many HVAC systems with variable-speed air handlers can run as slow as 25% of their maximum speed. Some step their fan speeds up and down by preset amounts, while others offer true variable-speed operation.
Superior Air Quality
HVAC systems with variable-speed air handlers run for long stretches without turning off. That has the added benefit of recycling your home’s air more frequently than a standard system would. And every time your home’s air passes through the air handler, it’s passing through your HVAC air filter. This results in improved air quality throughout your home. You can upgrade your HVAC air filter for even more air quality benefits.
Quieter Operation
Since an HVAC with a variable-speed air handler runs at low speeds most of the time, it’s very quiet. With a single-speed air handler, you typically hear a woosh of air from your vents when the system activates. By contrast, a variable-speed air handler is typically so quiet that you wouldn’t know whether it was on or off.
Increased Energy Efficiency
A variable-speed air handler also consumes far less energy than its single-speed counterparts. This is because it requires far less energy to run a fan at a low speed than at a high speed. Even if you run your fan for longer at a low speed, you will still save a massive amount of electricity. Depending on the configuration of your variable-speed system, you may see up to a 75% reduction in energy costs.
Reduced Wear and Tear
HVAC systems that use variable-speed air handlers also suffer less wear and tear as they run. This is because the constant starting and stopping of motors and compressors is destructive. As a result, an HVAC with a variable-speed air handler will last longer than its single-speed counterparts. It will also suffer fewer breakdowns over its lifespan, reducing repair costs.
Compatibility With Zoning Systems
Variable-speed air handlers also make the perfect complement to a zoning system. A zoning system splits your HVAC up into individually controlled zones, each with its own thermostat. This gives you much more precise control over conditions in different areas of your home. It’s important to note, however, that single-speed air handlers limit the number of zones you can have. This is because they encounter static pressure issues when too much of your home’s ductwork closes down.
A variable-speed air handler, by comparison, supports a wider range of zone configurations. That’s because it can run at whatever speed your system’s zone panel requires at any given time. Plus, combining a variable-speed air handler with a zoning system increases your HVAC efficiency more than using one without the other.
Superior Humidity Control
Finally, HVAC systems with variable-speed air handlers do a better job of controlling your home’s humidity. Here in Bountiful, that can substantially improve your comfort in the winter months. From December through February, we see an average humidity of 78% to 83%, which can make your home uncomfortable. By running continuously, even at a low speed, a variable-speed air handler extracts more moisture from the air.
Your Local HVAC Experts
If you’d like to upgrade your home’s HVAC system to use a variable-speed air handler, Blue Best Plumbing, Heating, Air, Generators can help. We offer complete HVAC services, including installation, repair, and maintenance. Plus, we offer plumbing, indoor air quality, and ductwork services, too. We even handle commercial HVAC systems if you have a business in the area. We also sell and install the latest systems from Lennox and Amana, two of the most respected HVAC manufacturers. Additionally, we’re Better Business Bureau-accredited with an A+ rating. We also have a long list of glowing customer reviews from local homeowners just like you. And if you need help paying for the HVAC upgrades you want, we offer financing options on approved credit.
For the latest in variable-speed HVAC air handlers in Bountiful, call Blue Best Plumbing, Heating, Air, Generators today!
