Your home’s HVAC systems don’t stand alone. Your air conditioner and furnace share several components and functions. Shortfalls in these common areas impact both summer cooling and winter warmth. Both systems deal with heat and airflow. The A/C takes heat out of the indoor air and transfers it outside to be dispersed into outdoor air. The furnace generates heat and disperses it into indoor air. The ductwork is the shared conduit for each HVAC system – transporting both cooled and heated airflow throughout the home – and the electric blower is the common driving force behind it.
Here are some ways shared components can impact overall HVAC system performance:
- Leaky ducts spill both cool and hot air alike. Aging residential ductwork is notoriously leaky and commonly responsible for energy losses of at least 20 percent in homes where the ducts aren’t tested and sealed by an HVAC professional.
- Poorly designed ducts also cause room air imbalances. Both heating and cooling functions perform optimally when each room is in a state of neutral air pressure. Over-pressurized rooms push warm or cold air out of cracks and gaps in the structure. Negative pressure pulls unconditioned, unfiltered outside air inside and impacts indoor air quality.
- An outmoded blower fan motor may decrease system airflow below specs. During air conditioning season, low airflow can cause icing on the evaporator coil and ineffective humidity extraction. When the furnace is running in winter, rooms distant from the blower may be chilly from insufficient warm airflow and/or the furnace heat exchanger may overheat.
- A dirty or clogged air filter in any season is bad news for both furnace and A/C as it strangles system airflow and diminishes air quality. The lack of free flow produces back-pressure that stresses the system blower motor as it pushes air against the obstruction, causing the motor to overheat and shortening service life.
For Terre Haute area homeowners, Paitson Bros. has been the year-round source of heating and cooling sales and service since 1922. Ask us for more information about the interaction between each HVAC system in your home.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Terre Haute, Indiana about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about HVAC systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Dirk Ercken/Shutterstock”
Jeff Paitson is a third generation business owner who continues to run the business with the same values that have been passed down from previous generations since 1922.
Jeff’s belief is that the business belongs to Jesus Christ; therefore 10 percent of the company’s profits go toward the Maryland Community Church.
Jeff is a Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce member and in his spare time, he enjoys 
Ethan Rayburn is a lifelong resident of Terre Haute and a 2005 graduate of Purdue University.
An Eagle Scout, Ethan spent four years as a non-profit executive with the Boy Scouts of America before joining Paitson Bros. as a comfort advisor and later General Manager. In that role, Ethan has brought a renewed enthusiasm for customer care, integrity, value, and service to Paitson Bros. Heating & Air Conditioning.
Ethan enjoys singing and was a member of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club. He also enjoys playing and coaching soccer, spending time with his family and two young boys, and volunteering his time and resources with his church, Terre Haute First Baptist Church, which he has attended from a very young age.
Paitson Bros
1 (812) 232-2347
Serving the Wabash Valley, IN Area Since 1922