Rosie on the House: Answering those too-hot-to-handle AC questions

Weve been talking about air conditioning for so long that it seems as if weve covered every possible question four or five times. But at this time of year, it still remains the No. 1 most popular subject among Arizona residents who write to us or call our radio program.

To kick off the summer, here are some of the most popular AC questions, the ones that homeowners ask over and over again in one form or another about air conditioning along with some up-to-date answers:

Q: Why do I have to replace a perfectly good furnace when my air conditioner breaks down? Why cant I just replace one part or the other? Isnt it wasteful to throw out both parts of the HVAC system when I only need one new component?

A: The main reason for replacing the entire system is that the newest air conditioners and furnaces are much more energy efficient now than the ones installed in your house 10 to 15 years ago. So you want to install a new air handler/furnace that has the same capacity and efficiency as your new air conditioning compressor. Mixing the old technology with the new can decrease system performance and comfort. Replacing both at once may also cost slightly less than replacing one part of your system one year and another part the next. Actually, if your AC needs replacing now, the air handler/furnace is probably on the brink of extinction as well.

Q: My air conditioning does a great job in the living areas at one end of the house, but the bedrooms on the other side of the house are always hot. What can the problem be and what do I do about it?

A: Some homeowners in this situation have solved the problem by changing the type of registers they have on ceilings and walls the grilles that supply heated or cooled air to their rooms. Often, homes have stamped-faced air registers with fixed or semi-fixed grilles. These registers have smaller openings that cannot be adjusted to redirect or restrict the air flow. As a result, cooled air can back-flow, creating an imbalance in the system.

So install bar-faced grilles with larger openings and adjustable blade dampers, allowing more air to pass through and keeping rooms more comfortable. By changing the registers and adjusting the blades, you might solve your problem.

For optimum cooling, it would be ideal for every room to have a return-air register that will draw in the hot air that rises to the ceiling and move it back into the HVAC system. Maybe you can install extra return registers in bedrooms if they dont have them. Sometimes this can be difficult to do, but when done, it will cool warm rooms practically every time.

In addition, you might want to hire someone to do a whole house energy audit for your home. Besides testing the registers, the audit may uncover some structural defects in your air ducts or deficiencies in your exterior wall or attic insulation that are causing the problem. Some utilities in Arizona will subsidize the cost of the audit so that it can be done for under $100.

Q: Can installing radiant barrier insulation in my attic help keep my home cooler in summer?

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Rosie on the House: Answering those too-hot-to-handle AC questions