Home Renovations and Your HVAC System: 5 Important Considerations

June 28, 2019

Renovating your home in Melbourne, Florida, is both exciting and stressful. To turn your renovating dreams into a reality requires good planning. Bear in mind that home renovations can affect your HVAC system. By including your HVAC needs in the planning stage, you’ll protect your system and avoid additional remodeling expenses. Protect and get the most out of your HVAC system during home renovations with these five important considerations:

Consider a Larger HVAC System

Are you adding extra space to your home? Whether you’re enclosing a sunroom, adding on a room or building an extra story, your HVAC unit may not be sufficient to cater to the extra space. It’s best to plan for an HVAC upgrade up front, especially if you’re taking out a loan to finance the renovation. As a result, you’ll avoid dealing with unexpected costs down the line.

Even if you don’t need a larger HVAC unit, this may be a good time to invest in a newer system. Home renovations are a large investment. While you’re making major changes, why not also upgrade your HVAC system?

You may need to upgrade your HVAC system if you have noticed any of the following:

Increased monthly energy bills.
Your HVAC system is over 10 years old.
Your HVAC system needs repairs more often than before.
It’s hard to keep a comfortable temperature in your home.
The airflow in your home has decreased.

Protect Your HVAC System

Renovations are dusky projects. Cutting drywall, wood or tiles will create a lot of dust. Keep the vents to your ductwork closed so that dust and debris can’t collect there. To reduce the dust going into your HVAC system, ask your contractor to do their cutting in an area where dust won’t blow into your HVAC unit. As a result, you’ll protect the filter from clogging too quickly and the system from damage.

Clean Around Your Home Regularly

Renovating is often a lengthy process, which means that you’ll deal with dust and dirt for a while. It’s important that you keep your home as clean as you can during that time. Dust and vacuum every few days. This will help to lessen the excess dust and dirt, and you’ll avoid ending up with a clogged air filter.

Even if you keep your home as dust-free as possible during the renovation process, you’ll probably need to clean or change your air filter more often. When your air filter clogs with renovation dust, it won’t do your home or health any good. You’ll have to use good judgment when it comes to changing your air filter depending on the length and amount of work involved in your home renovations.

Reconfigure Ductwork

You may need to reconfigure or add ductwork if you’re adding square footage or changing the layout of your home. It’s best to plan for this early on while the walls are open and accessible before the drywall is in place. At this point, consider replacing your ductwork with KoolDuct—a lightweight, cleanable, high-performance, and pre-insulated air duct system that replaces fiberglass and sheet metal ducts.

Perform a Post Renovation Inspection

Once you finish the renovations, call the professionals to check your HVAC system and clean your ducts. Even if you’ve kept your home clean and taken steps to prevent damaging your system during your home renovation, dust is persistent. Although duct cleaning isn’t something you need to do very often, you need it after home renovations. Dust that has settled in your ducts will force your HVAC system to work harder. As a result, it’ll reduce the safety and energy-efficiency of the system. Our service technicians have the correct tools to thoroughly clean your ductwork.

Even after you’ve taken proper precautions, you may still worry about the health of your HVAC system. Call Merritt Island Air & Heat at (321) 392-6564. It never hurts to schedule HVAC maintenance.

Image provided by Shutterstock