Biggest Problems & Energy Saving Advice | #AskDerekCole Episode 100

Hey, on this episode we have episode 100. You ask your comfort and energy questions and they get answered. This is the Ask Derrick Cole Show. Hey everybody, this is Derrick Cole. Welcome to episode 100 of the Ask Derrick Cole Show, answering your home and energy questions. Exciting announcement for you guys, the format of the show is changing just a bit. We're bringing back the Comfort Experts, and this is going to be more of a business Q&A show, but I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be here. These are going to sit on two different platforms, one Derek Cole, one One Hour. So big announcement, episode 100 will be the last one in this format. So I'm sorry, but I'll still be here. Anyway, happy birthday to Carolina, who turned 25 yesterday or something like that, something in that vicinity.

Or add some few years.

We'll say 25. All right, maybe 30-ish.

Still add some years.

30-ish, we're getting close.

You look younger though, so it's like a compliment. Yeah, 25. She can drink now. But that's exciting. William and I will be back as the Comfort Experts. Boom! In a new setting. Not here. It'd be next year. Yeah, 2017, baby, coming at you. All right, let's go.

What are the biggest problems you see this time of year?

This time of year we get a lot of thermostat questions, don't we? So I would say this time of year is thermostats because people are switching from cool to heat and the setting is not always correct on those thermostats. So So make sure your thermostat is either set to auto or set to heat. Some thermostats don't have an auto function, they have a cool or heat mode. So if you want heat, make sure it's on heat. Otherwise, leave it to auto and then set your temperatures for each one. But that's probably the most common problem this time of year is my thermostat's not working. And we get there and explain to the customer you have to be in heat mode or it has to be on. Before it actually works. So save money, save the service call, check the thermostat, make sure you're good to go. That's some free advice.

Any tips on making my unit more efficient this winter?

Yes, a big, very huge, huge tip for you guys out there. Change your filters. Filters. Checking and changing dirt is the biggest problem. Okay, so as it being the biggest problem, we need to get dirt out of the system. And how you can do that at home is changing and checking your air filter. I know I've said it over and over again for you diehard shows Fans of the show, you know, I say dirt and filter a lot because it's very important. Dirt is the biggest killer of furnaces, air conditioners, so you need to keep the dirt out. How do you do that? For you at home, filters. The right filter, changing it, checking it, making sure, because you want that hot air this time of year. You're making the air warm warm. You want to go through the filter. You don't want the air to be sucked up from the crawl space, from the attic, from outside. All this unfiltered dirty air, uh, so you want it to come through the filter and be filtered coming back to the unit so it stays clean and efficient. That'll save you money because the unit is now not working as hard. If it has to pull it from the crawl space or pull it from outside or the attic, wherever it's at, the garage, it's having to work harder than if it just flowed back to it, you know, the way it's supposed to go. So if it has to pull it, it's working harder. And then if it gets dirty and the motor and the blower wheel, all that has dirt on it, it also has to work hard. So all that is wasting energy. And it's not only wasting energy, it's having to work harder. So the lifespan of those products are not going to be as long because you're putting a strain on it. So that's probably my biggest advice.

I know, right?

We need episode 100 and we're talking about filters.

According to Energy Star, Energy Star, the government, changing your filter is the one thing you can do as a homeowner to affect your efficiency. Yes, it's not sexy, it's not awesome, I'm not talking about things that change the world, but changing your filter will change your world. Whoa, there's the statement for you.

That was really nice.

And you can refer, relate this to any season of the year, basically. Yes, basically, yes.

I mean, somebody asked me at a presentation I was doing, what's the biggest problem? Dirt. How do you fix dirt? That's always the biggest problem. Always the biggest problem. Always the biggest problem. And it's something you have to just constantly say over and over and over again, but I can't change it. It is what it is. It's the biggest problem. I mean, how many calls we go to 30-some calls a day, and, you know, well over half of them are filters or a bad part. And the bad motor or the bad module or the bad blower wheel is because when it comes back to the shop, what does it look like? It's very dirty. That's why it fails. I mean, if we took this camera right now to the junk pile, you would see some very disturbing images of what's in the house, what you're breathing. Like, oh my gosh, what's going on here? Why am I sick? That is why you're sick. Look at what you're breathing.

Yeah, we just changed our filters. Well, I know it's nasty. I know I'm supposed to change them out.

Imagine Imagine what's not getting caught in the filter. What affects you are the things you can't see in there.

We should have an asterisk hole on site. We should have a field trip. We should go to someone's house and look in their crawl space.

It'd be scary.

That would be exciting, actually.

See, let's do it.

That would be something.

We can go to my house. I don't care.

Good at my house.

Let's go to your house.

Go under my house. It's not as scary, but still scary.

I don't know what's under my house.

I've never looked, but that's probably going to be a problem.

1 Hour did install my unit, so we can go look.

It was a package unit.

Yeah, you're right.

So it means you probably got a lower house, and it's really, really scary.

Actually, I don't have a lower house, actually.

You haven't been down there, how do you know?

Well, that's true.

All right, it's episode 100 of the Ask Derrick Cole Show. Be sure to hashtag your questions #AskDerrickCole and we'll get them on a show.