Halloween celebrations might make a dent in your home’s HVAC efficiency if you use some kinds of candles and lamp oil or use a fog machine indoors. The sheer number of times you open the door may cool your home, but if you’re having a party, count on plenty of body heat.
Steps to Take:
Keep your front door closed between trick-or-treaters if it’s a cold night. Make it more fun by decorating the outside so that the kids see it as they walk to the door.
Nobody would argue that fog machines create an authentically scary ambience, but they’ll also cool the air off if you use the misting types. The other kinds that use “fog juice” create heat indoors. You may want to change your HVAC filter to get rid of any particulates that collect on the filter after Halloween is over.
Burning candles creates a good deal of ambience but they also emit a lot of heat and soot if they’re made from paraffin wax. If the party is large enough or there are enough candles, it’s conceivable that you’d need to turn on the air conditioner to cool the air.
Soot from candles and even lamp oil will also collect in your home’s air and could harm your air filters, The particles can quickly clog the filters and coat the inside of the air handler, reducing HVAC efficiency. If you must use candles, opt for clean burning beeswax or soy products. Look for smoke-free lamp oil. Adjust the wicks so that they don’t smoke.
Parties create heat. If you’re hosting a party, it won’t take long to notice that your home is warming up from all the body and cooking heat. If your party will be crowded, prepare ahead by turning down the furnace ahead of time. You may need to switch from heating to cooling if it gets too warm or open the windows.
Having your HVAC efficiency checked before the celebrations start will help you maintain comfort regardless of the weather or party size. For more information, contact Air Assurance, providing HVAC services for Broken Arrow homeowners.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273.