Cooling off in the Heat of the Summer- Stressing the HVAC System

Well those in the Midwest and East coast have been going through record heat. In the last part of June 170 all time highs for various cities and areas either hit that mark or exceeded it. January to June set an all time historical record for warmth.

But out here in the Pacific Northwest that has not been the case. We have had unseasonably cool and wet weather.

Well that has all changed. We have been getting very close to the 100 degree mark here in North Central Washington. Wenatchee has not seen 100 degree weather in over three years I have been told. Normal highs for the Wenatchee valley in July are around 85. They are predicting to reach the century mark today.

“We’ve been joking that the 90s are the new 100s, because when we hit the 90s this summer everybody gets pretty excited,” said Rocco Pelatti, a meteorologist for the Weather Service office in Spokane.

With the heat one thing that is happening is the Air conditioning systems are getting stressed. As a home inspector I am always recommending the Air Conditioning systems be serviced and readied for this weather.

Another item is making sure that the ductwork is in good order. In this last week I have run into several homes that the ducts have come apart and are now conditioning the crawlspace. When HVAC systems are being stressed having some of that cooling going into the crawlspace is not going to help. Good for me, I like cool crawl spaces when it is hot, but not good for you in the home.

Homeowners should really plan on having periodic checks of the crawlspace for these types of conditions.  HVAC issues, plumbing leak, rodent and insect infestation that goes unchecked can become very expensive and detrimental to the home.

If you hire a home inspector who is a licensed structural pest inspector you can have that done every few years to make sure that the home is in tip top shape down there.
 

“If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”

Red Adair

NCW Home Inspections, LLC  is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Orville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…

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