HVAC and Insulation Advice from The Homeowners Show

In Texas the air conditioner is not a comfort appliance, it is the thing standing between you and August. These episodes cover the machine, the attic above it, and the air it moves, because those three problems are almost always the same problem.

Jehu and Jojo Trumbly of Affordable Air Repair came on twice. Once on the summer failures, frozen coils, refrigerant pressure, blower motors and what routine service should cost. Once on fall heating, including that first burnt smell out of the furnace, mini splits, zoning, SEER ratings and the filter you keep meaning to change.

The attic is where most of the money goes, and Steve Spoon of Victory Insulation has three episodes on it. Check your insulation every five years. Understand R-value before somebody sells you a number. Radiant barriers cause problems people do not expect, spray foam changes how an attic breathes, and compressed batts are worth less than the label claims. He also covered pest companies selling insulation and unlicensed installers, which is a hiring problem wearing an HVAC costume. Texas House Bill 3314 took aim at spray foam directly, and the show covered it alongside encapsulated attic mold and the supply and return sitting up there with it.

Air quality is the underrated one. Caroline Blazovsky, who does this for a living, explained HRV and ERV ventilation, house pressurization, humidity control, and stopping mold before remediation is on the table. Eric Blanco of Dry Guys named air conditioning as one of the biggest sources of the water damage work he does.

Then the controls: a full Ecobee3 Lite review with geofencing and HomeKit, the cheaper Degrii after a real install with the C wire question answered, and a Hessaire swamp cooler, which is a genuinely different machine than an air conditioner. Start wherever your system is.