As heat waves in the Bay Area become more common, older homes built without A/C units become less comfortable in the summer months. Retrofitting older homes with new heat pump and mini-split units has become a very popular project for Element Home Solutions as a result!
Older Homes Benefit from Air Conditioning Innovations
Climate forecasts predict as many as 30 additional days above 90 degrees in the Bay Area over the next decade. Older Bay Area homes were often designed without the need for air conditioning systems in the mid to late 20th Century, as there were few if any days above 90 degrees annually. Homeowners could “suffer through” those few days until the naturally cool Bay Area weather returned. These homes will be less comfortable if the homeowner needs to survive heat waves that could last two weeks at a time.
There are two methods for improving an older home’s ability to stay cool in the coming heat waves:
Upgrade Insulation to Keep Homes Cooler
Older homes have old insulation. That insulation was designed to deliver an even temperature under the older, cooler climate. That insulation is also now decades old and has degraded to the point where it is no longer doing its job.
- Updating attic insulation, crawlspace insulation and wall insulation goes a long way in improving a house’s ability to keep heat out in the summer and heat in during the winter.
- Adding a radiant barrier to the attic or roof to keep summer sun from heating the space below the roof (and therefore the home’s interior).
- Adding a vapor barrier to a crawlspace to seal the home from the humidity of the outside air circulating in and out of that crawlspace.
Install modular heat pump air conditioning systems
For older homes, adding the duct work needed to circulate cool air throughout the home evenly may be a more costly project than homeowners can handle. But new HVAC solutions like ductless heat pumps and mini-split heating and cooling units can bring air conditioning to those parts of the house where the original forced air furnace doesn’t reach. These systems are custom designed to fit the needs of each home, so they offer an affordable way to upgrade your current heating and cooling system.
Ask how Bay Area homeowners are upgrading their homes to deal with increasingly hot summers
Element Home Solutions is dedicated to whole-house solutions for achieving a family’s desired comfort level in their home. Whether it is an insulation upgrade, an HVAC system upgrade or expansion, or a combination of both, we have the expertise to get it done for you.
Contact us at 888-980-4822 or send us a message through this site.
We look forward to working with you!
