Your heating and AC system is the biggest power user in your home. Lot's of focus on replacing that "old" unit with a better, more efficient one. But did you know that a poorly installed HVAC system could be losing 20% of the air due to duct leakage? No wonder your unit can't keep up. Before you even think about replacing the unit have someone take a look at your ductwork for leaks. Places to look are where the unit is connected to the supply and return ducts, all of the joints, and where the ducts connect to the registers. Look for duct mastic, that's the thick grey goo that seals the joints. If your ducts don't have it you probably have a problem. Other places to look at are uninsulated trunk lines, joist pans,(that's where they make a duct out of your wall cavity, or floor system, instead of a four sided duct), and leaky air returns. Open where your filter grill goes, if you don't see mastic on the joints you could have a big leak. Fixing your HVAC ductwork might be the biggest step you can make toward fixing your power bill. Have your energy rater do a duct leakage test as soon as you can to find much your's may be leaking!
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