Who's Who Renovations

18 who's who RENOVATIONS E verybody knows the discomfort of hot or cold spots in a home — sleepless nights spent in a chilly bedroom or fights ignited over setting the thermostat just right — but those problems can melt away by adding the installation of a new heating and air-conditioning system to a home renovation project. With all the thought and effort that goes into making sure a home's esthetics are perfect after renovating, Donavan Giesbrecht from Southern Comfort Mechanical Inc. (SCMI) says homeowners should also think about improving a home's comfort when setting out to do work around the house. "We would say comfort is the most important thing to consider," says Giesbrecht, service manager at SCMI. High-end heating and cooling systems can make a big difference in how a home feels. "You're going to improve the efficiency and that has a natural effect of also improving the comfort," Giesbrecht says. "Humid or poorly conditioned spaces are uncomfortable and they're also prone to grow mould spores and other airborne pollutants you don't want in your home." Located in Niverville, Southern Comfort is a full-service mechanical contractor serving Manitoba and northwestern Ontario. As an authorized Lennox dealer, SCMI can install the latest in zoned systems, which give homeowners the chance to customize temperatures in different rooms of their home. Giesbrecht says the high-end systems SCMI installs — like the Lennox Signature variable products — keep humidity between 30 and 50 per cent, leaving homes comfortable and also free of mould and other contaminants. "You'll feel comfortable in that range, and you'll often find that you'll turn your temperature down a little bit in the winter or up in the summer by getting that humidity under control," says Giesbrecht. "It's just like in the summer, when it's really humid outside it just feels much worse than when it's a dry, hot day. "So if your house is humid and you're not dehumidifying it properly, you'll find you'll need to turn your air-conditioner down to 19 C or 20 C to get comfortable, but then you get that really kind of cold, clammy feeling, whereas if it's dry in the house, 23 C or 22 C is quite comfortable." And that saves money, Giesbrecht says. "We increase the efficiency that way," he explains. "All heating and cooling equipment doesn't actually hit its full efficiency until it's run for about 15 minutes, so large, oversized equipment that really only just turns on and off usually doesn't even run for 15 minutes to reach that efficiency rating. "With this variable equipment, they are significantly more efficient because they're consistently providing a small amount of heating or cooling." The high-end systems from SCMI also offer homeowners Wi-Fi connectivity, meaning temperatures can be changed with the swipe of a finger on a smartphone screen from anywhere in the world, says SCMI's comfort adviser, Mel Buhler. Buhler says some of the systems are getting even smarter, and are able to learn a homeowner's routine and automatically set the temperature based on when you're home. "Some of them actually have geo-fencing so that when you leave your home with your smartphone it starts to understand when you leave for work and you come home, so you can program it to adjust the thermostat for exactly that kind of departure time and arrival time," he explains. The system will even send alerts warning of dangerous temperature drops or fault codes. "If you're vacationing and your kids fail to check on your home, you can just bring up the thermostat on your phone and check the temperature," Buhler says. ❙ For more information on the products and services offered at SCMI, phone 204-388-6658 or visit southerncomfortmechanical.ca. SOUTHERN COMFORT MECHANICAL INC. Control means comfort

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