Home Design Guides: Climate control, Maintenance

Is your aircon dripping water? Not blowing cold air? Perhaps it's making funny noises or blowing out a bad smell? There are a few different things that can go wrong with an airconditioner. Find out how to deal with them.

Is your house not keeping out the neighbour's noisy parties? Perhaps you're intending on setting up a home theatre? Find out more about how to improve the soundproofing in your home with better insulation.

What sort of insulation can you install yourself - and when might you need to hire a professional do the job properly? Find out more about what's required to install different sorts of acoustic insulation.

Properly cleaning and maintaining your air conditioner is vital to ensuring that it works properly, and that it's as efficient and effective as it's designed to be.

It's one of those things that people neglect, but really shouldn't. Find out how (and why) you should maintain your heater to keep it safe, clean and efficient.

Occasionally cleaning your fireplace will help to ensure your home's not covered in ash and soot. Find out how to clean your fireplace without making too big a mess.

Keeping your flues and chimneys clear and free from blockages and creosote is all part of using a wood heater or fireplace, and essential if you don't want your home to fill with smoke!

Heating ducts carry air all around your house, and vents often get dirty as a result of how much air flows through them. Find out if (and how) you need to clean them.

The cleanliness of your vents can have an impact more than just the performance of you ventilation system; it can also impact upon your health. Cleaning your ventilation system is easy, and could do wonders for you and your home’s health

Part of establishing how well your home fares in terms of passive design is to establish how 'tight' it is. Learn more about how to test how much air leaks from your home.

Heating and cooling ducts carry air all around your house, and vents often get dirty as a result of how much air flows through them. Find out if (and how) you need to clean them.

One of the most important parts of cooling your home is ensuring that air conditioners and fans are properly taken care of.

Feeling a chill in your home? Think your heater's being overworked? It could be that you need a top up on your insulation, but you'll need to make sure that you know that insufficient insulation really is the problem.

Maintaining your heating, cooling and ventilation systems isn't difficult, and isn't even something you need to do that often. Doing it right, though, can save you thousands and protect your home.