Cut Your Energy Bill When Using a Home HVAC System
Is your energy bill on the rise? Are you sick of paying high utility bills when you know there are ways for you to save? You can start making a difference in your HVAC energy consumption today by utilizing one or more of these 11 ways to conserve energy when using a home HVAC system!
11 Ways to Conserve Energy when Using a Home HVAC System
Maintain Your Home HVAC System
The first and easiest step to conserve energy with your home HVAC system is to perform regular maintenance. The following tips won’t do you a lick of good if your HVAC system is running poorly, has critical problems, or needs repair. Therefore, if you want to save money, start with an HVAC inspection, cleaning, and maintenance appointment.
Clean Your Filters & Vents
Your filters and vents will collect dirt, dust, and other debris over time. That is normal, as a home is a busy place. However, once they get clogged, your HVAC system has to work much harder to keep your home at appropriate temperatures. Therefore, you should regularly clean or replace your air filters. You should also vacuum your vents and occasionally wash away any stubborn scum.
Adjust the Temperature
Next, you will want to adjust the temperature of your home. Unless you have a dire reason, your home doesn’t need to be 80 degrees in the winter and 50 degrees in the summer. We recommend setting your temperature to match the season. We advise setting your temperature to 68 degrees in the winter and 78 degrees in the summer to keep your home comfortable and conserve energy.
Update Your Thermostats
If you really want to save energy, we recommend updating your thermostats to either a programmable or smart thermostat. These devices allow you to control your home’s temperature throughout the day without having to physically be there to adjust it every time. You set it up once, and it will take care of the rest.
We recommend programming your thermostat to your work schedule. Energy.gov reports that you can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by adjusting your thermostat back 7 to 10 degrees for 8 hours a day.
Prevent Escaping Resources
One problem many homeowners face is their heating and cooling escaping. To prevent this problem and remove excess strain from your home HVAC system, we recommend adding insulation where needed, replacing damaged weather stripping, and repairing any holes or cracks where air may be slipping away.
Double Check Your Ducts
Speaking of preventing air from escaping, you will want to double-check your HVAC system ducts. Ducts can become damaged due to an accident or simply aging. When a duct gets any type of crack or hole, it consumes massive energy. We recommend inspecting, or getting an inspection, of your duct system if you notice any problems or if your energy bill is on the rise without apparent reason.
Keep it Clear
One aspect of efficient homeownership where people tend to fail is the placement of home items around your HVAC system. You want to ensure no obstructions are blocking your HVAC unit or vents, including furniture, plants, and other items. Additionally, we recommend avoiding placing electronics, such as TV sets or lamps, close to your thermostat. The thermostat will pick up on the extra heat of that specific item, forcing the air conditioner to run longer than necessary.
Utilize Window Coverings
Windows are a significant source of energy loss throughout any season. We are not talking about when they are open…because we hope you know to close a window when running an HVAC system. Instead, we are talking about how sunlight can drastically heat a home during the summer and how heat can be lost during the winter.
Fortunately, there is a super easy solution: window coverings. Blinds, curtains, drapes, shades, and even reflective film can block sunlight from heating your home or keep warm air from dissipating against a cold window. By using your window coverings properly, you can accumulate massive energy savings.
Set Your Fans
What some do not realize is that fans do not actually cool a room; fans are designed to cool people by simulating a wind chill effect, but they don’t actually lower the temperature. However, that doesn’t make them useless. Fans are an excellent method to feel cooler, thus allowing you to reduce your HVAC system use, but only when you are in the room. So, turn them on while you cook, sleep, or hang out; just make sure to turn them off as you leave the room.
Convert to Efficient Lighting
The lighting you use in your home produces heat; while it may not seem like much when you put your hand over the bulb, it adds up to a lot over time that your HVAC has to cool. By converting to efficient lighting, you can save money. Energy.gov reports that “LEDs emit very little heat. In comparison, incandescent bulbs release 90% of their energy as heat and CFLs release about 80% of their energy as heat.”
Plus, LED light bulbs are more cost-effective long-term than incandescent light bulbs, so you will get to double-dip on savings!
Upgrade Your HVAC System
An outdated home HVAC system uses far more energy as it has to work harder to make up for its inefficiency as it deteriorates, costing you far more than it should in energy costs.
If you have an HVAC system pushing a decade or it is simply starting to fail, we recommend upgrading your HVAC unit with Apollo Heating & Air Conditioning.
HVAC System Replacement with Apollo Heating and Air
We at Apollo are here to help you with your home HVAC system needs, including inspection, cleaning, HVAC repair and replacement. For more information about us, please visit our website. To schedule a service, please complete the request form, and we will get back to you soon.
