The closer winter gets, the more pressing the need to improve your home's energy efficiency becomes. This is all due to the inevitable increase in HVAC usage during this season, which introduces the prospect of sending your bills through the roof. While it's only natural to want to prevent this, common sense dictates making your heating and cooling Jefferson City run efficiently no matter the season?
Sources within the HVAC industry often claim that the most significant efficiency gains can only be had from investing in the latest equipment models. Does that mean you should start planning for an upgrade? Probably not -- in fact, what you should do is to focus on what you currently have. Considering the fact that cooling and heating take up 50% of your yearly energy cost, a tiny improvement can lead to a huge difference. All it takes is a few easy measures:
Set Your Thermostat Reasonably: A lower thermostat setting won't make your house cool faster. What it does instead is to extend the unit's 'on' cycle, thus driving up your bills. More noteworthy is the fact that setting it just one degree higher could save you 10% on your annual energy cost. Also try as much as you can to avoid fiddling with your thermostat too often.
Use Ceiling Fans: These devices are perfectly suited for speeding up the circulation of air within a space. Installing them will therefore shrink the amount of time it takes your HVAC unit to achieve the desired temperature. Since most models don't need much power to run, no financial penalty will be incurred on your part.
Check Your Filters More Often: A dirty filter will not only degrade indoor air quality, but it will also make your unit's job harder. It's worth noting that dirt doesn't always accumulate on your filters at the same rate. Whenever there's a rise in your home's indoor foot traffic, it'd help to check your filters more often than you normally do. This would also be crucial during the hotter times of year.
Avoid Restricting the Condenser: You've probably heard that this performs better when it's shaded, but don't forget that its role is to pull in air. As such, placing a cover on the condenser's exterior housing is out of the question. In fact, it'd help to ensure that there's enough clearance around it (read 5 feet). The same applies for keeping its exterior devoid of dirt and debris.
Check Your Ductwork: Your home's HVAC efficiency is dependent on the design and sizing of your ductwork. If either of these isn't taken into consideration, not even the most advanced piece of equipment can be enough to compensate. A good technician should be able to determine if your ducts are suitable for your space. Should they recommend a retrofit, it's worth having it done pronto.
As you can see, it doesn't take much to wring out maximum performance from the HVAC equipment you already have. It's all about adjusting your usage patterns to avoid leaks that would lead to wastage of energy. Still, the most important efficiency tip is to take good care of the unit. So be sure to do your part, of course not forgetting the need to schedule maintenance visits.
Sources within the HVAC industry often claim that the most significant efficiency gains can only be had from investing in the latest equipment models. Does that mean you should start planning for an upgrade? Probably not -- in fact, what you should do is to focus on what you currently have. Considering the fact that cooling and heating take up 50% of your yearly energy cost, a tiny improvement can lead to a huge difference. All it takes is a few easy measures:
Set Your Thermostat Reasonably: A lower thermostat setting won't make your house cool faster. What it does instead is to extend the unit's 'on' cycle, thus driving up your bills. More noteworthy is the fact that setting it just one degree higher could save you 10% on your annual energy cost. Also try as much as you can to avoid fiddling with your thermostat too often.
Use Ceiling Fans: These devices are perfectly suited for speeding up the circulation of air within a space. Installing them will therefore shrink the amount of time it takes your HVAC unit to achieve the desired temperature. Since most models don't need much power to run, no financial penalty will be incurred on your part.
Check Your Filters More Often: A dirty filter will not only degrade indoor air quality, but it will also make your unit's job harder. It's worth noting that dirt doesn't always accumulate on your filters at the same rate. Whenever there's a rise in your home's indoor foot traffic, it'd help to check your filters more often than you normally do. This would also be crucial during the hotter times of year.
Avoid Restricting the Condenser: You've probably heard that this performs better when it's shaded, but don't forget that its role is to pull in air. As such, placing a cover on the condenser's exterior housing is out of the question. In fact, it'd help to ensure that there's enough clearance around it (read 5 feet). The same applies for keeping its exterior devoid of dirt and debris.
Check Your Ductwork: Your home's HVAC efficiency is dependent on the design and sizing of your ductwork. If either of these isn't taken into consideration, not even the most advanced piece of equipment can be enough to compensate. A good technician should be able to determine if your ducts are suitable for your space. Should they recommend a retrofit, it's worth having it done pronto.
As you can see, it doesn't take much to wring out maximum performance from the HVAC equipment you already have. It's all about adjusting your usage patterns to avoid leaks that would lead to wastage of energy. Still, the most important efficiency tip is to take good care of the unit. So be sure to do your part, of course not forgetting the need to schedule maintenance visits.
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You can get fantastic tips on how to pick a heating and cooling Jefferson City contractor and more information about an experienced contractor at http://www.rehagen-hvac.com now.
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