Habitually having your HVAC system cleaned and tuned up may elevate its performance and help lower your energy costs because an HVAC system that’s taken care of can use much less energy than one that is not. But what else can you do? Here are more manageable steps you can perform to improve your Auburn and Opelika home’s energy efficiency.
- Seal all leaks around your windows and doors. Add caulk or weatherstripping in the spots you find leaks.
- Insulate your walls and attic. You likely equate insulation with keeping your house warm during the winter, but it also provides benefits in the summer. When it’s hot outside, heat is constantly seeking cooler places—like your home. Ensure you have sufficient insulation to keep the heat from shifting through your attic and walls and decreasing your home comfort.
- Have your ducts cleaned. Clean ducts make it easier for air to flow through your home, which makes your air conditioner’s job smoother.
- While you’re at it, confirm your ducts are properly sealed to stop air leaks and insulate them if needed. If the ducts are leaking, that means you are losing valuable heated or cooled air. Properly sealing and insulating ducts is even more critical if they are placed in the attic, a vented crawlspace or any other unconditioned area.
- Set your thermostat as high as comfortably possible throughout the summer. To help possibly keep your cooling bill lower, keep the difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures as little as possible. According to the Department of Energy, you can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by easily turning your thermostat back 7° to 10°F from its typical setting for 8 hours a day. If you utilize a ceiling fan in conjunction with your air conditioner, you can raise your thermostat setting by about 4°F without negatively impacting your comfort.
- Install a programmable thermostat. Sure, thermostats can be adjusted by hand, but programmable thermostats make managing your home comfort and efficiency so easy. You can automatically modify your temperature when you’re away from home or when you’re sleeping while avoiding discomfort because your home’s temperature will return to normal before you come home or wake up.
- If you opt not to use a programmable thermostat, avoid setting your thermostat at a colder-than-usual setting when you turn on your air conditioner. Your house won’t cool down any faster and will only cost you extra money in energy.
- Don’t place lamps, TV sets or other heat-generating appliances near your thermostat. This practice can cause your air conditioner to run longer than necessary because your thermostat senses heat from these appliances and assumes your home needs cooled.
- [Use|Utilize|Take advantage of]54] your windows. If it’s cooler at night, turn off your AC and open the windows. Shut the windows and your curtains or blinds in the morning to trap the cooler air and to prevent heat gain through the windows.
- Invest in new, energy-efficient equipment. If your HVAC equipment is more than 10 years old or not matching with your home-comfort needs, call Farnell Mechanical, Inc. for an evaluation. It may be time to replace it with ENERGY STAR®-qualified equipment that can cut your annual energy bill by more than $115, according to energystar.gov.
If you’ve got more questions about how to improve your home’s energy efficiency, think it might be time for more energy-efficient equipment or simply want to make a regular maintenance appointment, call Farnell Mechanical, Inc. at 334-524-2458 and our experts will help.