If yours is a typical household, you are spending more than half of your energy costs just for heating and cooling your home. When you want to save money on your home energy consumption, think about your house working like a large system made of several components. If one part breaks down, the rest of the system suffers.
- Air Sealing – Air from the inside gets out and air from the outside gets in. The first place to start for energy savings is to plug air leaks in your home’s envelope. Seal around doors, windows, plumbing, cable TV and electrical outlets, and places where building materials meet, such as the foundation and walls of your home.
- Ductwork – Leaky duct runs allow conditioned air to escape, forcing your HVAC system to work harder to heat and cool your home. Make sure the ducts have no gaps or holes and insulate them, especially where the ducts run through unconditioned areas.
- Insulation – Your attic can get over 140 degrees in the summer. That heat builds up in the attic and transfers downward into your living spaces. In the winter, heat from your home can transfer into the attic through air leaks and poorly insulated floors and walls. Aim to have at least R-30 insulation in the attic.
- Windows – After sealing the windows, you need to protect your windows from direct sun in the summer. Solar heat through windows can increase the inside temperature. When replacing windows, choose high-efficiency, Energy Star-certified new ones.
- HVAC – Routine HVAC maintenance helps keep your heating and cooling systems running efficiently. This keeps energy costs down and prolongs the life of the equipment. When the system needs replaced, going high-efficiency is the best answer. Check the EnergyGuide label for efficiency information.
- Lighting/appliances – As light bulbs and appliances fail, replace them with energy-efficient models. Replacing an incandescent bulb with a CFL bulb can cut energy use for that light by almost 80 percent and waste heat by 75 percent. Light bulb boxes have an EnergyGuide label to help you see the savings.
As you can see, energy savings are possible when you take the whole-house approach to energy efficiency.
If you have any questions about lowering your heating and cooling costs, please contact us at Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning. We have been proudly serving the greater Fresno area for close to 40 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the greater Fresno, California area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about energy savings and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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