Ten Ways to Save Energy and Make a Difference
42% of your household energy costs go toward just two things: HEATING AND COOLING. You have a lot of room to make a difference and even small changes can make dramatic improvements in heating and cooling household fuel efficiency.
Replacing older heating and cooling systems with new, ecofriendly heating and cooling models can cut your annual energy costs by 20-40%. Although replacing the old air conditioning and refreferation systems with the new is a wonderful idea, it's not practical for most of us. Things you can do right now to make sure you’re maintaining the right heating and cooling temperature in your house include:
1. Proper maintenance helps your air conditioning system run more ecofriendly and more efficiently. Replace disposable filters or hose down permanent filters once a month during the cooling season. Clean the outside condenser coil at the beginning and at the end of the air conditioning season. Spray the coils with diluted detergent, and then hose them down. It’s also a good idea to have your entire air conditioning system checked yearly by a qualified air conditioning contractor.
2. Adjust your thermostat. Turn your thermostat up a couple of degrees in the summer and down a few in the winter. Every degree saves approximately 3% in ecofriendly energy costs. If your home is empty during the day, consider buying a programmable thermostat to avoid heating and cooling your home when no one is there. These thermostats reduce energy use and can save you $100.00 - $150.00 in energy costs each year.
3. Change your air filters. A clogged or dirty air filter reduces airflow to the heating or air conditioning unit, causing it to work harder and use more energy. Change your filters once a month, clean vents and close unused vents. Just these simple things will save you up to 5% in heating and cooling costs.
4. Use fans whenever possible. Average central air conditioning can cost up to 58 cents per hour to operate. In contrast, a fan (ceiling or portable) cost only 1 cent per hour to operate. That’s a savings of 57 cents per hour on those days when your central air conditioning is not needed.
5. Your dad was right: You really shouldn’t pay to heat the outdoors. Make sure windows and doors are sealed. Again, this will dramatically improve your household efficiency. Sealing air leaks and adding insulation can reduce your annual bill by 10%.
6. Open a window: take advantage of Mother Nature. If the weather is nice, turn off the air or heat and open the windows.
7. A cooler air conditioning unit minimizes breakdowns. Install your air conditioner out of sunlight. Also, shade it beneath an awning or patio cover.
8. Go for an eco friendly, high efficiency unit, it pays for itself. If you’re in the market for a new central air conditioning unit, consider an eco friendly, high efficiency unit. It’s less expensive to operate. Replacing an air conditioning unit that is 10 years or older with a new, eco friendly, high efficiency unit, which can cut your annual heating and cooling costs by 20-40%. Talk to your local air conditioning contractor about the best and most eco friendly efficient options in your price range.
9. If one in ten households serviced heating and cooling systems annually, cleaned or replaced filters regularly, used a programmable thermostat and replaced old equipment with Energy Star models it would prevent the emissions of more than 17 billion pounds of greenhouse gases.
10. Even small changes can make dramatic improvements. Get involved!
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Ecotech Refrigeration & HVAC, Inc. of Las Vegas
phone 702.353.2777 fax 702.452.0777
email ecotechcorp(at)msn.com