It’s just common sense that if you know the factors that affect the cost of heating and cooling your home, you’ll be better equipped to take actions to cut those HVAC costs. So what are those factors? Here are some of the main ones:
- The age and type of HVAC equipment in your home. If you have a furnace, A/C or heat pump that’s nearing its retirement age, it likely is running inefficiently, wasting energy. It’s also probably more prone to breakdowns. If the equipment is not high-efficiency, it also will cost more to run. While regular professional maintenance, mixed with basic homeowner maintenance, can help your furnace or A/C run longer and more efficiently, it won’t make an old, innately inefficient system do what it’s not designed to do. Consider upgrading.
- Proper, and recommended, maintenance. If your HVAC system is poorly maintained, it won’t run efficiently, and your energy costs will be high. A good professional maintenance plan will ensure that your equipment is kept clean, safe and properly adjusted. For your part as a homeowner, inspect the air filter every month and change it when it gets dirty. Spring for a higher-efficiency filter for cleaner air.
- Weatherization. This refers to the characteristics of your home that affect the amount of heat energy or air that’s either escaping or infiltrating. If your home has a lot of air leakage in its outer perimeter and inadequate insulation, your HVAC costs will be higher than necessary.
- Solar heating. If you leave windows open on the sunny side of the house in the summertime, your house will be several degrees warmer than if you utilize proper curtains, drapes, shades or other window coverings. In the winter, open those window treatments to take advantage of solar heating.
- Ventilation. An effective mechanical ventilation system in the attic, along with the right type and amount of insulation, will keep that space from overheating, and spreading that heat to the rest of the house.
For other ideas on keeping your Dayton area home’s HVAC costs down, please contact us at Ace Hardware Home Services.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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