It costs you more money and uses more energy to heat and cool your home than any other system in your home. Typically, between 44% and 50% of your utility bills pay for heating and cooling your home.
Regardless of the type of home comfort systems you have in your home, you can save money and increase comfort by properly maintaining and upgrading your equipment.
Keep in mind that an energy-efficient air conditioner alone won’t have as big an impact on your energy bills as using a whole-house approach. By combining proper equipment maintenance and upgrades with proper insulation, weatherization, and thermostat settings, you can reduce your energy bills by up to 50%.
General Cooling Tips:
* Use household fans. Home fans help cool your home by circulating cool air throughout your home. They are most effective when the outdoor air temperature is cooler than the indoor air temperature and when operating at night. An attic fan can blow out hot air that collects in the attic. This can go a long way toward improving the efficiency of your air conditioning system.
* Set your thermostat as high as possible comfortably. By maintaining a minimal difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures, you’ll lower your overall cooling bill.
* Do not reduce your thermostat setting to a colder than normal temperature when you turn on your air conditioner. This will not cool your home any faster and could result in excessive cooling and unnecessary expense.
* Set the fan speed to high, except in humid climates. When humid, set the fan speed to low.
* Consider ceiling fans to help distribute cool air more effectively throughout your home without adding too much to your energy use.
* Keep lamps and televisions away from your air conditioner’s thermostat.
* Protect air conditioning units by planting trees or shrubs, but be sure not to block airflow. A unit running in the shade consumes up to 10% less electricity than one running in the sun.
* Close blinds or shades on east, south, and west-facing windows during hours when the sun’s intensity is at its peak. Open the curtains and windows early in the morning and at night when the air outside the house is cooler.
* Turn off the air conditioning if the house (or rooms with air conditioning) will be unoccupied for a long period of time. Use a programmable thermostat (link to product page) to automatically turn Air off and on when you know the house will be unoccupied.
Here are a few more steps you can take to substantially improve the energy efficiency of your home.
Take a holistic approach to total home energy conservation
To achieve maximum total home comfort and energy savings, we recommend that you take a step back and look at the big picture of energy consumption in your villa. The fact is that the overall comfort and efficiency of your home is the product of many systems: heating, air conditioning, lighting and electrical, plumbing, and possibly others working together.
It is the interaction between these systems, combined with the size, age, physical characteristics and location of your home, and even your lifestyle, that combine to produce the overall energy efficiency of your home. Changing or upgrading a system, without considering the other factors, will usually result in some improvement, but may not provide the maximum possible benefit.
If you are building a new villa or considering a major remodel or system upgrade, consider an integrated systems approach. It may cost a little more now, but it will certainly save you a lot over time. Our skilled engineers and technicians will look at the big picture when designing a solution for your home.
Perform a home energy audit
The place to start to assess your home’s overall energy efficiency and decide how to reduce consumption and costs is with a home energy audit. This takes into account much more than just your heating and cooling systems, and will give you a baseline to make decisions and measure your progress in saving energy.
Here are some of the heating and cooling factors your audit should take into account:
* Insulation in walls, floors and attics.
* Vapor barriers on walls
* Windows Quality – Single or Dual Pane
* Heat loss around doors and windows
* Quality of insulation in doors
* Duct Integrity” – Any leaks
* Duct cleaning
* Use of “passive” solar energy
* Use of curtains and other window coverings to prevent heat loss.
* Efficiency of heating and cooling systems – Condition of filters, etc.
Consider purchasing an annual maintenance contract
You’ve heard the old adage: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Well, that doesn’t apply to your air conditioner any more than it does to your car. However, when your system is working properly, it’s easy to forget about it. Regular maintenance will save you time, money and headaches from premature system failure and major repairs. It will ensure that your system is always running at peak efficiency and help you avoid excessive energy costs.
Make sure your air conditioner is the right size
Bigger Isn’t Necessarily Better: A larger room air conditioning unit won’t necessarily make you more comfortable during the hot summer months and will most likely work less efficiently and less effectively than a smaller unit and the same size. appropriate size. Room units work best if they run for relatively long periods of time rather than constantly turning on and off. The longer an air conditioner is allowed to run, the easier it will be for the unit to maintain a more consistent room temperature. Running longer also allows air conditioning units to remove more moisture from the air, which reduces humidity and increases the level of comfort in the room.
Check the specifications carefully when choosing the right air conditioner for your space. Central air conditioning systems also require proper sizing. Professionals, however, must perform the sizing of your central air system.
Also, do not use the central system fan to provide circulation. Instead, use circulation fans in individual rooms. Be sure to set your central air system fan to turn off at the same time as your refrigeration unit (compressor).
Use an air conditioner with a high efficiency rating.
Select a room air conditioner that is rated A or 10 or higher.
