Energy Saving Tips

According to the Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy site, “heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 45% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. What's more, heating and cooling systems in the United States together emit 150 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, adding to global climate change. They also generate about 12% of the nation's sulfur dioxide and 4% of the nitrogen oxides, the chief ingredients in acid rain.

No matter what kind of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system you have in your house, you can save money and increase your comfort by properly maintaining and upgrading your equipment. But remember, an energy-efficient furnace alone will not have as great an impact on your energy bills as using the whole-house approach. By combining proper equipment maintenance and upgrades with appropriate insulation, air sealing, and thermostat settings, you can cut your energy use for heating and cooling, and reduce environmental emissions, from 20% to 50%.”

DOE, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Heating and Cooling Tips

• Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer.
• Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed.
• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they're not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
• Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season; if in doubt about how to perform this task, call a professional.
• Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the radiators.
• Turn off kitchen, bath, and other exhaust fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing; when replacing exhaust fans, consider installing high-efficiency, low-noise models.
• During the heating season, keep the draperies and shades on your southfacing windows open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows. Average utility savings can be 3 - 6%.
• During the cooling season, keep the window coverings closed during the day to prevent solar gain.
• Remember to turn off your outdoor unit when mowing your grass. If cut grass and debris is blown into the outdoor unit it will interfere with the airflow and decrease the efficiency of your air conditioning and heating system.
  

 $ Long-Term Savings Tip: Select energy-efficient products when you buy new heating and cooling equipment. Your contractor should be able to give you energy fact sheets for different types, models, and designs to help you compare energy usage. For furnaces, look for high Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) ratings. The national minimum is 78% AFUE, but there are ENERGY STAR models on the market that exceed 90% AFUE.

• $ Long-Term Savings Tip: For air conditioners, look for a high Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). The current minimum is 13 SEER for central air conditioners. ENERGY STARweb site.
   

Other resources for heating and cooling system energy efficiency information and tips:

Energy Star
United States Department of Energy
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

 

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Energy Efficiency

 

The efficiency of energy products is a growing concern that becomes more prevalent all the time from both a financial and environmental perspective. Air Crafters is proud to have the knowledge and products to design a heating and cooling system for your home that will not only help preserve our environment and its limited resources, but also save you money.

In January 2006, the Department of Energy increased the minimum efficiency of an air conditioners SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) from 10 to 13. SEER indicates the efficiencies of different types of equipment. The majority of systems installed before 1992 are 10 SEER or below and will continue to drop in efficiency as the system ages. If your system was installed prior to 1992, upgrading your heating or air conditioning system can save you money and increase the energy efficiency of your home.

The TRANE systems we recommend meet the new government standard; and in many cases, they exceed it. The chart below shows you the possible savings over an 8 SEER system for higher efficiency systems. SEER ratings are a lot like gas miles per gallon in cars. The higher the rating, the more efficient—and the more money you save. When all of the components of your heating and cooling system are properly combined in what is called a “matched system”, they will work seamlessly together to deliver maximum performance.

The ‘matched systems’ we provide also mean that you have a system that works optimally for your home. With a matched system, you can rest assured that the units won’t work too little or too hard and that your heating and cooling dollars are maximized.