Heating and Cooling
Heat & Cool Efficiently
As much as half of the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling. So making smart decisions about your home’s heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system can have a big effect on your utility bills — and your comfort. Take these steps to increase the efficiency of your heating and cooling system.
Change your air filter regularly
Check your filter every month, especially during heavy use months (winter and summer). If the filter looks dirty after a month, change it. At a minimum, change the filter every 3 months. A dirty filter will slow down air flow and make the system work harder to keep you warm or cool — wasting energy. A clean filter will also prevent dust and dirt from building up in the system — leading to expensive maintenance and/or early system failure.
Tune up your HVAC equipment yearly
Just as a tune-up for your car can improve your gas mileage, a yearly tune-up of your heating and cooling system can improve efficiency and comfort. Call Philbrick, Inc. today to sign up for our yearly preventative maintenance agreement!
Install a programmable thermostat
A programmable thermostat is ideal for people who are away from home during set periods of time throughout the week. Through proper use of pre-programmed settings, a programmable thermostat can save you about $180 every year in energy costs.
Seal your heating and cooling ducts
Ducts that move air to-and-from a forced air furnace, central air conditioner, or heat pump are often big energy wasters. Sealing and insulating ducts can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system by as much as 20 percent — and sometimes much more.
Focus first on sealing ducts that run through the attic, crawlspace, unheated basement, or garage. Use duct sealant (mastic) or metal-backed (foil) tape to seal the seams and connections of ducts. After sealing the ducts in those spaces, wrap them in insulation to keep them from getting hot in the summer or cold in the winter. Next, look to seal any other ducts that you can access in the heated or cooled part of the house.
Consider installing ENERGY STAR qualified heating and cooling equipment
If your HVAC equipment is more than 10 years old or not keeping your house comfortable, have it evaluated by a professional HVAC contractor. If it is not performing efficiently or needs upgrading, consider replacing it with a unit that has earned the ENERGY STAR. Depending on where you live, replacing your old heating and cooling equipment with ENERGY STAR qualified equipment can cut your annual energy bill by nearly $200. But before you invest in a new HVAC system, make sure that you have addressed the big air leaks in your house and the duct system. Sometimes, these are the real sources of problems rather than your HVAC equipment.
Ask about Proper Installation of your new equipment
Replacing your old heating and cooling equipment with new, energy-efficient models is a great start. But to make sure that you get the best performance, the new equipment must be properly installed. In fact, improper installation can reduce system efficiency by up to 30 percent — costing you more on your utility bills and possibly shortening the equipment’s life.
Plumbing
Do your part and go green!
An average single family home uses more than 70 gallons of water per day for indoor needs, of which 5-10% can be wasted due to leaks. By installing more efficient water fixtures and making conscious efforts to save water, a total use of water can be decreased by 35% or more.
Water Consumption Tips:
- Turn water off while brushing your teeth and shaving.
- Only run the dishwasher and clothes washer when they are fully loaded. When washing dishes by hand, fill one sink with water for washing and the other for rinsing.
- Defrost frozen food in the refrigerator or in the microwave instead of running water over it.
- Repair dripping faucets and leaky toilets. Toilet tanks are easy to fix and can save you more than 600 gallons a month. Check for rebate programs and tax breaks in your area to help to cover replacement costs to low flow toilets and devices.
- Reduce the amount of time, and water, you spend while showering. If your shower can fill a one-gallon bucket in less than 20 seconds, then replace it with a water-efficient showerhead.
- While waiting for hot water, catch the cool, clean, water in a bucket or a watering can to water plants, run your garbage disposal or pour into the toilet bowl to flush and save up to 50 gallons a week per person.
- Scrape food scraps off dishes into the garbage can instead of rinsing them down the drain and using the disposal. Better yet; start a compost bin (see Recycling – For Home)
- Install conservation sink aerators that reduce the flow rate.
Facts:
- A leaky faucet can waste 100 gallons a day.
- One flush of an older toilet can use between 3.5 to 5.5 gallons of water. An average family of four uses 881 gallons of water per week just by flushing the toilet. According to the United Nations, one flush of a toilet equals to the amount of water the average person in developing countries uses for cooking, washing and drinking in one day.
- 3-5 gallons of water will be saved per day, if you turn water off while brushing your teeth.
- The average 5-minute shower takes about 20 gallons of water. If everyone in the United States could manage to use just one less gallon of water per shower every day, about 85 billion gallons of water could be saved each year. The energy savings would also be great!
- An 8-oz glass of tap water can be refilled approximately 15,000 times for the same price as a six-pack of soda.
- There are three standard categories of freshwater use – for agriculture, industry and domestic (personal, household and municipal). Agriculture in the U.S. accounts for 80 percent of water use.
