How to keep your HVAC system energy efficient

Most homeowners in the United States shell out thousands of dollars every year on heating, ventilation and air conditioning bills. The truth is that you can lower your energy expenses by improving the efficiency of your HVAC system. Here are some simple energy-saving tips that can help you cut-back. 

For Heating

Heating accounts for almost 60% of our energy use. There are three main ways of reducing heating expenses:-

• Turn it down: Even by decreasing the set points by one degree has the potential to lower your yearly heating bill by almost 8%.
• Replace inefficient boilers: Replacing unproductive boilers with higher efficiency models can help you gain better savings through a heating system that is more energy efficient.

For Ventilation

Proper ventilation is extremely important. It offers fresh air and also assists in protecting a house against condensation and dampness. Needless ventilation, on the other hand, can lead to energy wastage and can cost you a lot of money.

• Time settings: Try to make sure the fans are not running when not required. This practice will not only help you save energy, but will also keep the hot air from venting out of the house.
• Motors: When you buy a new motor for your ventilator, always stick to a higher efficiency model as it can easily save you up to 5% on energy costs.

For Air Conditioning

Air conditioning is known to increase the energy consumption and related carbon emissions by almost 100%. Fortunately, there are some easy, low-cost ways that can help you save energy and make your A/C more efficient.

• Temperature control: Make sure your A/C does not function below 24°C. Also, your cooling and heating systems should not be competing with one another as it is a complete wastage of money.
• Variable speed drives: Do not generate more cooling than you actually need - this can waste energy and money. Variable speed drives can fluctuate the system’s output to meet your requirements all through the day. This can help you in saving money on energy.
• Free cooling coils: It utilizes outside air (if it is cool enough) as a source of lowering the temperature within the house. This helps in reducing energy bills because you won’t have to utilize as much energy to generate cooling for the AC system.
• Keep windows and doors shut: Keep the windows and doors closed during the day to save energy. Reopen the coverings at night or early morning to let in cool fresh air from outside.
• Leaky ducts: Request for a complete inspection of your ducts. Leaky ducts are extremely common and reduce the effectiveness of a system. Remember, small modifications to these units can help save a lot of time and money.

If you are experiencing problems and your unit is more than ten years old, consider buying a new HVAC system. A new efficient system, when properly installed and sized, will turn out to be more cost-effective in the long run. Buying a unit of the right size and installing it correctly is critical to comfort and efficiency.  Ask for help and guidance from a local HVAC expert, and make sure a qualified professional installs the new system. Also, have your system professionally serviced every season. Request for a tune-up periodically that includes cleaning the coils, checking the refrigerant for charge and a complete inspection of the duct system.

How to Reduce Energy Needs

We all love to have our creature comforts when we need them. The air conditioning during summer and the heater during winter! We rarely ever give a thought to the energy we use in using these systems. Nor do we spare one for the carbon footprint created due to the use of these systems. 

The world is now becoming more and more aware of the carbon emissions that cause carbon footprint, whose one of the results is global warming. There is a definite need to look for alternate forms of energy as the world’s energy reserves are being eaten up at an alarming pace.

“Experts at the Risø International Energy Conference in Denmark advocate using "off-the-shelf" technologies to create a sustainable global energy system. As long as the solutions can respond to fluctuations in energy consumption, intelligent energy systems are within reach. The most accessible improvements may be heating and cooling systems, suggests the International Energy Agency (IEA).”

Where do we stand? What is it that we can do to reduce our contribution of the carbon footprint?

We need to serious give a thought to the amount of energy we consume.

• The age of the appliances we use at home, especially or HVAC systems
• The direction our house or apartment is in
• The technology available in our HVAC systems
• The "off-the-shelf" technologies that can create a sustainable global energy system
• A serious effort to reduce energy consumption

These points need not lead to you compromising on your comforts. You can actually reduce your energy consumption without depriving yourself and your families of the comforts you and they are used to.

All it takes is a little awareness, a sincere effort, and little discipline!

These tips can help you to reduce your energy consumption to a great extent.

1. Passive heating, ventilation and cooling: This refers to controlling of heat from the sun along with ventilation to create benefit and avoid discomfort.
2. Maximizing inflow of natural, fresh air into the house will reduce energy spent on artificial airflow techniques.
3. Using ‘artificial’ and mechanical systems to fine tune the air indoors to the desired temperature, rather than creating the airflow.
4. Ensuring cross ventilation: this means having openings such as large windows preferably on opposite sides of the room. This will enable air to flow in and out easily.
5. Making the most out of the natural ventilation and light. This means you should try and use as much as natural sunlight to light up the room during the day, rather than using artificial lights.
6. Installing daylight blinds to enable natural light to enter the space is a good way to reduce energy consumption.
7. Using perforated blinds to use view the outside world.
8. Using solar heater to heat water for domestic use
9. These tips will not only help in reducing energy consumption, but also keep your pockets happy and you smiling!

Air Conditioner Tune-Up

Have you ever wondered whether a tune-up for your air conditioner is really required?

Have you laughed quietly when the HVAC contractor advised you on a regular tune up?

Have doubts about how a tune-up can save energy cost have cropped in your mind?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then this article is for you.

You regularly service your car or truck, change the oil filter, air filter, and any other part that is likely to cause a breakdown, so that you get maximum life and mileage out of your vehicle. In the same way, your heating and cooling units need to be regularly checked and tuned.

Before we actually go into why a tune up is required and what to endure during the tune-up sessions, lets take a look at the benefits of periodic tune-ups.

• Savings as you reduce energy costs
• Longer life of the equipment
• Improved performance and efficiency
• Reduced risk of break downs
• Protection and safety
• Comfort and well being

If you think that all this is important to you, read on!

The government site for HVAC, www.energystar.gov, says that an annual tune-up of your heating and cooling unit improves the efficiency of the system, increases comfort levels prevents future problems and unexpected costs. 

There are HVAC contractors and technicians who will come over periodically to check your air conditioning units. This is especially so when the season starts. With winter around the corner, it is required that you keep your heating systems in good condition so that you are free of any likely breakdowns and your comfort levels are maintained through out the season.

Here are some essentials of a HVAC tune-up for a residential unit.

1. Check operating pressures.

There may be leaks in your system that you may not know of. You can find this out if the operating pressure of your system does not fall into the proper range for superheating or subcooling. This could also be due to restriction in the airflow, compressor valve problems or mechanical failure in the compressor.

If you find discrepancies in the pressures, you need to first check is the air filter to check if it is dirty. Check the suction pressure. If it is low, it means that the air flow is good and the filter is not dirty. If not, then you will need to clean the filter.

2. Check air filter

This is one of the first things that most technicians will do. This check will rule out if there are any frozen coils that are hindering the working of the air conditioner or dirt that may have accumulated and causes problem in the running of the system. 

It would be beneficial to change the filters periodically, whether they give a problem or not. This is not an expensive exercise and helps in keeping major problems at bay.

3. Check for leaks.

When the refrigerant pressure is not satisfactory, there is a need to check for leaks. Finding the leak is where technician expertise is required. You need to look for brazed and mechanical connections first and then you look at the coils. You may not know where the leak is and even if you find one you may not know the best solution to fix the leak.

The best way to fix a leak after you find it is by repairing it or replacing the system. However, if the cost is high and you do not wish to spend much at the moment, you can use a leak sealant as an alternative. If there is a leak in the coil, it best to replace the system.

There is more to the essentials of a tune-up for HVAC. We will bring all the tips. Read on!

Winter is the Time to Save Energy

Fall and winter are the best times of the year for some and not so for others. While attempting to keep warm, most of us end up in spending far more energy than what is required. You try to keep the heater or furnace on all day in an attempt to keep your indoors warm and save the chill from sweeping indoors. These activities can prove costly in terms of energy, which translates into cost for which payments need to be made.

One good way to assess the energy efficiency of your home is to get a home energy checkup or an energy audit done just before winter. You can conduct an energy audit yourself or employ the services of a professional energy auditor.

Benefits of an Energy Audit

1. A home energy audit helps owners determine the places where the house is leaking energy, in other words, money.

2. An energy auditor will help you find problems and corrected them too.

3. Thermography or infrared scanning equipment used for home energy audit can detect the various leakages in your home that allow, warm air to move out and cold air to sweep in.

4. The blower door test is the best way to identify air leakages and analyze why the house is not comfortably warm in winter.

There may be air leaking out through the face plates on switches, windows, pipes, and may be under the sinks too.

Energy auditors may use thermography -- or infrared scanning -- to detect thermal defects and air leakage in building envelopes.

If you do not wish to hire a professional, you could conduct a simple do-it-yourself walk-through of your home. This can help you identify the energy gaps in your home and prioritize on some energy efficiency upgrades.

There are a few other ways in which you could refrain from using more energy in winter. Here are some tips that could prove useful.

• Rearrange the furniture of your rooms. You could move your furniture in such a way that you are away from the exterior walls and windows of the house. These may be drafty and you may end up increasing the temperature to keep warm. 
• Open the drapes and let the sunshine in. This holds good for windows that face the south as the rays of the sun in winter can reach indoors. Keeping drapes open, allowing sunshine in reduces the need to keep the room heater or furnace on for warmth.
• Take shorter showers. People usually like to linger in the shower. If you are one among them, try to make your shower time shorter. This will save the energy spent on heating water that you use while spending that additional time basking in the shower.
• Clean or replace the furnace filters every month. If the filters are dirty, they restrict the airflow into the furnace and thus the system has to work doubly hard to provide the required heat. This translates into excess energy usage, which again makes you end up with increased energy costs.
• Keep your furnace well lubricated. This will help you save up to 5% energy.
• Make use of your appliances efficiently. Using the dishwasher only when it is full, using cold water to wash reduces your washer's energy consumption by 75 %. 
• Insulate the hot water pipe all the way to the wall. This will help in reducing heat loss in transit.
• Plug all appliances that "leak energy." Many electronic appliances, such as VCRs, chargers, computer peripherals and TVs continue to consume electricity even when they are switched "off." Turn off all these when they are not in use.