Protect the Comfort & Efficiency of Your Home with the Right Do-it-Yourself Heating & Cooling Products
Heating & Cooling Overview
Without question, the largest home energy expenditure is heating and cooling. Approximately 43% of your utility bill goes to heating and cooling. In addition, in the U.S., home heating and cooling systems collectively emit approximately 150 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, generating about 12% of the nation's sulfur dioxide and 4% of the nitrogen oxides, the chief ingredients in acid rain. The good news is that saving money on your heating and cooling is simple and upgrading your home system can improve the comfort of your home. By upgrading or properly maintaining your home heating and cooling systems, correctly sealing your home and upgrading your home insulation, you can cut your energy use for heating and cooling and reduce environmental emissions from 20% to 50%!*
Programmable Thermostats
A programmable thermostat is set by you and controls when your central heating/cooling system turns on or off – thereby conserving energy at certain times of the day or when nobody is at home. A couple things to consider when buying a programmable thermostat are:
1. Make sure it can store four or more temperature settings a day to accommodate the varying temperatures throughout your home and throughout the day;
2. Look for a thermostat that can adjust heating or air conditioning turn-on times as the outside temperature changes; and
3. Finally make sure it can save and repeat multiple daily settings which you can change when needed without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program.
Also, please make sure that you are using your programmable thermostat correctly. Set it only as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as you can in the summer to be comfortable. Also, keep all lamps or other devices that emit heat away from your thermostat as this may cause your air conditioner to run longer in the heating season as the thermostat thinks your home is too hot.
| Setting | Time | Setpoint Temperature (Heat) | Setpoint Temperature (Cool) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake | 6:00 am | ≤ 70° F | ≥ 78° F |
| Day | 8:00 am | ≤ 62° F (-8° F set-back) |
≥ 85° F (+7° F set-up) |
| Evening | 6:00 pm | ≤ 70° F | ≥ 78° F |
| Sleep | 10:00 pm | ≤ 62° F (-8° F set-back) |
≥ 82° F (+4° F set-up) |
* source: www.energystar.gov and www.energy.gov
Room Air Conditioners
If your current air conditioner is more than 10-12 years old, it's time to upgrade and what’s better is that the amount you'll save in energy bills will more than likely exceed the cost of the new unit.
Room Air Conditioners
If you want to avoid having a central air system and want to either replace or install room specific air conditions, you’ll first need to figure out how much cooling power in British Thermal Units, or BTU’s, you’ll need…simply multiply the square footage of the space by 10 and then add 4,000…that’s the BTU number you’ll need to find the right air conditioner.
Also, when looking for an energy efficient air conditioner, look for the Energy-Efficiency Ratio (EER)…the higher the better.
Lastly, as with central air systems, bigger is not necessarily better so make sure that your room conditioner is properly sized for the room it is trying to cool. When in doubt, you can also just look for the Energy Star label which is symbol of energy efficiency created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy to help consumers save money and minimize air pollution.
Dehumidifiers
Dehumidifiers are another home appliance that wastes substantial amounts of energy. Energy Star models remove the same amount of moisture as a similarly-sized standard unit but use approximately 10%-20% less energy which is enough to power your refrigerator for 6 months!* Why? Energy Star models have more efficient refrigeration coils, compressors, and fans than conventional models, which means they use less energy to remove moisture.*
When looking for a dehumidifier, pay attention to the energy factor and the capacity metrics. The energy factor for dehumidifiers is the number of liters or pints of water removed from the air per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity used. The higher the energy factor value, the more efficient the dehumidifier is. So in this instance, look for a larger energy factor…Energy Star dehumidifiers typically have energy factors around 3.5.
Dehumidifier capacity is usually measured in pints per 24 hours and is determined by two factors: the size of the space that needs to be dehumidified and the conditions that exist in the space before dehumidification. The larger and damper the room, the larger capacity number you will need. For example, in a very damp room over 2,500 square feet, you will need a dehumidifier with a capacity around 44 whereas a dehumidifier for a moderately damp room under 500 square feet will only require a capacity number of around 10.
Space Heaters for Your Home
Most people think that central heat is more convenient and efficient, but in reality it’s quite wasteful as it sends heat to rooms that might be unoccupied. Home space heaters are a better solution as they can provide focused heat to a specific room.
It is important to note that heater efficiency is measured by the annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE)…most heaters today are between 78% AFUE and 95% AFUE. When looking for a new heater pay close attention to the stated AFUE and look for space heaters that have a 90% AFUE and above. Make sure the heating capacity of any space heater is not too high for your home application so you’re not wasting energy on over-heating your home.
Also, remember to check your state energy office or local utility offer rebates and trade-ins of older models to encourage the purchase of energy-efficient units. If you live in a very humid climate, look for models that are good at removing moisture.
Energy Efficiency Tips for Heating & Cooling
Whether you end up replacing your heating and cooling systems or just want to make due with what you have, follow these simple tips to maximize the efficiency of your home and all of your heating and cooling systems:
1. Check the filters on all of your heating and cooling devices every month, especially during winter and summer when they are in heavy use. If the filter looks dirty after a month, change it. Dirty filters will slow down or even block air flow through the filter making the system work harder and wasting energy. A clean filter will also prevent dust and dirt from building up in the system preventing maintenance or the system simply breaking.
2. Have a contractor or professional technician regularly inspect and tune up all of your heating and cooling systems to make sure they are working properly. Simple maintenance will ensure that your systems are working properly and for a long time.
3. Install a programmable thermostat. For a longer discussion on programmable thermostats and how to use them properly, check out our section Programmable Thermostats above.
4. Inspect your home to make sure that you have proper insulation and that there are no leaks in any of your heating or cooling ducts. For example, ducts that move air to-and-from a forced air furnace, central air conditioner, or heat pump are often big energy wasters and by sealing and insulating ducts can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system by as much as 20 percent.* For a long discussion on insulation and making sure that your home is leak free, check out our sections on Home Insulation and Home Energy Audits.
5. For all of your cooling systems, make sure the system has the proper amount of refrigerant installed. Your cooling system will operate more efficiently and for longer if it is properly charged with the correct refrigerant.
6. Finally, before you purchase any new home equipment, check with your local HVAC Contractor (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) to see if there any federal, state or local utility rebates for buying energy efficient products so you can save more money.
*source: www.energystar.gov & www.energy.gov
