The money you save on your utility bills can profoundly impact your life. The United States Department of Energy claims the average home spends about $2,200 annually on energy costs. That’s more than most people spend on groceries or dining out! Many methods exist for reducing these expenses and increasing the effectiveness of your HVAC systems at the same time, all without replacing anything significant or breaking the bank:
Make sure you seal your HVAC system properly
To ensure that your HVAC system is operating as efficiently as possible, ensure no leaks in the ducts or insulation. Check for air leakage at all registers and grilles if you have a forced-air system. Also, check around doors and windows to ensure they are adequately sealed. Check if any insulation has come loose or been damaged in any way. Inspect the furnace for signs of damage or corrosion, primarily if it has been used for many years (furnaces typically last about 20 years). Finally, inspect any thermostats or other controls on the unit; these may malfunction due to age or improper installation by an inexperienced installer who needs to have read the instructions carefully enough before installing them!
Keep your air filters clean and replace them regularly
- Clean the filter. If you have a dirty air filter, it’s not going to be able to do its job of capturing dust and other particles in the air. The best way to clean a standard furnace or AC filter is with an electrostatic wand that uses small amounts of water and detergent to clean the surface of your filters without damaging them. You can also use a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment for cleaning larger surfaces on your furnace or AC unit’s housing; however, this method is more likely than using an electrostatic wand (or hand) to damage delicate parts inside your HVAC system, such as coils or fans inside fan blades that may make noise if bent out of shape by excessive force during the cleaning process, so please be careful when using this method yourself!
- Change it every three months or so (more often if needed). How often should I change my air conditioning system? According to research conducted by Consumer Reports magazine, “the average life span for most types is five years, but some systems last longer than others.” We recommend having yours checked annually so we can advise on whether a replacement would be cost-effective when replacement becomes necessary due to wear and tear and age since newer models run quieter than older ones due to improved technology and design improvements over time.
If it’s over a year old or gets dirty, replace your air filter (changing filters is an easy way to save energy)
If your air filter is over a year old, it’s time to change it. Filters should be replaced at least every three months, but more often if pets are in the house or you have allergies.
You’ll want to ensure the new filter fits properly in your unit; if not, it could cause damage when the fan kicks on and off repeatedly, trying to draw air through an improperly sized opening. Choose one designed specifically for your unit (for example, “Fits Trane XB1300 Air Conditioner”) if possible. Some filters also claim to have higher MERV ratings, which stand for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value and measure how well particulates like dust and pollen are captured by each piece of media used within them (the higher their MERV rating, the better). Higher MERV ratings mean greater effectiveness at removing airborne particles from indoor environments—but they also restrict airflow through your system more than lower ones do!
Use timers to turn off the A/C when you’re not at home
Use timers and programmable thermostats to automatically turn off your heating or cooling system when it’s unnecessary. You can also buy devices that will automatically turn on your HVAC system in the morning and off at night—this is especially useful if you work from home during the day but want to keep things cool while sleeping at night.
Replace incandescent bulbs with LEDs (they use less energy than incandescents)
Incandescent bulbs are being phased out as they use more energy and last for a shorter period than LEDs. LEDs also have an average life span of around 25,000 hours (or 25 years if left on for an hour per day). By comparison, incandescent bulbs’ average lifespan is 1,000 hours, or roughly six months, if you leave them on 24/7. As incandescents are phased out by 2020 and banned by 2022 in many places around the world due to their high energy consumption levels and short lifespan compared with other types of bulb technology, such as CFLs and LEDs (see below), it makes sense to start replacing all your old incandescent bulbs now before they become unavailable or illegal!
Switch to a programmable thermostat
A programmable thermostat can help you reduce energy costs and bills. Setting the temperature is possible by using a programmable thermostat for different times of day and on other days of the week so that when you’re away from home or asleep, it will automatically turn off and use less energy. The result is lower utility bills without worrying about manually adjusting the temperature throughout the day.
Programmable thermostats are easy-to-use devices that anyone can operate; follow these steps:
- To set up the manual thermostat in your room, press the “off” button, then press the “on” button twice within five seconds. This resets the thermostat.
- Press down on all four corners of your new digital display screen until they click into place; this will activate programming mode, where all four corners become illuminated with blue lights—the top two corners represent heat settings while the bottom two represent cool or fan modes, respectively.
Insulate your ducts and water heater to save on heating and cooling costs
Insulate your ducts and water heater to save on heating and cooling costs.
- Insulate your ducts. If you can do this, it will make a massive difference in the money you spend on heating and cooling each year. The more insulation around the ducting, the better it will keep heat in during the winter months while keeping cool air inside during summer. Hiring someone else to do this work for you may be expensive, but think about how much money it could save over time!
- If possible, insulate your water heater properly to use less electricity when heating hot water for showers and baths (or even washing dishes). The same goes for other appliances, such as dishwashers or clothes dryers—they also use energy! Nowadays, there are even particular types of foam insulation materials made explicitly for insulating these appliances, so get out there today and start saving money tomorrow!
You can save money and energy by making small changes around your home
- Insulate your ducts. The main energy-saving tip for your HVAC system is to insulate the ducts that carry heated or cooled air throughout your home. This can be done by wrapping them with fibreglass insulation, which will keep heat inside the ducts and prevent it from escaping into other areas of your home.
- Change incandescent bulbs for LEDs (light-emitting diodes). Incandescent bulbs use a lot more electricity than LED lights do—up to four times as much—so switching to LED bulbs can help you save on energy costs while making it easier on the environment too!
- “Use a programmable thermostat so that when no one’s home during peak hours, you can set it to lower so as not to waste any extra money on heating or to cool an empty house; then, after hours, when people return home from work, school, etc., turn up the temperature back up again, so they’re comfortable when they arrive at home after being outside all day long in hot weather conditions like summertime heat waves where temperatures reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher every year across most parts of North America, including Canada’s Prairie provinces such as Alberta and Saskatchewan plus Manitoba too.
If you want to save money and energy, the best thing to do is make minor changes around your home. Sarman Air understands that purchasing a new furnace, air conditioner, or indoor air quality unit can be a surprise and sometimes tricky investment. With SNAP Home Finance, we now offer you, our valued client Sarman Air’s financing program that makes it easy to buy equipment with low monthly affordable payments. We can help you purchase the right product for your home – often without any interest charges for the first 3-6 months. These changes are easy enough that anyone can do them, so there’s no excuse not to! Moreover, if we all work together towards this goal, we can impact our planet too.