Heating and Cooling Savings Tips

Tips: Heating and Cooling:

Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and costs more money than any other system in your home—typically

making up about 54% of your utility bill.

No matter what kind of heating and cooling 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 recommended insulation, air sealing, and thermostat settings, you can cut your energy

use for heating and cooling—and reduce environmental emissions—from 20%-50%.

• Set your programmable thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the

summer, as well as when you’re sleeping or away from home.

• Clean or replace filters on furnaces and air conditioners once a month or as recommended.

• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they’re not blocked by furniture,

carpeting, or drapes.

• Eliminate trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season; if unsure about how to perform this task,

contact 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 winter, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing 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.

• During summer, keep the window coverings closed during the day to block the sun’s heat.

• 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. For air conditioners, look for a high

Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). The current minimum is 13 SEER for central air conditioners. ENERGY

STAR models are 14.5 SEER or more.

Taken from the U.S. Department of Energy / Energy Savers: http://energy.gov

We Install, Repair and Perform Maintenance on all Popular Air Conditioning Brands, Makes and Models: