Your heating and air conditioning systems probably account for the majority of your electricity usage. If your electricity bills are getting too high and you’re looking for ways to save energy, improving the way you heat or cool your home is one of the fastest ways to cut costs. Here are some of the electricity practices that run your utility bill up the most:
- Leaving your air conditioner running all day. Many people believe it’s more efficient to leave your air conditioner running when you go to work than to have it re-cool your home when you return. The truth is, it uses more electricity to maintain the temperature for eight hours than it does running for 30 minutes to an hour to get it back down. The exception to this rule is when it gets excessively hot outside. You don’t want to force your A/C to make up a 15-degree difference between the temperature when you get home and your desired thermostat setting. Just set the temp several degrees higher rather than turning it off.
- Thinking buying an energy efficient air conditioner is all you need to do. This is only the first step. You want to make sure it’s right-sized for your home, that your ducts are equipped to handle it, and that you use it in an energy-efficient way. You’ll also want to make sure your home is properly air sealed and insulated.
- Directing fans from cool rooms to warm rooms. Many people try to “help” their A/C by blowing air from the cooler rooms to warmer rooms. However, they should be doing the reverse because an air conditioner’s job isn’t to cool — it’s to remove heat, which creates cooling.
- Lowering the temperature at night will cut a heat pump’s energy use in heating mode. This is true if you have a dedicated heat pump thermostat that’s designed to increase the heat in one-degree increments. Any more than that, and your heat pump’s emergency electric heating element will kick into gear, which costs more to operate than the regular heat pump function.
If you’re looking to reduce your energy bills in the Lorain area, please contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning. We’ve been improving energy efficiency for Greater Cleveland area residents for more than 34 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about electricity and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area