Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more dollars than any other system in your home.
No matter what kind of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system you have in your house, you can save money and increase 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 appropriate insulation, weatherization, and thermostat settings, you can cut your energy bills and your pollution output in half.
Winter Tips
- Set thermostat to 68º F
- Turn down thermostat when not at home or when going to bed at night
- Use space heaters wisely
- They are meant to keep you warm in a confined area
- They are not an efficient heating source beyond a room or two at your house
- Clean your refrigerator coils every year, and set the temperature between 34 to 37º F
- Set your water heater temperature no higher than 120º F
- Use spare rugs to cover bare floors for added insulation
- Unplug small kitchen appliances, like toaster ovens and microwaves, when not in use
- You could save $10 to $20 per year
- Seal air leaks and insulate well to prevent heat from escaping and cold air from entering your home
- Turn off lights when not in use
- Open blinds and curtains during the day to allow sunlight in to warm your home
- Close blinds and curtains at night to keep cold, drafty air out
- Wash clothes in cold water, and use cold-water detergent whenever possible
Summer Tips
- Set air conditioner thermostats higher than usual, if health conditions permit
- Close curtains and blinds to keep out the sun and retain cooler air inside
- Turn off electric appliances and equipment that you do not need or are not using
- If you are buying a new appliance, look for one that is ENERGY STAR® qualified. ENERGY STAR® is a program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designed to help consumers identify energy-efficient appliances and products
- Unplug as many appliances and other items that use electricity as possible, since many of those devices continue to draw power, even if they are turned off
- Turn off computers and monitors completely if you are going to step away for more than 2 hours
- If your clothes dryer has a moisture sensor, be sure to use it to keep from over-drying your clothes
- Air dry your dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle
- Lower the temperature on your hot water heater to 120 or even 115º F
- Switch to LEDs
- Rotate ceiling fans counter clockwise
- If you do not have a ceiling fan, use a portable room fan
- Cook using microwaves, crock pots and toaster ovens, since large ovens produce significant heat
- Close air vents in rooms not in use, and fully open vents in rooms that you are using
- Place deflectors on vents that are under tables and furniture to redirect air flow
More Heating and Cooling Tips
- Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer
- Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed
- Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they’re not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes
- Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season; if in doubt about how to perform this task, call a professional
- Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the radiators
- Use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans wisely; in just 1 hour, these fans can pull out a houseful of warmed or cooled air
- Turn fans off as soon as they have done the job
- During the heating season, keep the drapes and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows
- During the cooling season, keep the window coverings closed during the day to prevent solar gain
- Close an unoccupied room that is isolated from the rest of the house, such as in a corner, and turn down the thermostat or turn off the heating for that room or zone
- Do not turn the heating off if it adversely affects the rest of your system.
- For example, if you heat your house with a heat pump, do not close the vents-closing the vents could harm the heat pump
- Select energy-efficient equipment 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
- Look for high Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) ratings and the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER)
- The national minimums are 78% AFUE and 10 SEER