Energy-Wise
Main
Energy-Wise Main Page
Heating and Cooling
Your air conditioning & heating unit is your homes largest user of
electricity
Water Heater
Very often, a water heater is tucked away in a closet and forgotten
Save
Water
Practice these important tips for saving water
Lighting
You don't have to live in the dark to lower the lighting portion of your
electric bill
Home Structure
Follow several tips to help your homework well as a barrier
Kitchen-Bath-Laundry
These three areas typically are places where people sometimes forget to
practice energy conservation
Reading
Your Meter
Read Your Electric Meter and the Kilowatt-Hour Conservation Scoreboard
Energy-Wise: Heating and Cooling
Your air conditioning/heating unit is your home's largest
user of electricity.
Fortunately, it's possible to save 30% or even more on your heating
and cooling bills.
Set the thermostat on "auto" at 80 degrees or higher
during the summer and at 65 degrees or lower during the winter.
Your savings will depend on how much you lower and raise the
thermostat setting and what the climate is like. Changing the temperature
setting will quickly increase the operating cost by approximately six percent
per degree.
Change to the new air conditioning or heating temperatures gradually, say 1 or 2 degrees a week. This will give your body time to adjust nicely to the new temperature levels.
Install a programmable thermostat, which will not forget to
adjust temperatures for energy efficiency when needed.
This is easy to install and allows you to program your unit to turn on/off
at certain times, allowing you to save precious conditioned air and money when
not needed.
A simple and very inexpensive maintenance job in air
conditioning and heating systems is to replace or clean dirty air filters once
a month.
Filters that are dirty make units operate longer, increasing costs.
Clean filters also keep dirt and dust out of fans and motors, prolonging their
useful life. If your filters are extremely dirty, examine the coils of the unit
to see if they also need cleaning.
Shade and trim shrubs away from outdoor compressor units.
Anything restricting free airflow around the unit will cause it to
operate longer.
Turn off air conditioning and heating equipment if you
are going to be away from home most of the day.
Don't forget to do so before going on vacation.
Remember to inspect ductwork and repair leaks large and
small.
Major breaks in ductwork are quite common, both in air supply and
return systems. These, along with numerous small leaks due to poor seals
between ductwork sections are often responsible for system inefficiencies.
Carefully inspect your air duct system, including ducts in crawl spaces and
attics. Major breaks should be repaired and joints sealed.
Have system serviced by a qualified air conditioning
contractor before the cooling and heating seasons.
This should include, but is not limited to, the cleaning of evaporator
and condenser coils, making all necessary adjustment, testing the refrigerant
levels and sealing any leaks, and inspecting/sealing all duct work.
Pour 1 cup of bleach down the condensation line every six months to keep it flowing freely. |
The refrigerants in cooling systems are usually chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFCs destroy the ozone layer when released into the atmosphere. KUA asks you that when having your existing system serviced, please ask your technician to clean and recycle the refrigerant instead of simply releasing it into the atmosphere. Thankfully, refrigerant manufactures are phasing out these harmful products. When you buy new equipment, please look for makes and models that contain refrigerants that don't damage the ozone layer. |
Add for upgrade building insulation.
Adding insulation can increase your building's resistance to heat loss
and gain. Insulation works year-round to reduce your heating and cooling costs.
Different insulation materials have different properties and the "R" values.
The higher the "R" value, the higher the material's resistance to heat. (See
Your Home's Structure KUA's insulation recommendations.)
Check weather-stripping and caulking around windows and
doors.
Homes that are reasonably airtight cost less to cool and heat. Plastic
shields are available for jalousies and poorly fitting windows and doors.
If you don't presently have a heat pump, find out more
about it.
This electrical device "pumps" or moves heat from one place to
another. It may be used to both heat and cool your home, making this an
economical replacement to inefficient AC/heating units.
Protect windows from the heat gain in summer and heat
loss.
In the winter by installing awnings, draperies, window film or shades
and planting deciduous trees. (See the section on Windows)
What should I look for when purchasing energy wise units?
The Federal government has passed laws which require manufactures of energy intensive equipment and appliances to meet minimum efficiency levels, to use standardized test methods to determine these levels, and to label each product with its efficiency rating.
The data is an EER rating when comparing windows air conditioner, a SEER rating for central air conditioners and heat pumps (cooling mode), and a HSPF rating for heat pumps (heat mode).
These ratings, which compare the energy efficiency of similar units, usually are found on a tag or label on the equipment.
The higher the rating number, the more efficient the unit. What this means to you as a purchaser is that you can use the label on new HVAC and other equipment to judge the efficiency of different vendors' offerings. Before you buy, think about energy savings first.
Does your air return system leak?
Problem Areas & Solutions
1. Partition wall is open to attic. Return plenum is not lined with duct board or seams of duct board are not sealed. Recommended sealing partition wall top with a fire rated material such as duct board or sheet rock and caulk. Also line return plenum with duct board and seal corners with plastic gauze and mastic.
2. Opening exists where supply plenum enters attic. Unconditioned air drawn into heating/cooling system through panel seams on air handler. Recommended taping accessible seams with foil duct tape and sealing opening in ceiling with a fire rated foam sealant, duct board or sheet rock. Apply caulking if using duct board or sheet rock.
3. Top of partition wall seams around air handler are open. Return plenum is not lined with duct or seams of duct board not sealed. Recommend caulking partition wall seams from the attic and lining return plenum or sealing corners of duct board with plastic gauze and mastic.
How Thermostat Settings Affect Operation Costs
Raising a cooling thermostat and lowering a heating thermostat are the easiest and move effective way to lower most electric bills.
Recommended settings for normal operation are 65° for heating and 80° for cooling, keeping the fan set at "Auto". If you are too warm at 80°, an ordinary circulating fan may be used simultaneously for additional relief. Warmer clothing may be necessary for some at 65°.
Nighttime temperature set back may save between 10 to 20 percent of the annual heating bill if the temperature is reduced at least 10 degrees for 8 to 10 hours. This savings can be substantially reduced if you use an electric heat pump.
Away for Several
Hours:
In summer or winter, turn system to "off". Less electricity is needed to
restore temperature than to maintain temperature over prolonged periods.
Away for Weekends or
Longer:
Turn system off. If concerned over pets or plants, set thermostat at
85° in summer and 55° in winter.
