There’s nothing more annoying than getting your first energy bill the first month after winter or summer starts. While you should be worried about keeping warm or cool during those months, you probably can’t help but think about how expensive the difference will be. After all, you are consistently cooling or heating your home, which can be pretty costly depending on how long you run your HVAC system every day. Don’t you wish there was a way to cut your monthly energy costs while still staying comfortable in your own home?
You’re in luck! There are many different things you can do to conserve energy with your HVAC system and make it run more efficiently. After reading, you’ll know all the tips and tricks on how to still stay comfortable in your home without spending an arm and a leg on your energy bill every month. You’ll also learn about when it may be time to call in extra help from a certified HVAC technician if nothing you do seems to work.
Tip #1: Ensure You Have Regular Maintenance Performed On Your HVAC System
One of the most important things you can do for your HVAC system is to ensure you have regular preventive maintenance performed. At a minimum, you should have HVAC technicians inspect your entire system once a year. If you want to be extra cautious, you can have technicians look at your air conditioning in the spring and your heating system in the fall. This allows you to get a tune-up, prepare for the new seasons, and fix any major problems ahead of time. It also saves you money in the long run so you don’t have to have costly emergency repairs performed. It’s always better to be safe than sorry!
Tip #2: Invest in a Programmable or Smart Thermostat
Investing in a programmable or smart thermostat allows you to control the temperatures and amount of time your HVAC system runs. Many modern, programmable thermostats are easy to use, allowing you to set up certain temperatures for certain times of the day at the touch of a few buttons. Lots of homeowners are even switching to smart thermostats, which are controlled by an app on a smartphone.
Either thermostat option helps improve your HVAC system’s efficiency by choosing when to have certain temperatures in your home instead of running your HVAC system all day and hoping for the best.
Tip #3: Inspect Your Insulation
Inspecting your insulation is another task you can complete to conserve energy with your HVAC system. Things you should look for when doing the insulation inspection are open cracks that insulation doesn’t cover, holes in your insulation, or places where insulation just doesn’t seem to be dense enough. If you can’t see any noticeable cracks or crevices in the insulation, try using a fan or another source of air and blowing it through the insulation to see if it absorbs it or lets the air pass through. You could also hire an outside insulation company to inspect your insulation for you, as they have lots of tools and relevant knowledge to make recommendations to you based on their findings.
If you notice that you have multiple spots that air passes through or spots where your insulation just seems weaker than you want it to be, try increasing the amount of insulation you have. By having an adequate amount of insulation throughout your home, your HVAC system doesn’t have to work as hard to heat/cool the area, therefore conserving energy.
Tip #4: Inspect the Sealing of Your Doors and Windows
Similar to inspecting your insulation, inspecting the sealing of your doors and windows also help conserve energy and decrease that bill every month. It can be tricky to see if your windows and door are properly sealed, so here are some tricks you can use to check.
The first thing you should look for are noticeable air gaps air passes through around your windows and doors. Even if you can’t see any air gaps, there’s still a possibility that they’re not sealed properly. One trick you can use to check for any hidden air drafts is to dampen your hand and place it by the seals or edges of your windows and doors. If you feel a consistent airflow on your hand, chances are your windows or doors aren’t sealed properly and you should get them resealed. Another trick you can use is to light a candle and hold it by the same areas; if the candle blows towards you consistently, that points towards there being improper sealing.
As soon as you notice inadequate sealing, we recommend calling a technician to get that fixed as soon as possible. Improper sealing isn’t inherently dangerous but can cost you extra money on your energy bill when your HVAC system tries to keep up with it.
Tip #5: Regularly Clean Air Vents
Another way in which you can conserve energy with your HVAC system is to ensure your air vents are cleaned regularly. It’s easy for dust, dirt, and other debris to build up in your vents over time. The longer you go between cleanings, the more buildup your air vents experience. The more buildup you have in your vents, the harder your HVAC system has to work to circulate air throughout your home. Clean air vents make a big difference for not only your energy bill but the overall health of your HVAC system.
If you’re looking for a dedicated team of experts to carefully clean your air vents, Rowbel Services would love to help you out. We arrive on time and prepared so we can address your needs promptly.
Tip #6: Regularly Change Air Filters
Regularly changing your air filters is simple and goes a long way toward preserving the energy in your home. Air filters are meant to do just that- filter your air and catch anything that poses a risk of making your air toxic to breathe in. As a general rule of thumb, it’s recommended that you change your air filter once every three months to keep the air clean and fresh. This prevents your HVAC system from working so hard, too.
Tip #7: Turn Heating/Cooling Off When You’re Not Home
Another thing that many people may not think of is to turn your heating and cooling off when you’re not home. Whether you’re gone from home all day to go to work or are going on a vacation, the longer your HVAC system is on, the more energy it uses, giving you a higher energy bill. In fact, turning your thermostat back by 7-10 degrees Fahrenheit lowers your bill by as much as 10% every year. Many modern thermostats let you control your temperature with your phone, making it easy to turn on the heat or cool air on your way home and have it ready to go by the time you get there.
Tip #8: Don’t Keep Your Thermostat Cranked
Even when you are home, it’s not a good idea to keep your thermostat cranked all the way up or down. This causes your HVAC system to work harder, which definitely doesn’t do wonders for your energy bill. To conserve more energy, it’s recommended that you keep your heat up to 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and cool it to 78 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. Anything above 68 or below 78 causes your HVAC system to be turned on for longer.
Tip #9: Use Fans When You Can
This tip goes hand-in-hand with the last one. Rowbel Services understands that the weather during the summertime in Maryland can be hot and humid, so of course you want to keep your home cooled adequately. However, constantly running your HVAC system can shorten its lifespan and increase your energy bill. Instead of constantly having your HVAC system running, try taking advantage of any fans you have. Fans help provide your home with consistent, cool airflow throughout all your rooms. You won’t need to constantly have your air conditioning on, and you’ll save money, too!
Rowbel Services is Here to Help
If you’ve done seemingly everything you can to lower your energy bill and it still seems high or keeps climbing, it’s probably time to schedule a maintenance appointment. An HVAC maintenance technician will come out to your home or business and perform detailed testing to see where the issue is and start implementing fixes right away.
If you’re looking for an HVAC maintenance technician to handle all your HVAC needs from preventive maintenance to tricky repairs, Rowbel Services is happy to help you out. Our specially-picked and talented HVAC technicians have years of experience servicing all the major metropolitan areas of Maryland and Virginia. If you ever have questions about whether or not we can service your home, business, or commercial properties, give us a call! We’d love to welcome you to the Rowbel Services family and help get your HVAC system as efficient as possible. Kindly contact us here to get an estimate or set up an appointment for maintenance help and we’ll respond as soon as we can. We can’t wait to hear from you!