Cut Down on Energy Costs in Your Home
While enjoying a warm home in the winter and a cool escape in the summer are wonderful luxuries, energy bills are on the rise. Spending too much money on something you don't need is never a wise financial decision, and fortunately, cutting down on energy costs doesn't have to involve returning to a primitive lifestyle. A few small tweaks and changes to HVAC systems in Eagle, PA, can reap big rewards, and being smart about your approach helps you be more effective in your savings.
Your first step should be to form a plan. Look at your energy bills over the last year. What time of year did you spend the most? Figuring out where you are wasting the most energy will help you formulate a plan of attack that will be more effective than random strategies, which will mean you can actually save more money.
Get your appliances and HVAC systems checked out annually. By having a professional come out and analyze the way you are using energy, you can figure out where your efforts need to go and what exactly is draining your bank account.
After paying to heat or cool your home, the last thing you want is for all that air to escape into the great unknown. There are a few things to check to make sure you aren't paying to heat or cool the neighborhood.
Close or tighten the damper on your chimney. Heated and cooled air can escape through this vent, and air from outside can leak back into your home.
Seal leaks around windows, pipes, wires, and doors. Even small leaks can increase the amount you end up paying to keep your home at a comfortable temperature. Caulking, weather stripping, door sweeps, expanding foam sealants, and window kits that help your windows act as insulators can all help. Check attic, basement, garage, and other outside doors for escaping and wasted air.
If your radiator is near an outside wall, place a sheet of aluminum or other reflective material to reflect heat back into your home rather than losing it to the cold outdoors. Small energy savings can really add up, so every step counts.
Cooling a home and then generating heat is a total, expensive waste. Turn off heat-generating devices and electronics when not in use, and close windows when you don't need the light to keep things cool. Use fans to circulate air and open windows at night when the air is cooler.
During the season when the machine gets the most use, clean and replace the filters frequently. For example, during the winter, pay extra attention to the filters in your heating unit, and do the same for your AC in the summer. A clean filter will make your machinery much more efficient, allowing it to do the same job with less effort.
Why heat or cool an empty house or fiddle with that thermostat at night, before you go on vacation, or before and after work? For extra savings, buy a programmable thermostat that will do the remembering for you.
At the end of the day, no matter how much attention is directed toward HVAC systems in Eagle, PA, old, energy-hogging machines can undermine any homeowner's best efforts. Newer machines are more efficient and will earn back many times more than what you pay for them initially. Recruit some help from a professional to help you figure out what your needs are and how to get the most savings on a budget that works for you.
Be Smart about It
Your first step should be to form a plan. Look at your energy bills over the last year. What time of year did you spend the most? Figuring out where you are wasting the most energy will help you formulate a plan of attack that will be more effective than random strategies, which will mean you can actually save more money.
Get your appliances and HVAC systems checked out annually. By having a professional come out and analyze the way you are using energy, you can figure out where your efforts need to go and what exactly is draining your bank account.
Prevent the Escape of Expensive Air
After paying to heat or cool your home, the last thing you want is for all that air to escape into the great unknown. There are a few things to check to make sure you aren't paying to heat or cool the neighborhood.
Close or tighten the damper on your chimney. Heated and cooled air can escape through this vent, and air from outside can leak back into your home.
Seal leaks around windows, pipes, wires, and doors. Even small leaks can increase the amount you end up paying to keep your home at a comfortable temperature. Caulking, weather stripping, door sweeps, expanding foam sealants, and window kits that help your windows act as insulators can all help. Check attic, basement, garage, and other outside doors for escaping and wasted air.
If your radiator is near an outside wall, place a sheet of aluminum or other reflective material to reflect heat back into your home rather than losing it to the cold outdoors. Small energy savings can really add up, so every step counts.
Minimize Heat Created
Cooling a home and then generating heat is a total, expensive waste. Turn off heat-generating devices and electronics when not in use, and close windows when you don't need the light to keep things cool. Use fans to circulate air and open windows at night when the air is cooler.
Filters, Filters, Filters
During the season when the machine gets the most use, clean and replace the filters frequently. For example, during the winter, pay extra attention to the filters in your heating unit, and do the same for your AC in the summer. A clean filter will make your machinery much more efficient, allowing it to do the same job with less effort.
Don't Pay for Air You Don't Use
Why heat or cool an empty house or fiddle with that thermostat at night, before you go on vacation, or before and after work? For extra savings, buy a programmable thermostat that will do the remembering for you.
More Efficient Machines
At the end of the day, no matter how much attention is directed toward HVAC systems in Eagle, PA, old, energy-hogging machines can undermine any homeowner's best efforts. Newer machines are more efficient and will earn back many times more than what you pay for them initially. Recruit some help from a professional to help you figure out what your needs are and how to get the most savings on a budget that works for you.
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